When the World Ends

21; Angel

     "Ooo, what about this?" I ask Alfred, holding up an elegant black dress. 

He smiles. "That's quite fancy miss, but where would you wear that?" 

I give a crooked smile, replacing the dress on the rack. "Nowhere...you're right." I move down the rack, filing through the clothes. 

     "The fanciest event we have here is the political gala in a few days. Select members of parliament and school body are invited. Technically, the public can come too, but rarely do they put forth the effort."

     "Hm-" I start, briefly holding up a T-shirt. "A gala does sound fancy. I remember prepping for it last year with the servants and desperately wishing I could attend. I don't even know who I would have went with. I would have went alone if I could. I'd have given anything to be someone other than a poor servant girl for one night."

Alfred nods. "Typically you would be responsible for your own date."

     "Could I go alone?"

     "I don't see why not, but it would be odd."

I come around the rack of clothes, arms crossed. "This is impossible. I don't even know what kind of clothes I like." I throw my hands up, mouthing 'sorry' when the store clerk looks up at me from the front counter.

     "Well then, luckily for you, there are many more clothing stores here in the shopping district!" Alfred encourages, turning to head for the door. "Come, let's move on."

I nod, following behind him. We skip the next store. I don't have a need for skateboards. Passing the store next in line, Alfred and I both blush, averting our gazes at the sight of mannequins dressed in lingerie glaring down at us from the windows. Eventually, we come to a store that appears to sell business casual clothes and agree to step inside.

     "Daye did say I was going to be working for him. Should I invest in some clothes like this?" I hold up a navy blue blazer pant suit. 

     "I think that would be a marvelous idea, Angel. Especially if you're going to be overseeing the building of the apartment complex. If you'll have to meet with contractors, you'll want them to take you seriously."

I nod, searching through the pant suit sets for what I think would be the right size. Selecting the suit from the rack, I spin around and look for a dressing room. Upon spotting it, I decide it would be a waste of time to try one outfit at a time. Turning back to the bright array of clothes before me. 

One armload later, I slip into the dressing room and peel off my dingy clothes, tossing them onto the small bench beside me. I catch my reflection in the mirror but refuse to look. Instead, I turn around and slowly pull on the first pant suit I had shown Alfred. I thought a black shirt would look best, but he suggested a white one, and now with it on, I think he was correct. Taking a deep breath, I spin around and face the mirror. Biting my lip, I tilt my head, running my hand down the front of my thighs. I'm not sure what I was expecting but... I don't even recognize myself. 

Flipping the latch on the door, I step out and call for Alfred who swiftly appears in the dressing room doorway. He nods and tells me that I look very nice. I smile softly, dipping back into the dressing room. Eventually, I come the end of all the clothes I had chosen to try on and emerge from the dressing room, the clothes I'm taking and leaving behind separated on each arm. Alfred scoops in, taking the clothes I chose to the front to pay.

After leaving the other clothes in their designated spot, I meet Alfred at the door and we're off to the next store!

     "One way to know which kinds of clothes you should look at is by how you want to feel in them." Alfred says, breaking the silence between us as we amble down the sidewalk.