Charissa hurried to the mall entrance and waited for Charles. The mall entrance buzzed with little life. Walking past the little crowd here and there, Charles appeared in front of her within the next minute.
Upon seeing her, he questioned, "Why so out of breath? Chasing another phone thief?"
"Like it was someone else last time!"
"You weren't careful."
"Jerk."
"Give me a better insult."
"Jack***."
"Fine, no names."
Charissa scanned the entrance, controlled chaos of eager shoppers and passersby awaited them. Gesturing toward it she asked, "Where are we going?"
"I don't know." He shrugged.
"And the point of this? Moreover, aren't you good at these things?"
"I never went on dates."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah. Just messaging on the phone—"
"Seriously?" she cut in.
"Between club and piano classes I—"
"Seriously?" she interrupted again.
"Had no time—"
"Seriously?" Now, Charles was getting annoyed.
Amused, Charissa waited for his next set of words. Yet, he was staring above her head.
"You've got a spider on your head," he said.
"Really...?"
"A big one."
Charissa smirked, "Don't try to freak me out."
"It's this big," he gestured two inches with his fingers.
To her surprise, a spider was indeed on her forehead, slowly descending. Its legs tickled her as it moved.
"Uhhh..." Charles gaped at it. "What are you going to do?"
"Help me remove it!" She whimpered.
"Why would I?" He laughed.
"If you don't I'll leave you here to deal with whatever and burn the contract." She threatened him.
His smile faded and he took a moment to think, "Fine." He sighed.
From his pocket, he pulled out a credit card and slowly pushed the spider to the ground.
For the next few seconds, Charissa stood still. Charles felt a tingling fear that she'd do multiple horrible things to him. She could 1. Kick him in the balls as she did to Ethan (he was informed about it by an anonymous earlier this morning) 2. suddenly take out the contract from her bag with a match and light it up 3. Leave him there and block him from her contacts. There was a fourth horrible thing she could do that destroyed her dignity and perhaps bring about a sense of humor.
Charissa's ears reddened in the blink of an eye. 'Surely, the fourth' he thought.
"Why do you look triumphant?"
"Save yourself the troubles for later and let's go. We'll meet Maria at 2 p.m."
"Who is Maria?" She tilted her head.
He sighed, "My... Bride."
"Ok."
Charissa knew not to ask further questions as she is bound to find out more about her when she meets her.
"There is time for us till then. I'm hungry so let's go inside and eat!" She continuously patted his back, pushing him forward.
As they pressed through the bustling crowd, they found themselves at the heart of the mall. Ascending four levels above, the rooftop garden stretched wide, welcoming the chill breeze from the outdoors. A majestic banyan tree stood, encircled by oakwood seating, offering a resting place. Couples and the elderly bathed themselves in the fresh air and sunlight raining on them. Across this beauty awaited Charissa's target: the food court. However, that wasn't what awaited them in front of the gift shop to their left. It was Charissa's brother, holding a shopping bag screening over his phone. While scanning, at first glance Charissa recognized him.
"We need to go!" She grabbed by Charles's hand and rushed in the opposite direction inside a clothes shop.
"What was that for?" Charles pulled back his hand when they stepped inside.
"My brother." She rested her hands on her knees.
"Can't we just explain?"
"Would you explain to your little brother?"
"No."
Charissa shrugged, "for now, let's lay low around here. If my mom gets to know about this, you'll be the last person I see."
Unexpectedly, Charissa's brother isn't the only person they get to see. At the cashier stood Ethan and another woman, mouth agape, staring at the couple who rushed in.
"You have got to be kidding me?" Charissa pinched herself wondering whether she was dreaming.
"Nope. It's the real deal." Charles answered, rubbing his forehead.
"Do you know them?" The woman beside Ethan looked up at him. Her eyes were sky blue and her hair was tinted red. She wore heels and yet, she couldn't match Ethan's height, but the glamour in her dress yelled branded. She wore a pink armless gown and a red handbag with golden chains for the handle.
"No one you should know." Unfazed, Ethan continued piling the clothes brought by the woman into his shopping bag.
"Umm...maybe lay low in another place?" Charles suggested, glancing at the absent-minded girl next to him.
"Huh? Don't you think they look alike?" She muttered unconsciously.
"Siblings?... Never mind that, aren't you hungry?"
Charles's reminder brought back Charissa's hunger.
"We can eat at the restaurant where we'll meet Maria," Charles added, akin to the thunder-like growling.
"M'Kay," Charissa's face was pink with embarrassment. Hunger in words is one thing, but hunger in action means the most unwomanly behavior that Charissa had learned from Elissa.