Retrospect

Seventeen

Rather than going back to the apartment building we all were staying at, Murl, Miles, Ana, and I decided it was best to get some things done as soon as possible. Murl said he'd go with Ana to find Sera Section clothes to "borrow" while keeping her tame. If she'd gone with Miles or me, there was guaranteed to be some kind of outburst on her part.

I was left with Miles, so Murl and Ana split up from us and went in the opposite direction. Following behind Miles with his hood up, I kept my hologram on and my head down. The sun went behind the clouds as we pushed through the crowds and the whole city seemed to dim a little. A cold drop of rain hit my skin and soon, thousands of droplets sprinkled the streets. We didn't try to find shelter from it though. Instead, we used it to our advantage.

People fled for cover from the rain, most likely not wanting their expensive clothing to get wet. I was almost shoved to the ground by a woman who held up her hand as if it would shield her from the drops. I reached out to her bag then and was able to fish out a tiny, black box before she ran over to a store in her chunky heels. Stuffing it in my bag, I looked to Miles who had gotten separated from me in the hordes of people escaping the weather.

I pushed through a few civilians, making my way over to him, though I got forced backwards a couple of times. He got to me first and showed me a watch dangling from his fingers. I was about to ask where he'd found it, but before I could say anything, he spun back around just as large sheets of metal emerged (the rain covers). They stretched out from the roofs of the skyscrapers, blocking certain areas of the street from the weather and shrouding people in shade.

Miles ignored the rain covers, still in search of more things and I watched as he observed the crowd, ready to strike and steal again without hesitation.

I'd only stolen the device before so I wasn't used to this. Stealing that was different from what I was doing now. What I was doing now definitely felt wrong and though the people of the Sera Section were more than capable and rich enough to just buy a replacement for their stolen items, I still felt bad taking something I didn't pay for from someone, something that didn't belong to me. I knew this was the only way to get something fancy to wear for the party though, since I'd be detected any other way. After telling myself I was just borrowing, I sucked up my feelings and my eyes locked onto a glimmering, red velvet dress like the ones we had seen a group of women wearing.

I couldn't take my eyes off it. It sure was beautiful, but I didn't know what I'd look like in it. Too bad it was in the window of a heavily-guarded store that only let people of the Sera Section in. I found myself staring at it, the crowds around me blurring away as I was pulled towards it. It looked just like the dress my mom wore for her birthday and I felt like no other dress could get more perfect than that one.

Once I reached the storefront, I just stood there, the red of the dress making my face glow pink as I gaped at it. I glanced back and saw Miles in the act of trying to successfully steal a pair of new, black shoes. I couldn't really imagine him wearing them, but I guess I couldn't really imagine myself in the dress that I turned my attention to again.

I looked towards the bottom of the dress and saw there was a pair of heels to go with it. They were the exact same color and would make me at least two inches taller. I wouldn't be able to steal these things alone, so ultimately I went back into the cover of the crowds on the streets and located Miles. When I reached him and looked down at his bag, I could tell he had a few things already in it. His eyes roved over the section's civilians, the rain pouring down now on the slippery street. "I still need a nice jacket," he mumbled, gaze flicking over the different people around him.

"Yeah, I still need a dress and some shoes," I stated, eyes wandering over to the window with the sparkly dress and heels.

"Hey," Miles piped up, walking past me over to the storefront I'd been gawking at the whole time. He took in a long, dark jacket with buttons right next to the red dress. I followed and stopped next to him as he turned to me, sucking in his breath. "Yikes... 450 dollars. Too bad I don't have a card for that," he said with a playful smile.