Christophe cheerily guided Rosalie to the school mall in his counter-productive, conspicuous get-up. To him, it was the first time in a while that he got to hang out with a friend at the mall without getting swarmed by people in the usual fashion.
Since it was after lunch and people had nothing better to do, there were crowds of students inside the mall, taking the chance to shop before classes started.
Their voices reverberated in the open area filling the space like liquid.
As soon as Christophe and Rosalie walked through the sliding doors that glossed smoothly to the side, a couple of curious heads turned their way to check out the mysterious looming figure.
A distressed Christophe's grip on his hood got tighter as he nervously lowered his head to hide his face. There's no way anybody would recognize him in this getup thought Rosalie. She turned away from him to take in the view of the mall.
Being there in person really was a whole new experience compared to viewing pictures online. Rosalie did prior research on the mall when she heard that Wexcombe had one. The online photos didn't do the architecture justice. The elegant flow of the wall art to the grand fountain centrepiece was absolutely breathtaking. The building was circular with each floor surrounding the heart of the mall.
"My eyes have been blessed."
"Did you say something?"
"…no."
"Come on, I'll show you where all the stores are! I know this place like the back of my hand."
Christophe pushed Rosalie towards the escalator to the second floor. There was a low hum as the escalator carried the pair, one step apart, higher to the next landing.
"The first floor is all food, so I'm skipping it since we already ate. But if you're ever interested, 'The Happy Pear' has some of the best smoothies you've ever had. And 'Pizza my Heart' is not just an amazing store name, but they also have heavenly pizza that will make you want to throw your diet out the window."
"They sound amazing, I'll have to try it someday." Rosalie filed away the information for future use, after all, good food should be enjoyed in moderation.
"Tell me if you plan on eating out, I can show you the best places and dishes."
"Sure, I don't mind." Rosalie looked forward to trying all the new food.
"Great! It's a date then!" Christophe grinned wickedly.
Ah, he got me.
The second floor was the apparel section. Countless clothing displays and mannequins littered the storefronts for as far as the eye can see.
'This is a little awkward, maybe I should've come here on my own time.'
"If you're not interested in clothes we can head to the other sections!"
"Sure, can we actually just go to the tech section? I'm looking to get a couple of things."
"Absolutely, the tech stuff is actually in the basement, so we have to go down again."
"Haaa, okay let's go then."
After heading down again they take the elevator down to the technology section of the mall.
The basement had a completely different vibe than the rest of the mall. The lights were dimmed and the RGB strip lighting that lined the edges of the walls reminded Rosalie of videos from a certain popular social media platform.
Although a little tacky, the stores more than made up for it. Each store having its own specialization.
"So, Rose, is it okay if I call you Rose? Rosalie's kind of a mouthful."
"Go ahead."
I don't really mind, but it brings me back. Rose was my childhood nickname.
They continued walking until Rosalie paused in front of the computer shop. She wanted to take a look inside to see if any of the parts she wanted were in there.
Christophe saw her interest.
"Wanna go inside? I know the owner pretty well, he's a good friend of mine so if you want anything, I could probably get you a pretty good deal."
He smiled at her confidently.
'Is it a good idea to go looking for parts with this guy around? I don't want him to know too much about me, maybe I should keep my distance.'
Christophe saw her hesitating and just pushed her inside lightly.
"Come on, let's go!"
Ughh he's too pushy.
Inside the shop, there were lanes of products sorted by section. The shop keeper noticed them and headed over.
"Hi, there! Can I help you find anything?"
"Oi! Is that you Christophe? What's with the get-up? You look ridiculous." He laughed with a booming, hardy chuckle after taking a closer look at our faces.
The shop keeper was a portly man with a full, bushy beard. He looked to be in his thirties with a full head of mousey brown hair.
"The name's Carter, nice ta meet you, ma'am."
He reached his hand out for a handshake.
"I'm Rosalie, nice to meet you as well."
She reached out to return the gesture when a hand on her shoulder stopped her.
She looked back with a questioning look to Christophe who seemed distracted by something.
"Ha ha ha, must be nice to be young, c'mon Chris, it's been a while since I've seen a pretty lad like Rosalie here. Most of my customers aren't exactly the delicate type."
"Exactly, that's why you shouldn't touch her. Let's go, Rose, we don't need his help, I know where everything is."
Christophe was pushing a bewildered Rosalie off to one of the lanes while he stuck his tongue out at Carter behind him. It was weird, he usually didn't act like this.
I've only known her for a day but for some reason, I don't want Carter touching her. I know exactly what he's thinking by looking into his eyes. Not that I'm any better though…
"Hey… Hello? Christophe?"
"Hmm?"
Rosalie was calling him for a while. He was too lost in his own thoughts to notice.
"Where exactly are you leading me?"
Christophe looked up to see that they were in a section with posters of girls in…explicit situations.
"Ah, hah- the computer section is right after here."
His face burned as he cursed Carter and his tastes.
Why would you stock your shop with those posters?! Just keep them in your own damn room pervert!