RAISE YOUR HAND

Chapter 23

Trinity was happy Bella called. It had been awhile since they did anything together. Today was going to be fun. Shopping at the mall. Lord knew she needed some retail therapy.

Packing her mini backpack with essentials, such as lip gloss and cash, she remembered her new credit card came in the mail the other day. It was the first time she ever applied for one on her own. No other name was tied to the account. It felt good. No doubt she was going to do some serious damage to the fresh plastic.

Smiling, she pulled on her black jeggings and rolled the cuffs. These were going to look great with her little black ankle boots. They had a combat feel to them. To top off the outfit, she selected a long white blouse that had script printed all over it.

Fluffing out her blonde hair, she jumped when the doorbell rang. Who the heck was that? She had to leave now if she were going to pick up Bella on time. Trinity's face fell when she whisked open the door.

"What are you guys doing here? I was going to pick you up."

Gio smiled, "Surprise! I'm coming with you girls."

Bella rolled her eyes and waved her hands out, "Yeah. Surprise. He's coming with. Yay," she cheered sarcastic, plopping herself down onto the couch.

Trinity's mouth dropped. "What the heck, Gio? This is a girls' day. You can't come."

"Why not? I wanna go to the mall too."

"Too bad, so sad. Bella and I were looking forward to talking about girl stuff. You keep telling me you're not gay so...no boys allowed."

"So if I were gay, I could come?" he demanded.

"Yeah. But I know you're not, so don't pretend."

"Pff. Whatever. I probably am a little gay."

"No you're not! I saw you with Sarah the other day, plus you have all those magazines under your bed. Trin, he's not gay," Bella shivered.

"Shut up. Fine! Have your little girls' day. Maybe I'll call one of my friends and we'll have a dudes' day."

"You probably should. When's the last time you ever hung out with any of your friends?"

Gio shrugged, kissing his sister and handing her a wad of cash before leaving. Trinity couldn't help but notice. Jeez. Bella jumped off the couch holding the bundle up with a wave.

"We're gonna have a great day now!"

"No, you are going to have a great day. I'm not taking your money, Bella. Silly girl."

"I can treat you if I want to," she bumped Trinity's side with her own, "and I want to! Come on, bestie!"

The drive to the mall included Ariana Grande's 7 Rings being sung very poorly by the both of them. They listened to the hit twice before Bella introduced Trinity to Yungblud. Bella selected 21st Century Liability, which made Trinity want to jump up and down. She'd never been to a concert before, but this really made her want to go. Wow. She never heard music like this before, but she decided she loved it.

Once inside the mall, the first thing Bella wanted to do was check out Icing where she purchased a bunch of cheap jewelry. Trinity didn't see anything that appealed to her with the exception of a headband with cat ears.

"Why don't you get it?"

"I'm not your age anymore, Bell. I'll look dumb."

"You could never look dumb. You're too gorgeous. Besides, you can wear it at home while you're doing your makeup or just relaxing. Get it!"