DAY 2
The next morning, Roxy woke up in Ian's house behind his shop, by Rufus licking her face. She got dressed and washed, before going into the kitchen to find Ian making a delicious breakfast of pancakes for them both. Ian thought that Roxy might like to do some shopping with a few of the local girls, so he brought her round to a neighbour's house.
The girl who lived there was Julie, and she helped out in a clothes store called MTV's Sunset Couture. Julie was a red haired fashion girl who was loud and a jolly assistant. She took Roxy around all the shops while Ian was working in his shop. They went into a jewellery store, run by an elderly woman named Agatha, called 'Barton Jewellers', where they bought some accessories for those special festivals.
Then they quickly popped into the 'Barton Flowershoppe' where they sniffed all the flowers and bought some perfume. Rina, the girl in charge of the store was very knowledgeable about the plants and helped the girls decide which perfume and flower was best for certain occasions. They passed the 'Ole Fishing Hole' as Julie said that the guy who worked there, Old Man Logan they called him, was a bit frightening if you're new.
A shop that Julie was particularly fond of was the 'Gambino Hat Rack' store. The lady there, Ruth, was a bit of a posh tottie and kept on going on about how hat's were part of the family business and whatfor, Roxy thought she seemed pretty kind, but she was a little snooty, constantly filing her nails and going on about how her hats are made of the finest materials. Julie forced herself not to buy anything and went into the next clothes store – 'Gambino Outfitters'. The lady, Sasha, was very friendly and very excitable and very chatty. Just a little bit too chatty. When she found out about Roxy going with Ian to the prom, she just wouldn't shut up about it. She rambled on about true love and that Ian's cat made her sneeze and she still wouldn't be quiet even after the girls had left!
Roxy popped into the 'Durem Depot', but Julie dragged her out quickly, after the gothic Moira began talking darkly about her rock band and several tattoos. They went into 'H.R Wesley' but didn't dare touch anything, as everything was so expensive. The master there was a middle-aged scary looking man with glasses and in a black suit. His name was Edmund and he liked all children to have a good strict education and never had sales. The girls darted out of that shop quickly.
They went into 'Salon Durem', the hairdressers, where Julie got her hair coloured and styled by the manager Vanessa. Roxy decided against it after she saw Vanessa's short blonde hair with long black extensions. They also went into 'Skin Tyte' where the girls felt squeamish after meeting Natasha with her tattoos and needles; the 'Faktori' where Roxy spoke to the robots Bildeau, Bludeau and Ribateau before buying some furniture for her house; 'Prize and Joy' a gambling shop where the hostess Becky managed to persuade Julie to spend 5 coins on a slot machine . . . and lose; and finally, 'Sam's Body and Parts' where the lady Sam kind of freaked them out. She had a habit of speaking in an odd northern accent and talking about cars. Roxy chose a cute pink Possum car and took her driving test – she got an A+! Julie and Roxy then stopped for a bite of lunch.
After lunch, Julie led Roxy into a shop called 'Crate and Apparel'. She wasn't interested in what it sold, just the guy who worked there, Liam. However, while Josie was hiding in the corner studying cowboy boots (trying to think of a way to approach Liam) he came up to Roxy and asked if she could help him. 'Yeah, sure,' she replied. Liam explained how every girl in town was mad at him. He had been secretly dating Sasha, Moira and Vanessa at the same time, and they found out. Now he can't even go for a haircut without getting chased out of the salon with a razor. He said he'd tried everything, writing letters, talking, even walking around with his top off, but no one reacted. He wanted to be like Roxy and Ian (to which she blushed) and he said that he'd have asked her out if she knew she wasn't dating someone else.
So Roxy decided to help. Liam asked her to ask for advice from other men, and she decided to wait a while before telling him how Julie felt. So Roxy left Julie in the shop and dashed back to H.R. Wesley to discuss the matter with Edmund. His reaction was a little off-putting: 'You require information about attracting women? You're a girl! And what do I look like, a public library? Sorry, but secrets are for paying customers only. I'd kindly ask you to buy something or move along.' Roxy thought about walking out on him, but then thought about Liam, and so bought a fur coat for 5 gold. Edmund thought before saying 'Now, I supposed you'll want me to tell you that secret now. In my experience, the way to a lass' heart is simple: sophistication. Tell your friend to look sharp and maintain his dignity at all times. Perhaps a monocle will help. Nothing says sophistication like a monocle! Well, run a long now. I've told you all there is to know about male charm. Return from whence you came!' Roxy was a little stumped by his answer, but nevertheless she hurried back to 'Crate and Apparel' in her fur coat as it was getting quite chilly. Liam was interested with the information Roxy gave him, but he wanted more. He suggested Logan, the old fisherman who Julie didn't want to meet.
So Roxy left Julie once again and went over to the 'Ole Fishing Hole' to meet Old Man Logan. He was an old barmy man with weird glasses and he stank of fish. He was intrigued by Roxy's question. 'Ah, so this friend of yours needs a little help with the girlies eh? Why don't he ask you? He he he! Well ye've come ta the right guy. I've seen it all. I've had dates with fat girls, skinny girls, ugly girls . . . did I already say fat girls? Anyway, you name it, I seen it. Maybe even one or two girls who weren't really . . . ya know . . . girls.' Roxy wasn't sure about wanting his advice, and neither was Logan. He wanted to see that she was 'rugged enough' to take the advice of a 'real man'. 'Say,' he said, 'How about you bring me a fish? I can't respect another human being until they've caught a fish. Catch me a Blue Bass and I'll tell you tales about women you've never heard!' Roxy was a little unsure about fishing . . . Julie was right - Logan was mad! So Roxy went back to Ian's store and asked him about fishing. He thought it was a great idea and let Roxy drive down to Bass'ken Lake as she had passed her driving test. They sat on the bank together in the sunset, feeding eachother cucumber sandwiches while fishing. After a couple of hours, they had caught 11 orange guppies, 10 yellow guppies, 5 red guppies, 3 old rusty cans, 1 old boot and a big old tyre. However, Ian brought out of his pocket, a secret bucket of GRADE A fish bait, and tried it out. In the end they got some brown bass, a couple of green bass, a few green seedkins, a pink seedkin, and a blue bass! They had a wonderful time, and Roxy almost forgot why she wanted to go fishing in the first place. They walked home, arm in arm, down the peaceful street, by the moonlit sky, and went to bed after a mug of hot chocolate.