unOrdinary one shots

mall trip // seraphina - leilah

 a little chunk of Seraphina's past, ft. Leilah.

- 。。+゜゜。。+゜゜。。+゜゜。。+

  20XX, Seraphina's Town, Local Mall

   "I really don't see why you had to drag me out to the mall, especially when I could have been studying" Seraphina grumbled. Leilah laughed.

  "Exactly! You study so much, you should take a break every now and then." Leilah replied optimistically. The two sisters walked down the mall pathway and gazed into store displays. "Here it is." Leilah says, and they walk into a small boutique. "I'm friends with the owner and he always gives me discounts. Lets go find you the perfect outfit." Leilah strolled between the clothing racks while her sister followed behind.

  Seraphina never agreed with how unfocused and boisterous her sister was. Seraphina always believed that as high-rankers, they should always present themselves as serious and hardworking. Then again, she also admired the endless confidence her sister had. Seraphina, who had been lost in her thoughts about an upcoming assignment, nearly bumped into her older sister when Leilah stopped in her path. "How does this look?" she asks, holding up an outfit.

   Seraphina examined the clothing. It was a simple black flowy t-shirt that was tied at the bottom matched up with a pair of blue jean-shorts. "It's a little plain," Leilah spoke, "but I can find some cool accessories to go with it." 

  "Um, it looks fine."

  "Alright then! Go try it on!" Leilah ushered Seraphina into a dressing room and waited patiently for Seraphina to wear it. At last, Seraphina opened the door and stepped out. "It looks great!" Leilah exclaimed enthusiastically. Seraphina peered at herself in the mirror. The black top made her purple hair stand out against it and the blue shorts brought the whole look together. But to Seraphina, the outfit shouted 'I CAN'T DO ANYTHING RIGHT!' at the top of its lungs.

  "Uhm, its alright I guess. Can we try something else?"

  "Sure!", Leilah says brightly, "Let's find something else." Seraphina continued to follow her sister around the shop, feeling quite bored, wishing to go home. To Seraphina's delight, Leilah finally stopped and held up another one. Hows this? It was a off-white knit sweater on top of a dark blue and red checkered mini skirt. Seraphina looked over it and took it to the dressing room to try on.

  After wearing the outfit, she stepped out again and stood in front of Leilah. "Oooh! This one is really cute and classy!" Seraphina stared at the mirror and all she saw on the outfit was 'I'M A FAILURE!' written across it. She sighed and turned to her sister once again.

  "Uh, can we try something else?", Seraphina said, dejected, "I don't really like this one either."

  "Oh sure!" her sister said, still determined to find a good outfit, "Let's continue." Seraphina and her sister walked around the store. Seraphina sunk deeper into despair with every outfit she tried on, each making her feel pathetic. I can pass tests above my grade level and beat a high-school student in a fight. Why is finding one simple outfit so difficult for me?  Leilah stopped once more and Seraphina didn't even bother to look at the selection when Leilah handed it to her.

   Seraphina entered the dressing room and quickly pulled on the outfit, trying to get it over with as fast as possible. She walked back outside and looked at her reflection. It was a black tank-top with an off-the shoulder purple and blue tie-dye jacket. The look was completed with dark blue ripped jeans. Seraphina searched her brain for a reaction but the only things that came to mind was 'CONFIDENT!'. And it was true. The word seemed to jump from every part of the outft from the jacket to the jeans.

  Seraphina turned to her sister and smiled, saying "We found it." Leilah cheered and the two quickly got checked out. The cashier handed the clothing and accessories to the pair in a blue bag. Leilah took it and the two walked outside. As they waited for their driver, a thought struck Seraphina. "I don't think Mother would like this outfit very much, would she?" Seraphina said, voicing her nervous thoughts.

  Leilah grinned and says "She can't get mad at what she doesn't know about! Anyway, I think a healthy amount of rebelliousness is good as a kid." Seraphina couldn't help but return her sisters confident smile. The anxious feeling in her stomach about her mothers thoughts subsided and she decided to enjoy the rest of the day.

~That Evening~

  Muffled shouts could be heard from downstairs but Seraphina tried to ignore them. These last few months, arguments had occured often between Leilah and their mother but this one seemed louder... and more final. Seraphina crept to the door to listen.

"You're becoming a disgrace! Not only that, you act as a bad influence towards Seraphina! I won't have you corrupt her with your foolishness!"

"Corrupt her?  You've turned her into a machine! She hasn't done half the things children her age do! All she can think about is your wish!"

"How dare you! Seraphina has so much potential. All I've done is give her the opportunity to put that potential into her future! You on the other hand, constantly hinder the work that Seraphina is doing. I won't have you do so any longer"

"Fine then! As long as you continue to treat the two of us this way, I won't stay around! I'm going to leave!"

"Leave? Don't make me laugh. You couldn't stand a day without your Father and I providing for you!"

"You think so? You see Mother, instead of doing everything you say like some sort of  slave, I learned how to live for myself! I'll have no problem living without you!"

"Fine then! Go ahead! Let's see how long it takes for you to come crawling back when you fail again!"

  Seraphina heard shuffling past her door. A few minutes of silence passed which made Seraphina more nervous. Finally, she heard a knock on her door. She opened it and saw Leilah standing there. Leilah immediately rushed to hug her, handed her the blue bag, then held her by the shoulders.

  "Listen Sera, I'm going to be leaving and I won't come back. Promise me you'll live your life to the fullest. Don't let others control you."

  "Leaving? Why? Why are you leaving? Where-"

  "Promise me Sera, please!"

  "I-I promise."

  "Good. I love you Sera, but this is goodbye."

  Goodbye? It can't be! Not now! Seraphina chased her sister down the stairs, the bag still in her hand, just to see her exit the door and give one last wave. Seraphina could do nothing but stand there confused and most of all, afraid. "She'll be back right?" she asked her mother. Right?!

  "We don't need her back. Seraphina, promise me you will not turn out like your sister."

But Seraphina didn't promise. She just stood holding the bag and cried as the one person who made her life a little brighter was torn from her.

✒ - 。。+゜゜。。+゜゜。。+゜゜。。+

so sad I might actually cry. anyway, hope you guys liked my idea of how Leilah left the family and what led up to it 

I made it over a 1000 words and I really put effort into this so I really hope you enjoyed.  

thanks for reading and have a lovely day!

-annalycheee

♥