Thanks to Anon-chan and a guest for reviewing.
Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.
LuxTai: Blackest Black
"Come on!" Mei exclaimed, bouncing on her feet.
"Could you please explain to me why we're at the mall at eight in the morning?" Henri asked. "It's not even opening time."
"Don't you know? It's Black Friday! Don't you know what that means?"
Henri shook his head, before he looked towards the main doors. A sea of people stood there, and a pit of despair opened up in his stomach. He was starting to see why Mei wanted to come early.
"Um, is there a sale or something?" Henri asked.
"How can you not know about Black Friday?!" Mei exclaimed. "It's up to 80 % off! And it's just for one day!"
"And… why did you bring me?"
Mei responded by handing over a sheet of paper.
"I need you to get as many of these as possible, before everything is gone," Mei said. "I'll handle everything else."
Henri looked at the list and he felt that pit grow even larger as an icy rain started to fall. It was a long list, and the only saving grace was that Mei had listed the stores as well. It made things a lot easier.
Bodies slammed into him from all sides. He saw Mei starting to drift away as opening time approached, people growing more anxious to get their shopping done before it was too late.
"Wait, Mei," Henri called out. "Where should we meet when we're finished?"
"Meet me at the food court," Mei said.
The doors opened, and Mei disappeared as the people flooded in, desperate to exploit the specials. Henri checked the list, before he pushed his way towards the first shop. He was glad that the current came from behind, and he dreaded a scenario where he would have to push against the tide.
Two hours later, he made his way towards the food court. Mei was already standing there. While the shops were overflowing, the food court was pretty quiet. It was still too early for lunch, so that perhaps helped.
"So, did you manage to get everything?" Mei asked.
Henri gave her a withered glare.
"Never let me do that again," he said.
A few years ago, South Africa started with Black Friday. And it was a disaster. One thing that I remember from that time was that the website of the biggest online retailer in South Africa crashed by 2 am. So, instead of a single day, some stores have a Black Weekend and others have a Black Week. It's still busy, but it's relatively civil.