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a day at the mall
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. ✧ ・゜. +・o ✧
The bus swayed slightly as it made its way to Starcourt Mall, which was, according to Max, where they were going to have fun. Alina found herself a little apprehensive about this, because she didn't think they were going to watch a movie there. She might have to brave the clothing stores she'd never set foot in, which scared her, just a little bit. Even though Linda was usually the furthest thing from her mind—she didn't deserve to be tormenting her, didn't deserve to have root in her brain—Alina found herself going back to her old ways as she stared out the window, remembering all of the uncomfortable shopping trips she'd been forced through. Squeezed into tight dresses, being chided for sitting the wrong way or itching her swollen legs. Those days, Alina became her mother's doll, something to merely look pretty perched atop a shelf, nothing more.
"Max," her voice came out a lot shakier than she would've liked. "Are you sure going to the mall is a good idea? I mean, what if we went swimming or something instead?"
"Alina, everything's going to be okay," Max reassured. The two were sitting together, while El sat across from them, not seeming to be paying attention to this conversation. Like Alina, she'd never really had her own style before—right now, she was wearing a plaid shirt that looked about three sizes too big for her. "We're not going to make you try anything on. You can find what you like, and if you decide not to get anything, we won't judge you."
Max knew about Alina's mom. She'd told her last year, on a day where everything had rushed through her all at once. Her dad, the possession, the scientists, all of it. Max hadn't said anything, she'd just listened, chewing on her lip, and after, she hadn't claimed to know what Alina had felt or anything, but just told her about her own dad, who she'd left behind in California after her parents divorced. He'd been a wonderful person, way better than Neil Hargrove—Billy's father—and she missed him every day.
"Yeah, yeah, I know," said Alina, twiddling with her braids. "It's pretty stupid of me, isn't it? To get nervous and everything. When I know she's gone. When I've been trying to forget about her."
