unbreakable heaven • awsten knight

1.12 holiday shopping traffic

houston tx
december 2008

By the time the weekend rolls around, Awsten has an idea.

It's Saturday, and Awsten is at the mall, handing out flyers with Jawn for their band's show in a month's time.

It's busy with the usual holiday shopping traffic, so he thought it'd be the best time to do some promotion, with all of the extra people out and about.

Jawn has taken a brief break to grab smoothies for the two of them, when Awsten spots a jewellery store opposite him.

It's newly opened, clearly ready to rake in all the Christmas revenue, which sparks an idea that's already half-formed in his mind over the past couple of days.

Awsten has four remaining flyers in his hand when Jawn returns, since they'd already been here for a couple of hours— but when he returns, Awsten passes them off to him forcefully.

"Woah, hey— What're you doing?" Jawn questions, as he shoves the flyers into his hand.

"Need to go," he murmurs, feeling around in his pockets for his wallet, eventually finding it and pulling it out. "There's only four left. Make sure they get handed out. I'll be back," Awsten rushes, turning on his heels and heading for the jewellery store.

Jawn just stares at him oddly as he watches Awsten walk away, heading straight for the jewellery store, but he brushes it off easily, focusing on the task at hand.

Awsten feels a little out of his depth as soon as he's inside; all the surfaces are white, and everything is shiny. He doesn't quite know where to avert his eyes first, so he takes a couple of seconds, blinks slowly for a moment, before walking towards the display cabinet labelled 'Necklaces'.

Most of the displayed necklaces are flashy and expensive; Awsten finds his eyes widening at some of the prices.

"Can I help you, sir?" A woman's voice startles him, snapping his attention away from the three-digit price tag in front of him.

"I, uh—" Awsten clears his throat, unsure if he likes being called sir so formally— he's not even an adult yet. "I was just, uhm—"

"Christmas shopping?" The woman cuts in, gently, with a warm smile, which seems to relax him slightly, as he offers her a nod. "So, is it for your mother? Or, girlfriend, maybe?"

"Oh, she's not— I don't have a girlfriend," he murmurs, feeling a little embarrassed. "She's a girl— that's a friend, but she's not my girlfriend. She, uh—" Awsten pauses to take a breath, realising how much he's tripping over his words. "We're doing a Secret Santa and her necklace broke, so I wanted to get her a new one," he says, finally able to string a coherent sentence together.

"Secret Santa, huh? Okay," the woman nods slowly, and thoughtfully, giving Awsten a moment to glance down at her name tag, seeing that it reads Harriet. "So, I'm guessing you're looking at a slightly lower price range than this selection?" Harriet raises an eyebrow, gesturing towards the display in front of them, earning a swift nod. "Follow me," she says, nodding to the opposite side of the store, and Awsten follows her as she walks.

Harriet stops at a row of counters, moving past the displays of rings and bracelets, to the cabinet displaying more necklaces.

Awsten is relieved to see that substantial drop in price compared to the necklaces he'd just seen, and it makes him feel a little more at ease that he might actually be able to buy something in here.

"Do you have any idea what kind of necklace you'd want to get her?" Harriet asks, standing opposite Awsten at the counter, as he looks down at the glass display case.

"Uhm..." He frowns, suddenly feeling more unsure of himself again.

"Okay, don't worry," Harriet cuts in, gently. "Does she wear more silver or gold jewellery?" she questions.

"Silver," Awsten answers, confidently.

"Great," Harriet offers him a smile. "Now, do you want something simple? Something big and shiny?"

"Simple, I think," he replies, with a nod.

"What kind of charm do you think she'd like?" She continues, wanting to help him find the best gift possible.

Awsten pauses to think for a moment— his eyebrows dipping together has he does so. "Have you maybe got, uhm, something with like, uh— anything music related?"

"We do," Harriet nods, bending down to open the cabinet, using the keys attached to the lanyard around her neck.

She pulls out a tray, presenting him with a selection of pendants, exhibiting a few music related items.

There's a small guitar, and two different kinds of microphones, but Awsten doesn't like any of them. They seem tacky, bulky, and too big— he doesn't think they're Ellie's style at all.

He's ready to ask Harriet if he can look at a different selection, before another charm catches his attention: a silver music note.

It's fairly inexpensive, but not so much so that it's cheap— it's in his price range. Most of all, though, it's simple and pretty.

"That one," Awsten points to the charm, seeming much more certain in himself.

"Yeah?" Harriet raises her eyebrows, with a hopeful smile.

"Yes," he shoots her a similar expression in return. "That's the one."

Harriet takes the charm out of its display case and locks the other pendants away again, before ushering Awsten to follow her towards the cash register.

"This one is thirty dollars," she tells him, scanning the item through. "Is that okay?"

"Uh— yes," Awsten nods, pulling his wallet out from his back pocket. "Yeah, it should be," he mumbles, quickly flicking through his remaining cash.

He knows the budget for Secret Santa was only twenty dollars maximum— he doubts that most people will even be spending that much.

However, technically, this isn't even a Secret Santa gift; it's just a regular Christmas gift. So, he's allowed to spend a little extra, right? Even if it does mean that he's only left with roughly seven dollars in his wallet.

...