Hey everyone! I'm back with a new update!

There's just one review I wanted to go over before we start.

4ndr1: Nice chapter. Expecially the last part. But they had lunch at sunset? It was sunset when they were at the cemetery…

RE: A few weeks ago, I fixed this issue when I re-read the chapter to spot mistakes, but it has been buggy as of late, so I think updates to the correction aren't showing.

In fact, this entire website has been very buggy these past few months and I HIGHLY recommend anyone who reads this story to consider reading it on my WattPad account instead from now on or until these issues are addressed.

…

Chapter 24: Centennial Mall

Morning came as light from the blinds came flooding into my bedroom. Fink and I tossed and turned in the bed until we could not sleep anymore. Fink looked toward me with a slightly concerned look, "did you get any sleep?"

I yawned before shrugging, "I guess."

We turn to look at the skyline from the window: blinds on some of the buildings are automatically opened to let sun in and it seems like the city is already busy. Turns out, today will be a busy day for us too.

Dad came in, hiding his hands from us behind his back, "hey bud, I went online to check to see if I could get something special for Fink." Suddenly, he brandished what appeared to be a colorful red vest to us, "what do you think?"

I raised an eyebrow back, "a service animal vest?" Can foxes even be considered service animals? I guess with how Fink is considered intelligent and obedient enough, he could be. Fink, however, wasn't so sure about the whole ordeal. Having a black collar around his neck was already too much but now he was going to wear THAT thing?

"Let's have him try it on at least" dad said.

"Come on, Fink…you'll only have to wear it when we're out of the apartment" I encouraged him, I petted him…but it was more of a guise for me to whisper in his ear, "with this you'll be able to go to more places with us."

The fox sighed and finally yielded, jumping down before we helped put it on. Once it's on, Fink stared at himself in the mirror…to him it really seemed like he was wearing clothes now like we were. In some ways he understood the power of having such things: people wouldn't think he was a stray or wild…so maybe he would blend in much more this way.

I soon chuckled…looking up at my father, "why do I get the feeling you want us to run errands with you today?"

"Because I do. Come on, you two, we're going to the terminal" he said, ushering us out of my bedroom as I laughed, I knew it.

…

Today WAS going to be quite a busy day for the three of us. The first thing we did was to get Fink to a vet to have him checked. Nothing out of the ordinary was found and Fink was in perfect health condition. Yet, I could tell he HATED it…every moment that he was in that sterile room he wanted to crawl out and run away. I tried calming him the best I could…telling him he didn't need to do it much. Once he got his shots and was cleared, we got as far away from the office as we could.

Getting me a haircut would be the next item on the list. I had my long hair cut to the same length as I had it before the trip with Mark: medium length. Dad, meanwhile, comforted Fink…since it was clear the latter was still recovering from the vet. I felt bad for him and what we had put him through, but it needed to be done…otherwise he wouldn't be accepted in our society.

I suppose once we were walking out and making our way through the Golden Circle Fink felt better. It WAS a nice day out…barely a cloud in the sky…and the bright, warm, sun made us feel better. He was becoming accustomed to life in the city, but nothing could prepare the fox for where we were going.

The first thing that caught his eye was the large, circular, water fountain and then the semi-circular mall behind it. The entrance was quite simply lavish: with tall palm trees scattered around and a glass doorway that you could see the inside through.

Once inside, we were soon met with a tall atrium that had restaurants and a café on the first level and designer stores on the second floor. Cutting through the middle is a man-made river that caught Fink's attention. It's quite amusing: for all the luxury and wealth that this place presented itself…THAT is what attracted him the most out of everything so far. I suppose he had questions: how was it built…where did it lead…most importantly, could he drink from the artificial river?

As Dad walked ahead toward the directory, I crouched down and whispered in Fink's ear, "locals call this place Fiddler's Green…they might as well live here, most people spend so much time in this mall."

"And what exactly is this place?" Fink whispered back.

"We get things we need or want here" I deadpanned.

We soon made our way to the directory and were greeted by something that caught Fink off guard. It was a cartoon character…an anthropomorphic sparrow wearing goggles. The fox jumped a bit at this.

"Hello, and welcome to Centennial Mall! Where can I lead you to today?" Their voice was a blend of robotic and organic.

"What is it saying?" Asked Fink, not understanding the language. Because of the many people walking around us, I opted to keep silent…putting a finger to my mouth for Fink and he immediately understood. I'll explain it to him later.

"Where are we going first, dad?" I asked him and he pointed east, "tech store." Fink, meanwhile, was moving around…trying to get the avatar's attention with no avail. He probably thought they could see him and talk to him.

I soon pressed my finger on the touch screen and the screen changed. It now showed a map from the atrium to the store, which is on the second floor. The bird avatar was now in flight…waving to us before the map expanded.

Fink looked up at me with a raised brow, uhh, was all that necessary?

Sure enough, we follow my father down toward the center of the mall: where there are numerous screens giving advertisements and promos. One example is from a company Fink and I know very well.

Plan your next trip with Universal Dynamics today!

We decided to press on…hopping on an escalator to get to the store: it's a Techlab shop. There were many products on display. Fink examined every single one from the walls and podiums as I held his leash. Many products made by Techlab Industries were basically phones, holotvs, or hovercars. Yet, the only one that Fink truly knew about was the brain implants. He could see the small white computer chips on display…along with information that explained how they worked. He looked up at me and yipped softly, "I still can't believe that tiny thing on your head did all that."

I crouched down and chuckled, "oh that's nothing. Ever heard of night vision contact lenses or audio receptors for enhanced hearing?" I chuckled.

Fink rolled his eyes at that…it sounded ridiculous to him, but such inventions were real by this point in human history.

Soon, Dad got what he needed to repair one of the robots from the apartment and we soon left. We all decided to go to the food court to eat. Again, it was on the second floor, but it was pretty spaced out…with a large panoramic window of the city. Fink was certainly amazed by the abundance of food that just seemed to flood out of the stands to people endlessly. Food that was prepared by robots…and only robots.

As we ate (and I gave Fink some food that he could eat) I asked what was next on our bucket list. Dad wipes his mouth with a napkin and clears his throat, "we're going to the grocery store downstairs and then we're done.

And once we're done eating, that's exactly where we headed to. The way to get there was to go through a wide corridor with skybridges (and a ceiling that had an excellent view of the sky and sun.) All around us, there were luxury brand stores…many of which were beyond our budget for sure. As if the store names and their displays didn't tell us…we soon see a woman walking by us…dressed in diamonds and a heavy coat of fur. The fox next to me looked behind him and raised a brow to me, "man…you humans really want the attention to be on you…" he scoffed in animalspeak.

I shrugged at that.

Shortly after, we ended up in the grocery store to be met with lines of shelves…twenty-two of them…with products ranging from food to cleaning products. Music was playing all around us: Muzak…or basically the type of stereotypical shopping music you hear in the background at every store imaginable.

We make our way through…Fink (as usual) took in the scenery around him…taking in the unfamiliar scents…looking at all the items that appeared imprisoned on the shelves. Soon enough, Dad started getting a few items together on a cart and led us through the store. Fink sees all the frozen food inside the freezers…marveling at the tech…but mostly liking the coolness of walking close to them.

Sure enough, he spots a particular microwave meal inside that catches his interest. I soon stopped…looking at it. I recognized it immediately: it's a fairly well-known kids' microwave product. Its mascot is a cartoon red fox that is wearing a red bandana…Fink fell in love with the appearance…looking at me with a smile.

"Now I like that look for me more than this stinking collar!" The fox said…pawing at the black collar that was wrapped around his neck.

I chuckled, "I tell you what Fink, I'll get you one." I stood up, rubbing the top of his head. He certainly felt happy about it. Now I had a mental image of him back on the island…showing off the bandana to all his animal friends…and rubbing it in to Paddler to make him jealous.

Suddenly, he was startled when he heard a certain voice on the intercom asking for assistance on the aisle. He jumped in the air like a scaredy cat as I chuckled.

Soon, Father called for us further down the aisle and we joined him. As Dad finished getting what he needed (mostly items he would use to cook dinner tonight) I had the vulpine I was leading ask, "so…you can take whatever you want in here?"

"I mean…you can, but you gotta give the store clerks something in return…" I explained.

"Uhh…like what?" He rolled his head to the side.

I soon brandished a device…sliding it open like a usb and turned it on. It showed the balance on my device, and I only needed to press one button near a scanner to pay or add money to it…plain and simple. He sniffed it and pulled away, "is there anything you don't use as technology?"

I shrugged, "good manners I suppose?" I jokingly said.

"Wouldn't it be easier if they just let people take what they needed without going through all of that?" Fink asked as we turned a corner into the cereal aisle.

"No, because that would be stealing and that is frowned upon." I retorted.

"They're really encouraging it by having it all laid out though…seems tempting…" he wiggled his front paws when saying this.

I put my hands on my hips and leaned toward him, "we're not stealing anything, Fink!" I soon stopped when I saw a middle-aged woman giving me looks! My heart skipped a beat, and I soon composed myself…chuckling nervously back, "my fox…they like to steal…" Fink just gave me a side-eye glare with that comment. I expected the lady to scream…point and shout…attracting the whole store to our presence and that would be the end to our little secret. But…that didn't happen at all. The woman just walked off and didn't say another word…just before I sighed with relief.

"Almost busted…" I whispered, "we got a bit carried away…"

"I simply asked a question, kiddo" Fink rolled his eyes and began walking down as I grabbed the end of his leash again, "we'll talk later…" I whispered.

And so, with all the errands done for the day, it was time for us to return home. I helped Dad carry some bags as we made our way through the mall…where a station underground was located. Fink wasn't ready for the Metro…this will be a fun way to get back to the apartment.