As I walked through the door of the small, dimly-lit storefront, the light from outside painted streaks throughout the thick grey air within. A gruff, bearded man in his early thirties looked up at me from behind the store's worn glass display case. I was the first to offer a greeting. "What can I get for you?" he sighed, barely lifting his eyes from the television near the entrance. "E-liquid", I replied. "What flavor?" he smugly cracked back, as if he expected I memorized the list of flavors inconspicuously posted on the right hand wall, ten feet away from the cash register and displayed in the smallest of typefaces. I stated my preference. The tattooed figure huffed in acknowledgement and disappeared into the back of the store.
While I waited, I took a seat in the "vapor lounge", which consisted of an aged off-white cloth love seat and chair set that appeared to have been previously used on the front porch of a university frat house and a table that was unquestionably nearing the end its own rather disappointing life.
"$15.89" the store attendant disinterestedly uttered, looking back up at the television. I walked to the counter, paid, and was handed a small unmarked white bottle. I glanced at the bottle, took a step back, and looked back at the man, searching for some kind of closure to our transaction. He ripped my receipt from his cash register and handed me a torn piece of paper. His eyes darted from the television to me, then to the door, then back to the screen, in what was a nonverbal cue that my presence was no longer welcomed. I looked at him and said thank you, to which he did not reply, and walked out.
I drove back to work to try my new purchase. The E-liquid I ordered was nearly flavorless and I began to question whether there was any nicotine in it at all. I'm not sure what exactly is in this bottle and I have a feeling that I never will, but it tastes like watered down rubbing alcohol with a faint aftertaste of burnt rubber. I ordered the Piña colada flavor. I will not be coming back to "E-Cigarettes" in the Dillonvale Shopping Center. read more
