The morning after, Mrs. Humphrey thanked the girls. The girls then headed back to their home but then decided to meet at the mall after lunch.
Spencer was waiting to meet Ashley who was awfully late when she stumbled on a store she had never seen all her malling life. Hmm.. How come I never noticed this one before? Spencer asked herself. It looked like an old store. She finally went in after battling with all the residents in her head and to her astonishment, the store is all sorts of weird stuff you'd normally find nowhere. Sitting on her right was a bag of flaming feathers. Its tag read:
Phoenix Downs - $30.00 ea
Spencer wandered to the next aisle. There was a huge poster next to a rack, it read:
Lightsabers – Comes in Red, Blue, Green, Purple, and the latest- Pink!
Another poster was visible.
Ollivander's wands now available!
Please ask for assistance.
Sitting at the center of the room was a glass display shelf. It contained only one item. A gold ring to be specific. Spencer examined it. It was engraved with symbols she couldn't decipher.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them!
Oooohhhh! This must be a movie replica shop. This is so cool!!! Spencer thought.
Spencer turned to her left when BAM! She hit her head on a sign. Ouch! That was embarrassing! Good thing no one else is here. She rubbed her forehead as she picked the nuisance up and read it.
We have what you're looking for, just look closer
"Sure." Spencer smirked.
She put it back on the table beside her and saw something that keeps on drawing her like a bonfire on a cold winter night. She took what seemed like an octagonal shape treasure box. She read the tag.
Compass - $149.95
Oh so it's a compass – a very expensive one. Just then, an old lady appeared somewhere, she somehow looked kinda familiar to Spencer but she couldn't really put a finger on where she had seen the old lady before. Of course I've already seen her, old people look all the same! thought Spencer.
"That's for free, honey." the old lady suddenly said.
"The tag says it costs 150 bucks!" said Spencer.
The old lady brought out scissors and cut the tag off. "What tag?" the old lady winked.
"Sorry, but I can't have this."
"Yes you can, I'm giving it to you. I think you're going to need it. You look a little lost." the old lady insisted. "Now run along dear."
"I'm not lost, but thanks anyway." said Spencer while heading out. The old lady grinned.
Spencer opened up the compass. It was somehow strangely different. On the center of the compass rests a sundial. Underneath the sundial, you'd see the needle you'd normally see in a compass. Spencer carefully placed it on her palm. The red pointer went 360 degrees clockwise, wildly and momentarily, then it moved again counter-clockwise this time. Spencer tried to hold a steady hand. The needle finally calmed down, it pointed towards the ice cream shop.
I was a girl scout before and I certainly know that isn't north. This compass is stupid! Spencer thought.
But before she could do anything, the pointer began to travel clockwise again, slowly and eerily, like the second-pointer of a Rolex watch. Is this possessed or something? The pointer suddenly stops. It was now pointing towards Spencer. All of a sudden, a cold hand from behind grabbed the compass from her hand.
"What's this?" said Ashley as she shook it like a snow globe.
Spencer took it back. "It's a compass but I think its real purpose in life is to be a paperweight. And by the way, you have such cold hands."
"They're not normally cold, I just had ice cream you know," explained Ashley. "Ooooh. The ice cream guy told me a joke! Why can't a bald man wear a turtleneck? Think hard. Visualize it."
"I don't know... Why?"
"Cause he would look like a roll-on deodorant!"
Spencer and Ashley chuckled.
"You can have this if you want." said Spencer as she calmed herself down.
"Yey!" Ashley took the compass.
"Oh, it moves," said Ashley excitedly.
Spencer looked at the compass, it was now pointing towards her direction. She took it back and placed it on her palm. It pointed towards Ashley's direction.
They did this once more, and the red pointer still did the same.
"Oooh. We must be standing where the north and south poles meet and cancel out!" exclaimed Ashley.
"You can't cancel out poles," disagreed Spencer, "It is possible that this is a compass which functions as a geographic north pole locator and a dipole moment locator. Cause you know, the Earth's geomagnetic north pole is the south pole of its dipole moment and consequently, the geomagnetic south pole is really the north pole of its dipole moment. See, dipole moments are vectors which points from the magnetic south to the magnetic north. Or maybe we just discovered the very intriguing and hypothetical monopole which-"
"Aaaahhhh!!! Information overload!" Ashley put her hand on the side of her head. She began running away childishly from Spencer.
"Not funny," yelled Spencer.
Ashley still continued running. She was already disappearing from Spencer's sight. Spencer chased after her but she wasn't fast enough. She paused for a while, her hands on her knees, catching her breath. She looked at all directions and found Ashley nowhere. She sat on the floor, still breathing hard.
Then she collapses.