#118--PG--Shopping Trip
Title: Shopping Trip
Author: heatherlayne_n
Subject: Momento Mori, Benjamin and Star
Rating: PG
Challenge: #118--Foreign, 1,542 words (sorry it's so long!), about 2 hours total (!!!)
Notes: I work in the shop this is set in, and I set it there mainly out of my own familiarity with it, but also because I thought I'd be mean to Benjamin for a change. ;) Yes, some of the employees really do act like that, though I try not to, too much. Also, please tell me if it's really weird that there are both perspectives in this one piece. I'm curious if that works in "real writing."
She only ever took testers. The store couldn't sell them anyway, and half the time they never noticed they were gone, so they didn't have to put out another for people to try. Lip glosses, of course, were easiest. Star would wipe the tops off with a tissue first because she knew that, regardless of the little plastic sticks people were supposed to use, they still just put it on like they owned it. Then she'd glide it over her lips, smack her mouth while looking in the mirror, and put the stick or tube in her pocket, like she'd just put on her own lip gloss. No one even looked twice at her. When she got home, she'd scratch off the "Try Me" sticker, and who cared if the thing was half-used up?
Generally she'd come in dressed a little more nicely than usual so as not to draw undue attention--none of her cut-up t-shirts or fishnets or sneakers with crazy neon laces--but today she was in a hurry and hadn't had time to change. The bus had been running late and the mall was about to close in twenty minutes or so. If she wasn't out in five minutes she would miss the last bus that went anywhere near home. She walked quickly, dodging teenagers in packs and power-walking young mothers. All she would do is try on some perfume and see if they had any new lip balms.
Benjamin, too, was walking quickly a bit further down the mall. He hated this place, but he'd called five bookstores around town and the one here was the only one that had the book Pop wanted on tape. The old man refused to listen to audio books on CDs, even though Benjamin had bought him a portable player last Christmas. He'd come to the mall just before it closed to try and avoid the crowds of people, but it was Friday night and there were still throngs of them filling the walkways. He sidestepped some poor woman with a stroller full of two crying children, then hurried around an older couple going half as fast as everyone else. Trying not to run into a trash can, he dodged to the side and collided with a girl. "Sorry," he stammered, catching her arm to steady them both, "so sorry, are you all--Star!" Seeing her unexpectedly like this made his heart start pounding immediately, and he couldn't make any more words come out no matter how hard he tried.
"Professor Edwards!" She grinned up at him, noting with glee the way he snatched his hand from her arm and the wideness of his blue eyes behind his rimless glasses. His rejection from earlier that week was forgotten for the moment. "What are you doing here?" It took a lot of effort not to roll her eyes at her own cliche question, but it just slipped out.
"Ah, um." His eyes scanned over her: hot pink tights, denim mini skirt frayed at the bottom, a t-shirt with a band name he didn't recognize, of which she'd cut off the sleeves. Her hair clip was covered in rhinestones and she had big neon earrings in. So very... Star-like. Odd, yet... endearing, in a way. No, god no, he couldn't think that! "I need a book. On tape. For my father-in-law."
"Oh, cool." Then she had a wicked idea. "Hey, I was on my way to Bath and Body Works, can you come with me real quick? I had a question about the homework."
She was scheming something, he knew it, yet he found himself agreeing. It was for class. "What was your question?"
Star thought quickly as they began walking back the way he had come. "Uh, about, um, the paper due Monday. Is it, I mean, I know you said to just find a text to compare it to using that whatsit strategy, but do you mean any text, or something we've already looked at in class?" They entered the store and she ignored the girl who smiled fakely at them and asked how they were doing, but Benjamin, ever polite, had to reply.
"Fine, thanks." And then he was following Star further into the store, utterly bewildered by the floral and fruity scents in the air, the way that everything seemed to be pink and sparkly. A quick glance around confirmed that he was the only male in the store, other than a toddling boy drooling all over a squeaky rubber duck. "Something we've looked at in class," he replied.
"Mmm." She nodded, then put a bottle of something close to her nose and inhaled. "Ugh, who wears this stuff?" She browsed further down the wall and picked up something else to smell. "What do you think?" she asked, then held it up to his face.
"I..." He sniffed tentatively. "It's all right, I suppose."
She sprayed it on her wrists and pressed them together, then pressed the extra perfume to the sides of her neck. "Now what do you think?" She held one of her wrists up to him now. "A person's body chemicals changes a scent."
"It's fine, Star. I really have to get--"
A salesperson interrupted them. A different girl from the one who had greeted them at the front, but she was just as blonde and perky. "Finding everything okay?"
"Yes, thanks," Star said.
"It's so sweet that your dad is shopping with you," she drawled, showing a dimpled smile.
"Oh, I'm not--"
"Yeah," Star interrupted. "Isn't he the best?" She grinned back at the girl and clung to Benjamin's arm, leaning her head against his shoulder. Oh, this was fantastic! Veronica would die when Star told her!
He just smiled weakly, at an utter loss of what to say or do. Good lord, this was humiliating.
"So what are you shopping for today?" asked the blonde girl.
"Just looking around..." Star replied vaguely, already turning away, though she kept her arm through Benjamin's. He extricated it carefully and put his hands in his pockets.
"Well what's your favorite fragrance?" the girl asked, not to be deterred.
"I don't really shop here that often." Star began walking away but the girl followed. Benjamin, through some morbid curiosity as well as the wish to not be left behind in such a place, followed as well, at a slight distance.
"Well we've got a lot of great sales going on. Right now we have--"
"I'd really just like to look around for a while," Star nearly snapped.
Not hurt in the least, it seemed--she probably got that reaction twenty times a day--the salesgirl simply smiled and said, "Okay, just let me know if you need anything!" and walked off.
"She's just doing her job," Benjamin said softly as he caught up.
"Yeah, well. I really only want to look a little." Ah, they did have a new tester out, a sheer sparkly orange lip gloss. She couldn't do her "shopping" with Professor Edwards right here though, so she wiped off the top with a tissue and used a little white plastic stick to scoop a bit off and spread it on her lips.
"I should get going. Did I answer your question?"
"Yeah, thanks!" She pressed her lips together and looked at him. "What do you think?"
"It's... nice. See you Monday." He started for the entrance back to the rest of the mall, wondering if he would have time to get to the bookstore before it closed.
"Hey, wait," Star called, hurrying after him. She ignored the salesgirl thanking them for coming in. "Could you, um...." Her fingers curled around one another and her eyes flicked from the floor to his face, then back. "Could you walk me out to the bus stop? It's getting dark...."
Benjamin wanted anything but to walk with her alone in the dark, warm night, but the look in her eyes and the way her hands twitched nervously around each other made him hesitate. And she had been mugged just a few weeks ago. He still remembered her blackened eye, the multi-colored bruise on her jaw, the brace on her sprained wrist. "I still need to get that book on tape."
"Right, right." Her shoulders slumped a little. But then: "I could go with you!" She perked up, but then immediately grew serious again. "Or, you know, I could wait. I know you don't really.... want my company."
"It's not that," he began, but she cut him off.
"No, it's fine, really. Just walk me to the bus stop, it's only at the far end of the parking lot by the highway. I'll wait right here on the bench, it's fine."
He didn't have time to think about it. Two shops within view were closing their front gates for the night. "All right," he agreed, still walking toward the book shop. "I'll see you in a minute."
"Thank you!" she called after him, her eyes grateful. She watched him hurry down the corridor, then sat on the bench as he disappeared into the store. A small smile raised the corners of her lips. He didn't know the bus had already left. Now how would she get home?
Star wondered what his car would be like.
Author: heatherlayne_n
Subject: Momento Mori, Benjamin and Star
Rating: PG
Challenge: #118--Foreign, 1,542 words (sorry it's so long!), about 2 hours total (!!!)
Notes: I work in the shop this is set in, and I set it there mainly out of my own familiarity with it, but also because I thought I'd be mean to Benjamin for a change. ;) Yes, some of the employees really do act like that, though I try not to, too much. Also, please tell me if it's really weird that there are both perspectives in this one piece. I'm curious if that works in "real writing."
She only ever took testers. The store couldn't sell them anyway, and half the time they never noticed they were gone, so they didn't have to put out another for people to try. Lip glosses, of course, were easiest. Star would wipe the tops off with a tissue first because she knew that, regardless of the little plastic sticks people were supposed to use, they still just put it on like they owned it. Then she'd glide it over her lips, smack her mouth while looking in the mirror, and put the stick or tube in her pocket, like she'd just put on her own lip gloss. No one even looked twice at her. When she got home, she'd scratch off the "Try Me" sticker, and who cared if the thing was half-used up?
Generally she'd come in dressed a little more nicely than usual so as not to draw undue attention--none of her cut-up t-shirts or fishnets or sneakers with crazy neon laces--but today she was in a hurry and hadn't had time to change. The bus had been running late and the mall was about to close in twenty minutes or so. If she wasn't out in five minutes she would miss the last bus that went anywhere near home. She walked quickly, dodging teenagers in packs and power-walking young mothers. All she would do is try on some perfume and see if they had any new lip balms.
Benjamin, too, was walking quickly a bit further down the mall. He hated this place, but he'd called five bookstores around town and the one here was the only one that had the book Pop wanted on tape. The old man refused to listen to audio books on CDs, even though Benjamin had bought him a portable player last Christmas. He'd come to the mall just before it closed to try and avoid the crowds of people, but it was Friday night and there were still throngs of them filling the walkways. He sidestepped some poor woman with a stroller full of two crying children, then hurried around an older couple going half as fast as everyone else. Trying not to run into a trash can, he dodged to the side and collided with a girl. "Sorry," he stammered, catching her arm to steady them both, "so sorry, are you all--Star!" Seeing her unexpectedly like this made his heart start pounding immediately, and he couldn't make any more words come out no matter how hard he tried.
"Professor Edwards!" She grinned up at him, noting with glee the way he snatched his hand from her arm and the wideness of his blue eyes behind his rimless glasses. His rejection from earlier that week was forgotten for the moment. "What are you doing here?" It took a lot of effort not to roll her eyes at her own cliche question, but it just slipped out.
"Ah, um." His eyes scanned over her: hot pink tights, denim mini skirt frayed at the bottom, a t-shirt with a band name he didn't recognize, of which she'd cut off the sleeves. Her hair clip was covered in rhinestones and she had big neon earrings in. So very... Star-like. Odd, yet... endearing, in a way. No, god no, he couldn't think that! "I need a book. On tape. For my father-in-law."
"Oh, cool." Then she had a wicked idea. "Hey, I was on my way to Bath and Body Works, can you come with me real quick? I had a question about the homework."
She was scheming something, he knew it, yet he found himself agreeing. It was for class. "What was your question?"
Star thought quickly as they began walking back the way he had come. "Uh, about, um, the paper due Monday. Is it, I mean, I know you said to just find a text to compare it to using that whatsit strategy, but do you mean any text, or something we've already looked at in class?" They entered the store and she ignored the girl who smiled fakely at them and asked how they were doing, but Benjamin, ever polite, had to reply.
"Fine, thanks." And then he was following Star further into the store, utterly bewildered by the floral and fruity scents in the air, the way that everything seemed to be pink and sparkly. A quick glance around confirmed that he was the only male in the store, other than a toddling boy drooling all over a squeaky rubber duck. "Something we've looked at in class," he replied.
"Mmm." She nodded, then put a bottle of something close to her nose and inhaled. "Ugh, who wears this stuff?" She browsed further down the wall and picked up something else to smell. "What do you think?" she asked, then held it up to his face.
"I..." He sniffed tentatively. "It's all right, I suppose."
She sprayed it on her wrists and pressed them together, then pressed the extra perfume to the sides of her neck. "Now what do you think?" She held one of her wrists up to him now. "A person's body chemicals changes a scent."
"It's fine, Star. I really have to get--"
A salesperson interrupted them. A different girl from the one who had greeted them at the front, but she was just as blonde and perky. "Finding everything okay?"
"Yes, thanks," Star said.
"It's so sweet that your dad is shopping with you," she drawled, showing a dimpled smile.
"Oh, I'm not--"
"Yeah," Star interrupted. "Isn't he the best?" She grinned back at the girl and clung to Benjamin's arm, leaning her head against his shoulder. Oh, this was fantastic! Veronica would die when Star told her!
He just smiled weakly, at an utter loss of what to say or do. Good lord, this was humiliating.
"So what are you shopping for today?" asked the blonde girl.
"Just looking around..." Star replied vaguely, already turning away, though she kept her arm through Benjamin's. He extricated it carefully and put his hands in his pockets.
"Well what's your favorite fragrance?" the girl asked, not to be deterred.
"I don't really shop here that often." Star began walking away but the girl followed. Benjamin, through some morbid curiosity as well as the wish to not be left behind in such a place, followed as well, at a slight distance.
"Well we've got a lot of great sales going on. Right now we have--"
"I'd really just like to look around for a while," Star nearly snapped.
Not hurt in the least, it seemed--she probably got that reaction twenty times a day--the salesgirl simply smiled and said, "Okay, just let me know if you need anything!" and walked off.
"She's just doing her job," Benjamin said softly as he caught up.
"Yeah, well. I really only want to look a little." Ah, they did have a new tester out, a sheer sparkly orange lip gloss. She couldn't do her "shopping" with Professor Edwards right here though, so she wiped off the top with a tissue and used a little white plastic stick to scoop a bit off and spread it on her lips.
"I should get going. Did I answer your question?"
"Yeah, thanks!" She pressed her lips together and looked at him. "What do you think?"
"It's... nice. See you Monday." He started for the entrance back to the rest of the mall, wondering if he would have time to get to the bookstore before it closed.
"Hey, wait," Star called, hurrying after him. She ignored the salesgirl thanking them for coming in. "Could you, um...." Her fingers curled around one another and her eyes flicked from the floor to his face, then back. "Could you walk me out to the bus stop? It's getting dark...."
Benjamin wanted anything but to walk with her alone in the dark, warm night, but the look in her eyes and the way her hands twitched nervously around each other made him hesitate. And she had been mugged just a few weeks ago. He still remembered her blackened eye, the multi-colored bruise on her jaw, the brace on her sprained wrist. "I still need to get that book on tape."
"Right, right." Her shoulders slumped a little. But then: "I could go with you!" She perked up, but then immediately grew serious again. "Or, you know, I could wait. I know you don't really.... want my company."
"It's not that," he began, but she cut him off.
"No, it's fine, really. Just walk me to the bus stop, it's only at the far end of the parking lot by the highway. I'll wait right here on the bench, it's fine."
He didn't have time to think about it. Two shops within view were closing their front gates for the night. "All right," he agreed, still walking toward the book shop. "I'll see you in a minute."
"Thank you!" she called after him, her eyes grateful. She watched him hurry down the corridor, then sat on the bench as he disappeared into the store. A small smile raised the corners of her lips. He didn't know the bus had already left. Now how would she get home?
Star wondered what his car would be like.