Woot! New chapter up! This is the shopping chapter you have all been waiting for...
To begin with, Jasmine took Laura and Alex over to an exit near a bathroom shop.
"If any of us get lost, we'll all meet here, okay?" she asked, giving them both a worried look.
"Yep!" said Laura, staring at a man wearing a rather interesting fashion ensemble.
"Sure," replied Alex, studying the surrounding so he would know where to go.
Alex had been there thousands of times, but it was always under construction and new things were constantly appearing and changing.
"Okay, first thing, if we see anything we like, or that somebody else might like, we point it out, okay?"
They nodded.
"Good. We'll start in the bigger shops."
Jasmine walked them over to one of the major brand shops and grabbed Laura's size in almost everything she saw. Pants, shirts, skirts, jackets, coats, everything.
"Wow!" whispered Laura.
Jasmine handed Alex all the clothes she had picked up and continued looking.
"Tell me when I am about to bash into something, will ya?" Alex asked Laura through some of the clothes he was carrying. He couldn't see where he was going; he only headed towards the sound of Jasmine and Laura's voices.
"Well, that was fun!" said Jasmine as they walked out of the shop.
Laura and Alex weren't so sure they could agree. As Jasmine walked ahead with her handbag swishing, Alex followed behind carrying about fifteen bags and Laura even farther behind, exhausted from trying so many different outfits on.
"Hungry?" Jasmine asked them as she stopped just outside the food court.
Alex nodded and Laura's eyes grew wide on seeing all the different food shops and choices.
"I'll take that as a yes."
Jasmine sat down at a four-seater table and motioned for the teenagers to follow. Laura sat next to Alex and across from all the bags.
"Wow!" said Jasmine, pulling out the receipt. "Guess how much money we just spent!"
"How much?" Alex asked, his arms sore from carrying so much weight.
"Five-hundred and seventy-four pounds and eight cents."
Alex and Laura gave her looks of disbelief.
"I'm serious! But now it's lunch time."
Jasmine had a large salad, Alex and Laura had a burger from McDonalds and they all had an ice-cream. The best part: it was all on MI6's account. Alex thought that was the best bit.
"Do you need anything, Alex?" Jasmine asked as they continued on their way.
Alex looked at himself. He was wearing an old polo shirt, a pair of old jeans and scuffed-up shoes.
"N-"
"Of course you do!" Jasmine interrupted. "Come on, we'll get you two matching outfits."
At the look of their faces, she laughed and dragged them along. Laura offered to carry a few of the bags, Alex gladly accepting. By the time they had reached the shop, Alex had seen a few of his old class mates and had hidden behind Laura on all of the occasions. Except the next one.
"Alex!"
Alex turned his head to see Tom come up behind him.
"Hey, Tom!" he greeted, as they high-fived.
"What are you doing?" Tom asked, flicking his hair out of his face.
"A bit of shopping."
"A bit?" Tom asked, seeing the collection of around 45 bags (Jasmine saw something she liked). "It doesn't look like a bit, mate."
"Yeah, well, women. You know what they are like."
"Alex!" Laura called from behind a change room door. "Jasmine left and she said I had to ask what you think of whatever I am trying on and that you have to try on the clothes she left for you on the lounge." Alex noted the pile of things next to where he was sitting. "I'll be out in a sec!"
"Okay," Alex called back.
Tom gave him a questioning look. Alex shrugged.
"MI6," he whispered.
Tom then switched his expression from confused to understanding.
"Right."
They heard the door open and seconds later, Laura tumbled out into the waiting area. She was wearing a pair of tight, dark jeans and a purple, long-sleeve shirt.
"How do I look?" she asked, not noticing Tom's presence.
"Uncomfortable. Have you got the right size?" Alex asked, noticing that she was standing very stiffly.
"I dunno."
Tom coughed. Laura finally realised he was there.
"G'day, I'm Laura," she said, holding a hand out.
Tom took it. "I'm Tom, Alex's friend. Are you Australian?"
Laura nodded. "I'm here with Alex on...student exchange," she said, uncertainly.
"You mean MI6?" Tom asked. "I know all about it. I even got to sign a secrecy statement thingy."
"Oh, cool. So, does it look good or not?" she asked, looking down at herself.
Both the boys nodded. "Okay, onto the 'Yes' pile it goes."
Tom stayed around with Alex while Laura tried some of the other clothes on. Most got the nod of approval, but there were some in there that didn't flatter her. When she was done, Alex tried on all the clothes Jasmine had left for him. He was just sorting them back out when Jasmine arrived. With more clothes, surprise surprise.
"Alex, have you tried on the clothes I left?" she asked, dumping the new pile on an empty seat.
"Yes."
"Good. Laura, have you finished? Change out of that," she said.
"Yes. Okay!"
Laura ran into the change room.
"Hi, I'm Jasmine," she said, shaking Tom's hand.
"I'm Tom, Alex's friend."
"Cool. He is staying with me and Laura for the moment, feel free to come around anytime you want."
"Thanks, I'll do that."
"So what are you here for?" she asked as Laura came back out wearing her old pants and navy hoodie.
"I was shopping with my sister but she went off with some friends and left me alone."
"Oh, stay with us then. We will need your opinion. Laura is going to start attending your school and we need to grab her a uniform, too."
Tom slowly nodded. He wasn't used to the fast-paced way Jasmine always spoke.
"Good. Alex, have you picked out what you want?"
Alex nodded and picked up the 'Yes' pile. This pile contained a lot more shoes than the other one and he poked himself in the eye.
"What about this pile?" Laura asked Jasmine, pointing at the outfits she had just brought in.
"Oh, grab them all. I thought I might get some shopping done, too."
Laura lifted the pile up into her arms and followed Alex, Tom and Jasmine out of the waiting area and towards the cash register.
"Shorter," Jasmine told the woman.
They had just brought Laura a uniform and were getting it altered to fit her. The skirt was now just below her knees.
"Shorter."
Halfway up her knees.
"Shorter."
Just above them.
"Shorter."
Laura frowned as it moved about an inch upwards.
"What height do the other girls wear them?" Jasmine asked Tom. He shrugged. "You say shorter or longer."
"Shorter."
It went up.
"Shorter."
Up again.
"Shorter."
It was shorter than ever.
"And just a little shorter."
Laura looked at herself in the mirror. "That is pretty small," she said. "You can almost see my undies."
"That's how all the girls wear them," said Tom, leaning back in his chair.
"All the girls?"
"Yep."
"I don't like the sound of these girls." Laura had one last look at the height of her skirt and nodded. "I guess, if they all wear them that way."
The woman pinned it up and Laura changed back into her scruffy clothes. They paid for the alteration and made plans to pick the skirt up in three days. They then walked back out to the Beast – since all their shopping was complete.
"Well, that was fun," Jasmine said, taking her stilettos off and slipping some other shoes on.
Alex and Laura didn't respond. They were too tired from the day's activities. Escaping a gang and then going shopping was not a good mix, even for two teenage spies.
"How much money did we spend?" Laura asked, yawning.
"Quite a lot," Jasmine replied, parking the Beast next to Wolf's car. "More than I earn in a month.
"Fair dinkum," Laura said, pulling herself out of the convertible.
Alex, Laura and Jasmine all grabbed about twenty bags each and headed up to the apartment. Once they were inside, they dumped them all on the couch.
"Whoa!" said Wolf, walking through the doorway and seeing all the shopping.
Eagle bounded through after him. "Didya buy me anything?"
Jasmine sighed and told them all to sit down. It was pretty squashy on the couch, so Jasmine stood and started sifting through all the things.
"This is for you," Jasmine said, handing Eagle a new suede overcoat. He immediately threw it on, ignoring Wolf's laughter.
"And this is for you," she said, passing Wolf a shoebox. "Brand new, designer label, half price."
Wolf and Eagle thanked her.
"No problem. Now, down to business. Alex and Laura, the clothes I brought you today are to be worn at least once in the next month, or I will take them and wear them."
Laura laughed at the mental picture of Jasmine wearing something of Alex's.
"Laura, before dinner I'm going to try and sort the clothes out into outfits. I want to see them all on you, too."
Laura gave Jasmine a funny look.
"Go put an outfit on and I'll tell you if it goes, okay?"
Laura nodded as Jasmine handed her a skirt and a shirt. After about an hour of trying every little thing on and some of the items twice, they group had dinner. Eagle's 'famous' homemade pizza. When the kitchen was cleared and everybody was full, the adults sat down to watch a movie and the teenagers went off to do their own thing. Alex went to his room and started cleaning it up a bit. He put the blood-stained pillow in the wash, found a clean one, put his new clothes away and double-checked his uniform still fitted. It did, which was a bonus.
"'Night, Alex," Laura said from the doorway to Alex, who was laying in bed, reading.
"'Night, Laura."
Instead of going back to her room, Laura walked over to Alex's bed and sat on the end.
"Whatcha readin'?" she asked, playing with the hem of her new silk pyjamas.
"Just an old school book."
"Oh."
Laura stared at him for a while.
"Jasmine is taking me to the hairdressers tomorrow."
"Really?" Alex said, closing his book.
"Yep."
Alex looked at her hair. It was a tacky blonde colour and all the strands were split and knotty. It suited her, though. It kind of completed her whole 'I don't own a brush, an iron, a washing machine or another outfit' look.
"You have fun."
"What are you going to do all day?" Laura asked, pulling her hair up into a ponytail with a band she found on her wrist.
"I'll probably just go for a walk, chill out, you know."
"Why don'tcha come too? She asked, frowning.
"Maybe. I'll have to check my schedule."
Laura laughed. "Well, I'm gonna get me some sleep," she said, walking out of the door.
"See ya round!" Alex called back, mimicking her Australian accent.
"Like a rissole!"
That got Alex thinking.
Ooh... bet you don't know what that means. If you do, include it in your review. I'll post the answer next chapter. So, who liked it? It was fun to write but I had to cut a lot of it out because it was kind of babbly.
Just define 'like a rissole' and I'll give you a special mention. Yay!
RG