When we get to the mall, Nora looks like a little kid in a candy store. Brighton, on the other hand, trudges behind us forcing us to walk slower so we don't lose her. As we continue walking through the mall, the candy store ironically comes into view, getting Nora excited. She points and exclaims "Finally!" I can't help but laugh. Even though Nora is sixteen she has the maturity level of a seven year old. We walk through the entrance and are greeted by a short man wearin a striped apron and matching hat and a grand black mustache cover almost his whole mouth. He hold his tray of turtle candies out to us. "Free samples?" he asks in a thick German accent. We each take one, well, except for Nora. She sneaks four.
"Hey, it's free," she thinks when I give her a look. The candy man doesn't seem to notice that Nora has taken so much candy, for he is already onto the next customers. Nora loves candy so much that is kind of our mall-tradition to go to the candy store, so we know the drill. We each grab an empty bag, and for the sake of color coordination , fill it up with multicolor jellybeans in the order of the colors of the rainbow. As we walk up to the counter to pay, Nora's eyes grow wide. I look to where she is looking and notice the boy behind the counter. Oh. My. God. He must be new because I think I would remember if I had seen a guy that attractive working here before.
When it is our turn I look at his name tag and see that his name is Austin. "Hi," he says in a buttery yet rugged voice. "Did you find everything you were looking for?" He asks. "Sure did!" Nora says in a singsong voice. I glare at her and think, "No boys! He'll find out our secrets!" But Nora proceeds to ignore me. "So, what grade are you in?" She asks and I roll my eyes. He frowns. "I'm a sophmore...in college." "Oh." Her cheeks turn a little red and she ducks her head. "That will be fourteen dollars and nine cents," he says, clearly not amused by Nora's atempt at flirting. I hand him the money. "Keep the change," I say and rush out.
Brighton starts laughing hysterically as if she had just seen the funniest thing. "Alright, alright," I grab her shoulders to calm her. "Where to next?" "The food court! I'm starving!" Nora says. Leave it to food to make her forget that she had just embarrassed herself in front of one of the hottest guys in this town.
We walk past vaious kiosks and stores before the smell of pretzels hits my nose. My stomach growls and I suddenly realize that the only thing I've had to eat all day was a small bowl of fruit. We all agree that Panda Express is the best choice for today and I happily order honey walnut shrimp. The only open table we can find is one next to the kids' play area so we have to speak loudly in order to hear each other over all the shouting.
"Where should we go next?" I ask.
"The bookstore?" Brighton suggests.
"Ugh, no way! Everytime we go there you never even buy anything. All you do is look for cute boys that like to read because you think they're smart." I shake my head. Am I the only one out of the three of us whose main goal was not to find a boyfriend?
"Fine then. If we didn't come to the mall to scope out the hot guys, what do you want to do?" Nora asks. I tap my chin and then hold my finger up.
"You know Homecoming's coming up," I say. A wide smile grows on both their faces.
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"I need a size four," Brighton says as a dress gets tossed over the door to the dressing room at Dillard's. I catch it just before it hits the ground and put it back on the hanger. I went back to the many rack of formal dresses set up just in time for the Homecoming dance. I searched through the dress that Brighton had picked out- a sparkly jade green pencil dress that was sleeveless on one side and had a long sleeve on the other- and finally found a four. A few minutes later she came out holding the bottom down as she walked. She sttod in front of the mirror and frowned.
"First of all, I can't wear long sleeves, and second, it's way too short." With that she goes back into her dressing room.
I go back to the racks to find something for me. I grab a few in my size and go to an empty dressing room to change. The first one is floor-length and bright red. It has one strap that has three large flowers on it. The back is strappy and shows off my smooth skin. I look at the price tag and laugh, taking it off quickly. The next one is light yellow with a silver belt. With my light skin and red hair, I can't pull off yellow. Finally I put on an emerald green dress that stops a few inches above my knees. The top half was covered in matching green sequins and the very top was lined with silver ones. I stepped out to see Nora and Brighton both waiting for me by the mirror. When they see me they rise in awe. Nora's dress is a short blue and pink one that is fitted at the top and flares out at the bottom. Brighton's is long and flowy and starts out black at the top but turns into a light purple at the bottom.
"Good thing Mom wanted us to hang out so bad that she gave me her credit card," I say pulling it out of my purse. Nora pretends to reach for it but I pull it away and laugh before I put it safley back in my purse. As I pay for the dresses Nora and Brighton are already going into Sephora.
"Um, can I get those in a bag?" I ask as the lady puts them each in individual covers.
I walk into Sephora, already carrying all the bags from the stores we've visited, to see Nora and Brighton holding various pallettes, brushes, and lipsticks, proving that I will have to carry yet another bag. I walk up to Brighton who is already in line to check out. "I'm going to put all these bags in the car. Meet me in Bath and Body, okay?" "Okay."
I use my back to open the door leading to the parking lot and start the search for my Jeep. I finally find it and begin opening the door when another door bumps into me. I let out a surprised yelp as a girl tries to apologize. I turn around to see a dark-haired girl opening the passenger-seat door to a small white car and on the other side I see none other than Austin. I assure the girl whom I assume is Austin's girlfriend that I'm going to live.
"Hey, you're the girl from the shop today. You're friend tried flirting with me?" Austin gives me a half smile and I mumble a 'yeah' before putting the rest of the bags in my car and speed-walking back into the mall. I gather up my sisters who have managed to go to two more stores before I returned. The sun is beginning to set as we pile everything into my Jeep. On the ten minute ride home Nora rides shotgun so we are forced to listen to all her Kpop and Broadway music, but as soon as 'What is this Feeling' from Wicked comes on we all perk up a little and get into full character as we sing all the way home.
We enter the house laughing at Nora's impression of Glinda, but the laughter soon stops when we realize we have guests. I decide to break the awkward silence.
"Hello, Dr. Paver."
YOU ARE READING
The Mismunandi
Teen Fiction"You have a gift that no one understands. I need you to know that I left to protect you three and your mother. To find answers. To find out what we are. To find out why we're here. You may not understand now, but someday, you will thank me. I love y...
