Chapter One: Rose
The day had started grey, stayed grey, and turned darker as I walked the streets. Before I had nearly been blown over by the forceful winds that had spurned from nowhere, but they had died down as the afternoon wore on. Now it was only hot, and I wished for the strong breeze to return. Everything was too still, and sweat was beading up along my hairline as the hot summer heat beat down on my neck. I was stuck wandering the streets though until I had found new clothes; my current ones were starting to attract unwanted attention.
A middle-aged lady with a bob looked me over and gave me ‘the look’. The one that was full of only half-hidden judgment, and the one that never failed to leave me without some trace form on anxiety. I quickly dodged into a store without looking at the sign, only to see it was a high-end wedding dress boutique. The stares I attracted in the strong floral-scented building were doubly worse than the one I had gotten outside. I ducked my head and ducked back out, blushing all the while.
In the half-second I had stopped, the rain had started. It was only a drizzle at first, but quickly worsened into slanted sheets. It was cold too, and only felt good on my over-heated skin for a few moments before it became uncomfortable. I walked a minute more before running into another store for shelter, and was happy to see that it was exactly what I was looking for.
I walked through the aisles of t-shirts, warming up and looking up and down the rows to make sure there weren’t any employees around. They seemed to be invested in their own jobs enough to pay little attention to my intentions, and so I grabbed an inconspicuous blue shirt and pair of denim shorts without any sensors before making my way to the dressing room.
A girl my age with a completely different set of problems handed me a number and directed me to the stall to change. I did so quickly, looking myself over in the mirror and running my hand through my hair. It was hard to even run it through, having not bathed in a week, though I tried my best to comb my fingers through the blonde waves while looking over the rest of my appearance.
I had dark circles forming under my already dark eyes, giving an utterly exhausted impression. The fluorescent lights weren’t helping- nor were they helping my light complexion- though they did make me look as though I weighed slightly more than I did in reality. That was something to be grateful for.
I put my old clothes back on the hangers and walked back to the front of the dressing room, hurriedly placing them on the return rack.
“You didn’t like them?” The girl asked.
“They were a little big.” I said apologetically, and she nodded, not suspecting a thing.
I made my way to the exit, walking as swiftly as I could without attracting attention. As I ducked my head passing by a group of other girls close to my age, a stand off to the right caught my attention. It was a simple display, advertising a new brand of shampoo and conditioner. It made me stop in the middle of the aisle, contemplate for a second and then walk over to it. I took a bottle of shampoo without thinking twice about it, discreetly putting it in my large brown bag I’d had slung over my shoulder.
I should have noticed the security guard. I had been taking clothes and other things for too long not to glance around before taking things, but I had been sloppy at the worst possible time. So as I turned around to walk out the door, a large hand wrapped itself around my forearm and took me by surprise.
“Miss?” He asked, looking at me expectantly, with his hand still gripping me.
“Miss? Can I please take a quick look inside your bag?” I was frozen, scanning the store for a way out. An exit towards the back wasn’t being blocked by anyone. I tensed and prepared to run for it.