Shopping wasn't something that happened to the Flock very often, and going anywhere in the car was always an adventure, so the kids were overjoyed when Jeb decided it was time for an outing to the local mall for new clothes. All of them, even little Iggy, had grown considerably since they had arrived at the E shaped house, and they all were in need of new clothes. Gazzy stained most of his tee shirts, all of Iggy's had holes in them from falling into bushes or snagging on trees. Max's and Nudge's were just too small. Fang's shirts were all a bit too small as well, but he really needed pants. All of his had holes in the knees. Not as big as the holes in Iggy's, though.
Iggy destroyed clothes. Even the shoes he had gotten for Christmas were already dirty beyond recognition. That said, Jeb decided it would be good for everyone to get out of the house. None of the kids had ever been to a shopping mall before. The farthest they had been from the house was the local grocery store, and they had no social skills at all. If they were ever going to be out in the world alone, they would have to learn how to handle normal people. So they all bundled up in their winter things, except Iggy, who insisted on wearing his Chuck Taylors instead of snow boots, and headed out to the SUV.
"Whoa this place is huge…the roof is so high…" Fang said when they entered, looking up to the high ceilings, past the second floor and straight out to the skylights.
"Think it's high enough to fly?" Iggy asked too loudly. Max slapped a hand over his face. Iggy licked her palm and she let go.
"Ewww you're so gross!" she said, wiping Iggy's slobber on her jeans. "And don't talk so loud or else people will think we're weird."
"And might call the EPA…" Jeb added under his breath. Iggy nodded.
"Sorry…forgot about that…" he said quietly with a little smile.
"But yes, Iggy. It is high enough." Fang said, grabbing Iggy's hand so he didn't have to hold onto Jeb's shirt; Jeb's hands were full with a sleeping baby Angel, not to mention it's a bit embarrassing having to hold a grown up's hand when you're obviously old enough to walk on your own. At least walking with Fang looked a little more normal. Iggy smiled, imagining the massive building. He tightened his hand around Fang's, a bit overwhelmed at all of the new sounds a smells, slightly frightened by the echoes of voices he had never heard before. He shifted his wings nervously on his back. Jeb grabbed a cart.
"Pile all of your coats in here, then you can go where you want." Jeb instructed. He thought it would be a good idea to give the kids a little independence. "Big girls, stay together," Max took Nudge's hand, eager for the adventure. "And big boys stay together. Fang make sure Iggy's with you. Don't forget about him. Iggy, if you get separated, don't move. Just stay in one spot and we'll find you. That goes for all of you. If you get separated or lost, stay in one place and we'll find you. Gazzy, you stay with me and Angel and we'll get clothes for you." Jeb sat Angel in the baby seat in the cart and thumbed through his wallet, handing Fang and Max 40 $5 dills. "That's $100 dollars for each of you. Clothes only!"
"Do shoes count?" Iggy asked. "'cause I want another pair of Chucks."
"Shoes are alright." Jeb said, "Mostly pants and shirts though, alright?" I'll meet you right back here at 3:00. That's two hours. If you need more time after that, I'll give you more time, but be back here at three no matter what, alright?"
"yup we'll be right back here!" Max said with a smile. "Can we go now?"
"Yes. Have fun!" Jeb said, turning the kids loose.
Nudge immediately dragged Max into a Limited Too.
"Aw Nudge everything in here's pink…" Max said, sticking her tongue out. The only pink thing Max owned was her shoe laces, and those were now camouflaged in dust and dirt, making them more gray than magenta. On the other hand, everything Nudge owned was pink. Everything down to her socks and the sheets on her bed.
"Max but I like this store look at all the pretty things! And everything's got sparkles on it, see? Oh I really like this!" the five year old shrieked, skipping over to a rack of long sleeved shirts, all of them the same shade of pink, all of them decorated with a puppy with a different colored collar. "I like this one with the heart necklace!" Nudge said, yanking down the hanger. "Can I get it Max, please can I?" Max rolled her eyes, but nodded anyway. Nudge bounced in excitement. "oh yay Max this is fun!" she said, continuing to dart around the glittery pink shop, picking out shirts and skirts and tights and little Mary-Jane shoes covered in sequins. Max stood in the middle of the store, smiling at Nudge's joy as she conversed with other little girls about which shirt had the cutest unicorn on it.
This went on for a good while until Max held three different tee shirts, a leopard print hoodie, two pairs of tights in different shades of pink, and the sparkly shoes.
"Kay, Nudge. Time to pay!" Max announced, doing her best to guess-timate the amount she had spent. About fifteen dollars for the tee shirts, that's $45, five dollars for the tights, that's another ten, so about $65, two skirts for ten each, $85, and the sparkly shoes for a final ten, putting Nudge's total at about $95 dollars and some cents. Max took the pile of clothes in her hands over to the counter at the back of the store and plopped the pile on the counter as Nudge followed her, skipping giddily.
"All this?" the young girl behind the counter asked, chewing bubblegum, her hair tied back in a pink bow, her nametag reading Andy.
"Yes! Lots of clothes! Aren't those shoes so cute? And the shirt with the puppy is my favorite, but I also like the unicorn one and the one with the flower that says 'girls rule'. I really like shopping! I think I want to come back again some time but with Jeb so I can get more stuff because there was a really cute stuffed puppy over there with a tiara, but Jeb said I could only buy clothes, so I didn't get it, but I bet if I came back he would let me! I also really like—" Max slapped a hand over Nudge's motor mouth. The girl behind the counter laughed.
"The stuffed puppy is free if you buy over $50 dollars of other stuff, so go grab one." Nudge's big brown eyes sparkled with joy and she ran to the front window of the store to retrieve her puppy-princess, complete with a matching pink tiara. "The total is $97.32." the girl, Andy, said to Max with a smile. "Do you have that much, or do you have to wait for your parents?" she asked with a smile. Max shook her head and pulled all of the money out of her pocket in a wad and handed it to the girl in a ball. She laughed. "My gosh, you have a very brave father! My dad would have never given me all this to spend by myself!" she thumbed through the five dollar bills, counting out the right amount for Max and handing her back the extra, as well as a few shiny coins. "There you go! Thanks for coming!" Max smiled.
"Thanks for the free puppy." Max said with a wave as she took Nudge's hand and left the store.
Now it was Max's turn. Even though she was only ten, Jeb got her a Seventeen magazine recently, as he sometimes did as a treat when it went grocery shopping, and Max had really liked an outfit from a store called 'Aeropostale', so that's where she went. Nudge went eagerly, excited about seeing more things, and seemed to like this next store as much as Limited Too.
Instead of rummaging aimlessly, Max walked to the back counter and pulled out the clipping from the magazine, which she had folded neatly in her pocket and handed it to the girl at the register.
"Could you help me find that stuff? I really like the jeans they're cool." Max asked with a smile.
"Sure thing, kid." The girl said, pushing her red hair behind her ear. "you want the shirt and vest too?" she asked. Max nodded, suddenly feeling a little shy, but followed the girl around the store, picking out the colors she wanted as she went, taking a liking to the greens and blues, but shying away from the pink and purple. She had seen enough pink to last a lifetime in Limited Too, and was thinking about having Iggy burn her shoelaces when she got home for the simple fact that they were (or used to be) magenta. "Do you want to try this stuff on? You're really thin and I think you might need a double zero instead of just a zero…take both into the dressing room and try." The girl said. Max nodded, a bit nervous again. It seemed strange trying on someone else's clothes, but figured it was part of the experience and followed the girl to the fitting rooms. "Tell me if you want a different size or something and I'll get it for you." The girl added before walking away. Max looked at Nudge, who was also in the little dressing room.
"Should I try them on?" she asked.
"Yah do it it'll be fun! Like a fashion show!" Nudge cooed. Max shrugged.
The zero wound up being a little loose, and so she bought two pairs of the double zero jeans in two different washes, as well as two tee shirts; she also bought the puffy warm vest and turtleneck sweater she had seen the girl wearing in the magazine.
"Awesome. Ready to pay?" the girl behind the counter asked when Max handed the girl her selections.
"Yup." Max said, handing her the rest of the bills in her pocket. The girl counted out the correct amount of change and handed it back to Max; the girls had seven dollars and forty-one cents to spare. Max smiled. "Thanks!"
Fang wasn't really sure where to go. Unlike Max and Nudge, he had never once laid eyes on a fashion magazine, and only saw a Playboy one time when it came in the mail by mistake, but that was only for a second before Jeb took it away. He had no idea what he was doing, and figured he would just walk up and down the long corridor of stores until he found something appealing.
He held Iggy's hand, passing all sorts of stores. Fang raised an eyebrow at the shop called 'Hollister' with a naked boy plastered to the door, and tried to keep away from the stores that smelled like perfume. He was embarrassed to even look at Victoria's Secret, but Iggy liked the way that one smelled.
"Are we shopping yet?" he asked, sticking close to Fang, obviously a bit nervous.
"Um…I guess so…All of these stores are weird, though…" Fang answered.
"That one back there smelled good." He said, pointing back in the direction of an Abercrombie.
"Yah but that's all girl clothes and weird stuff…" Fang said, watching a gang of girls in tight shirts and high ponytails walk out of the Abercrombie, two of them wearing sunglasses, the others gossiping and talking on their cell phones. One of them had a soda.
"Oh…" Iggy said, making a face.
They walked a bit further. Fang was beginning to get discouraged when nothing caught his eye and decided to just go into a department store. Macy's was supposed to be okay. He saw ads for that all the time on TV, and someone would help him if he needed it. He guided Iggy inside and made for the kid's section.
"Um…Do you want to sorta…feel around and see if you like stuff, or…" Fang asked his friend, unsure of what to do. Iggy shrugged.
"I don't think it really matters. I guess I'll just hang out and you can get stuff for both of us and I'll just try it on." he smiled, his missing front teeth finally starting to come in.
"Okay." Fang smiled back, pushing up the elastic holding up his pony tail. "Um…just hang out around here, okay? I'll look around." Iggy nodded a bit nervously as he heard Fang's familiar footsteps fade into the murmur of shoppers. Iggy reached out a hand, deciding to play a sort of game and find the softest thing he could, then the itchiest sweater, and the shirt with the weirdest feeling. He could do that to pass the time. He smiled, pleased with his ingenuity as he ran his hands along the racks.
It wasn't long until Iggy ran into trouble, though. Iggy was a good little guy. He didn't do anything so very wrong, and never ever had bad intentions (unless creating a bomb out of common household items is considered a bad intention…) but somehow, trouble always found him, probably because he was such an easy target. He was tiny and more or less helpless in a new situation, not to mention blind.
It started with hissing whispers and laughing from kids somewhere to his left. He stopped walking to listen, his foggy blue eyes darting about the way they did when he was nervous. He scratched his leg with his opposite foot.
"Hey kid you alright?" a voice said. Iggy smiled a bit to himself. Maybe they weren't laughing at him after all.
"um no I'm okay…Thanks though." He said, continuing his walk around the kids section, just feeling his way through the racks.
"'Cause you look pretty stupid doing that." The same boy added a moment later. "Do you want us to bring you over to the cashier so she can find your mommy?" Iggy gritted his teeth and fisted on of his hands around his shirt.
"No. I said I'm fine." He added, a bit more sharply, wishing he could look those jerks in the face.
"Why don't you look at me, huh moron? Don't you know it's rude not to look at people when they talk to you, huh?" Iggy lifted his head, biting his lip, hoping he was looking in the right direction. Apparently he wasn't, for the two boys both started to laugh.
"Maybe we should stop, Thomas." The second boy said to the first. "I think he's special ed or something." They continued laughing. Iggy decided it was best to ignore them and continued walking around the isles, guiding himself with his hand more discreetly now.
"Hey kid where do you think you're going?" the first boy, Thomas, barked, approaching Iggy with heavy footsteps from behind. He gave Iggy a shove right in the middle of his back with two chubby hands. Iggy fell on his hands and knees, startled and frightened. Where was Fang?
"Please stop…" Iggy said quietly, as politely as he could. His equilibrium had been all switched around by the sudden fall, and Iggy was dizzy, which is not a fun thing to be, especially when you're blind.
"It's your fault." The second boy said. "If you weren't so stupid and rude Lenny wouldn't have had to teach you a lesson."
"I didn't do anything!" Iggy snapped, standing up as best he could and steadying himself on a nearby clothes rack.
"Yah, yah, whatever. Come on, Tommy lets go. He's just a stupid-ass kid." What?! A stupid kid?! They didn't sound all that much older than Iggy, if they were older at all! Whatever. They weren't worth the trouble. That's what Fang always said when someone made Iggy feel bad. They weren't worth the effort to retaliate; it was best to just ignore them.
Fang returned a moment later just as the boys were walking away, still laughing. Fang watched them go with a raised eyebrow, wondering what was so funny. He quickly put two and two together when he saw Iggy trying to steady himself on a clothes rack, rubbing at his lower back and wiping carpet stuff off of his hands.
"Aw Ig I'm sorry. What idiots." He said, putting an arm around Iggy's shoulders.
"It's okay." He shrugged. "They're not worth the effort." He said, quoting Fang. The dark haired boy smiled.
"you're right. But come on, I found stuff I think you might like, kay?" he said, walking Iggy into the dressing room and pulling off his shirt and jeans. "take all your stuff off, okay? Here's a shirt." He handed Iggy a striped rugby shirt which he pulled on, then swung his arms.
"I like this shirt. It's comfy." He smiled.
"Kay. Is it too big or something? It covers your hands a little…"
"No I like it. it's good." Iggy smiled, pulling off the shirt.
"Good I got two in different colors. That one you just had on is green with a blue stripe sorta diagonal through it. It's got a big #4 printed on the back and that's white like the collar. The other one's dark blue with an orange stripe straight through the middle, kay?" Iggy nodded. He wasn't all that impressed with colors and could care less so long as it was comfortable. "I found a sweater too. It's made of really soft stuff and it's kinda light blue. You'll like it, here." Fang said with a smile, handing the cozy sweater to Iggy who grinned when he felt it.
"I really like this." he said, fisting his hands around the sleeves. Fang knew Iggy liked his clothes a little big so he could snuggle up in them, so even though he was obviously a small, Fang brought in mostly mediums for him. "This is really soft…I really, really like this. Can I get another one in a different color or something?"
"Sure…But you might have to put something back because the sweater is more money than the other stuff…What color do you want? I'll put back the plain button shirt I got…"
"Yah put that back I don't like those. Um…Was there a green one? Or a yellow one?" Blue had been Iggy's favorite color, back when he could see colors, but the sweater he was wearing was blue, and green was probably his next favorite. Yellow was just a happy color Iggy remembered fondly, so why not?
"There was a green one I'll get that. Try on the pants while I'm gone." Iggy did so, keeping his sweater on. Fang returned a moment later. "You like that sweater, huh?" he laughed a bit.
"Yah…can I keep it on?"
"Yah I guess so. The tag is on the sleeve so I guess it's okay." Iggy smiled, sitting quietly on the little chair in the corner of the fitting room while Fang quickly tried on his shirts. He was content with the few items he had brought in and was finished in no time at all.
"Finished?" Iggy asked.
"Yup. Hm…Those first shirts you tried on were buy-one-get-one free, and the sweaters were $25…you only spent $60 dollars… I think I have a lot left too…"
"Want to go somewhere else too? I sorta want a tee shirt that says something funny on it. I like it when people laugh." He said with a smile. Fang grinned back.
"Yah. I want a band tee-shirt. I really like Led Zeppelin…"
"Yah I like those guys too. And David Bowie." Iggy smiled at Fang, then added: "You remind me of the babe."
"What babe?" Fang replied.
"The babe with the power!"
"What power?!"
"The power of VOODOO!"
"WHO DO?!"
"YOU DO!" Iggy finished. They both started laughing as Fang took their purchases through the store, holding Iggy's hand.
"Hey there's the special ed kid again." Iggy heard the familiar voice of Thomas ringing out from behind him.
"Aw look he's with his girlfriend." The other boy, Lenny, said. Fang whipped around.
"Hey lay off, would you?" he said, pushing the elastic up his pony tail again.
"Oops. Sorry. I didn't know you were a guy. Time for a haircut, Nancy!" Thomas laughed. Fang grabbed his ponytail protectively.
"Come on you guys stop. You already made Iggy upset a—" Fang tried to continue, but was cut off by Lenny.
"Sorry we insulted your special ed boyfriend."
"Hey look, kid," Fang growled, releasing Iggy's hand and dropping his clothes in a pile on the ground. He grabbed Lenny's collar and brought his face up to meet Fang's. "He's got it hard enough already. Can't you see he's blind? Leave him alone. He's got to go through with assholes like you every day. Lay off." Fang hissed. He released Lenny with a push that sent him stumbling back into Thomas's pudgy stomach, then picked up his stuff and grabbed Iggy's hand. "Come on, Ig." He said as they walked over to check out.
"Thanks Fang…" Iggy cooed meekly as they walked back towards where they had left Jeb, looking for an interesting store to stop in and buy more clothes. Both of the boys had a little over $40 left, so they figured they'd stop in a Hot Topic and pick up some witty tee shirts, just to have a little fun. Iggy wouldn't be harassed there, either. Everyone in that place was a little different, so Iggy would fit right in. So would Fang, for that matter.
It didn't take long to find the store. It was loud, and rather frightening to the average Joe, but Fang found it exhilarating and exciting, and they played music Iggy liked, so it was a win-win situation.
Fang walked over to the shelves under a tee shirt display and read the front.
"Iggy, this one has a Storm Trooper on the front, you know, from Star Wars, and it says 'I had friends on that death star'" Iggy laughed.
"I like that one. What other ones are there?" he asked.
"This one's just got a mustache on it." Iggy laughed. "And this one says 'I've got gas and I'm not afraid to use it'. Sounds like Gasman sometimes."
"ALL the time!" Iggy laughed.
"Oh you'll like this one. It's just a giraffe wearing a monocle and a bowtie and a top hat."
"Yah! Yah that's funny get that one! And the Storm Trooper one!" Fang smiled.
"Kay! And I found a Led Zeppelin tee shirt, so we're all set." Fang walked over to the register where a really tall, skinny guy was working the register. His nose had a ring through one side, and his ears were pierced all the way up to the top. His shirt had a skull and cross bones across it, but the skull in the middle was wearing a top hat, sort of like Iggy's giraffe tee shirt.
"Hey little dudes. What's up?" the boys smiled, Iggy's eyes darted around the store. "Whoa is that little dude okay?" the guy asked, looking at Iggy. "Looks like he's got lazy eye or somethin'." The guy chuckled a little and ran a hand through his shoulder length, blonde hair.
"huh? Oh yah sorry." Iggy said closing his eyes. He couldn't always tell when his eyes were darting around like that, and figured closing his eyes was the best bet.
"Aw sorry, little dude. It's cool." The guy said as he finished ringing up their tee shirts. Fang handed him the money, but he refused it.
"Nah it's cool." He fished dumped the tip jar and counted out just under twenty dollars, enough for two of the tee shirts. "Buy one get one. I got this. I just need ten." He said with a smile. Iggy's cheeks turned red.
"Thanks." He said with a meek smile.
"no problem, little dude. You and your friend are pretty cool. He's got wicked sick hair and you're just awesome. Your eyes are like, duuuuude. They're so blue it's crazy."
"They're not that great." He said with a little laugh and a shrug. The guy behind the counter handed Iggy the bag.
"I think they're pretty sick." He said. Fang smiled at him, thankful he had been so kind to Iggy. It always made Iggy happy when someone complimented him or said that he was cool or nice or funny. He really loved it, even if he acted embarrassed.
"I liked that guy. He was nice." Iggy said as they approached Jeb.
"Yah. He liked you."
"Everyone likes me, Fang. Anyone who says they don't are just in denial." Iggy said, standing up straight and gesturing grandly with his hand.
"you're such a bonehead." Fang said with a laugh.
Everyone met back at just the right time. Nudge skipped up, holding Max's hand, swinging her pink paper Limited Too bag. Max had her bag from Aeropostale. Fang held his and Iggy's bags, and Jeb had a cart full of clothes for himself and the little kids.
"Everyone seems to have had a successful shopping excursion." He said with a smile, handing the kids their coats and replacing them with their bags.
"Yes it was so much fun! I love shopping!" Nudge announced. Max laughed at her excitement.
"What about you boys?"
"I got the best sweater ever." Iggy said. "And a funny tee shirt." He smiled.
"I got jeans and a few long sleeve shirts…A Led Zeppelin shirt." Fang shrugged.
"great. I'm proud of you guys. You went shopping all by yourselves. No help at all. And the police didn't show up! Or the local news station!" the kids laughed. They knew Jeb had to be very careful and not make a scene with the kids around, for they were technically wanted by the government, but Jeb always made light of it, making jokes about how they were police magnets and whatnot. He held the door for the kids and they paraded out to the car.
"I'm glad you guys had fun." Jeb said as he helped Gazzy buckle his seat belt.
"I think we should go shopping every day!" Nudge said, holding her new stuffed puppy.
"I've created a monster…" Jeb said to himself.
(That wasn't well written at all. Sorry. I sort of just had an idea and wanted to write it down. Hope you like it anyway! *shrug*)