A Falcon's Light

Chapter 3

"Wait! You're going to Egypt? That's so cool big sis!" My little sister, Anna, joined Jess and me at dinner later that night. After the major discovery, Hughes and I started making plans for my journey to Egypt.

"Yeah, we made plans for me to meet the whole team next month. I asked for a little leeway so I can make plans with the boss at work." I took a swig of my soda happily. My two female companions squealed.

"I'll make you something for your trip." Anna was extremely skilled with her hands, she made a living by making stuffed animals that look exactly like people's real-life pets. She was well known by social media influencers, there were many videos of celebrities opening her bright yellow boxes and pulling out an exact copy of their pets.

"And I will go shopping with you for clothes to bring!" Jess yelled, her dress a little more formal than the restaurant we were at. The male waiter had given her a long look and she pretended not to notice the others.

"Jess I have plenty of clothes I'll be fine." I said rolling my eyes. Our dinner was brought out to us, with another long look from the waiter. Chimichangas, giant fried burritos, and a fajita plate were set at our table along with a fresh basket of tortilla chips, salsa, and guac.

"Girl, the first thing you're going to do when you get there is attend a ball. You need a dress for it. We are dress shopping whether you like it or not." She was right of course, as usual. Hughes told me that I would attend one of their parties as his honored guest. I was not the most party-going girl, I went to my highschool's prom and homecoming, but that was it. This was to be a formal party with some of the greatest Egyptologists, maybe she was right, it's not like I had a formal dress of that type, and I don't know if my old prom dress would work.

"It's not a ball, it's a party with a whole bunch of egyptologists, nothing more." She gave me this look, and I crumbled. "Fine, but keep in mind I'd have to pack it in a suitcase." Jess raised her cup of lemonade into the air in triumph, shouting 'Shopping'.

The next day Jess, Anna, and I piled into Jessica's car and headed out into town. Since I knew I would be trying things on I decided to wear something simple, so I threw on a pair of skull leggings and a red and black tank top and a pair of sandals. Jess was in something similar but looked so much nicer in the sportier leggings and tank. Sis wore a simple summer dress she made a while back, with a long flowing skirt, but she also held a camera and a large bag, her sewing kit most likely.

Jess drove us to the richer part of town, passing a Gucci store and a really nice jewelry store. "Jess when you said shopping I was expecting the mall, not Gucci." I mumbled nervously. She knew I didn't have the money for these places, what was she thinking?

"It's fine. You know that lady yesterday who mistook you for my helper?" I nodded remembering the rude comment. "Well after you left I told her that you were my best friend and you were the one who did a lot of my photos, and she felt bad. She offered to include you in today's shopping trip."

"Include?" I looked at her smirking little face.

"Yeah, she wanted me to buy some clothes at a particular store. They do a lot of collabs with her. Basically, she's going to buy us clothes in exchange, I have to post pics of me wearing them. Since she felt bad she said she'd buy you a couple of things too." If I knew Jess, she probably got angry after I left. The one thing that pisses her off is when people treat me bad because of her. She hates people who look down on others, which is why we were such good friends.

We finally got to our store, after parking, we headed inside. The lady from the photoshoot was already there waiting for us. "Ah, miss Jessica it's good to see you again. I see you brought your friend and who's this?" She seemed nicer I guess.