I feel the bass of the speakers vibrating in my stomach while I was looking at various types of sneakers. There were Kobe 10s, Air Force Ones, Jordan Retro’s, Kyrie 1’s, and Nike Air Maxes. Because of their variety, there are sneakers that catch my eye while I’m there. I always go to Foot Locker with the craziest shoes on. I decided to wear neon Foamposites because people’s eyes gravitate towards them. The place is crowded with people of different ethnicities, complaining that their legs hurt and telling their sons that they should have come earlier as they wait in a long, dreadful line. Along the walls, there are some spots of vibrant colors in an overall black and grey setting. Some yellows here, some orange splotches there. It kind of looks like a painter just swiped his paintbrush across the room. It made the store feel alive and thriving. I look into the Jordan section because it is my favorite brand of sneaker. I find some Jordan’s, specifically Son of Mars. I pick them up from the second shelf and examine them, as I do with every other sneaker that I own. The sneaker had a white leather base with red lining and a purple logo of Jordan right on the tongue, which stands out to me. The shoe also had an elephant camouflage on the tip and heel, which was very unique and was layered on top of the leather. It felt almost like snakeskin. I fell in love with the sneaker immediately, but I’ve only been in the store for five minutes. I felt optimistic about other sneakers, so I keep the flashy sneaker in hand.
I head over to the House of Hoops section of Foot Locker and it feels like a whole new store. This section of the store is completely black with glitter. The black, headless manikins have electrifying gear on, looking like they’re ready to play street ball. The song blaring changes from Imagine Dragons to Fetty Wap. I start to dance a little and look at the Nike sneakers on top of the white shelves in the back of the store. I notice some gold Foamposites that leave me speechless. It was as if Penny Hardaway and Jesus designed these beauties. The sneakers were black leather and a design like a waterfall of gold on the sneaker. I have seen other Foamposites in my lifetime, but these bad boys were gold! I told my dad that I have to come back one day and get those god-like sneakers. I wasn’t going to leave empty-handed so I went with the Son of Mars.
I went over to one of the employees of the store, who looked so obvious because of their referee-like attire, and asked them if they had my Son of Mars in a size 11. They took the sneaker and went behind the shoe shelves. The entrance to that area was a light brown instead of black, like the rest of the House of Hoops section. I have always wanted to see what it is like back there. I wanted to see how the sneakers are aligned and how the atmosphere is. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to see it, unless I work there. The employee comes back a couple of minutes later with a box with the sneakers in them. The box is black with a gold Jordan icon the middle with mini Jordan logos all around the box. I took off my Neon Foamposites, which I bought from this Foot Locker, and put the Son of Mars sneaker. I notice the number 30 and a Jordan logo inside the sneaker. I forgot that the Jordan sneaker was turning 30 years old this year. I see the creases start to form as I use the grip from the back of the sneaker to put them on. I tie the white, clean laces and start to walk around to get a good feel for them. The employee asked, “You like ‘em?” I nodded in confidence.
The line is completely empty by the time I get to the register. It looked like a Wild West movie where tumbleweed rolls in out of nowhere to break the silence. There are less people in the store, in general. Now, I hear Disclosure by Sam Smith as I put the weightless box on the counter. The cashier pulled out his price gun and scanned the bar code. I see the screen on my left and it says $160.00. I pulled out my VISA gift card, swiped it, clicked the green button on the card machine to confirm my purchase, and now the sneaker was mine. I smiled as I left, looking at Foot Locker one last time before I leave. From the yellow and oranges splotches to the floor that look like a basketball court, Foot Locker always satisfies me and gives me a new experience every time I go.