I finally throw myself out of bed, and throw on some clothes on a Monday morning. Fifteen minutes later I’m nearly ready to go to school. I just need a few more things. My cell phone, I-pod, strawberry lip gloss, and maybe a couple of hair clips. All the basic pocket-able necessities. Time is running out, so I try to stuff all these essential items into my pockets at once. But what’s this? Oh. My. God. These jeans don’t have pockets!

            Oh sure. They appear to have pockets. Yesterday when I was at the mall buying them in a rush to replace all my ripped jeans, I fully believed they had real pockets. The sales lady smiled at me when I walked out of the dressing room and distracted me with compliments like, “You have good taste. Those jeans are specifically designed to have a slimming effect on your legs.” Or something manipulative like that. Whatever happened, I forgot to check the jeans for real pockets. I wasn’t aware that such ‘checks’ were necessary.

            These jeans, priced exactly the same as jeans with pockets used to be priced, mark the beginning of a new crisis for teenage girls. Fake pockets are no laughing matter. Who knows what will be considered acceptable to be ‘fake’ next.  Evidently, cheap fake pockets may be a result of inflation. Cotton prices are soaring, and the clothes market has attempted to keep the prices from rising by cutting off the pockets. So what’s next? Shoes without soles? Strapless purses? Snuggies without armholes? When pieces of my clothing suddenly disappear, I have to wonder what will disappear next.