At last, it was finally the weekend, and I couldn't wait to spend the day at home all by myself. Or maybe I would go over to Jasmine's place, who knows? Either way, I didn't have to go to school and that was just fine by me. That was the last place I wanted to be right now, for obvious reasons, and hopefully, no one I knew there would come bother me here either.
*BANG BANG BANG*
"Yo, Julia! It's Lucy! Open up!"
Of course, such luck was never dying to fall in my hands. Can no one knock on my door like a normal person? I sighed and got up from the couch.
"Hey Lucy..." I said as I opened the door, happy to see my friend but slightly disappointed at the situation, since Lucy was never a "stay in and relax" kind of girl. "What's up?"
"What's up? Girl! Did you forget what we talked about not that long ago?"
"Um..." I hated to admit it, but I actually did kind of forget. So much had happened lately, it was hard to remember the last time I even talked to her, let alone what we talked about.
"No way, you have GOT to be kidding me! Don't tell me you forgot our girls' day out!"
"Girls' day out...?" Come to think of it, I did remember her saying something about a "shopping day" or something along those lines...one that I "couldn't get out of," was it? I knew there was something nagging at me, and all this time I thought I was imagining it. Nope.
"Yeah, and it's completely mandatory, so let's GO!" She exclaimed, practically pulling me out the door. "Okay, okay, just gimme a minute!" I shouted back, ripping my wrist out of her hand. "I gotta get a few things first!"
"Okay, but don't take too long! The mall won't be open forever!"
"Lucy, it's one in the afternoon; the mall will be open longer than whatever sugar rush you're on right now!"
It only took me about a minute to get ready, but Lucy acted like it took an hour. Whatever the case, we left my apartment and were on our way outside when I thought of something. "Hey...do you mind if I bring a friend too?" Lucy's face immediately lit up in excitement. "A friend? No, I don't mind! Bring all the friends you want; the more the merrier!"
"Really? Thank you!" I was a little surprised at Lucy's response, considering how badly she wanted to get going. But hey, if she was okay with it then I was happy. "She lives this way; c'mon!" I ran ahead of Lucy to the stairwell door and went inside. Lucy yelled at me to wait for her, but I was already halfway up the first flight of stairs by the time she even got to the door. The two of us climbed up to the next floor and burst through the hallway, Lucy trailing slightly behind, as she wasn't exactly sure where we were going – but I did. I kept running until I saw the apartment number 444 and came to a dead stop. I knocked on the door as Lucy skid to a stop behind me. It was a good thing we didn't bump into each other and fall over, because it didn't take long for someone to open the door.
"Oh...hey! How's it going?"
"Hey Jasmine, how are ya?"
"Goooood...but wait, who's that?"
"Oh, yeah! I'm sorry. Jasmine, this is Lucy. Lucy, Jasmine." The two of them said hello and shook hands. "So Lucy and I are going to the mall and...uh...wherever else she had planned today, so...do you wanna come with us?"
Jasmine glanced at Lucy, who was wearing the biggest smile you could possibly imagine, and hesitated for a moment. "Um...I dunno, dude..."
I was happy and all that Lucy seemed more cheerful today, but some part of me decided that maybe she was a bit TOO cheerful. I knew that if I was going to go anywhere with her when she was this excited, I was going to need backup, so I tried asking again. "Please, bro? It'll be really fun, I promise."
"Um..."
"Look dude, if I gotta do this, so do you. C'mon, please?"
"Well...okay, yeah, sure. I'll be right back!"
"Thank you so much, minion! I 'ppreciate it!" I shouted to her as she left to go get ready.
Lucy gave me a strange look. "Minion?"
I looked back at her. "Yeah, minion. Jasminion. I called her that for fun one day, and I guess I kinda just stuck with it."
"Ohhh, I see. Cute! Minion it is!"
"Yeah..." Oh boy...I'm not sure that Jasmine would want other people calling her that...
"Okay, I'm ready to go." Jasmine said as she walked out into the hallway and closed the door behind her. "Great!" Lucy exclaimed. "Let's go! ….Unless there was someone else you wanted to bring." I shook my head. "Nope, just Jasmine. Let's go."
It didn't take us very long to get to the mall, since the apartment building was in the area. Once we got there, Lucy ran off to check out all the different clothing stores and jewelry shops. Jasmine and I basically had to sprint to keep up with her. Even when we made it to the stores, Lucy grabbed ten or twelve things from each shelf while Jasmine looked around a little more modestly, and I just followed them around, watching it all happen. Lucy thought everything was cute and asked for my opinion on every single thing she picked out. It wasn't that I disagreed with her on most of it, but I knew there was no way she'd be able to afford any of it – especially now that she doesn't have a boyfriend to ask for money. I pretty much spent the entire time telling Lucy what she could and could not buy, as if I were her mother or something, and helping Jasmine decide her color and style priorities. I'm not really into shopping myself, so I didn't mind it much at all. Honestly, I would've done anything to get out of there sooner. Even if I wanted to buy something, there was no way I could've afforded anything more than a pair of sunglasses, and I really did wanna go home and relax...
"Hey..." Lucy said, finally looking up from the wares. "are you guys hungry? My stomach's starting to growl a little..." That must've been the best thing I'd heard all day. I was hungry, and had been for the past few hours, but I didn't say anything until now because I didn't want to ruin everyone else's fun. "Yeah, I am. Why?" Jasmine spoke up too. "Kinda. Is there a food court around here somewhere?"
"Yeah, there is." Lucy replied. "It's actually not that far from here. C'mon, let's go get something to eat." Jasmine and I agreed. As lame as it was, the food court was the most exciting part of the mall to me. I didn't much like shopping, but I could go for food any day, especially if I got to go with my best friends. I was so happy, I could feel myself smiling. I couldn't wait to finally sit down and take a break from all of this. Once everyone had gotten their food, we all sat at a nearby table and began a nice, friendly conversation – one that would perhaps get a little too personal a little too fast. Of course, Lucy spoke first.
"So, what do you guys wanna do tomorrow? I was thinking we should all go to the movies or something!"
"Sorry, Lucy," I said to her. "I kinda just wanna stay home tomorrow. Maybe Jasmine would wanna go with you though."
"I don't know, dude, I don't really know her that well...plus I still have homework to do."
I glared at her. "...How much homework, Jasmine?" She looked away, hesitant to answer. "...All of it." I chuckled and shook my head. "God dammit, Jasmine, what did I tell you about that?" She smiled slowly, signs of guilt painted all over her face. "What do you mean?"
"Preeeetty sure I told you to stop that, bro."
"What are you talking about? You did no such thing."
"Yes, I did!"
"Neh."
"But I did tho!"
"But you didn't tho."
"Minion!"
"Julie."
She and I stared at each other for a minute, but before long, the two of us burst out laughing. Every so often we would have a conversation like this, and every time, we laughed ourselves to tears. We'd done this so many times, we couldn't help ourselves anymore.
"You guys are weird." Lucy remarked, taking another bite of her food. "But I get it, Jasmine. I can't stand school, and the homework is even worse. I just wish my parents wouldn't ground me every time my homework is overdue."
"Oh, no, I don't really 'hate' school, it's that homework isn't really a priority for me. Also, sometimes I forget it exists."
"I hear that! If my parents weren't so stuck on getting me into a good college, I'd throw out the homework and forget about school altogether."
I just sat there and listened to them both, not really sure of what to say as they went on and on about how unimportant school was and how easy it was to forget about it. Forgetting I had homework to do was something I might have done, but purposefully not doing homework for the sake of not doing it? Now that, I could never understand. Homework was my first priority, always; I wouldn't have it any other way. My nagging mind wouldn't let me have it any other way.
"Ugh, but let's stop talking about school and parents and boring stuff like that," Lucy groaned. "Oh, I know! Let's talk about boys instead! You go first, Julia!"
"Uh...I dunno...I don't really know anyone..."
"Oh, that is so not true! What about that one guy you were always hanging out with? What was his name again...? Chris, wasn't it?"
"Oh yeah. Chris..."
"What's up with you guys anyway? I don't see you together as much anymore. Did something happen?"
"I'd really rather not talk about it..."
She gasped. "Did you guys break up?"
"We were never 'together,' Lucy."
"Oh, but come to think of it, what about that weird new guy? The one with all the old-fashioned clothes. I've seen him hanging around you a few times now. What's going on there?"
"I'd REALLY rather not talk about him."
"Who is he? Is he your new 'special friend'~?"
"Drop it, Lucy!" I roared at her. The table was overcome with a silence to end all silences. I didn't mean to snap at my friend like that, but I wasn't nearly ready to talk about any of this. Not now. Luckily for my sanity and the sake of our conversation though, the silence didn't last for long.
"Okay, okay, fine. Geez, what's gotten into you? Usually you love talking about our love lives."
"Well...not this time, okay? I'm sorry, but things are kind of complicated right now. Please, just leave it alone..."
"Okay...well what about you, Jasmine? Do you have anyone in mind?"
"Nah, not really. I'm more focused on Pokémon right now."
"Awww, really? Not even one boy? Or girl! I don't mean to make any assumptions."
"Nah, dude. EEVEE IS MY BAE."
"Uh...okay. Yeah, okay. Sure. I totally get that. ...I think."
"Yeah, Jasmine's not really into the whole 'dating' thing," I explained to Lucy. "She's never been interested in anyone for the entire year I've known her, at least not anyone around here. I'm beginning to think she might only be into Eskimos." This time, both Jasmine and Lucy burst into laughter. It seemed the idea of an Eskimo-only attraction wasn't only funny to me, and I was freaking ecstatic. "What about you though, Lucy?" I continued, once we regained control of ourselves. "Have you been seeing anyone new since...you know...?"
"No," she sighed. "I haven't found anyone else yet. But that's fine! I'll find someone soon enough. Just looking around this mall is giving me some ideas..."
"Oh...really...?"
Please, Lucy...for once in your life, think about it first before you act on any of your "ideas"...
Before I could pull myself away from my thoughts, and say something to Lucy, she suddenly shrieked.
"Aaaaaah, nooooo! No no no no no no nooooo!"
"Lucy! What's wrong?!" I tried to talk to her, but she was already in tears, unable to say anything at all. So, I looked in the direction she was facing, and there I saw them. Her now ex-boyfriend was there with some tall, gorgeous blonde you'd swear only existed in fantasies and should NEVER exist in places like this, where no other girl could possibly compete with her; that basic blonde bitch who everyone fawns over for no reason other than their looks. You know the one.
"Lucy...I'm so, so sorry..." I tried to sympathize with her, but she wasn't having it. She immediately picked her head up off the table and slammed her hands down onto it.
"NO! You know what? I'm not gonna take this! I'm gonna go over there and give them a piece of my mind!"
"What?! No, that's crazy!" I yelled after her as she stormed off. I tried my best to stop her, but she still managed to shove me out of her way and stomp over to them furiously.
"You jerk! How could you forget our Month-iversary and then dump me for this bitch?! I can't believe I ever trusted you! And…..!"
I decided to go back to our table and wait this out. I glanced over at them every so often, to find Lucy's expression even angrier than before, and then back at Jasmine, who was blissfully unaware of the whole thing, completely enveloped in her Pokémon game. I waited there for a few minutes, staring off into space, as usual, until eventually, I was finally ready to give up and go home. I had just gotten up from my chair when Lucy came back crying and flopped over onto the table again.
"AAAAGH, I HATE HIM! I hate him, I hate him, I hate him, I HATE him!"
"Lucy, I'm really, really sorry, but it's gonna be okay – I promise. There will be better days."
"NO THERE WON'T!"
"Yes, there will." I refuted, gently tugging her arm. "Now come on, let's go home. We've been here long enough for one day, and you'll feel a lot better tomorrow."
"O-Okay."
Wanting desperately to get out of that mall and away from all that drama, I had Lucy and Jasmine follow me towards the exit, looking back occasionally to make sure they were still behind me. Once we were outside, everything seemed much better. The air was much clearer, the sun was nice and warm, and the silence compared to the deafening crowds inside was just heaven. Now that kind of silence, I couldn't get enough of. The walk back to our apartment building was also quiet – that is, until somewhere along the way, all I heard was
"Oh my god! PET STORE!"
I turned around just quickly enough to see Jasmine throw the door open and fly in. I couldn't very well just leave Jasmine behind – she might get lost on her way home – and Lucy and I wanted to see the animals too, so we went in after her. And as soon as we did,
"Awwwwww, look at all the puppies and kitties!" Lucy cried as she ran over to the wall of animal enclosures. "They're so cute!"
"Yeah, they really are, aren't they?" I replied, smiling to myself. I loved animals, even if not to the degree the other girls did. Looking at all the babies made me relax a little and forget my problems for the time being. They were all so little! And, I was glad that Lucy seemed to be feeling better too. Out of everywhere we could've stumbled upon today, this had to be the best place to take her mind off of her broken heart. The three of us looked around at all the innocent faces the shop had to offer. It was really difficult not to pick one out and take it home with me, but then, it probably would've been even harder to choose just one.
"I love them all..." Jasmine murmured after a few minutes, looking through the glass at some of the kittens. "But I hate that people come here to buy their pets instead of going to an animal shelter, where they NEED to be loved!"
"Jasmine..." I sighed. "You were the one who came running in here like it was the best thing you saw all day!"
"It was!" She argued back. "I admire all animals, but that doesn't mean I'd actually buy one from these horrible places! ADOPT, DON'T SHOP!"
"Yeah, well...you might not wanna shout things like that when the shopkeeper is literally ten feet behind you." I looked behind her to see the shopkeeper give us a suspicious glare before looking away quickly in the hopes that we wouldn't notice. But I did notice...and it wasn't a look I would soon forget. "Hey Jasmine, maybe we really should get going now."
"What?!" Lucy abruptly interrupted. "But we just got here! Don't take me away from all these adorable puppies yet! And kitties! And bunnies! OH GOD, THE BUNNIES!"
"I know, I know!" I shouted back. "I wish we could stay longer too, but I think we might've outworn our welcome, thanks to a certain someone..."
"You're welcome." Jasmine said, maybe a little too proud of herself. Lucy shot her an annoyed look while I giggled to myself. It took a lot of convincing and a promise to come back again sometime, but eventually, Jasmine and I managed to drag Lucy out of the store. At least the walk home was a little more bearable than before. Sure, it got kinda late, and sure, it got kinda cold out, but at least we were able to talk to each other again – all three of us. While Jasmine and I talked about our favorite video games and music, and how much fun we ended up having that day, all Lucy could talk about was the pet shop. Of course, I couldn't blame her for avoiding talking about the mall, but she went on and on about all the furry little creatures she wanted to adopt. Jasmine suggested taking her to an animal shelter, but Lucy refused, stating that she already had a select few dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, hamsters, goldfish, etc. picked out for her to take home someday. I wanted to tell her that our apartment building only allowed three pets per resident, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Lucy was finally having fun again with something, and I didn't wanna be the guy to ruin it. Unfortunately, however, the nice conversation we were having didn't last too long. Before we knew it, we were already home. We rode up on the elevator together to our respective floors, where we would inevitably part ways. Mine was up first, since I only lived on floor 3. As we approached the floor, I turned to my friends so I could say goodbye.
"So, um...my floor's coming up soon. It was really nice hanging out with you guys today. Thanks, Lucy! And thanks a lot to you too, Jasmine, for...uh...'agreeing' to come with us."
Lucy smiled brightly. "No problem! We should totally do this again sometime. In fact, we ARE gonna do this again sometime! Right, Jasmine?"
Jasmine stared into space and fell silent for a moment. "Um...okay...suuuuuure."
"Err– no, that's okay, you really don't have to go again." Seeing the look of terror on Jasmine's face, I decided that maybe it wasn't such a good idea. Unfortunately, Lucy wasn't exactly seeing the same thing. "Oh yes, she does! Again, it's completely mandatory! You just wait – both of you! We're gonna have so much fun next time! Now, off ya go!" I don't know how I didn't realize it sooner, but the elevator was on my floor and the doors were open. Lucy practically shoved me out as they closed again behind me, letting the elevator move up to the next floor. It took me a minute to get over how fast that happened and figure out how I could've zoned out that badly, but luckily, I was able to regain my senses and head on home. Finally, I could just get something to eat, sit down, play a game, and relax...except, maybe I relaxed a little too much. I guess I didn't realize how tired I'd been. Oops.