Adopted by Grofflin

Chapter 13: A Day Out

On the other side of New York City, Groff and Ava were shopping at the mall.

"So, what shops do you like?"

"Chopes?"

"Um. Yeah, like a store that you shop at?"

"I... I've never been to a chope."

"It's shop. And seriously? Girl, you haven't LIVED if you haven't shopped before."

"I grew up in an orphanage, Jon."

"Well, now we're at a mall. It's a shopping centre where there is a bunch of different stores to choose from. Go ahead, pick somewhere to go."

Ava looked up. There was a second floor it seemed as well in this mall. It was all a bit overwhelming, so she pointed to the nearest store which had clothing.

"Ah, Forever 21." Groff said. "Not a bad choice for a 13 year old girl. Let's go!" He grabbed her hand and led her into the store.

"Um, so what do I do?" Ava said, looking at all the racks of clothing.

Groff showed her a t-shirt that just said the word "GROSS" on it and laughed. "You look at the different clothing and pick out what you like."

Ava felt a little intimidated. There was a lot to choose from, and she'd never owned more than two pairs of pants, two shirts, and a pair of shoes. Well, and her nun outfit. But she left that behind.

"Just start looking. I know it's not exactly my place to say this, but you could use a wardrobe update."

Ava nodded and wandered off, and Groff followed her at his own pace. She ran her hands through a bunch of shirts and pulled one out to look at it. "This is nice." She said. "We pay money, right Jon?"

"Yep, you can find the price tag..." He pulled the tag out from inside the shirt. "Here!"

Ava examined it. "Twenty dollars?!" She exclaimed. "That's-- I've never even seen a twenty dollar bill in my life! That's more money than I'm probably worth!"

Groff laughed. "Twenty dollars isn't that much. Here, I'll hold onto the shirt so you can keep looking around."

---

Ava walked out of the store with a bag in hand. Groff had paid for it all on a card he called his credit card, and that the IRS was would leave him alone eventually. She had gotten a tank top with the "Coca-Cola" logo on it, whatever that was, and a pink and yellow striped t-shirt.

"Anything else catching your eye?" Groff asked her.

There was a store mostly showcasing shoes on the other side of the mall. "Um, can we go there?" Ava said, pointing. "To Ssss... Skechers?"

"Yeah, sure."

They made their way down and into Skechers. Ava immediately saw what she wanted. Beautiful Twinkletoe light up shoes with wings down the side. They were blue, one of her favourite colours second only to her most favourite which was off-grey.

"Jon... can I please get them?"

Groff looked at the price tag and Ava looked too. Seventy dollars and eighty cents. "Oh. Oh that's a lot. You don't have to buy me these, I know money isn't easy to come by..." Ava said.

"It's nothing. You need a new pair of shoes, and they're an investment."

"In...vestment?"

"Nevermind. Try them on first, so we know they fit."

Ava nodded and took the shoes off the shelf. She sat down at a bench and took off her current, worn down flats. She slipped the Twinkletoes onto her feet and wiggled her toes. They fit like a glove.

"They're perfect." Ava said.

"Then let's pay."

The two walked up to the counter and Groff paid for the shoes in the same way he paid for her shirts.

"Hey, after this, can you show me what Coca-Cola is?" Ava asked and got a weird look from the cashier.

"Sure, Ava. Thanks, have a great day." He said, taking the box of her shoes from the employee.

Ava smiled and followed Groff out of the store, who said he was going to take her to the food court.