The side entrance to the mall was quiet, as sliding doors opened in and closed in the wake of Eyre and Simpson. Venturing forth, the two would emerge in the massive indoor promenade, where people from all over the schoolship were scurrying about, chatter echoing throughout the air. Eyre could feel a tug on her arm as Simpson rushed ahead, dragging Eyre along with her. Following Simpson, she could see her friend set her sights on a clothing store in front of them, with no particular label out front. Simpson entered the store, with Eyre following her inside. Finding a bench to sit down on, Eyre looked around to find that her friend had disappeared. Standing up again, she turned around and began to search the store, before feeling a tap on the shoulder.
"What do you think of this, Eyre?" asked Simpson, wearing a long red skirt she had changed into.
"It's… uh…" Eyre mumbled, thinking for a moment. "It's… good?"
"Good?" Simpson replied, unimpressed. "That's all you've got to say?"
"Well I don't really know how to judge clothes," replied Eyre. "As long as it's cheap and comfy, it's fine for me."
Suddenly, Simpson leaped at Eyre and grasped her hands. "Then it is my mission today to find some clothes you truly like."
"Good luck there, not even my mother could do that," Eyre replied, before Simpson turned around and headed deep into the store, quickly moving out of sight. Eyre waited in her seat, before checking her wrist watch. To her surprise, she had already spent ten minutes in the shop. Soon, she could see Simpson return to her, with a jumper in hand.
"I found a jumper that you might like. It's warm and comfy, and it looks good." Simpson said, trying to advertise the jumper she found.
"I already have two jumpers at home, I don't need a third one," replied Eyre.
"You're gonna dismiss it immediately?" Simpson asked. "Come on, at least try it on."
"Fine," Eyre replied.
Eyre got up from her seat, before taking off her current jumper and putting on the jumper that Simpson had found for her.
"Hmm," Eyre mumbled. "You were right about it being warm and comfy, how much is it?"
Simpson looked away, trying to not make eye contact with Eyre as she hummed innocently.
"How much Simpson?"
"Ok, it's seven thousand yen!" Simpson snapped. You said it yourself, it's warm and comfy, surely it's worth the money."
"Look, I already have enough jumpers, I ain't about to spend seven thousand yen on another one."
"Urgh fine," Simpson groaned, with a face of disappointment. "I'll look for something else."
Simpson again disappeared into the maze of clothes inside the shop, but Eyre could hear shuffling nearby, clearly, her friend looking for clothes. A few minutes passed, and Simpson was nowhere in sight. Now quite bored, Eyre decided to stand up, and began to wander around in the store, disappearing into the maze of clothes hangers and clothes.
Simpson continued to look around, however her mind had begun to settle on one conclusion. There was no way she could beat Eyre. Out of everyone she would break with her overflowing joy and enthusiasm, Eyre was the one to break her. Defeated, Simpson began to retrace her steps.
"Ok, I give up," she said, expecting Eyre to respond sarcastically. However, the only response she received was silence. "Eyre?"
Emerging into viewing distance of the bench where Eyre had seated herself, Simpson could only see the unoccupied bench instead of her friend.
"Where the hell are you Eyre?" she said to herself just loudly enough for passersby to hear. Walking past a rack of clothes, she found a girl admiring herself in the mirror wearing a large sunhat.
"I knew it," Simpson said loudly, causing the girl to turn towards her. "I knew it, Eyre, deep down inside you there was something you had a passion for."
"So you found my secret," replied Eyre. "Good job, not many people have cracked it before. Now, what do you think of this sunhat?"
"I like it, Eyre, I think it suits you," said Simpson. "So, you gonna buy it?"
"No, not yet," Eyre answered, disappointing Simpson. "It's still winter, but I might buy it when spring comes."
"That's a shame," said Simpson. "Well, we better finish up here, I've already found everything I've wanted."
The two walked to the checkout, with Simpson taking clothes she had collected from around the store out of her basket and onto the desk of the checkout. After a minute of scanning items, the cashier finally looked at the two girls.
"That'll be 12000 yen," the cashier responded.
"Wow, that is quite a bit," said Eyre. "Are you sure you have enough?
"Yeah," Simpson replied. "That's why I brought my entire wallet."
After shuffling through notes in her wallet, Simpson handed the money to the cashier, before grabbing the bag that the cashier had packed the clothes into. The two walked out of the store, Simpson making a little dance while Eyre followed behind. Simpson opened her backpack, and placed in the clothes she had just bought, as Eyre caught a glimpse of something that was white and black in the bag. Zipping the bag, Simpson put the straps on her shoulders. Looking to her left, she could no longer see Eyre, before catching sight of her heading towards a model store. Eyre turned a corner and disappeared behind rows of shelves, as Simpson ran after her, trying to catch up. Turning the corner herself, she could see Eyre squatting on the ground, staring at a model tank, oblivious to her surroundings.
"Eyre," Simpson said, slightly out of breath. Walking up to her and crouching beside her, she looked at the model Eyre was focused on. "What are you looking at?"
"A Stuart," Eyre replied. "Isn't that thing beautiful?"
"It's just some light tank, nothing special about it," Simpson replied.
"I guess crewing that consistently gives you that impression, but to me, it was a whole different world."
"A different world, eh?" Simpson said.
"Yeah, all my time doing Sensha-do, I've felt restricted by the tank I use, although I never noticed it until now," Eyre replied, still in a world of her own. "In some ironic way, you damaging the tank I used allowed me and especially my crew to experience something new, something we never knew we loved, even if it did end up in a few bloody expensive tanks being broken."
Listening to Eyre, Simpson was lost for words. "You know, I've never thought of it that way, I thought the Stuart was just a fun, if not somewhat stressful vehicle to crew, and I'm not even doing one of the hard jobs. I might get Victoria and the others to have a try at the Matilda one day, just to see what it's like."
Suddenly Eyre stood up and began to walk towards the exit.
"Not gonna buy it, Eyre?" Simpson asked.
"No, not today at least," she responded. "Plus, I still get to crew it anyways,"
Simpson got up as well, catching up to Eyre as the two left the store. The two girls wandered around the shopping centre, occasionally stopping to have a look at shops, before continuing again. Soon they would reach an area of significant commotion. Tables and chairs covered the entire room, many of them being occupied as people hurried around, and the area was surrounded by stalls on all sides. At each stall was a line of people waiting, some had long queues, some barely had any at all. Looking around, the two spotted a curry stall, with relatively few people there. Walking over to a self-service machine, Simpson selected a curry rice with okra and tofu, before stepping back to let Eyre order. Once finished, Eyre grabbed out her wallet, and paid for the two meals, before grabbing the tickets and sitting down at one of the tables, as Simpson sat down beside her and took off her backpack and placed it next to her feet. It wasn't long before their meals arrived. As Simpson's meal was placed onto the table by a waiter, she could see Eyre's eyes sparkling, who looked like she was almost drooling, as a massive bowl of curry rice was carried out of the kitchen. The two sat in silence for a few minutes as they ate their meal, before the silence was disrupted by a rather loud sigh from Eyre. Looking over, Simpson could see the entire bowl empty, not a single grain of rice remained. Soon, Simpson finished her own meal as the two got up and left. Simpson looked around, before wandering off, leaving Eyre alone. Eyre, filled from her meal and in a state of bliss, did not notice, as she waited in front of the curry stall. Eventually Simpson would return, and grabbed Eyre's hand, guiding her through the shopping centre. Eventually, they reached one of the exits. The automatic doors opened, revealing an orange sky contrasted by pink clouds. The two walked over to the railing nearby, before leaning on it. Past the railing was the endless sea, coloured black and orange by the setting sun.
"Wow, this is quite a view," Eyre said. "I don't think I have ever seen anything this beautiful, not even at St Gloriana."
"Really?" Simpson responded. "I would have thought with all that elegance, a nice seaside view would be appreciated there."
"Maybe for the tea garden, but I never got to see quite such a sight like this."
Suddenly, Simpson took off her backpack, before taking out two clear plastic cups. "Consider my debt paid off," she said, handing Eyre a cup of bubble tea.
"Wow, you actually remembered, and somehow I didn't," Eyre said in surprise and gratitude. "Red bean mocha, good choice, how did you know that was my favourite?"
"You seemed like the person who would enjoy a simple drink like that," Simpson replied humbly, holding an elegant pose, before breaking it. "Actually, it was Yarra who told me. She's quite a charming girl, and has a cool story to tell."
"Yeah, she really is," Eyre replied as she took a sip from her milk tea.
The setting sun cast long shadows on the deck of the schoolship, its vibrant red, orange, and pink colours painting the skies and reflecting off the water like ink staining a canvas. A wind set in blowing from left to right, causing the girls' hair to flutter about, as the seaside breeze graced them.
"Such a beautiful sight, ain't it?" asked Simpson, now relaxed.
"Yeah, definitely," Eyre replied. "Seems a bit cliche, wouldn't you say?"
"What do you mean?" Simpson asked, confused.
"Well, two girls sipping drinks and watching a sunset by the sea while a breeze blows their hair, seems a bit overdone," she replied.
"Eyre, you've been watching too many movies and reading too many books, this is real life," Simpson responded. "And even if it is cliche, it's cliche for a reason."
"Yeah, you're right. What do you say we do now?" Eyre asked.
"Now?" Simpson responded. "I guess we could have a little toast, finish our drinks, and then head out once we're done."
"An excellent idea," Eyre answered. "Since you recommended it, you can go first."
"Alright," Simpson started, raising her cup of bubble tea. "Here's to the greatest daredevil the world has known since Victoria."
Eyre followed Simpson's raising of her drink before she started. "And here's the bestest friend I could wish for, apart from Vicky and my girls."
"Aww, that's the sweetest thing I've heard you say from your cold heart."
"It's not cold, I'm just very selective with what I say, unless I'm with you."
"Ok now I see what you mean about cliche," Simpson responded.
"Eh, what does it matter?" Eyre said without care. "I say we enjoy this boba, the sunset, and each other's company."
"That is the best idea I've heard today, and there were a lot of good ideas today."
The two continued to drink and laugh as the sun began to set, until eventually, both their cups were empty and the sun was now below the horizon. With the day over, the two made their way around the closed mall to the side street where Simpson had parked the tankette, still in its original location without any parking tickets. The two climbed in and Eyre fired up the engine, driving it out of the side street and onto the mostly empty road. The tankette continued to speed down the empty road into the night, racing towards Eyre's house. But playing a match, babysitting the whole team, and hanging out with Simpson, it wasn't simply her house any more, it was her home, and she felt at peace, a feeling she never had felt ever since she left land. Koala Forest was her new home, and she was glad that she no longer felt like an outsider.
Thank you to Rosy the PIAT-teer for proof reading this chapter, and I'd like to apologize for my very long absence. With this wrapping up the opening arc, hopefully I can start writing more frequently for this story.