𝐏𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐮𝐭 𝐏𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬 ➤ 𝑹. 𝑩𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒍𝒆𝒚

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍

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"𝙋𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪'𝙧𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙣𝙖 𝙗𝙚"

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𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟐𝐧𝐝, 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲

𝐀𝐑𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐓 Star Court mall, Robin cursed loudly as a car pulled out in front of her, stealing the park she'd had her eye on and consequently causing her to drive up to the next level. That wouldn't have been a problem except the next level had no undercover parking, and it was a steaming hot day.

Valerie winced slightly as they arrived at the top level, her eyes adjusting to the sudden brightness. Robin glanced over at her momentarily, her eyes squinting in equal pain. She parked as close as possible to the nearest entrance.

As soon as the vehicle stopped, they both raced out of the car, Valerie snatching her bag and booking it to the first bit of shade she could find. They treaded along it until they reached a set of glass doors, inside Valerie could see it led straight to an escalator that would take them into a large, food-filled airconditioned building. Heaven.

"Oh my god, I am never leaving this place," Valerie breathed as she stepped onto the escalator, the cool rush of air tingling pleasantly on her skin.

"This weather sucks," Robin agreed from beside her, shoving her hands into her pockets. Valerie did a double take of the girl's outfit, "You're the one wearing two layers — oh wait, internal crisis, right? I'll shut up."

Robin sent her a snarky look; indeed, she was still wearing multiple layers, "I wasn't aware you knew how to."

"I like to have the element of surprise," Valerie replied simply, as a comfortable silence settled in. The pair walked side by side, weaving expertly through the crowd.

"Hold on," the brunette ordered suddenly, nudging Robin lightly on the arm as she dashed off to the left, giving her no choice but to follow. The two girls arrived at a large, bright-coloured, red, and white themed cart, steaming with the delicious smell of churros.

There were two foods that Valerie had dubbed her 'ride or die'. She was known to have a sweet tooth, likely inherited from her father since Aminah had always been more of a savoury dish lover, and both foods were full of heart attack inducing sugary goodness. 

The first was Pisang Goreng, which essentially translated to 'fried banana', a traditional Indonesian dessert that Aminah would serve up on days when she felt Valerie had earned it. It could be served plain, but Valerie would always have hers coated in honey and sugar, sweetened to the max. The dish was accompanied with Aminah's warm smile and tight embrace, it felt like home. 

The second — and the food that was being teased before her — was churros. While Jim had always preferred donuts, Valerie liked the crunchy texture of churros, and the selection of dipping sauces served with it. It reminded her mildly of Pisang Goreng, but much sweeter, and significantly easier to locate in the very white town of Hawkins. 

Valerie stepped up to the woman serving the treats and quickly scanned the list of choices, she quickly turned back to Robin, "Want one?"

Robin shook her head and hung back, pointing to her uniform, "No can do — company rules."