章 200: To the Shopping Mall
What I had originally intended to be a solo trip now became a group thing, one where everybody in the club went on. There's me obviously, and then there's Muria, Irina, Luna, Erith, Loyd, Noah, and Zaksus, which added up to form a group of eight. Within this group, there were also subgroups as well, with Irina being with Muria, Luna being with Erith, and Loyd, Noah, and Zaksus being grouped together. Those were the main groupings in our overall group and the people that each person would engage in conversation the most with. As for me, I'm just simply walking near the end of the pack, worried about what would come of this "simple" trip.
The eight of us entered the train station and followed after the lead of Erith, who volunteered to take us to the place where she and Luna shopped. To be honest, I feel like having a guide as to where to shop is a good thing as I am unfamiliar with women's clothing and having someone experienced in shopping like her would really come in handy. However, that still did not cut out the worrying aspect of my mental state.
The train station was relatively calm and spacious as there were still a few hours until rush hour, but there was still a fair share of people in the train station, mostly the retired elderly who were headed out to buy groceries and such, but there were also people that were younger dressed in office clothing. Those I believe were either salespeople who are out running sales or people going to or from a job interview in search of a job. However, when compared to the most packed time of day, the station was still fairly spacious. Therefore, we were able to walk at a slow and leisurely pace through the not-so-empty and yet empty station. There were no lines at the ticket gates so each of us was able to pass through without much trouble. Then came the ride down the escalator to the subway platforms and once there, we waited about on the platforms for the metro to arrive.
The underground platform was illuminated by a cold lighting overhead, making sure that every corner of the platforms was visibly illuminated. The addition of the numerous safety signs and direction signs that was up against the wall or hanging from the ceiling, when combined with the advertisement monitors against the wall as well as the television monitor built into the wall and was protected by a protective see-through plastic cover, really gave the underground concrete enclosure a stroke of color. Nearby, the vending machines hummed as it kept its merchandise at the right temperature and occasionally came the in-station broadcast announcing the arrival of trains and repeated the safety warnings in regards to where to stand and such.
I stood near the edge of the platform, gazing down the dark tunnel while the others went about doing their own thing in the meantime. Loyd, Noah, and Zaksus were sitting on the benches up against the wall, talking, while Erith, Luna, Irina, and Muria engaged in a brief conversation. By the looks of it, I could tell that Erith was the type that Muria isn't the best at, but it would appear that they're getting along just right. With everyone else comfortable and waiting for the soon arrival of the metro train, I simply stood a few paces from the overall group and waited.
What do I say when I don't know about something? I asked myself as I nervously fidgeted with my fingers.
With a sense of anxiety, I reached my hand into my school bag that I wore on my shoulder like a purse and checked the time on my phone in order to have something to occupy my mind with. After seeing that it was 3:42 PM, I released the device from my hands and allowed it to slip back into the bag in a compartment that is separated from my notebooks and other school-related materials.
A sudden gush of wind accompanied by the sound of a metro train running on the tracks and braking blew in from the tunnels, signaling to me the arrival of the metro train. Like expected, the in-station broadcast announced the arrival of the train, and soon, the headlights of the train appeared in the dark tunnels. The train soon emerged from the dark concrete tunnels and came to a smooth stop before us at this station. The doors opened up, allowing those who wanted to exit get off and allowed those who wanted to enter board the train. I followed after the others and entered the same train car as them, and due to the time of day, there were plenty of seats available in the train car and each of us were able to sit down.
As if intentionally, which I believe is so subconsciously, the seating was split into two sides. The boys sat on the opposite side of us while the girls all sat together. Since my body was one of a female, I sat with the girls and listened in on their conversation. It was on a topic related to our shopping trip: fashion. From what I've heard, Luna's particularly good with pairing clothing as well as style since her dream occupation is a fashion designer.
"She even has some of her designs displayed on issues of Fogue," Erith revealed.
"Fogue!?" Irina appeared quite surprised. "Really?"
"It's just a small corner of a page," Luna blushed and answered.
From what I know, Fogue is one of the more well-known fashion and lifestyle magazines in the world. So having her design featured in issues of the magazines, even if it was just a small corner, is a major accomplishment on its own already. Therefore, it is obvious that Luna must have a talent in this field.
Weird, I thought. She never told me about it in the original timeline...
Maybe it's because she knows this dream of hers would never come into fruition? That's my best guess as in that timeline, her life is ravaged by that disease of hers, rendering her dead at a young age of eighteen years old. However, now that the disease was no longer an issue for her, she's finally able to chase after her aspirations, which I am quite happy that I was able to contribute and make that into a reality. Just by looking at that embarrassed and yet proud smile on her face I could tell that she's really happy and flattered by the compliment.
The metro arrived at our desired station after about ten minutes, and after being notified and reminded by Erith, we all mobilized to the train car door and excited when the doors slid open. It was obvious that we've reached a busier part of the city as the train car had begun to fill up a few stations before we arrived at this one, and in addition to that, the train platforms that we've just stepped foot on were quite busy, with station attendants moving about among the customers of the rail lines. All in all, the general atmosphere was much faster which is reflected in the walking speed of the other pedestrians as well as that of our own.
We made our way to the escalators and rode them up the ground floor. Upon emerging from the underground, we were greeted with fresh air as well as an even busier sight to behold. Crowds of people were going about with their lives in the station, and when we exited, that was even more so. The streets were filled with Palisians as well as tourists from the other provinces in the empire or other nations. The tourists were easy to spot as they all had a look of pleasant surprise and awe on their faces when they witnessed the busy and bustling city scene as well as the view of skyscrapers in the sky.
"This way," Erith smiled in an alluring manner at us over her shoulder before looking away and on the road before her and continued to lead us through the city and towards the mall.
As we walked, I looked around, trying to spot any familiar landmarks nearby that I could use to tell our specific location. This is a part of Nocsinis that I don't usually visit. In fact, I've only been here once, and that was when I was just wandering the city as no one could remember me. But even then, my memory of this location was still foggy, and I am unfamiliar with the streets.
In the nearby sky, I saw the Palace Tower protruding from the ground and into the sky. The Palace Tower, being one of the tallest buildings in Palisia as well as the entire world, is the most iconic landmark of the Imperial Capital. Therefore, it is also a spot where many tourists would visit. But, that's not our destination.
The walk through the busy city streets soon led us to an open, circular plaza where a large water fountain was on and sprayed water up into the air with its beautifully sculpted design. Cold water mists drifted over to us, making contact with the exposed skin on my face and causing it to experience a mild stinging sensation.
"This is a huge mall," Noah commented.
"Yeah," Erith nodded. Then, she looked over at the group of boys and frowned. "I've been meaning to ask, but we're out shopping for women's clothing. Why're you guys here?"
"Come on," Noah responded. "What fun would it be with just boys sitting around in a room? Shopping with girls beats that every day."
"Hm?" Erith looked at him in a judgemental manner, before sighing and finally looking away. "Let's go."
With her starting towards the automatic rotating doors to the large mall building, the rest of us started following after her. As I walked, I couldn't help it but have a bad feeling in my mind.
Is this what they call a woman's sixth sense? I frowned and asked myself.
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