Whenever I do the Scenic Ride race, there is always a building under construction to the right, near where the race start. To see it fully made and having a proper name... It's honestly very shocking. The place was called the "Bayview Supermarket". It mostly had white walls with little to none windows, but a noticeable feature it has is that some of the building goes above the road. Maybe it's to an outdoor park? Eh, wishful thinking. A spinning door sits at the entrance, and people were coming in and out of the place. The parking lot had a lot of civilian cars and a couple of Street Racers, with their vibrant colors, wacky vinyls, and "crazy over the top Trunk Audio!". Not sure If all the racers have them, but It's nice to assume. I guess.
I hop out of my car and start to think that it's a miracle that the stuff that helps me drive the damn thing didn't fall or break. But, the door gives me the most amount of trouble, seeing as I fuckin' noodle arms. I manage to close it before nervously checking behind me to see if anyone's wondering what a strange creature is doing with a car. No one even bothered. Sweet. I start to gain the courage to walk to the mall. I honestly can't believe that I'm walking to a store. By myself. Without my mother helping me. The thought of that makes me sad... but only for a tiny bit. I follow the next person about to spin the door... counterclockwise, I think. Goes off exactly as I planned.
And I was not expecting the mall to be that big! It's like something you'd see in... maybe a kids movie. The stores are all lined up neatly at the walls, there's a couple of openings near the entrance, and there's escalators at the middle to traverse between the floors. A lot of people are walking around the place, some of them look poor, some of them look rich, and some of them are Street Racers. Some of them even have their girls. And man. Who says woman can't be Street Racers? Not me. Nor Rachel. Oh right, I'm supposed to by myself clothes in order to stand out. And what a good idea too. I might get another identity crisis with this Yellow Scarf + Utility Belt combo. But where is a clothing store? It's got to be around here somewhere.
Walking around a big-ass mall with a small cat body is a lot more embarrassing than anything. People started to eyeball me, possibly thinking "What is that thing?". I really want to say something... I don't know, smart and cunning? But that'd make me even more embarrassed. Someone even took a fucking photo of me, which I didn't even ask for... but it's good for attention. I guess. I spot a plastic map on the side of the mall. I see where I was, then I try to locate a clothes store. No, not there... not there either. There's actually a park there? Huh. Ah, I found it. It was just around the corner where the map is. A simple right turn. Before going any further, I look into one of the belt pockets to see if I have my wallet in there. It's there. Then I open to check if my ATB card is there. Yup, It's there. I'm all set.
I hope.
Finally made it too the clothing store. "FOREVER 17", It's called. The store itself looks modern, with outfits being shown off by mannequins at the entrance. I always hated those things. But not anymore, seeing as I got my bravery training for Fallout 3. The store itself seems to show off ordinary clothes... and some video game ones. I started to smile for a bit, as it seems to be a perfect spot. And with that, I step into the shopping area. A lot more mannequins show off various outfits, with some clothes in racks or stands. Some of them are either shoes, pants, shorts, dresses, and even leather jackets. But by walking through what seems to be clothes for giants, I managed to pick my first item. A white shirt with text that says "Video games don't make us violent - Lag does". Ain't it the truth... the second item was some black wool pants with two knots. For shoes, some weird Chinese brand I never heard about. For socks... well, I'm not a sock person. And for the last item, I picked a plain blue handkerchief. I try not to think of him picking which scarf to wear... fuck, I just did.
Alright, now I got the stuff that I want (which was easy to carry, because I got a shopping basket I can barely lift...), I went to look for a changing station. Thankfully, there was one right there. Where the bathrooms are. I try to make a quick bolt for that, but not too fast as the basket might trip someone. One I finally got inside it, I took a deep exhale. The changing station was a lot more roomier than I thought. There was a bench there for sitting, and a mirror for checking yourself out. Here comes another identity crisis... Oh well. Time to test the shirt. The thing was big, probably big enough to fit a medium sized person. I thought of just dropping this whole thing... but for some reason, my brain told me to "Just try it! See if you like it!" Damn ADHD. Alright, I'll try it. But It's not going to fucking-
waitwhatthefuck
Ok, now I have more evidence that this really is a dream, because the shirt magically shrunk down to my size! No joke, first it was... I dont know, a Medium size? Now it just shrunk to maybe XXXXXXXS size! I mean... I'm not complaining. I guess my brain was right after all. I do like it. I tested this "magical thing" on the shoes. They were already small, so they fit anyway. Next was the pants. The same exact thing happened, but this time I was looking at it. I didn't hear any weird creaking sounds, or string being broken, it just... shrunk. And it did perfectly fit me. Even the tails went through them. Convenient. The last thing I tried on was the blue handkerchief. I thought I would have a lot of trouble putting the thing on... but I was wrong. It was like tying a shoe or something. I gave myself a good look in the mirror. I think this style will work for me.
The clothes I took off retained it's size, so that was nice to see. Now for the final step. Purchasing them. I had, like, 600$ from the races I got. It's all in the card. I walked up to one of the no-person cashier machines. They had a camera, recording my movement. Someone's going to tell on me. Not sure if that's good or bad. But, I managed to scan all of my clothes and put them in the "FOREVER 17" shopping bag. But then, I heard a voice. "You're far away from you home, aren't you?" The voice sounded deep and smooth. Like... I guess one of those celebrities. I turned around to see who was talking to me. A tall figure with a brown coat, with the bottom half going to the floor. Their face was... well, I couldn't tell, because it was cloaked in darkness. Who the hell is this guy? I started to panic. "Shhh... don't cry. I'm not going to hurt you." Cry? I wasn't thinking that in the first place. And did he just say he wasn't going to hurt me?
"W-who are you?" I ask nervously. "That's a good question. I am nobody. Or, I was somebody." The voice maintained it's deep and smooth tone. "But I have come to give you advice. Beware the scythe-handed man. He is not what you think." Advice? Scythe-handed man? "Uhh... thank you." I attempt to say in a calm voice. And then the man walked out of the store. Before he left the place for good, he said one more thing to me. "Keep racing." And that was that. What did he mean "Scythe-Handed man?" I started to wonder that question as I walked out of the mall. Then a name popped up in my mind.
Caleb Reece.