This ain't a diary, this is a - mirror?

Chapter 39: Don't Do This At Home... Actually, You Shouldn't Do This Anywhere

"Luckily, I decided to do some research beforehand." Sharon smiled as her tail flicked excitedly behind her. "There's one right next to the mall... and a few stores in the mall itself. I'm sure you all know how to get to the mall... so let's go!"

The group of five trotted down the street. The streetlights were still off and pale sunlight trickled down onto the concrete ground. A few dogs - mostly students and a few residents - padded along both sidewalks, either chatting with their friends or walking silently. Samantha could've sworn that as soon as they walked onto the sidewalk, they became the loudest group on the street.

She hung back for a moment to have some time to herself. The sound of students chatting melded in with the sound of birdsong and cars, then all background noise seemed to become a blur as she walked. Samantha basked in how familiar it felt - walking home with Astrantia after a long day at middle school and quietly listening to the sound of everything else.

I wonder how Astrantia's doing...

Samantha was snapped out of her thoughts as someone fell back to join her. "A bit out of it today, huh?" Luna asked. "I understand. Sometimes you just get too caught up in everything around you and you just want some time to reflect. Or just some time to yourself."

"Yeah, kinda." Samantha admitted. "I was just... reminiscing the old times... and wondering how Astr - my sister was doing."

"I see." Luna nodded. "You know, it might not seem like it, but... I'm glad that all my siblings are in the same year as me. I... I've never had to experience being away from my siblings for long, so I don't... truly understand, but... I kinda do, in a way." Luna paused for a moment. "Well, if you're that worried about her... you could arrange a day to meet up and just talk."

"Talk...?" Samantha echoed. "Well... I guess... that would be possible."

I've never actually had to... arrange a meeting to just talk to my sister before...

"I guess I'll try." She finally decided. Luna gave her a small smile and nodded. "Well, good luck on that whenever you choose to do that. But first, how about you just have a little fun and just don't worry too much, okay?"

"O... okay." Samantha nodded, still deep in thought. Finally, she shot Luna a small smile. "I'll try, I suppose. Well, why don't we catch up to the others? I'm sure they have a lot to say."

"That's the spirit!" Luna grinned and sped up her pace. "Let's go and have some fun!"

———

The five of them trotted through the mall with two shopping carts. "This is an... unusual way for people to hang out, but I guess it works!" Elena chuckled and grabbed a box of cereal off a shelf. "Hey, Sam, what brand of cereal do you prefer? I'm trying to expand my selection at the moment but I don't know what to get..."

"Uh..." Samantha scanned the shelf for a moment, then reached for a box. "This one, maybe? I used to have this all the time as a pup..."

"Honey flavoured, huh?" Elena grabbed a few boxes of it and tossed some in the cart. "I'll just try all of them."

"Are you... sure you can eat that many before it expires?" Samantha asked carefully, trying to discretely count how many boxes of cereal Elena had thrown in.

"You haven't seen me with cereal," Elena grinned and hurried up to catch up to the others. "Hey, guys, are there any snacks you recommend?"

"Hm?" Sharon glanced over her shoulder. "Well, how about... granola bars for a healthier alternative to chips?"

"Ew." Luna commented. Elena simply shrugged and grabbed a pawful of those. "Sure, why not?"

Samantha made a face at the half-full shopping cart. "I'm not going to be paying for all the stuff you bought."

Elena simply smiled, mischief dancing in her eyes, and skipped down the aisle.

———

"Careful! You're pushing it too fast stop AUGH -"

"I said I'd keep them out of mischief. At least I tried." Sharon watched the two siblings speed down the empty aisle on an empty shopping cart with a slightly amused expression. "Eh, they've gotten into worse situations. They'll be fine."

"You... sure about that?" Samantha questioned. Directly after that, several cans of food toppled off the shelf as Luna's tail brushed against them.

"I think they're going to crash." Elena offered helpfully. A split second later, there was a sharp bark and a loud clang.

"Oh dear," Sharon muttered as she trotted over to the dented shopping cart and the fallen tins and boxes. "This is why you should be careful and not play on the equipment," she scolded the two.

Luna had stopped pushing the cart a few seconds before the impact, but had fallen back onto a few boxes. Zephyr had been in the cart at the time but he seemed unhurt, if not a little dazed.

Elena trotted over and helped Luna out of the boxes. Luna ran a paw through her dark, messy hair and stretched out her limbs. "Thanks."

Samantha slowly padded over and picked up a box. "Let's tidy up before they find out." She pointed out as she stacked it on top of another box. "Thank goodness these are empty..."

As Luna and Samantha stacked up the boxes, Elena trotted over to Zephyr and Sharon. "You okay?" She asked as she helped him out of the dented cart.

"Er, yeah, totally. Thanks for the, er, concern." Zephyr dusted himself off and extracted the shopping cart from the wall.

"You'd better go and tidy up what you knocked over," Sharon sighed, "and I don't want to see you two pulling off a stunt like that again."

Zephyr nodded. "Alright, Shay, I won't." He picked up a tin can that had fallen when he had crashed into the wall and replaced it on the shelf. Elena hid a smile and helped him replace the fallen objects back on the appropriate shelf. Behind them, Sharon examined the shopping cart and prodded experimentally at it, trying to push the dents back into position.

"There's no one coming our way, so I can just assume they didn't find out." Luna remarked as she padded over. "Do you think the supermarket's this empty all the time?"

"Huh... that is kinda weird." Elena scanned the seemingly empty aisles and frowned. "This is supposed to be a popular company... and it's not that late. I wonder where everyone is...?"

"You know, now that you guys are talking about it... there's a bit of a chilling atmosphere to this place." Samantha shivered. "Weren't the aisles near the front packed...?"