Chapter Four-
"I've never been to a shopping mall," Gazelle whispered, eyeing the man sitting across from her. She brushed a hand lightly on the leather seat, marveling at the smooth texture and strong smell. She had hardly believed her eyes when Richmond had stepped out of the long black limo, and the chauffeur had opened the door for her. She felt out of place among all the luxury. She glanced at her tattered sweater, and picked some of the lint off before scolding herself. There was no reason to be ashamed.
"Well then, it's your lucky day, isn't it?" Richmond replied with a big grin. He looked like a little kid on Christmas morning. "You can have whatever you want, okay? My treat."
"Anything?" she asked doubtfully.
"Anything," he confirmed.
"What if it's a thousand dollars?"
"What do you mean, what if it's a thousand dollars?" He chuckled. "Stop asking questions, girl."
"Okay," she replied quietly.
A half hour later, they arrived at the massive shopping mall in downtown. Gazelle pressed her face against the glass, craning her neck for a better view. The driver dropped them off at the front entrance, and Valentine opened the door for the girl. She hopped out.
They entered the mall, the air cool against their skin. She gaped at the enormity of it.
"Have you never been to a shopping mall?" Richmond asked incredulously.
She shook her head quickly.
"Well then… let's start… here," he decided, putting a light hand on her shoulder and guiding her towards a nearby Gap. An employee folding clothes gave them a bright smile as they entered. Valentine walked up to her.
"Hi there, how are you?" she asked.
"Good thanks. We want some new clothes for this young lady, please."
"Sure! What kind, hon?" she asked Gazelle.
"Uh…" Gazelle trailed off, at lost for words. "Nice ones?" Valentine and the lady chuckled.
"Sure, sweetie," she said with a smile. "I'm Sarah, by the way."
Fifty minutes later, Gazelle and Valentine stood at the cashier. The countertop was laden with clothes. Admittedly, Richmond had tried to get what he called a dope-ass hat on her, but she blatantly refused. She liked one outfit so much that Sarah simply cut the tags off of the clothes after they had been purchased, and after bidding farewell, Gazelle strode confidently out of the store in her new outfit.
"Gazelle, I need to make a few phone calls," Valentine told her. He glanced around him, seeing a video store nearby. "Go pick out a movie or something, okay? We can watch it at my house afterwards."
"I'm going to your house?" Gazelle asked.
"Well, duh. I ain't gonna just ditch you later." He gave her a grin and handed her his credit card. "Knock yourself out, kiddo. I'll wait here until you're done, and vice versa, okay?" She nodded and meandered into the store, examining the shelves of movies, music, and video games.
"Woah," Gazelle mumbled to herself as she stepped into an aisle stocked with cartoons on the right side and nasty, bloody looking DVD's on the left. She took a hesitant step, eyes darting to the cartoons briefly before grabbing a movie titled Battle Royale and stuffing it underneath her new sweater, afraid of anyone catching her holding it. It was unrated.
She'd seen an advertisement recently- and she knew she just had to watch it. Just for good measure, she ran back to the same aisle and grabbed a cartoon movie with a cat and a mouse on it- called Tom and Jerry. She brought them up to the cashier.
The employee raised an eyebrow, looking condescendingly at her through his glasses. She held out the credit card and he gave her a suspicious look. She smiled innocently.
"I'm getting Tom and Jerry!" she declared.
"Uh huh," he muttered. She beamed. Inside though, she thought of the different ways she could incapacitate him. But there was little an eight year old could do in the current situation, so she played dumb.
"The scary looking movie's for my brother," she explained, rambling. "I don't like scary movies, you know. Mommy says that she used to be scared as well." He rolled his eyes, scanning the discs and placing them in a bag for her. She pocketed the credit card. "Thanks, mister."
She skipped out of the store.
Oh boy, she couldn't wait to watch the bloody movie with Valentine. He'd love it, she was sure.
P.S. Gazelle doesn't know about Valentine's... sensitivity... to blood. At least, not yet... XD
Hope you enjoyed it, thank you for the reviews! Leave a comment if you have a request or anything to say at all!
Sorry about the hiatus on this story, I've been working on a lot of other ones, and also... exams and summative assessments. Urgh.
-happynomnom