Chapter 51: Shopping with Sara
The train jolted to a stop, doors hissing open, and we stepped off onto the platform, the morning chill still clinging to the air. Sara led the way, her boots clicking fast on the concrete as we headed out of the station and into the nearby mall, a big glass building buzzing with early shoppers.
I trailed behind, my hands shoved in my pants pockets, my shoulders slumping—already done with this before it even started. She dragged me into a clothing store first, racks of dresses and tops crammed tight, pop music humming low over the speakers, the air smelling like new fabric and perfume.
She darted around, grabbing stuff off hangers—a flowy blue dress, a tight green top, some skirt I didn’t even look at—then spun to me, holding them up.
"What do you think, Ezra? Which one will look good on me?" she asked, her voice all chipper, her dark hair bouncing as she tilted her head, waiting.
I slouched against a rack, my eyes half-open, barely glancing at the clothes. "No idea—I don’t know anything about this stuff," I said flat, shrugging lazy.
She stopped short, her smile fading fast, and glared at me—her eyes narrowing sharp, her lips pressing tight like I’d just insulted her. My stomach flipped, and I gulped hard, my throat dry.
"Uh... that one," I said quick, pointing at the blue dress random-like, my finger jabbing the air, just to get her off my back.
"I’ll give it a try!!" she said, her voice perking up again, all happy and loud as she clutched the dress and bounced toward the changing room.
I flopped onto a cushy chair nearby, the fake leather squeaking under me, and pulled out my phone, scrolling bored through nothing—texts I didn’t care about, some random app notifications. My legs stretched out, my jacket rustling as I yawned, the store’s chatter fading into a dull hum around me. A couple of girls giggled by the jeans section.
The curtain flew open with a loud *swish*, and Sara stepped out, posing dramatic with her hands on her hips.
"~Tada! How do I look, Ezra?" she called, her voice ringing out, grabbing every eye in the store. The blue dress hugged her tight, the hem flaring out above her knees, her long boots making her legs look endless. Heads turned—the giggling girls, the mom, even the clerk—all staring at her, then at me, waiting.