As suggested, Raj browsed Lush. He browsed it like a customer trying to find the rarest of soaps, and by the end of the hour (and after being asked if he needed help three times) he had the store nearly memorized. He began to feel guilty about browsing and not buying, so he bought some bath bombs for his mom. They came in all scents, and had interesting names like Fizzbanger and Dragon's Egg. He also bought a set of shower gels for himself because he was almost out of shampoo, and he was honestly curious about what it would be like to wash his hair with something so luxurious.

Browsing any longer would be rude, so he found a bench where he could watch the entrance of the store. By now he was beginning to feel like a stalker. It wasn't a good feeling.

Carlita hadn't spoken to him much while he was in the store. Somewhere in the midst of his browsing she had disappeared, and he hadn't seen her since.

"Carlita?" he said now, quietly. He was hoping they had some sort of psychic connection, since he was basically the subject of her mission.

Lo and behold, she appeared a few seconds later, and simply said, "What?"

"Uh, where were you?" he asked.

"Looking at other stores. I'm not your babysitter, Kukuri," she replied.

"Oh. I thought you might be seeing your family or something."

"I don't have time for that. My afterlife is on the line," said Carlita, waving her hand. "Did you have a real reason for calling me over?"

"I just, I think we should take a different approach. If time is of the essence, like you say, shouldn't we take a more active approach than just waiting around at the mall?" said Raj.

"What, do you want to just show up at her doorstep? You don't want her to think you're a stalker," said Carlita.

"This is already kind of stalkerish," he mumbled.

"Just be patient, we've got a strategy going here," said Carlita.

"Well, can't you teleport to her? Just to see where she is? I mean, you just teleported to me," Raj said with a shrug.

"Who do you think I am? Some all-powerful ghost? Yeah, I can teleport to you, but that's probably because I'm assigned to you or something. Newsflash, I don't know how to be a ghost any better than you do. There's probably some ghostly term of service somewhere, but I definitely don't have access to it. And even if I could just teleport on over to Dakota, I'd have to know where she is first, wouldn't I? Did you even think of that, you whiny dolt?"

Raj just shrugged. He really didn't want to incite any more of Carlita's wrath. But it was too late, and Carlita certainly had a lot to say.

"You think I want to do this either? Do you think I want my fate to be wrapped up with some socially inept kid? God, you can't even talk to your friends without stuttering! But this is my mortal fuckin' soul that we're talking about, okay? And getting a date will be good for your awkward little self. This is a mutually beneficial relationship, so the least you could do is stick to the goddamn plan and shut the hell up."

So Raj shut the hell up. He supposed she was right, after all. He had to wonder if Lisa's experience had been like this. Again, he chalked it up to the bitterness of death, but he would have to call Lisa later, that is, if he ever left the mall.

Another hour ticked by, and Raj had an extremely rushed lunch break. Yet another hour went by, and another, and another. Somewhere along the line he got a text from Colin that rescheduled filming to tomorrow. By then it was around three o' clock, and he was perhaps the most bored he had ever been in his life. This was more boring than the waiting room at the doctor's office. This was more boring than math class. Working a nine to five job in a tiny cubicle was better than this. Of course, he would have rather been stuck on the bench the rest of the day rather than witness Dakota Tandy walking toward Lush in that next moment. His heart immediately felt as if it had been plunged in a bucket of ice water, and was now being wrung out.

Carlita was gone again, and he was panicking. He tried to remember what she had said. Hey, didn't I see you at Prom? Didn't we dance together? How are you? Dakota disappeared into Lush, and Raj slowly got up on wobbly legs. He really, really didn't want to do this. But he began to walk toward Lush anyhow.

So Dakota really did mourn by shopping, he thought nervously. Or perhaps she didn't mourn at all. The thought chilled him. He was glad his friends weren't like that. He would like to believe they would at least be a little shaken up by his death, no matter how selfish that was. But he was avoiding the task at hand.

Go up to her, he told himself. Do it now. Now. Now.

"Um, excuse me," he said.

Dakota looked up. "Yes?"

"Are you…don't we go to the same school?" he said.

"Maybe?" Dakota said.

"It's really sad, what happened, isn't it?" he said.

"Oh my God, yes! Isn't it?" said Dakota. "You know, I knew Carlita. We were like, best friends."

"That must be so sad for you," Raj said sympathetically.

"It's terrible. I bet this is going to be, like, all over the news. And it should be! Our school totally doesn't look out for student safety and it's horrible," said Dakota.

"Yeah, you're right," said Raj. Dakota's concern for her best friend seemed promising, as well as her concern for student safety.

"I'm, like, so ready to speak out against the school," Dakota continued. "And since I knew Carlita and Amber, I bet the news stations will want to hear what I have to say."

Just like that, Carlita appeared directly behind Dakota. She was staring venom into the back of Dakota's neck. The look in her eyes was one of a vampire sizing up its next victim. Raj's eyes widened slightly, but he kept his composure. Meanwhile, Dakota babbled on.

"Like, I could be the head of a movement, here. This could get way bigger than any Prom Queen competition. The nation totally needs to know!"

"Raj," Carlita snapped. "Get on with it."

He shook his head slightly, as Dakota went on.

"I know she talks a lot," said Carlita. "Just interrupt her."

"I-I-didn't we dance together at Prom?" Raj said abruptly.

Dakota paused. "I don't really remember. The whole thing is a blur. Like, it's pretty tragic for me, thinking back on that night," Dakota said with a pout.

"Oh, well, you're a good dancer," Raj said quietly.

Dakota tipped her head and raised an eyebrow. "Thanks? Well, I kind of have to go. It was nice chatting with you."

"You too," Raj said.

Carlita immediately went off on him. "You're just going to let her go?"

Raj just shook his head. They were in public, after all.

"Kukuri, go after her, you stupid coward! Go! What are you waiting for?" Carlita yelled.

But Raj was already edging out of the shop. When they were successfully out of earshot, he whispered, "It's too late, I messed everything up!"

"Who cares? You can't 'mess up' with Dakota. Just tell her she's pretty," said Carlita.

"I told her she was a good dancer and she thought I was weird," said Raj.

"That's because you have the social skills of a slug, and you mumbled it like a serial killer. Honestly, rule number one of hitting on someone is to not act like a serial killer," Carlita said, her voice tight.

"Carlita, I'm really, really sorry," said Raj. "I'm really trying."

"Shut the fuck up," said Carlita. "Sorry doesn't mean anything to me."

"We can try again tomorrow," Raj said softly.

"Let's just hope she forgets your face by tomorrow. I wish I could forget your face," said Carlita.