Perfect Places

The Outdoor Mall

   Zane extended an arm towards me after he opened the passengers seat. I took his hand, and smiled at him.

   As I stepped out of the vehicle, I looked around at what I was surrounded by. A large parking lot went as far as the eye could see, filled with cars of all kinds.

   Jessica and Nick walked over to Zane and I, hand in hand.

   "Thank you so much for driving us, Zane." Jessica said, overdoing it a little bit with the emotion.

   "Yeah, thanks man." Nick did that guy handshake thing with Zane.

   Zane smirked, "No problem."

   A few birds flew overhead, making loud noises. My eyes wandered around, examining all of the structures around me.

   Dozens of stores, DSW, Barnes And Noble, Clairs, Macy's, H&M, Foot Locker, Five Below, Rue 21, FYE, Bath And Body Works, White Barn, and even a Target were all around me.

We had all driven to a mall. I had never really gone to a mall, so this was my first time. It amazed me to see all of the businesses all in one place.

"Does everyone have everything they need?" Nick asked, "Phones, wallets, sunglasses, all that good stuff."

I checked my pockets, "Yep."

Jess did the same, "Mhm."

"Alright," Zane started to lead us all to the entrance of the mall.

The mall was an outdoor one, which could be good, or bad. The wind blew slowly through my hair, causing a nice breeze.

Once we all walked in, more shock took over me.

"Woah." I muttered.

In the middle of the mall, there was a huge fountain surrounded by perfectly trimmed bushes and trees. Whoever was in charge of the landscaping really nailed it.

"Where should we go first?" Jessica wondered, gazing over at a sign with a map.

That place was huge. It was larger than any other place I had been, except for the forest of course.

"Uh, well ..." Zane trailed off, "I would like to make a quick stop at Target for a few things."

My eyes widened with excitement, "Target? Oh my goodness, yes."

I absolutely loved Target. It was my favorite store.

"Yeah, and I need to go to Bath And Body Works at some point." Jessica added.

"I also need to go to Game Stop sometime soon." Nick told us.

Then, they all looked at me, as if I had somewhere I needed to go too.

"Oh uh-" I stuttered, "I just came along for the ride."

We all shared a small laugh, and we started walking to Game Stop. Because that store was going to close soon, we had to go there first.

   The second we walked in, we were all in awe. Usually, Game Stops were small. Like ... really small. But this Game Stop was huge.

   All the way on the back wall were rows of stuffed animals, shirts, and socks. Displays about to fall over were covered with video games, and shelves filled with keychains, and other little trinkets were scattered all over the store.

Nick ran straight over to the video game section, and started to look like he was looking for something very specific. Zane went over to him.

"Ugh, they are such nerds." Jessica stared over at both of them.