"Since we didn't get to buy a birthday dress earlier, let's get one now," Mom said, pulling me towards a chic boutique. The dresses there were really beautiful, definitely expensive. "Go ahead, Charlie, choose a dress you like." My gaze fell on the nearest dress. It was a green sequin dress that swept the ground. It looked amazing on the mannequin, and hopefully on me too. I searched for the price tag and oh my gosh... "Mom, are you sure it's a good idea to buy a dress here?" I asked, showing her the price tag. "It's really expensive." "So what?" Mom smirked. "Just go choose one. It's for you." "But Mom-" I began but was quickly cut off. "Don't worry about it, Charlie," Mom said. "Go. Go choose a nice dress." I begrudgingly looked around the shop and started choosing a dress. I settled on a sleeveless powder pink lace dress with a satin ribbon bow around the waist. Price looked okay too, compared to the other dresses in this shop.
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"Mom, I think I'll take this one," I said, motioning for her to come over. She came and took a good look at the dress, even feeling the hem between her fingers. "What do you think?" "I think it's nice," Mom nodded, feeling the fabric. "Alright, where's the salesgirl that was following us around?" "Yes, ma'am?" Said salesgirl appeared out of nowhere. "How may I help you?" "Do you have this dress in medium?" Mom asked, pointing to the dress. "Yes," the girl nodded, hurrying away to get the dress. She returned with a black garment bag. She zipped it open and took out the same dress the mannequin was wearing. "Here, you go." Mom took it and held it up on my chest. "Looks good. You wanna try it on?" "Sure," I shrugged. Mom turned to the salesgirl again. "Is there a fitting room?" The girl ushered us to one and pointed towards it. I took the dress and went in, closing the door behind me. Surprisingly big for a fitting room. I put the dress on, and pulled it down with difficulty, before looking at myself in the mirror. Looks good, a little tight, but amazing! I walked out of the booth and twirled in front of Mom. "What do you think? Is it nice?" Mom frowned. "Too tight. One size bigger should do." she turned to the salesgirl. "Do you have a large?" She thinks I'm fat. Ouch... The salesgirl hurried off while I changed out of that dress and back into my tank top and capri pants. She returned with another garment bag and handed it to me. "This is the last one," the girl handed me the garment bag, breathless. I entered the fitting room again and tried it on. It fit me well, not too tight, not too loose. Just right. I checked myself out in the mirror and came out again. "It's just right," Mom said with a satisfied smile. "Okay, change out of it, we'll buy this dress." I nodded and handed the smaller dress to the salesgirl before going back into the fitting room. I wore my clothes again and went out, the dress folded over the crook of my arm. We then followed the salesgirl to the counter to pay for the dress. The salesgirl packed it back into the garment bag while the cashier handled the payment. "So where to now?" I asked, taking the bag from the counter. "You hungry?" Mom asked with a grin. "We barely just had breakfast," I pointed out, grabbing Mom's arm, a habit I've picked up over the years whenever I go out with her. "Okay then," Mom shrugged with a chuckle. "Then let's go to the accessory shop." "Mom, we barely know our way around this mall," I frowned. "How are we supposed to know where the accessory shop is? In fact, does this mall even have one?" "Only one way to find out," Mom said, pointing towards the directory podium by the wall. "Come on." So we went to it, and I was left to watch Mom pore over the touch screen on the podium. She suddenly let out a satisfied sound and grabbed my arm, pointing at the name of some shop called BLING BLING! "Are you sure that's an accessory shop and not a jeweller?" I asked, frowning at the name on the screen. "Mom...?" "Those two are basically the same thing," Mom said, leaving me behind. "Come on." "Hey!" I ran after her, grabbing her arm like I usually do. "What if it's expensive?" "Only one way to find out," Mom said, sounding determined. Can she stop saying that?
Turns out, it wasn't a jeweller, thankfully. I don't want Mom grinding money for no particular reason. As it is, we just moved out and moved in. Surely, there's some financial stuff going on. So we chose a necklace and a nice pair of earrings before leaving. "Are you hungry now?" Mom asked as soon as we left the shop. "Yeah, sure, I guess," I said, looking at the time. It was around ten. "Don't you think it's a little too early for lunch?" "Not for brunch," Mom smirked. "Come on." She pulled me to a cafe downstairs and we both sat down. We had a second breakfast and went home. I'm thankful we already unpacked everything. Being surrounded by stacks of boxes is not a pretty sight. Especially not on your birthday. "So what do you want for lunch?" Mom asked, taking her shoes off next to me. I turn to her in surprise. "Mom, we just ate." "Your brother and sister haven't," Mom shrugged. "Besides, we aren't gonna eat now. But we still need to start preparing, right?" I wracked my brain for an idea but eventually shrugged. "Not sure, Mom." "Hmm..." Mom frowned thoughtfully. "What do you feel like eating?" I tried to think of something, and the first thing that came to mind was something meaty. My mouth watered at the thought. "Chicken?" I shrugged. Mom snorted. "Chicken what? Curry?" I shook my head. As much as I liked curry, I'm not in the mood for something spicy. "What do you have in mind?" I countered. "I already gave you an idea." Mom thought for a moment and lit up. "What about chicken schnitzel?" My mouth watered at the thought. I nodded, and she quickly got up, pulling me off the couch. I tied my dark hair up into a top knot and followed her. "Okay, let's start," Mom said, digging the fridge. I washed my hands and sat myself on the chair next to the kitchen table. "Let's see... what have we got here? Do we have everything...?" She rummaged in the fridge and groaned. "Oh no..." "Why?" I asked, getting off the chair to see what's up. "We don't have much stuff!" Mom sighed, taking out two packs of chicken keel from the freezer. "But we have whatever we need for the schnitzel, don't worry. In fact, that's all we got!" Talk about lucky... "Oh wow," I chuckled, ripping open the pack of keel before soaking them in water. "We have eggs, right?" "Yeah, it's on the counter," Mom said, nodding towards the carton of eggs on the counter while emptying her hands on the table. "Alright, where's the meat tenderiser?" I dug I the drawer under the counter and pulled out the meat tenderiser to start making lunch.
"So what's for lunch?" Chris asked as soon as he got into the car behind me. "Chicken schnitzel," I grinned. "Technically my idea." "Yeah, whatever's chicken is definitely your idea," Chris teased. "Anyway, we not gonna have any parties today?" "A party of four's good enough, right?" Mom chuckled. "The real one's this Saturday." "Are you inviting anyone?" I asked Chris. "I think my classmates are more than enough. That's enough strangers for now, if you ask me." "Nah, they seem kinda like jerks," Chris said with a scowl. "And I don't want any of those idiots near my innocent little sister." Aww! Who's cutting onions in here? But seriously though. Are his classmates that bad? "Are they really that bad?" I couldn't help but ask. "Maybe worse than you imagine," Chris frowned. "Anyway, I don't want them in my house too." "Have you made any friends so far?" Mom asked. "Well, there's that guy who sits next to me," Chris shrugged. "Name's Dylan." "Is he good?" Mom asked. "Seems nice, but I'm not sure," Chris said, shifting slightly in his seat. "Anyway, what about Charlie?" "Barbara?" I shrugged. "I mean, she did offer to hang out since her house is pretty nearby, apparently." "Whoa looks like we don't have to replace her foundation with mud, after all!" Chris grinned. "Seriously?" I rolled my eyes. "Chris, why?" "Let's just go pick up your sister," Mom chuckled. Mom drove down the road and started driving towards my school. Oh yeah, I forgot that we have to pass my school to go to Charlene's college. This isn't good... The students were bustling about outside, and the security guard was making sure that the girls crossed the road safely. He wasn't paid to do that, but he still did it to make sure we safely crossed the road. I slid down on the seat when we passed the gates, and Chris started laughing. "Truant girl on board!" Chris shouted and made as if he was talking to the security guard. "Chris, stop it..." I frowned.
