Chapter Five [Plus]

Chapter 5

[Plus] 

      “So, Trace you want to go shopping when we’re done?” Uncle Hector asked as they finished eating the delicious lunch that was served. Uncle Hector was licking the Alfredo sauce from his lips and Tracey stuffed the last spaghetti noodle into her mouth and licked her lips as well.

            “Of course! I’m always up for shopping.” She said feeling excited that my uncle would be paying for what she got.

            “I mean it’s your birthday. There has to be shopping. Right?” My uncle said with a big smile.

            “You betcha!” They both got up and headed for the limo.

            “Anni is going to go shopping today too so I’m gonna pick her up and let you go shopping together. Here is an extra credit card just charge whatever you want and it’ll be taken care of. Don’t feel like you have to have a limit either, it’s your birthday and I don’t want you to feel like that. Have a fun time shopping!” Her Uncle Hector said as they pulled through the gate and up the circular driveway, he handed her the credit card, kissed her forehead and then left her waiting for Anni. The driver rolled down the window that separated them and said, “While you’re waiting you can turn the TV on if you’d like.” He pointed to the controls.

            “Thanks.”

            “Yep, no problem.” He said rolling the window back up and continuing to look out at the landscape in front of him. She flipped the TV on and went to the news.

            “A little girl by the name of Cassie Lark was found missing only an hour ago. If you see a girl who looks similar to this please notify us immediately. That’s all the Breaking News for now. Back to you Brian.” Said the news reporter as she pointed to a picture of a little girl around the age of seven. She turned the TV off as Anni opened the door on the opposite side of her.

            “Hey! So I heard it was your birthday.” She said showing off her pearly whites once again as she sat down and the driver pulled off into the direction towards the mall.

            “Yeah it is.”

            “Well, Happy Birthday and I hope it’s been a good one so far, but now it’s about to become even better.” Anni said to her excitedly. Anni didn’t seem too self-conscious around people she had just met before, so maybe she was a cool person to hang out with.

            “I am so hyper and energetic. What did you have in mind?” Tracey said turning into her regular self. She liked to be cautious when she first meets someone. Until she gets a glimpse of what they’re really like she tends to be a boring person. If they’re spunky, outgoing, and not self conscious that’s when she shows who she really is.

            “A total shopping spree! Run around the mall like complete idiots buying everything cute in sight!”

            “Looks like everything is going to have a SOLD OUT sign on it.”

            “Totally! The stores are going to be shutting down for lack of items.” They both started laughing and made jokes about stores and weird people they had seen shopping at them. A speaker right above the separation window said, “We have arrived at the mall. Give me a call when you want me to pick you up, the number is programmed into your phones."

            “Cool. Thanks, Chuck. See ya later.” Anni said waving after they got out of the limo. They stood there and watched as it drove away.

            “How do you know his name?” Tracey asked kind of disappointed that Anni was already friends with the workers.

            “I came here a week before you did so I got to know them.”

            “Oh. So where do you wanna go shopping first?” Tracey asked as they walked into the mall. The stores were lined up like little boutiques with the store’s name at the top in the middle.

            “This store looks cool. What size clothes do you wear?” Anni said pointing to a store in front of them that had a had a ton of fashionable clothes, shoes, and accessories.

            “I’m a size ten.”

            “No kidding so am I!” Anni ran around the store grabbing everything she thought would look good on Tracey and then grabbed her hand and led her to the dressing rooms. She threw all the clothes into Tracey’s arms and pushed her into one of the empty stalls.

            “One rule when we’re shopping: You have try on everything that doesn’t look good on me so I can see how it looks on you.” Tracey told her as she slipped one of the long brown shirts over her head. She took the belt that it had around it and tightened it so it wouldn’t fall down. She looked in the mirror and gasped. It fit perfectly and looked hot on her. She stepped out of the stall and watched Anni’s eyes dart around her body in awe.

            “You’re so getting that. It fits you like a glove and it’s really feminine and petite.” Tracey went back in the stall and tried the rest of the clothes on that Anni picked out. The same results for every one of them. They fit perfectly and looked amazing. She finished and walked out of the stall in her regular clothes.

            “I have great taste don’t I?” Anni said when she went up to the counter with the huge pile and whipped out the credit card. She didn’t even want to look at the total otherwise the shopping spree would end early. She noticed that Anni had a pile of clothes too that she was getting, but all of them were either red or black and for the first time Tracey noticed that she was wearing a red tube top and black jeans. That’s sort of strange.

            “Yeah you do. You like red and black a lot?” She asked looking down at both of the bags Anni was carrying as they walked out.

            “Yeah. They’re my favorite colors and they are the only colors that I like on me.”

            “My mom is a fashion designer and she would say that you would look phenomenal in turquoise.” She said as they sat down on the bench not too far from the store. 

            “Yeah, well I’m sure you would look phenomenal in anything. You bought everything you tried on and it looked great on you.”

            “Yeah, well some days are just better shopping days than others for clothes.” She sighed and looked down at her bags. “How are we going to carry all of these around?” She asked Anni, but she was on her cell so Tracey just stopped and started thinking about Romania and what it would be like if it were real and she lived there.

            “Sorry about that. I just called Hector and asked him to send a worker here to carry our bags around. What was it you were saying?”

            “Oh, nothing. Hey look at that store over there! It’s got all of different stuff from around the world.” Tracey said pointing to a sign that said “Foreign Treasures” on it.

“I have to wait for the worker. But you can go ahead and look if you want. I was in there last week anyway. I’ll watch your bags.” Anni said still staring at her cell phone screen.

            “Ok. I’ll be out in a bit.” Tracey said leaving the bags and trailing down the aisle to the shop. Wooden beads dangled in the doorway and she pushed past them in order to enter. Colorful Chinese paper lanterns dangled from the ceiling and incense burned. Buddha and dragon statues lingered on shelves while painted hermit crabs shells were left without an owner. More bead curtains dangled from the ceiling waiting to be bought. There were shell rings, beaded necklaces and bracelets, and sequined slippers and robes. Henna tattoo kits were on one shelf while books on different cultures were on another.

            “Can I help you find anything?”  An Indian woman asked kindly from the register in a thick accent that was hard to distinguish.

            “Thanks, but I’m just looking right now.” Tracey said politely.

            “Feel free to let me know if you need any help.”

            “Alright. Thanks.” She walked around looking at everything. She liked one of the orange and blue paper lanterns and one of the wooden bead curtains, but nothing else really jumped out at her. She walked up to the front desk.

            “Can I get that orange and blue paper lantern and one of the wooden bead curtains.” She asked.

            “Sure.” She said going in the back and coming out with an orange and blue flat disk wrapped in cellophane and a white cardboard tube. “Your total is $52.40. Will that be cash, check, or credit?”

            “Credit.” She said handing her the credit card.

            “Since you spent over $50 you get a free necklace.” The cashier said picking up a beaded strand and slipping it into the bag and handing the card back. “Thanks for shopping. Have a good rest of your day!”

            “Thanks. You too.” Tracey said checking her receipt and walking into the bead curtain again on the way out. When she looked up to show Anni what she got she wasn’t on the bench anymore and the bags were no longer sitting at her feet. The bags were gone and so was Anni.