Ayda: The Explosive Girl

Shopping Spree

Ayda had a decision to make. Faced with the extreme, oversized, and materialistic nature of American consumerism, as a foreigner she had two choices. She could either spend the next however long being constantly surprised by every new thing she saw, or simply ignore and accept them as the standard for first-world living. She chose the latter option, if only for sanity's sake.

However, walking through the most massive shopping center she'd ever seen, each new step tested her determination. Everything about it exceeded her expectations, which was both good and bad. Jacqueline had told her about places like these, about all the different stores, but Ayda could never have imagined the scale of it all. Every few steps was a new outlet, or kiosk, or shiny new car for sale, which caused Ayda to wonder how it even got in the building at all. Being at an odd hour—after lunch but before most folks got out of work—the concentration of people was not quite as dense as she'd predicted. It wasn't quite on par with the airport, but still more individuals than she was used to dealing with.

Ayda couldn't help but look around, mesmerized despite her best efforts to remain mostly calm. She derived great enjoyment from peering into each storefront and trying to guess what sort of goods it specialized in. There were several clothing stores, little curio venders, a few different technology emporiums, an arcade full of things called video games, and even a hole-in-the-wall selling old style weapons. She honestly would have been content to spend the rest of the day in there, but sword shopping wasn't the point of the journey. No, Jacqueline had bigger plans for her.

The blonde strode cheerfully at her right shoulder, with Emma supervising a step behind. Of course, Jacqueline had a specific goal in mind, but she allowed Ayda the time to look around, to take in her new surroundings. Frankly, Ayda found it a bit awkward, as if she was leading the pack yet had no idea where to go. She spoke to hopefully alleviate any discomfort.

"What is this place called again?" This was perfect, because it filled the air and also asked a genuine question.

"It's a shopping mall," answered Jacqueline, "a place where a whole bunch of stores are all connected together."

"Yeah but, why?" Ayda continued. "What's the point?"

"For convenience sake, so you don't have to go all over the city to get the things you need," explained Emma. Ayda pondered this for a moment, tilting her head pensively.

"So, it's kinda like a farmer's market, then?" She concluded.

"Exactly," confirmed Emma, "except with more generalized merchandise."

"And all indoors," Jackie added.

They traveled for a moment longer in silence while Ayda contemplated all she'd just learned. It really made a lot of sense to her. People in big cities were busy. She'd already been privy to just how long it took to get anywhere in such a massive, crowded space, even by car. Stopping at several different locations to pick up a variety of things could easily take an entire day. City folk simply didn't have the time for nonsense like that. Shopping malls, while undoubtedly vapid, were necessary.

"I guess I just don't understand how you can fit so much stuff in one place. It's like... like everything I could ever want is right here, right in front of me." mused Ayda.

"It is impressive, when you think about it," agreed Emma.

Jacqueline, sensing another awkward pause coming on, took matters into her own hands, quite literally. She grabbed Ayda's wrist and began to drag her ahead.

"Come on, the store I want to take you to is up here. I think you'll love it!"

"Alright, alright, don't pull me," Ayda went along, more out of confusion than anything else.