The Regression Stone

The Shopping Mall

Friday had arrived on what had been the craziest week of the twins' lives. They woke up, still the same age as the day before, and breathed a giant sigh of relief. They might have become younger, but it looks like it had stopped. Sonia hoped that it had stopped for Cole as well, and became anxious knowing that she would have to wait until after school to see him again.

A text came through on Darcy's phone, giving off a loud ping that caught her attention. She reached over to see who it was from, and saw a text from Callie confirming that her and Sonia were still on to hang out at the mall after school. Darcy texted back "for sure" and looked for her sister, who was in the middle of selecting an outfit for school.

"I can't believe this is the stuff we used to wear" Sonia remarked, trying to find some outfit that she would approve of. Darcy laughed at her sister,

"Just put anything on, if it fits it works."

"I don't want to look ridiculous, Darce."

"Your clothes pile is doing a great job of that for you" Darcy quipped back, motioning over to the pile of rejected clothes her sister had tried on and didn't like. "By the way, it looks like we had plans to go to the mall with Callie after school, that could be fun."

Sonia frowned a bit, knowing that would take away spending time with Cole and getting to the bottom of their situation, but forced a smile and agreed with her sister as she continued to pick out the perfect outfit.

Once the twins were ready the headed downstairs for breakfast and both parents were already eating their morning meals. The twins said their good mornings and began filling their plates. Darcy remembered how she used to earn money when she was this age, and tried it out again to see if it would work.

"Hey dad, Sonia and I are going to hang out at the mall after school, could we have some money for shopping?"

Their dad lowered his newspaper and looked at Darcy square in the eye, sizing her up. He broke out a smile and reached into his wallet and handed the twins a $20 bill each.

"That should do it, who are you hanging out with?" he asked.

"Callie and maybe a few others" Darcy responded.

"Don't get into too much trouble!" he chuckled to himself. Darcy reached over and grabbed the money for her and her sister, thanking her dad and continuing to finish their breakfast.

"Girls, don't forget you told Cole's mom you'd be there after dinner. Make sure you're home before 6, ok?" their mom chimed into the conversation.

Sonia smiled at the thought of getting to spend time with Cole,

"Of course mom, we won't be there long" Sonia reassured.

The happy family finished their breakfasts and the parents said their goodbyes as they left for work, and the twins left shortly after to catch their bus to begin their day at school.

Throughout the day, the twins felt more settled into their routines as they knew which classes to attend and which friends to talk to, and even began to enjoy parts of it despite it being too repetitive for them. They didn't find out their grade on their test yesterday, which they considered a win and a problem for them to resolve next week.

The final bell of the day rang, and the twins were relieved to finally be done school. They finalized their plans during lunch, and met Lisa and Callie in the front lobby of the school before walking over together.

As they entered the mall, the familiar scents filled their noses, and the sound of teenagers flocking to the mall could be heard around the mall.

"So where do you want to check out first?" Lisa happily asked the group.

"I want to look at hoodies!" Callie piped in.

"Do you want to get smoothies?" Lisa asked the group, and they all smiled and nodded in excitement. "Yay! Let's check out Callie's store and then we can get smoothies!"

They walked around the mall, looking at the different stores until they reached the clothing store Callie was excited for. The twins were cautious about buying any clothes, Sonia holding back her desire to purchase a brand new wardrobe with clothes she actually liked. They didn't want to draw too much suspicion in having a complete style change overnight.

Once Callie had purchased a sweater she liked and the browsing came to an end, they began their trek over to the food court. They waited in line at the smoothie shop and each picked out a different flavor, the twins paying with their hard earned money from the morning. Lisa popped over to a burger shop and bought a large order of fries that she carried with her to a table they found and began to eat.

They talked about their weekend plans, the twins were excited to go to the planetarium, Callie had a dance recital, and Lisa had a family reunion. They looked around and watched the crowd, picking out unique clothing choices and giggling at how silly it looked to them. The time passed by quickly, the twins fully engaged in their conversations, forgetting their troubles momentarily, until Darcy's alarm went off on her phone.

She reached into her pocket, turned the alarm off and checked the time, 4:45. She turned to her sister and showed her the phone,

"Well we've got to get going, need to get home for dinner or our parents will be mad."

The girls got up from their table, tossed their garbage, and headed out to the public bus stop to go their separate ways for the weekend. Sonia was getting more and more excited, knowing she was moments closer to seeing Cole. They said their goodbyes and boarded their separate buses, the weekend had finally begun!