Tourists

It's cold, I scuffed around to the shop in sandals. No socks, though. I'm not going to commit that faux pax.

Isn't anything open yet? said the girl with the stripey hat and a mouth like a muppet.

Oh, was the long soft whine of her companion.

These were the two plain chicks from school, probably best friends from grade 1. The two, no doubt, who would be said to have improved the most since leaving school, were covered from head to toe in ugly chick disguise garb. You know, neck to knee coverage. Realistically, two plain girls looks can only go one way, after leaving school - horrible accidents withstanding.

What do you expect, I thought, at 8.20am on a Sunday morning... when it's over cast and cold.

Tourists, I thought, with the usual Fitzroy snarl. Not a snarl exactly, but a look in recognition that our suburb is invaded every day by plain chicks from the suburban wasteland. Go back to your shopping malls, I thought.