Want To Know:
A couple of weeks passed as the group continued their mission. With Kick, Gunther and Mouth having their rotation come up again, Brianna thought it be best to have a small girls' weekend, since there was three-day weekend again that marked the end of March. Plus with the fact their Teachers wanted a half day the Friday before the weekend, it was rather perfect. Teena and Scarlet agreed, as did Jackie and Kendall, since they still had some lingering questions in their head.
The girls were still trying to find ways to figure out the truth about a few things. They just were unsure of how to go about things. Jackie did not dare want to discuss things with her mother. However, when her mother left for her business trips, she was constantly looking throughout the house, through her files and anywhere else for anything to help find out the truth. She sadly found nothing. She didn't know if that meant what the Trenton girls told her was a lie, or if maybe, her mom was good at keeping secrets. Seeing as she also found something else suspicious, there wasn't anything about her pregnancy, about her first few years, no pictures, baby books, nothing. Even more, there was nothing from her mom's childhood, nothing about her mom's family, nothing. She wanted to know this information. She needed to know.
She told Kendall, and Kendall told Jackie the same thing, seeing as Kendall got most of her mom's memorabilia. And there was nothing. No childhood anything prior to her mom's middle school years, where she was able to see her mom get into Mellowbrook's middle school at the time, befriending Kick and Gunther's moms, and growing up from there. Kendall was just as suspicious. She found only one diary. And it confirmed a little, just a little, seeing as it gave some insight about her and Jackie's mothers' friendship, but other than that, there was nothing else. She didn't know where else to look.
The girls knew these questions would not go away, however it wasn't just the stuff about their mothers that had them wanting to know more. Sadly the Trenton girls had them questioning a lot more than they should. They were growing more curious now than they were before about their friends and boyfriends. What the girls said about being honest upfront stuck with them. Although Kendall admitted not only to herself but to Jackie, she could understand the element of why they might not be, however once everything was found out, that should have changed things. Many things.
They tried to use the internet to look up stuff that they didn't understand, however only found stuff that mostly were in books and the myths they already knew about, or that were debunked by their friends. So they were hitting walls in their research, but when Brianna suggested a girls' day to the mall, they were happy to go. Especially since the mall was downtown with more boutiques and a few bookstores in the downtown area and in the mall. They figured they could try to get some research in, while the others shopped around.
(*)
When their half day ended, Brianna borrowed one of Kick's cars. They drove down to the mall, Kendall sitting in the front with Brianna, while Jackie was in the back with Teena and Scarlet. They were looking for a parking spot, talking about some of the boutiques they could visit in the mall.
"I am still hitting that new make-up and jewelry place." Teena stated, which made Scarlet just roll her eyes and Brianna giggle.
"You have enough make-up." Scarlet was irritated. "I swear…the fact you have like ten suit cases full of it." She messaged her temples.
"It's twelve suit cases." Teena corrected. "And they're travel suit cases."
"And that makes it better!?" Scarlet stared at her. Jackie and Kendall now laughing.
"Teena can I ask why you have so much make-up?" Jackie was curious.
"The better question is why you shouldn't have a lot of make-up?" Teena countered. Scarlet just rolled her eyes again, letting out a grunt. Kendall and Brianna snickering. "Hey, just saying." Teena pointed out. "There was a time when there was no make-up at all, now that's a time when you needed make-up."
"Teena…" Brianna had a tone.
"Just saying." Teena reminded.
"That may be, but historically speaking, didn't people use paint, berries, or find ways to make the first 'make-up' back then." Kendall recalled her readings from her history text books.
"They did, but those times…well not all history books tell it how it should be." Scarlet glanced away.
"What do you mean?" Jackie questioned.
"No offense to humans." Scarlet started. "But if you think about any historical event, they like to tell things mostly from one perspective, mainly the one in power. Or the one who they think is correct." Scarlet continued. "When there are several other perspectives out there." She mentioned. "Some that might actually tell the truth." The girls listened to that.
"I think what Scarlet is getting at, like with anything, people should listen to multiple sides before making their decision on something, not just one. And it's not just a human issue." She shot a look through the rear view mirror at Scarlet, who glanced away. "However, sadly we don't really see that happening all too often. Especially in history."
"Is that why Kick and Loraina don't like history?" Kendall wondered.
"It's one reason." Scarlet brought up. "There's a few others…" She mumbled under her breath, that only Brianna and Teena caught. Teena gave her a look now as well.
"Well I guess that makes sense. I mean people do like to silence others voices, plus tell what they think is the truth, because it's what they recall of the event, or it's what they want the masses to know, in the sense of the narrative." Kendall thought about it. "Although is it really just a human thing?" She glanced back at Scarlet.
"Well to be fair with the wars and major events…" She retorted.
"Scarlet." Brianna warned.
"No let her continue." Jackie, as well as Kendall, wanted to know more. "Besides it is kinda true we don't see much about Vampire wars or anything along those lines."
"That's because it's secret for a reason." Brianna reminded. "However, there have been times throughout history of our kind, or the supernatural world being, shall I say unearthed for some type of gain."
"What do you mean?" Kendall was curious.
"You remember the witch trials in Salem?" Brianna replied. "Plus the first few 'monster' books created, way back when."
"And let's not forget the dark ages." Scarlet brought up.
"Scarlet…" Brianna shot her another look.
"But that was all before your guys' time." Jackie spoke. "But I suppose those in those times probably didn't like it…" She thought about it.
"More like it was discrimination to the max, especially if you were a women." Scarlet commented. "And we won't even go into the fact if you were another race, or looked different." She continued. "If you had different ideologies, acted different, or anything of the sort you pretty much were wanted for dead." She had a tone about it. "There was no chivalry, it was all just sexist men doing as they please because they had the power to do so."
"But that was the time period then, wasn't it?" Kendall glanced. "It's sad, horrible in fact, but wasn't that how it was?"
"It still never made it right, nor excused it." Teena shrugged.
"I guess it's good to be born now." Jackie stated.
"It's always great to be born now, however so long as we never go back to that way of thinking." Scarlet reminded. "The point of history is to learn from it and not repeat nor erase it." The girls nodded.
"And with that I found a parking spot." Brianna chimed in. "Come on let's go." They got out of the car heading towards the mall after Brianna parked.
"I am heading to that boutique!" Teena already rushing inside. Scarlet still rolling her eyes.
"And there goes the rest of the place." She let out exasperated sigh. "The place it just going to be filled with sparkles forever." Brianna laughed at that.
"There's a sports store you can go to, if you want to relax." She offered, hoping that might help.
"Yep, I'm going there." Scarlet waving her thanks as she went to the direction of the sports place.
"We'll see ya Bri, we're gonna go check out some bookstores." Kendall told Brianna, as she grabbed Jackie's arm.
"Okay, I'll see you when we meet for a snack!" She called as she went to go find Teena so she could also see the make-up place.
Jackie and Kendall made it to the bookstore. They scoured through the sections looking through the many different fiction and mythology sections. They weren't finding anything fruitful about vampires that they didn't already know or debunked. They kept up their search since there was two bookstores in the mall. When they were done with the first bookstore, they went to the second exploring the vast sections it had. However, they were disappointed because they weren't finding anything in their search.
"Anything new?" Jackie questioned as she put away another book. She continued to scan the array of books.
"No." Kendall shook her head. "There doesn't seem to be anything here about vampires." She answered. "Well I mean nothing we haven't already read, don't already know, or didn't find out to be a myth…" She quietly added.
"Right." Jackie let out a sigh.
"Can I help you girls?" Both were startled when they heard someone's voice. They glanced to see an employee standing at the end of the aisle near them. He smiled at them.
"Oh…um…we're just looking." Kendall made up.
"Interesting section, isn't it?" He asked.
"Ah, yeah." Jackie agreed.
"We normally don't get many looking into the mythology and supernatural sections." He continued. "Is there anything in particular you're looking for that I can help with?" Both girls glanced at one another.
"Well…um…actually we were wondering, is this all you guys have on the vampire section?" Kendall questioned.
"Is there maybe, perchance, anything new or not on the shelves in the back?" Jackie added.
"Sadly, this is all we have on the subject matter when it comes to the supernatural and their mythologies." He thought about it at first before speaking. "I wish we did have more though." He admitted. Both girls let out their own breaths.
"I see…" Jackie replied.
"Thank you for letting us know." Kendall mentioned.
"Might I ask, is there a particular reason for why you girls are looking for information on vampires?" He inquired. "We might not have a vast selection on the subject, but we do have it on other creatures like sea monsters, or others." He offered. "Plus there is the teen section with the array of romance and adventure novels."
"As great as that would be to learn about other supernatural beings." Jackie began, glancing slightly at Kendall. "Not to mention those… um, interesting fiction books…"
"We're…um…we're doing a report." She lied, trying to help. "And it's based on Greek mythology and how vampires got their start." She continued. "But we wanted to see if there was maybe, anything new or unknown information about vampires that others don't know." She brought up. "You know for the report. To compare against the mythology or with the stories many people know." She said. "Something we certainly can't find in the teen section." She finished.
"That seems like it would be an interesting report." He thought about it. "Although, I am sorry to say we don't have much on the topic, but the usual material." He showed them the books behind them. They nodded at that.
"Right…thanks." Jackie spoke, disappointed still.
"However…" He glanced around. "I might not be allowed to do this, due to conflict of interest, in regards to my workplace." He mentioned. "But, there is this other place that I work at besides here that…shall I say caters to the supernatural topics, especially that of vampires." He gave them a card. "Which can't be found in normal bookstores." He offered the specific detail, which interested them.
"So this bookstore has just books all about the supernatural?" Kendall asked. He nodded.
"Perfect for your research for this…report of yours." He responded. "I normally go do a shift there after I am done with my shift here." He mentioned. "It's been open for about a year now. And people love that they get information about all types of creatures from the mages, sea creatures, and even vampires. Information that you wouldn't normally get on the internet, in the mythologies, or fiction books." He told them. "It's really remarkable if you ask me."
"And it's not that far away either…" Jackie glanced at the card as Kendall held it.
"If you girls want any additional info, I'd go there." He smiled.
"Thanks." They replied. He nodded.
"Glad I could help." He waved as he went back to help other costumers in the teen section. Kendall's phone then beeped.
"It's Brianna." She glanced at the device. "Wants to know where we are."
"Guess we should text that we can meet up with her at the food court." Jackie said. Kendall nodded as she started to text a reply.
"Before we find a way to go to this bookstore, we should also go to that one boutique." Kendall finished the text. "I want some new nightgowns and stuff." She giggled.
"Ooo, yes." Jackie liked the idea. "Should definitely go there before leaving." She agreed.
The girls eventually met up with Brianna and the others at the food court to have a small snack. Prior to leaving the mall, they did go to a few clothing places, which Teena pointed out to Kendall some of the fashions, hoping to give her not only some inspiration but also some encouragement to get her to pursue something in fashion. Kendall didn't mind looking at all the trends as it was helpful, plus she enjoyed talking with Jackie and Teena about the topic. Brianna laughed at them at some points, while texting Scarlet to meet with them since she knew the girl was still at the sports stores.
As the girls all left the mall heading down the street to look at some more shops, after putting their bags away in Brianna's car, Teena wanted to check out more make-up and jewelry stores, which only annoyed Scarlet. Luckily for her though, she could check out some bike and skate shops, to get away from Teena's madness. Brianna wanted to join in with Teena, as she wanted to get some different products that may not have been in the mall's boutiques.
"You girls coming?" Brianna wondered as she looked at the girls.
"Actually we're going to go check out this bookstore that's around the corner." Kendall replied.
"More books?" Brianna giggled. "Don't you girls have enough?"
"We can never have enough books." Kendall countered.
"Plus, we couldn't really find the fiction books we were looking for…they were all sold out." Jackie made up.
"Yeah, we're hoping they're at this store." Kendall mentioned. Brianna just chuckled as she had a small eye roll.
"Fine, just text when you're done." She spoke. "We'll head back to your place or mine and play games or something."
"Ooo, we should play that new game we bought." Jackie suggested.
"Done." Brianna laughed. "Anyway, don't be too long." She commented. "As I'll make sure these two aren't too long either."
"Thanks Bri." Kendall nodded. "See ya in a bit." They waved as they went to bookstore, Brianna just shaking her head with a smile before she headed into the shop Teena was in.
To be continued…
L: I love that you are making so many statements in here. I love you so much. From not only the politics, but the make-up. Just wonderful.
S: I do what I do.
L: I can tell. You love to make statements.
S: Don't most?
L: Yes. Yes they do. We are all opinionated. Well said.
S: Well, thanks for reading as always!
L: We, especially myself, cannot wait for more.
S: Hope you enjoyed! See you soon!
Both: Please keep safe! Bye!