Saturday was finally here and Shiva woke up around 8AM to get herself ready to go out shopping with Emily. Showering first, dressing up in as much clothes as she could and finally going downstairs to get a snack. The trio was downstairs as usual and planning what they were going to do today. Trying to sneak past them, her brother was the first to spot her and call her over.
"Sis, how about you join us on a little adventure today" said Gary.
"Sorry brother, I'm going out shopping with Emily today" said Shiva.
"When did you plan this?" asked Gary.
"Couple days ago" said Shiva.
"Alright then...I guess maybe tomorrow?"said Gary.
"Maybe" said Shiva rushing in and out of the kitchen.
Gary was feeling disappointed by now, constantly being pushed aside and ignored. The only hope he had was for tomorrow. He kept trying to brush it aside as if it was his fault for not being here more often, but there was nothing he could do about it. His companions kept cheering him on and giving him as much comfort as they could, but at this point his hopes were already pretty low.
Shiva had a small piece of paper that had Emily's address as she followed the directions given to her online. It was almost the same path she took when going to school, except on the left side of her. The walk was fairly short until she came into a small street with apartments squished together. The one she was looking for was dark brown and was 5 stories tall. Living on a house of her own, she never knew how small apartments were until she finally found it. There was a com device where she had to call her up and tell her to open the gate downstairs. Finding her last name, she rang as she was buzzed in. Entering the complex, the door she was looking for was 218. The whole first floor was in the hundreds, so the second floor should be the one. Emily's door was in the middle of the hallway and she knocked. Emily swung the door open to greet Shiva with open arms.
"Shiva! Come in! I'm almost done so just come inside in the mean time! Mom, my friend is here!" said Emily pulling her in.
"Ok sweetie" said the mom.
Emily dragged Shiva into her room which was filled with mostly pink decorations. Having her sit on the bed, Emily ran over to her closet to pick a sweater.
"Which one should I take, this light blue one or the purple one?" asked Emily.
"I don't know...which ever feels more comfortable" said Shiva.
"No, it should be the cutest one! They're both cute and I can't decide!" said Emily.
Unable to pick something, Emily had a better idea.
"Why don't you wear the light blue one! I'm sure it would fit you!" said Emily going over to Shiva and trying to take off her heavy jacket.
Struggling to take off Shiva's sweater, she was finally able to and stared at the long sleeved shirt she had under.
"Why do you cover yourself up so much?" asked Emily.
"I'm sure you should know why..." said Shiva.
"No, it's why I ask" said Emily.
"I have cuts, scars and bruises from when I get picked on...so I cover them up like this" said Shiva.
"It's been a while hasn't it? Why don't you try using less? You seem to be the same size as me, so why don't you try on some of my clothes?" asked Emily.
"I don't know..."said Shiva.
"Here, try this!" said Emily rummaging around her closet for something decent.
Looking around, all Emily could really find was a black plaid skirt and a brown v-neck shirt for her. Insisting that Shiva wore it, she shoved her over to the bathroom so she could change. Not sure if to just stay in her clothes, she didn't want to disappoint Emily, so she went ahead and changed into it. Taking a couple of minutes to change, Shiva finally came out wearing the clothes Emily gave her. Emily smiled at her and complimented her new look.
"You should wear clothes like this more often, it looks nice on you" said Emily.
"I'll try..." said Shiva.
"That's what you said about Glitz and you still haven't made a single friend! Try harder!" said Emily.
"Ok..."said Shiva.
"Alrighty, I'll wear the purple one and let's get you some new stuff!" said Emily.
"Sure" said Shiva.
Both of them left the apartment and made their way to the mall which was about a 10 min bus ride from where they were. Upon arriving, it was packed with so many people. It had been years that she had been here and even then all she remembers were the kiddy rides she rode when she was a child. Couples everywhere and families coming out to eat and shop. Emily locked arms with Shiva as they walked into the mall together.
"We need to see ALL the shops! Depending on what your style is" said Emily.
"Anywhere is fine" said Shiva.
"Let's start there!" said Emily.
Minutes were only spend each time they visited a store, since Shiva didn't exactly find anything of her interest. Emily was the one who browsed around for herself and then continued on. The day was going by really slow for them since it took them time to actually find a store where Shiva felt comfortable. Even then all Shiva picked were more jeans and shirts to wear. Emily didn't mind, from what Shiva had told her about being bullied, it was only natural for her to still feel like this. She didn't want to force her into something she didn't like, but it was going to take time for her to adjust. With Shiva wearing what Emily gave her made her happy as is. They were starting to get hungry and they both headed over to the Food Court to get themselves some food. Shiva need to use the restroom and told Emily to go ahead and order while she came back.
"I'll be back soon, so go ahead and order what you want" said Shiva.
"Alright, don't get stuck" said Emily chuckling.
Nodding to this, Shiva went ahead and went to the restroom. Sigh. There was nothing she really wanted and she was scared that she wasn't pleasing Emily. Suddenly a loud chatter came into the restroom as they were familiar voices. It was them.
"Oh my gosh, did you just see Emily hanging out with Shiva?" said the leader.
"Yes I did, why would she even hang out with her...what a loser" said one of them.
"We should teach her a lesson, shouldn't we?" said the other.
"Yes we should...at school" said the leader.
It went silent as they did their own business and Shiva was left to cower in her stall. Scared of what would happen if she went out, she would remain there for at least an hour. She didn't want any sort of chance of running into them while at the mall, so she decided to simply stay put. At this time Emily had entered the restroom to look for her.
"Shiva? Hey are you in here?" asked Emily.
Still scared that Emily was with them, she stayed put and didn't say anything. Emily figured she was probably in another restroom and left. Left to sob lightly in the restroom, hours passed as she was in there. It wasn't until the telecom announced that the mall would be closing shortly. Gathering up what courage she had to leave the restroom, she was still cautious about running into them. Several people were leaving the mall as she walked in crowds until she reached the bus stop that would take her home. Arriving near her house several minutes later, all she could do was run inside her house. Gary was the first to greet her with his smile, but right now she didn't feel like dealing with him at all.
"Sis, why don't we go to the mall tomorrow and have some fun? I know you went today but-" he was cut off by Shiva's quick answer.
"I don't want to go to the mall anymore..." said Shiva running straight to her room.
Hearing the door slam for Shiva's room, Gary sighed and went over to the couch and plop down.
"It's official, she hates me" said Gary.
"Don't say that, Gary" said John.
"I've tried everything! She either brushes me off or makes some sort of excuse not to hang out. It's not like I can grab her and force her to go somewhere with me" said Gary.
"Try to see things from her point of view" said John.
"She's in high school, all she wants to do is hang out with friends and have fun. Family doesn't matter at this age" said Simon.
"Maybe you're right...still I don't feel right. She's the only family I have left" said Gary.
"Hey at least she's still here. Make it count" said John.
"I will. Now, let's bring out the drinks shall we?" said Gary with a grin.
"That's the spirit, mate" said John.
Upstairs Shiva tried to set her mind at ease and have some sort of courage to tell Emily about what was about to happen to her. The feeling of being left alone this whole time and have some sort of freedom was nice, but at the cost of Emily's safety was starting to eat at her. Of course she was used to it, but the feeling of remorse was still there. It had been a while since she had someone to talk to, but Emily was special to her. So far Emily was the only one who actually gave her a positive influence in every field. Giving her clothes to wear, convincing her to wear them, and taking her to the mall to go shopping. No one has ever done this for her before, yet why was she still scared to even tell Emily? This was really stressing her out and it was driving her into thinking suicidal thoughts. Hoping on the computer to check her Glitz account, messages from Emily were the only things she could see. Not even bothering to check them, she knew what they were about. Closing the lid on her laptop, all Shiva wanted to do is sleep it off. Leaving everything as is, she went ahead and fell asleep.