Normally, Serena and her friends burst through the door in chatter and laughs, thoroughly annoying Darien before he saw them. But when the door opened today, Serena, Amy, Lita, and Raye stormed in. Mina followed in vibrant antics, seemingly defending herself. Serena slumped into a chair and hid her head. Raye continued to glare at Mina while Lita balled up her fist and Amy refused to remove her eyes from the sticky floor.
Darien sighed. "What did Meatball Head do this time?"
Serena snapped her head up, making her pigtails swing, and narrowed her blue eyes. "Why do you blame me? It's Mina's fault!"
"I have nothing to say," said girl retorted and flipped her ponytail over her shoulder.
"You wouldn't want to know anyway," Raye said.
Amy nodded. "It's just . . . awful."
Andrew came back with small sundaes for the obviously irritated eighth graders. "Weren't you guys going to the mall today? I thought it was still open."
"It is. We're banned . . . or at least, we are when Mina's around," Lita said, flashing a scowl at her friend.
"Now I really want to know what she did," complained Darien, removing his sunglasses with apparent interest.
Raye released a breath and scooted her chair back. She crossed hear legs and said, "Okay, so we had finished at almost all of the stores, but we were going to stop at that lotion store. You probably know the one, and we were talking about what we intended to buy . . . ."
"Do you think they still have the zodiac hand sanitizer?" Serena asked Mina. She shrugged.
Amy bit her lip. "I haven't been here in a while. Do they have anything new that's good?"
"There's this raspberry-strawberry mixture, I think," Raye said.
Lita smiled. "I like this sunshine one, but Serena thinks it smells like bug spray."
"It does! I mean, not in a particularly bad way, but still . . . . Um, guys, where are you going? The store's right here." Serena beamed, proud not to have been the one to have a so-called "blonde" moment. The now flustered girls turned into the entrance. Serena and Amy went immediately to the lotions, while Raye and Lita drifted to the make-up. Mina began to examine the whole store.
"No offense, but this doesn't sound like anything all that bad," Darien said.
Serena groaned and shot a venomous glare at her "twin". "It gets worse. Like—a lot. So, anyway, Amy and I were discussing why they suddenly got rid of pretty much all of their scents and replaced them . . ."
"I like these too though," Amy said quietly.
Serena's eyes lit up. "Why couldn't they just have both?"
Amy considered the idea, and she motioned to a small box to file complaints and suggestions when a shriek sounded across the store. Serena dropped the items in her hands and stared. At her shocked gaze, Amy determined that she should probably look to see what exactly was happening behind her.
"Where is it?"
The two girls turned, along with every other customer occupying the store. Mina's eyes were inflamed and her nose was twitching like it always did when she was angry. Her normally porcelain skin was vinaceous. Her three bags were hanging on her elbows while her purse swung at her shoulder. Serena wondered if she was going to remove that and hit the worker on the head.
"Miss, we don't sell that anymore. There are new—"
"I don't want new," Mina said through grit teeth. "I want my Strawberry Shortcake lotion! And you're going to give to me, or else face the wrath of—"
"Hey, Mina! They have Sailor Scents! And I think you'd like Venus!" Lita yelled, looking rather flustered at her friend's behavior. Mina seemed reluctant to let the employee off, but she was too intrigued to stay. She joined Lita and Raye, while Amy and Serena quietly made their way over to block Mina in case she happened to get irritated again.
"It's really good!" Mina gasped. "I love it!" She flipped to the back to read what the scent actually was (sunflowers and lavender). She picked up Jupiter next (fruit tarts), then Mars (Spanish jasmine and citrus fruit), then Mercury (coconut), and finally Moon (night bloom water lilies and four 'o' clocks).
"Is that it?" Darien demanded.
Serena glared. "Just wait!"
Amy told the next part of the story. "Well, we all were just talking and the radio was playing in the store. And Mina's favorite song came on… You know, the one she makes you search for every time she comes in, Andrew? That pretty much cured Mina's bad mood until . . ."
"I just love this song!" Mina squealed.
The employee groaned. "This band is so annoying… Why do they play this so often?" His coworker shrugged and continued to flip through her magazine.
Amy's head snapped up. "Mina, don't—"
The blonde stormed up the check-out. "You have problems. You have bad service, you're rude to your customers, and you insult music your customers are enjoying!"
Mina reached into one of her shopping bags…
Amy flushed and lowered her face.
"This is the bad part," Serena said softly with an equally red face. "So, Mina reached into her bag, and . . . um, she, uh . . . . Well, she . . ." Serena glanced at her friends for help, wishing for the first time in many years her hair was down so it could cover her face. She didn't need Darien making fun of her tendency to blush easily too.
Lita lifted her face from the counter. "I'll explain . . . Okay, so Mina reached into her bag . . ."
Mina reached into her pink striped Victoria's Secret bag and pulled out a black bra with a red bow. She tossed it at the worker and smirked.
Her friends stared, bewilderment evident on their faces.
"Mina!" Raye shrieked.
"Ohmigosh," Serena muttered quietly to herself. Amy started backing to the exit as if to say, "I do not know that girl." Lita stared at the shocked expression on the cashier's face.
He calmed himself down and turned to Lita, the only one he seemed able to operate vocal functions. "If you keep your friend under control, I won't make her leave the store. Now please get her away from me . . . . And have someone else check her out when she's ready . . . ." He gestured to his female coworker.
Andrew and Darien stared.
"You didn't get kicked out."
Serena's head had retreated to the table. "Mina did something else after that." Her voice was muffled and embarrassed.
"What?" Andrew asked.
The four girls on one side of the argument blushed and turned away. Mina huffed and jumped out of her corner.
"I'll finish telling what happened! Okay, so I reached into the side of my purse . . . "
Mina threw a tampon at him.
"Security!"
"And that's why Mina's banned from the mall," Amy explained.
The flushed boys glanced at the straight-haired blonde.
"I have three more. Say anything and I'll throw one at you."
I had a really random idea, and I hope it wasn't too silly. I was hoping to make it longer, but some things don't work out. Oh, well. I really wish there was a real Sailor Scents line though. I'd buy a bunch in a heartbeat.