ICY

fifteen.

I roamed through the racks inside of the clothing store Jesenia suggested we check out, glancing at all of the pieces and deciding if they were my style before disappointingly shoving it back. I made my way to a different part of the trendy store, and actually liked what I spotted on one of the mannequins.

"This is cute, right?" I asked Jesenia who was strolling towards me, her hands filled with items she already purchased.

"Yeah, but they ain't got none of the pieces in stock I already asked" she said flagging the outfit.

"Well they can just take it off the mannequin can't they?" I asked after checking and seeing that both the shirt and pants were my size.

So far it was the only thing that I actually found cute in the small store or in the others that we passed for that matter. I could admit that I was picky, but that was mainly because I was cheap. And even with the little cash I had stashed away, I still didn't want to go crazy and be left like Lucky.

"I mean you can ask, but is it really that deep?" Jesenia chuckled, only to see how serious I was once I turned away.

I headed over to the register, and patiently waited my turn so I could ask the associate for the favor.

"Hi, is there any way I can get these shoes shipped to the store in Philadelphia?" A woman in front of me asked.

I admired her perfectly straight hair, every piece in place as it cascaded down her back. She was way taller than Jesenia and I, and definitely a woman. Everything about her yelled luxury, and I could only hope to be as demanding in my presence when I was her age. She looked as if the world was hers, even as she stood casually at the register, tapping her marble stiletto nails against the white counter as the associate searched the computer for any stores that carried the expensive shoe.

"We have one store in Willow Grove mall that carries it in your size, would you like us to send it there instead?" The associate asked.

"No, I said Philadelphia. Theres a store in the Liberty place, I know because I own a store in the plaza" she said cockily.

Jesenia rolled her eyes and I snickered, and she turned to only burn us with her vision. Suddenly my admiration for her went out of the window, as her appearance and attitude were a clear mitch match.

"Well, unfortunately they only carry a size eleven in Willow Grove" the associate answered, drawing the ladies attention back to her.

"This is ridiculous, can I just speak to the manager? I'm sure that you can just make a call to the warehouse and get them shipped"

"Girl, do you really need that outfit?" Jesenia asked, turning to me.

I shrugged, and figured it wasn't even worth the hassle. Plus, I was getting hungry. It was going on four, and we were supposed to be meeting back at Milo's since he was finally coming back home. He informed us he would only be staying for one night, and we knew that meant he would be wanting us there and ready.

"You're right, let's go to the food court" I said, flagging the air.

We turned away, deciding to leave the store before we had to jump the woman who couldn't keep her eyes to herself. The food court stood only a few feet away, and we took view of the large selection of food joints.

"Girl, we gotta stop eating out. I'm getting fat" I said, my mouth already watering at the greasy foods.

Back at Solomon's we were on a budget, so I ate what I could get my hands on. At Milo's, we indulged, taking advantage of it just being two of us instead of twelve, or even sometimes up to twenty to a house.