Kapitel 25: Let's go to the mall = Mr. Brightside
<<Francine>>
"Where are we?"
"A place too close to Charlie."
"She loves this?"
Nicole glared at me. "Got any problem with that?"
"Isn't it too girly for her choice?"
"A mall is a mall. It doesn't really matter if you're a tomboy or a girly girl. She came here for the food court, you come here to shop. That's the only difference."
I stared at the tall building from the windshield of the car. The hesitation in me was because Nicole told me this was one place that I'd love. Did she know that I never went shopping and all my dresses were tailor-made? I always wanted to know what it felt like to walk around places like a normal human being. But now that I was actually here, anxiety took over me.
"Whatcha thinking, princess?"
"Nothing," I replied too quickly for my own liking.
"You're hesitating." She stated bluntly.
I denied it. "No, I'm not. I'm always up for trying new things."
She raised her eyebrow. "Then why do I see a bead of sweat on your forehead?"
Wow. Was I really that anxious that I was sweating noticeably?
She smiled. "Take it easy, princess. It's just a mall. Not everyone knows Charlie here so you can be yourself. Although, not too much of 'yourself', you'll ruin things for Charlie."
I laughed. Nicole had a way of cheering people up. She knew how to make someone laugh even in their saddest days. The best trait that a person can ever have.
"Okay. Okay. I understand, my friend."
"Yeah...don't say that there."
---
"And...how does this look on me?"
"Are we here because you wanted an excuse to shop?"
"Kind of?" She sheepishly agreed. "Also, I needed expert advice from someone who always looks good. Charlie really isn't bothered about giving advice."
Nicole twirled in front of the mirror, trying out different dresses while I searched for t-shirts and jeans. I wasn't adapted to wearing these clothes and at first, it used to itch a lot. However, I soon realized how comfortable these were. The sneakers were so easy on the foot that I'd never have to deal with sprains on my ankle. The jeans allowed me to move freely and the t-shirt was...wow, I'd never had anything as soft as this!
"Well, she's not going to face any troubles there. My personal maid is going to choose dresses for her and do her make up as per occasions."
She walked out of the dressing room wearing a maroon-colored dress. "Really? Girl, I wish I had that!"
"Yes. But it's not always a good habit. We become too dependent on them and wouldn't be able to survive on a day on our own."
"That, my darling friend, is one fact." She paused, twirling again. "How does this look on me?"
"It can be better. It's not that bright."
She rummaged through the dresses on display mumbling, "Hmm, bright, bright. Where do I find Mr. Brightside?"
"Mr. Brightside?"
She unconsciously replied. "Yeah, that song. Didn't hear it? You should. It's awesome."
"I will."
"What are you looking for, miss?" The salesgirl inquired, a bright smile plastered on her lips.
"Something bright...ugh! Why are all the colors so dull?!" Nicole was exasperated.
The salesgirl seemed frightened by her attitude and decided to turn her attention to me. I explained to her what we were looking for and she quickly excused herself - promising to find one that would be a perfect fit for Nicole.
A couple of minutes later, the salesgirl showed up. "Here, this will look perfect on miss Nicole."
Nicole grabbed the piece of clothing from her and inspected it. It was bright pink, knee-length dress with embroidery done in the chest-section. It was simple yet elegant. A satisfying smile curled in Nicole's lips.
"This looks perfect."
The salesgirl looked like she achieved something great. "Cool, I'll send it to the counter then. Do you guys need anything else?"
"Yeah, I'll take these two t-shirts and two pairs of jeans."
She happily took the clothes from my hand and vanished. After wandering around the women's section for a while, we made a beeline towards the counter.
The man smiled, billing our products.
"That would be $246.98."
We took out our wallets, paid, and then satisfactorily walked out of the shop. For the first time in life, I actually came out of my palace and shopped for my own clothing without being judged by anyone. I could feel the sense of independence surrounding me and it was - like they say- AWESOME!
Although we were done shopping for the day, we wandered around a couple of shops to check out amazing dresses. Nicole taught me how to bargain and buy things at a lower rate. However, I didn't see the need to bargain for things but Nicole explained it to me that it was kind of money-saving and if we had to survive on our own, we needed to bargain.
"Now where?"
"Off to the food court!"
---
"Two french fries, two chicken burgers, two chicken nuggets, and two Sprites."
She and I walked to our seat and talked about random things and our plan for the next day. She mentioned she had to go to her grandma's place so she wouldn't be here for the weekend.
"You really have to go? May I come with you?"
"I wish. But she's a sick lady and I don't want you falling sick."
I frowned. "Well, okay. I understand."
Nicole's eyes suddenly widened and she started jumping in her seat, waving her hands like a four-year-old.
"You okay?"
"Hottie. Artist. Alert. I repeat, Hottie Artist Alert!"
I quickly turned back to see that same guy from the restaurant, working at the food-court and at the very place we ordered food from. I was stunned when I saw him here. Though I didn't know him any more than Nicole did, I was surprised we'd see him here. Nicole usually said that they hardly ran into customers outside the restaurant so this, was a lucky coincidence.
He walked towards us and placed the trays on the table.
"Two french fries, two chicken burgers, two chicken nuggets, and two Sprites." He repeated our orders with a smile. "Anything else, ladies?"
The teen girls, at our right, were fanning themselves at the sight of him. The sight of his toned abs inside his McDonalds' t-shirt made them drool. I wondered what their reaction would be if he took it off.
I can guarantee they'd faint.
One hundred percent.
"N-Nope. Absolutely not."
He smiled, his brown eyes twinkling. "Alright, enjoy your happy meal."
He strolled back towards the counter and prepared other meals. Why hadn't we seen him back when we were ordering? Perhaps he reported late. Nicole dug in, savoring the taste from each bite. As soon as I started to dig in, my gaze fell on the piece of folded paper on my tray.
"What's that?" Nicole inquired in between her bites.
"I don't know."
"Looks like a piece of paper to me." She shrugged and then all of a sudden it was like a bulb lighted on her head. "Oh, oh, it might be a letter from a secret admirer!" She uttered in a hushed voice.
"Not everyone is a hopeless romantic."
She fake-gasped. "I thought you loved the romance!"
I retorted. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean every piece of folded paper would be a letter from a secret admirer."
"There is no harm to check, is there?"
"No, I don't think so."
I opened the piece of paper. Half of my brain was excited to expect it a letter from a secret admirer. It was no harm to imagine if that was true. But my other rational part of the brain was thinking otherwise.
In there, I found deep-blue handwriting saying,
Meet you tomorrow, 6 p.m at Andre's coffee shop.
- Jeremiah Dominique
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein