Anette slowly pecked away at the smudgy old keyboard of her ancient laptop. Her acrylic nails were becoming increasingly gaudy, and prohibitively fabulous. But somehow, she couldn't quite bring herself to style them shorter.
She was distracted, and work wasn’t flowing like it should. It also wasn’t helping that Maria was dipping into her room and reappearing with a new outfit every five minutes, asking for yet another opinion on her look.
“Ugh, how come I don’t have any cute clothes? Why do I dress like a nun,? ew?”
Eyeing her roommates unattended schoolwork on the kitchen counter, Anette tried to plead for normalcy. “ Is… is this really important right now? We’ve got a ton of work this week….”
“Ugh… maybe you’re right” The leggy latina girl cocked a shapely hip, as she threw a boring pair of shapeless brown cargo pants across the room. The unwanted article of clothing sailed in a perfect arc, jostling the plastic garbage bin where it landed.
For a moment, it really seemed like Maria was going to try, and there would be peace in their chaotic kitchen. She took up her pen and popped down beside Anette.
It wasn’t long before she started to fidget, then she began to tap the ballpoint pen idly against the paper. And soon, she threw her hands up in disgust.
“Ok, you know what? We’ve been working too hard. Let’s take an us day at the mall. I really need a new outfit for my date with Andrew anyway”
“Mariaaa!” Anette whined her frustration. “We neeed to study!”
“Duh! I know that. And we totally will… But we also need to break up this boring stuff with a girl’s day out. C’mon, we can get our nails done!”
“Well, maybe” Anette said, looking down at her already obnoxiously overdone acrylic claws. “It’s weird but, I feel kinda naked without them all dolled up right now. Y’know?”
“Perf! Let’s go gorgeous. We deserve a little bit of retail therapy before we die of boredom out here!”
“Eek!”
Maria grabbed her hesitant roommate by the wrist and swiftly tugged her in the direction of the door.
-
Being from out of town, the girls needed to google the nearest strip mall and the closest available bus route. They nervously glanced out the window, soaking in the sunny spring weather while they wondered if they were even heading in the right direction.
Before long, they stepped out into the sun-scorched parking lot of the Shadow Peak Shopping Center. Looking cute, but not cute enough in the same old outfits they had worn since highschool.
Maria flashed her legs in a flouncy tartan skirt and a pair of heels she fished out of the closet. Her enhanced lips quirked confidently in contrast to a stoic pair of round black sunglasses, and her silky platinum hair flashed brilliantly in the sun. A flimsy pastel yellow tank top showcased her lean torso boney shoulders and the proud handful of plastic breasts bolted to her chest.
“They sure have a lot of weird stores in shadow peak, huh?”
“Yeah, no kidding” Anette stammered nervously, evidencing far less confidence than Maria.
She was dressed down in comparison. In an ordinary pair of blue jeans and black shoes. Though it was accompanied by a much splasher silky red blouse. The vibrant crimson colour complimented the terribly tacky, bedazzled ruby nails fastened to her fingers. Her off-auburn hair was tied back neatly in a french braid that dangled down between her shoulder blades.
“What is a Spells R Us? It looks like they haven’t updated their storefront since the 90’s. Ew!”
The girls walked on, with the much more poised and collected Maria taking the lead. They threw open the unloved grimy doors, and immediately scoffed at the decades old decorum. Bland, royalty free mall music filtered tastelessly through air that was thick as a balmy vacation destination. Stucco pink walls clashed with cracked white tiles that were browning with age. Nearby, a limey water fountain that looked like it was made out of bathroom tiles, burbled the same old recycled water that had probably been there since the Bush administration. The first Bush administration.
Looking around, Maria’s stone cold snarky lips curled into an open mouthed sneer. “Ugh, weirdly. I kinda like it here. It’s so…”
“Retro?” Anette ventured nervously.
“Synthetic. It’s all so fakey, it’s actually kinda charming…”
“What’s charming about fakeness?”
“I dunno. I guess it feels honest?”
Maria idly pressed a finger against the unnatural firmness of her twice inflated lower lip. Casting her steely indifferent gaze about the quaintly crummy small town shopping mall.
“Let’s hit the boutiques babe” She said, once again grabbing her hapless friend firmly by the wrist. “Life’s too short not to serve up looks!”
“Eek!” Anette squealed, tiptoeing frantically in step as she allowed herself to be led around limply.
Tue May 24 03:39:33 2022
2 comments Last updated: Tue May 24 05:28:01 2022