Author's note, part une:
Hey! More reviews! Thanks Blood Pony! Peanut butter cookies for you!! I promise I'll explain Varon's behavior in the previous chapter.
Varon: Why would you--
Me: The story hasn't started yet.
I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!, any of the monsters/characters/etc., the bus system, any motorcycle stores, any pedestrians, Ala Moana Shopping Center (I don't consider this advertising, because it also doubles as a bus terminal), the song "Space Fight!" (that belongs to Akira Yamaoka), or anything else that isn't me. My mother's car (the white sports car) is mentioned again. Sorry mom!
Four more days to finish this story. . .looks like multi-chapter uploads are going to become more commonplace.
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Varon hadn't felt like waiting for Raphael to get the rental motorcycles. He sat calmly on a bus en route to the biggest open-air shopping center in the nation - Ala Moana Shopping Center. Finding a bus to Ala Moana had been a snap. Towards the back, a group of three people constantly peeked at him. When the bus came to a stop, he moved a bit closer to the back of the bus. When some fool with a death wish dared to cross in front of the bus, he discreetly stole the souls of the three boys that wouldn't stop staring at him. If they had been three girls, they would still have their souls.
It was male chivalry at its best/worst.
The rest of the bus ride to Ala Moana was uneventful, not counting four other close calls with pedestrians. The bus driver was kind enough to stop in the middle of the parking structure. Varon took the time to look around. Cars littered the parking lot, and many more searched in vain for a place to park. A white sports car braked mere inches from a couple that walked and talked merrily in front of the stopped car. Varon saw the woman's face tighten. Amazingly, she didn't honk.
Varon deftly dodged frantic drivers as they circled around the parking lot. He was glad that he took the bus to the shopping center. He didn't have to worry about parking.
Ala Moana, in the twilight hours, would have been gorgeous, if the rain wasn't there dampen the atmosphere. Covered walkways sheltered a variety of stores, some stranger than others. Many of the stores that fronted the parking lot were clothing stores. Varon also spotted a couple of places to eat, a couple of shops dedicated to surfing, a variety of other stores which Varon didn't feel like categorizing, and a post office. He would be coming back to the post office later.
The massive sidewalk was broken by several stands of plants. Rain poured down from the open skylights above the plants. When the weather was clear, the ledges around the plants were probably used as impromptu benches.
Varon's feet led him to a very disturbing store. He shook his head and walked on. Stores like those were the reason why the world had to be destroyed.
That store would get business from Amelda, if he could find it.
As Varon wandered around Ala Moana, his thoughts wandered back to the taxi ride that he had endured earlier in the day. He was almost certain that the taxi driver had swindled them out of some cash. How could a bus beat a taxi?
Amelda's expression throughout the entire cab ride had prompted Varon to act a bit more feisty than usual. It wasn't hard to tug at Amelda's uptight strings, and the reactions from the redhead made life all the more interesting. Fortunately, Amelda was too dense to realize that he was being toyed with like a marionette.
Raphael didn't joke around. Period.
The native language of Hawaii was Hawaiian, of course. Many of the places in Hawaii had Hawaiian names. Like Ala Moana.
Varon heard horrible music. He stopped dead in his tracks. A tacky store blared horrible music from its doorway. Kids ran in and out of the store. Several teenagers hung out near the store's entrance. Varon moved on. He didn't need any more teenage girls to declare their love for him.
There was only one for him, and she was in California, no doubt still upset with him. Maybe a nice trinket from Hawaii would help to mend things with her.
A large stage stood in the center of a particularly large open-air area. Varon looked up. Many more stores lined the second floor, stores that sold more than cheapness.
He found the escalator up easily enough. On his way up, another group of teenage girls looked at him and blushed. He resisted the strong urge to feed them to the Leviathan. Too many awkward questions would be asked.
He took the time to stop and look at the stores on the second level. Many of the stores on this level were the type that catered to the excessively wealthy. Or the excessively foolish. He wasn't sure what kind of person would walk into a store with such hideous photographs in their windows.
The second level was one long walkway, and he had taken the escalator that left him right in the middle of said walkway. Shoppers nearly shoved each other in the holiday rush. A large Christmas tree decorated a distant walkway. The decorations were tacky enough to make his shirt look decent.
He randomly chose a direction and took in the stores on that branch. He passed several jewelry stores. The people from within the shops gave him unfriendly looks. Most of the stuff they sold could be obtained elsewhere. He was looking for something more unique to Hawaii.
He finally found what he was looking for on the third floor. He left the store with a fancy bracelet. The saleslady had been more than kind in helping him to pick out a gift.
He saw a knot of people clustered around the escalator leading to the ground floor. He swore softly and attempted to make his way through the crowd. A large sign indicated that the escalator down was currently under repair. Just his luck. Someone stepped on his foot. The perpetrator melted into the crowd before Varon could rearrange his/her/its face.
Shoppers milled about in confusion. Scattered groups broke away from the mob without a purpose. Varon followed one of those groups. Maybe they knew the way down.
The speech of the group he followed wasn't exactly English. He could make out some words, but others sounded like total gibberish. It sounded like English with several other languages mixed in.
The group he followed had gone to a store near the far end of the mall. Varon spotted an escalator near that store. He rode down, glad to be going back down to earth. On the way up, a group of high school kids stopped and stared at him. The girls blushed. The guys glared. Varon shook his head.
The rain had intensified. It came down in rippling sheets. The wind blew the wind into the mall. The bus stop was in the direct path of the rain. Large blue signs indicated which buses went where. Before Varon had a chance to read the signs, a bus stopped. He hopped on.
The bus took a few unfamiliar turns. Then it turned again, onto a large street. Varon had hopped on the wrong bus.
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Author's note, part deux:
I exaggerated the number of suicidal pedestrians on the way over to Ala Moana, but not within Ala Moana. I'm one of them.
I'm not sure where I read the little fact that Ala Moana is the largest open-air mall in the nation. The info on Ala Moana as a bus terminal can be found on certain buses. It's one of the first advertisments that's on the bus.
Ala Moana, in the middle of a rainstorm, is NOT a comfortable place to be. The rain falls through the decorative skylights, as well as the large open areas on the second floor. Those that aren't near the horribly air-conditioned stores get splashed. It's not much fun.
Varon got his bracelet at a store that I will not name. The "disturbing store" will also go unnamed. Go to Ala Moana and shop yourself.
What Varon does to Amelda is what I do to several other people in my life. It doesn't mean I'm romantically interested in any of them.
The broken escalator incident happened to me. Sorry Varon!
The incidents with the stores also happened to my mom and me. We were allowed in one of the really upscale stores, but the salespeople gave us strange looks from entrance to exit. I wasn't about to put Varon through that!
The odd language that Varon overheard is known as Pidgin English, or pidgin. The grammar structure is somewhat different from conventional English, and the words within pidgin are derived from MANY different languages. The inflections of the regular English words is also different. It's a very casual language, and it's not uncommon to hear families speak it among each other. I'm NOT saying that all the locals speak pidgin. Most of the people I know don't speak pidgin at all. There's an equal chance that Varon could have followed a group that spoke Japanese, proper English, or a mix of English and pidgin. The mention of pidgin was only meant as a local touch.
The bus system is very handy, but very inconvenient if ridden the wrong way. Varon's fate will be decided in the next chapter. I promise I won't have him cornered by a wall of screaming girls!
Last but not least, NO COUPLINGS! I needed an excuse for Varon to go shopping; I don't support ANY couplings, because I am a stick in the mud. So please don't get any ideas!!