Ugh, why do fountains even exist?!! (Clarissa)

[pellinore]

It was midday, so the mall was crowded with overexcited women who could barely control their children or credit cards. Zirconium pushed her way through the crowd, barely able to balance her plate of rice from that Chinese food booth in the food court, as she tried to make her way to the less crowded place in the center of the mall where the fountain was. The mall was NOT her scene. Not at all. If it wasn't for her pushy mother, she would never have been there in the first place. But there she was, trying to avoid talking to any of the idiots as they shoved past her in a rush to find the nearest sale. And her mother was probably off in her own corner of the mall, pushing people out of the way to get to the shelves.

That was why she went off alone. If she had stayed with her mother, following her into Pottery Barn and Old Navy, she would have been forced to compliment the disgusting, pink sweaters and sheets her mother always picked out. Pink was just so gaudy, and Zirconium hated it when people were apparently like, obsessed with the color pink just because they thought it made them look girly and pretty. Just another reason why she hated the mall - there were lots of people like that there.

Zirconium sat down on the nearest bench, balancing her plate on her lap. As she ate, she scanned the crowded space for anyone she knew. It was torture, sitting there and not knowing who could see her. She hated when people saw her when she was alone; it was so embarrassing. She was just sitting there eating rice, and she didn't even look moderately good. She'd woken up late that morning and her mother had been all ready to go, so she had been dragged into the car with a hairbrush and an apple in her hands, eyes barely open from waking up.

Taking the last bite of her rice, Zirconium stood up, pulling her sleeves up over her hands and shoving her phone deeper into her pocket. Ugh, why were there so many people everywhere? Slowly, she pushed her way through the crowd, nearly tripping over the Caution: Wet Floor sign that stood next to the fountain as she threw away her plate.

Oh crap. Were those her mom's friends over there? She REALLY did not want to be caught in some whirlwind of curious, middle aged women all hopped up on coffee and donuts who would be wondering where her mother was and why she hadn't called them. Quickly twisting around to hurry away, Zirconium promptly smacked into another person and fell forward. Shit.

She stood up, rubbing her elbows - that had really hurt. Suddenly, though, all she would have wished for was to be lying on the ground unconcious, so she wouldn't have to deal with the embarrassment that came when she saw that she had bumped the other person into the fountain. Fuck. Oh shit. Why the fuck was this happening? EVERYBODY was looking at her and the girl in the fountain. The ground around them was sopping wet, along with a few other people who had caught the edge of the splash from when the poor girl had been pushed in by Zirconium.

"Oh my God, I'm really sorry. I...oh God. Sorry," she said, almost on the verge of tears. What the hell was she supposed to do now!? This girl was all wet, and had probably smacked her head against the concrete of the fountain. And, shit, didn't that girl go to her school? Well, that just made everything sooo much better. Everyone at school would hear about this - she wouldn't be able to talk to anyone!

"Shit, sorry again. Here... do you... need help getting out?"

[CLARISSA RAMONE]

Bashful had made her wear pink. Clarissa was wearing pink. She hated pink! Pink was so bright and obnoxious and so, so, so not her! But Bashful had insisted.

"Pink makes you look girly and pretty, doll. It's totally perfect. It's totally helping you on the fast track to popularity and socializing, sweetheart."

Clarissa wanted to hit him in the face. Which she never wanted to do. She never wanted to hit somebody in the face. It was mean, hurtful, violent, and so, so, so not her. But ever since Bashful had awakened, she'd been feeling all sorts of things that were so, so, so not her. Like, for example, she was sounding way more flirty than usual. Flirty! Of all things! It wasn't her, at all, and she blamed him completely. He only laughed when she blamed him for things. He found it oh so amusing.

They were at the mall. Which was another thing that was so unlike her. Clarissa hated the mall. The mall was crowded, loud, scary, full of people that could see and judge her as they pleased. It was horrible! It was frightening and not something she liked to experience. But Bashful had insisted that she needed new clothes, CD's, perfumes, jewelry, and so he had insisted that they go to Grimm Avenue for a shopping spree. The last time she'd gone out on a shopping spree had been with Becky and that had not gone well.

"I am NOT Becky, darling. I'm much better than that girl and it will be because of me that you become a social butterfly, not her."

Bashful hated Becky. Like, a lot. Ugh! She was even saying 'like' a lot. It was so annoying! Clarissa wasn't even really aware of where she was going right now. Bashful seemed to have taken over because she was walking and she didn't know. It was like she was to wrapped up in her thoughts to realize that she was no longer in control. 'Bashful! Stop it!' He was suddenly beside her and she came to a stop. So, he had been walking for her. 'Don't do that! You know I don't like it!'

"You were to busy daydreaming, hun. Did you want me to let you stand around, looking like a lost and confused child?"

Clarissa cringed at the thought. What if somebody had wandered up to her and asked if she'd lost her mother?

"That's what I thought."

She hated when Bashful was right. Realizing now where they were, Clarissa nibbled on her lower lip. She had just happened to stop by the fountain of Grimm Avenue Mall. Now, the fountain was beautiful and lovely and all, sure, but it also seemed to be a popular spot for everybody to crowd around. Thankfully, today, it seemed a bit less crowded. So, all she had to do was cut across and save some time which would be good in the long run. It meant less time here, anyway. Clarissa continued walking now, having become aware of Bashful's impatient foot tapping, and hurried across the area, with a sudden thought that she needed to go to Old Navy. It took her a moment but she knew it was Bashful telling her this.

"They have cute tops, Clairbear, trust me."

She wanted to scoff and roll her eyes. To just stop where she stood, go back to her dorm, and take a nice bubble bath. Evidently, she would be getting wet. Without even realizing, somebody had run right into her and sent her toppling into to the fountain she was in such a hurry to get away from.

"Clarissa! Doll! Pay attention to your surroundings!"

Bashful scolding her certainly did not help but even he began to snicker, the hands on his hips moving to his mouth to conceal the laughter threatening to spill from his lips. A voice, one that was not her blonde companion's, caught her attention. Looking to the girl who'd spoken to her, Clarissa realized that she knew the girl from school. Her name was something unique but Clarissa couldn't remember it now. It wasn't for a few more seconds that Clarissa realized she was in the fountain, soaking wet, and she was pretty sure her head hurt from hitting the concrete.

"Oh... uhm," she stuttered, sitting up and wiping the water from her eyes. "I'm, er... I'm okay. I think..." Clarissa almost wished that Bashful were an illusion from her hitting her head because he was outright laughing now and it was really embarrassing. Because what if other people were laughing too? Oh God, she was so mortified! The girl seemed to swear a lot, or right now anyway, and Clarissa finally looked at her. Pushing her bangs from her eyes, Clarissa knew the girl's name all of a sudden. Zirconium was in her English class, which meant she was a sophomore.

"Girl, get out of the fountain, already."

Bashful sounded impatient and annoyed now. Just great. Now he was going to be all mopey for the rest of the day because she couldn't try on any new clothes now. Which was actually perfect. That was just fine with her. Taking Zirconium's hand, Clarissa pulled herself up, staggering just a bit. She carefully stepped out of the fountain, making sure to not slip on the now wet floor. "I'm alright. Just wet," Clarissa managed, letting go of the girl's hand and looking down at her dripping clothes. You win some, you lose some.

words; 906!
notes; in 19 minutes! thanks write or die xD;
outfit; minus the headband&eyeshadow

[pellinore]

As she helped the girl out of the fountain, Zirconium tried to figure out what exactly she should do. She assessed the situation: She had just knocked a girl from her English class into a fountain. This girl – Clarissa was her name, she remembered – was soaking wet, and unless she carried extra sets of clothes and a towel around in her purse, would continue to be soaked until Zirconium found a way to fix it.

Or she could just apologize one more time and run away, postponing the awkwardness. Ugh. She would rather be awkward in a mall with only ONE person she knew than in English class where people could potentially hear what had happened and think she was rude and clumsy. But she needed to somehow make Clarissa feel better, or at least more dry. She was sure the other girl was feeling at least almost as uncomfortable as she was - how was she supposed to react to someone pushing her into a fountain and getting her soaking wet?! I wonder if she expects me to help her dry off... Zirconium thought. If she had been in Clarissa's place, she wouldn't have known what to think, she'd have just been sitting there and probably would have run off to the bathroom a few moments later.

But Clarissa was still standing there. It had been less than a minute, but so many thoughts had run through Zirconium's mind at the time that it felt like an hour. Should she offer to buy the girl a towel? That would be the logical thing, but Zirconium had about $5 in her pocket, and no credit card or checkbook of any sort. Paper towels from the bathroom? Would that be too weird?

"Umm, here... I can help you dry off," said Zirconium, "with... paper towels, or something... Sorry, if I had a towel, I'd... Umm, do you...umm.. want....." Holy fucking crap, this had to be the most awkward situation of her entire life. She didn't know what to do. This whole situation had been her fault and she had no way to fix it, besides dragging Clarissa into the restroom and covering her in paper towels, which probably wouldn't do much to help the water situation anyway. Ugh. Zirconium just needed to get over herself, she decided. If she acted like it wasn't awkward, it wouldn't be awkward. She swallowed.

"Uh, here, why don't you come into the bathroom and I can help you umm... They probably have paper towels, or umm, air-dryers or something," she said, her pulse racing with nervousness. What if Clarissa thought she was some freak for trying to help her? Maybe she should have just walked away when she had the chance. All she could do now was hope that Clarissa didn't decide to announce this to anyone from school. Actually, maybe she hadn't even recognized her... They'd never spoken to each other before, and if Zirconium had had trouble recognizing Clarissa, there was a chance that Clarissa wouldn't recognize her.

Oh wait. Even if she didn't recognize her then, she would sure as hell remember her when they sat down in the same classroom for English class. But like she had decided before, all she could do was swallow the awkwardness and hope for the best.

[CLARISSA RAMONE]

Bashful was annoyed and angry and not pleased. He was muttering to himself about what could be done to fix the situation. She caught a few words like ‘dry’ and ‘towel’ and ‘magic.’ Magic. Pffttt. She began to wring the water out of her shirt, twisting the fabric together. The floor was already wet enough, anyway. This sucked for the janitor, sure, but what else could she do? Wasn’t it better to drip all over here then leave a trail to the bathroom? Might as well dry off as well she could while they stood here. They. Clarissa peered at Zirconium as she wrung out another part of the shirt. What was the girl doing at the mall, anyway? Clarissa wasn’t much of a social butterfly in her English class. She was a hard worker. Why would she talk to her classmates when there were journals to be written and books to be read? Either way, Clarissa didn’t know Zirconium very well but she did not seem like the mall-type.

Clarissa gave Zirconium a reassuring smile and tried to wave it off, telling her it was alright. She was stuttering quite a lot. The girl seemed more socially awkward than Clarissa did. Was that even possible? Maybe. Clarissa let her arms fall to her side, looking down at her shirt. It was still wet and wrinkled now but oh well. What could she do? Clarissa shook her head and waved a dismissive hand. “It’s fine. Really!” Clarissa interrupted the girl quickly, feeling a bit rude but thinking the situation would be better if Zirconium was to stop stammering. “Yes, the bathroom. The air-dryer things would work perfectly.” Clarissa started in what she hoped was the right direction.

‘Yeah, hun, don’t worry, there’s a bathroom this way.’

‘Oh, there you are,’ Clarissa thought back, teasingly. ‘I thought you had stopped talking to me.’ He scoffed and trailed behind her, arms crossed over his chest. He was sending negative vibes towards Zirconium but Clarissa was sure only she could feel them. Bashful was supposed to be only noticed by her, right?

‘Wrong. Turn left.’

Ugh. Great. Clarissa did so and found herself in a hallway. She glanced up and saw a sign, pointing her in this direction for the bathrooms. Clarissa looked to Zirconium and continued to lead the way. “I’m so lost. This is my first time to the mall in a long time.” She tried to make conversation but it was difficult. What were you supposed to say to a person that you knew but didn’t know know? She pushed the bathroom door open and headed straight for the air-dryer. Pushing the button, Clarissa pulled her wet shirt off, annoyed because it had started to cling to her skin like wet clothes did. “It’s fine. I didn’t like this shirt, anyway.” Clarissa told Zirconium over the noise of the dryer.


words; 480
notes; sorry for the late reply!
outfit; minus the headband&eyeshadow

[pellinore]

Zirconium followed Clarissa to the bathroom. She would have had no idea how to get there on her own, so she was grateful that Clarissa obviously knew where it was, although she apparently didn't come to the mall very often.

"I don't come here a lot either," she said, "My mom loves the mall for some reason, so she drags me here when she can." She fidgeted, twirling her hair and cracking her knuckles. Zirconium hated talking to people that she didn't know; it was so awkward, especially since she saw Clarissa every day in school but had never spoken to her.

Walking into the bathroom, Zirconium balked slightly at the awful smell that always lingered in places like this. She forced herself to breathe, though, because she'd be in there for at least a few minutes while Clarissa's shirt dried. She wondered why Clarissa was even at the mall in the first place, if she didn't go that often.

"It's fine. I didn't like this shirt, anyway," Clarissa told her. What? What was that supposed to mean? It wasn't like getting the shirt wet had ruined it. She'd still be able to wear it again, wouldn't she?

"Well, what? Umm, when it dries off, you can put it back on you know... It was only water." Zirconium attempted a smile, but she couldn't help feeling awkward. Things always turned awkward when one person questioned what the other had said. Ugh, it would have been better if she just hadn't said anything.

[CLARISSA RAMONE]

Clarissa would have made conversation had it not been for the noise the air-dryer was making. Bashful was sitting on the sink counter at a sideways angle, messing with his hair. She wanted to scold him but decided against it. He was already in enough of a foul mood. She listened to Zirconium as best she could over the noise and smiled at their similar situations. Bashful dragged her here, too. How ironic. ‘You’re like my mom.’ she thought to him teasingly and he scoffed at her. Wow, he really was upset.

“I get that. I’m friends with this girl who dragged me here all the time.” Clarissa rolled her eyes as if this annoyed her. In all honesty, though, Clarissa really did miss Becky. It wasn’t as bad, since she had Bashful now, but it also wasn’t the same. Becky had been such a blast sometimes… when she wasn’t being completely insane, anyway. Glancing down to the pink shirt, she saw it was dry for the most part. It was wrinkled, though, and a bit stretched out. Looking back to Zirconium, Clarissa managed a meek smile. “You’re right… I guess I’m just trying to find excuses to have to never wear it again.” She spoke the last few words with more force, hoping Bashful would catch her drift.

Clarissa hit the button again, this time leaning down to dry her hair a bit. The paper towels would just make her life difficult. Besides, what was the point of drying the shirt when her hair would get it wet again, anyway? Bashful slid down from the counter and crossed his arms over his chest, looking around, bored. The bathroom door opened and a few girls entered, giggling. They stopped abruptly, sent a glare or two towards Clarissa and Zirconium before grouping around the mirror. Bashful glared daggers at them, sending negative vibes and Clarissa cringed. She really hoped they couldn’t notice that.

They left in a few minutes, muttering something about feeling uncomfortable, the makeup they were reapplying looking half-done. Clarissa stood, wringing her hair out and pulling it over one shoulder. ‘Thanks, Bashful…’ He waved a dismissive hand at her. “Again, sorry about this…” she looked at Zirconium and smiled. “I should have been paying more attention.”

---

words; 480
notes; sorry for the late reply!
outfit; minus the headband&eyeshadow

[pellinore]

Zirconium stood off to the side, leaning against the sink, as Clarissa dried off her shirt. Hopefully she hadn't offended her with the comment about how it was only water... But she didn't seem insulted. The only thing she wondered was why she'd even been wearing the shirt in the first place if she'd never wanted to wear it again. Zirconium wouldn't have wanted to wear it again if it was her, it was a bit... garish. But she hadn't been the one who'd worn it to the mall.

But whatever. Maybe she was just trying to make conversation. Talking to strangers was always horribly awkward, because you wanted to seem friendly and make the other person laugh, but you didn't want to come off as a hyper freak or like, rude or something. It was just way too confusing. She didn't do well meeting new people.

And then Clarissa apologized for not paying attention, which made it even more awkward for Zirconium. It wasn't Clarissa's fault! Had she made it seem like she thought it was her fault in any way? She'd definitely already apologized.

"No, seriously, I was the one that wasn't paying attention. Sorry, again." Zirconium closed her eyes for a moment after she said this. What happened now? Were they supposed to sit there in the restroom all day chatting about whose fault it was and who was sorrier?

Okay, maybe it was time to man up and swallow her insecurities. Well, not man... oh, whatever. Clarissa didn't seem so bad. It might be nice to make a new friend. Or at least have someone to walk around the mall with for a few hours while her mom raided the Pottery Barn.

"Uh, so, are you like, here by yourself?"

[CLARISSA RAMONE]

“This is going nowhere, doll. You keep apologizing and she keeps apologizing. Just admit that you were both at fault and move on. We’re still going shopping, I hope you know. So… just, say goodbye to the timid little girl and forget about the whole thing.” Bashful was already headed for the door, obviously done with the conversation. Clarissa knew he was serious; he had the serious look about him. He had the glaring eyes, the grimace, the tension in his pose. He was not in the mood for her to be defiant which was ironic for she was feeling rather defiant. He narrowed his eyes at her, completely aware of her thought process.

Clarissa grinned and waved a dismissive hand. “We’re both at fault. I think we can come to that conclusion?” The sentence ended up a question and she cursed the insecurity that came with it. Glancing down to the rest of her clothes, she decided that this was the best it was going to get. It’s not like she could dry everything right now. And she didn’t want to talk to Zirconium for, like, the first time ever in the bathroom. That was just a bit weird. She messed with her hair a little bit; fluffing it up, hoping this would help to dry it more. It was still a little damp but she’d accepted that this was as dry as it was going to get. At Zirconium’s question, Clarissa had to resist glancing over to Bashful. Except… he had disappeared. Oh great, now he was in a foul mood.

Clarissa paused and gestured towards the door. “Wanna get out of here? This bathroom is creeping me out just a little bit.” It had unnerved her what with barely anybody else showing up. Perhaps it was Bashful’s negative vibes getting to her but either way, she wanted out of here. Clarissa opened the door for Zirconium and once she had exited, Clarissa followed. “Kind of,” Clarissa answered the question without really thinking. She didn’t want to say that she was here with somebody because, well, Zirconium could not see that somebody. “They’re at the music store, though. I couldn’t get them out of there,” she laughed a bit, hoping to ease the tension. Besides, that was totally something Bashful would do so she wasn’t really lying.


words; 389!
notes; er yeah.
outfit; minus the headband&eyeshadow

[pellinore]

Zirconium followed Clarissa out of the bathroom, glad to get out of the damp, smelly room. It was an awkward place to meet someone, too. Like, if they ever became good friends or something, they'd have to look back on this day and be like 'Yeah, remember when we first met each other, in that dirty mall bathroom?' and it would just be weird. But now they were out in the brightly lit open area of the mall, and she no longer had to worry about breathing through her mouth to avoid the nasty smell.

"Kind of. They're at the music store, though. I couldn't get them out of there."

"Ha, I know the feeling. When I come here with my mom, she just goes straight to the Pottery Barn and doesn't come out for like, three hours. And it's not even a big store, I don't know how she keeps finding more things to look at in there..." Was it super weird that Zirconium was talking about her mom? She didn't want Clarissa to think she was some freak whose best friend was her mom. Because it wasn't like she hung out with her mom every day... Really, she lived at school, this was the first time she'd even seen her mom in a few weeks.

Speaking of which, she kind of wondered why her mom insisted on going to the mall of all places on their one weekend together for the next month or so. It wasn't like it was a secret that Zirconium hated it. But whatever, mom troubles aside, she needed to be social and stop spacing off and thinking too hard.

"Hey, have you seen that new pretzel stand? I heard they have like, pretzel sticks or something..." Wow. Okay, wow, that sounded completely lame. But who knew? Maybe Clarissa really liked pretzels.

[CLARISSA RAMONE]

Bashful still had yet to reappear and Clarissa had to tell herself that it was nothing to worry about. Sure, Bashful had never flat out disappeared when he was upset with her… but she should have expected this of him. He was awful good at throwing temper tantrums and he knew how to make her cave on a decision. Perhaps this was his way of guilt-tripping her into leaving Zirconium and going shopping. It felt good to be defying him but she could feel the guilt already starting to take hold. It was unsettling: the effects he already had on her; the fact that he could boss her around so easily. Were her social lessons supposed to make her more of a pushover than she already was? She nibbled on her lower lip and pushed all of these thoughts away to focus on Zirconium and the direction they were headed. Clarissa wasn’t quite sure of where they were going or where they would end up going. She hadn’t been to the mall in forever and the last time she’d been, it was to the bookstore.

“My grandma went to the Pottery Barn often. I went in there with her once… I didn’t like it, though. She kept asking for my opinion on stuff that I didn’t know anything about…” Clarissa laughed a little nervously. Her grandmother had moved to Arizona some time ago. Clarissa missed her but she also missed her parents… she wished they would just come back already. Carefully folding her arms over her chest to keep from wrinkling the still damp shirt (she wasn’t even sure why she cared; she hated the thing), Clarissa looked to Zirconium as she spoke. Pretzels… pretzels actually sounded really good right now. Especially since she was feeling a little chilly and, as her stomach gave a well-timed growl, she was apparently hungry. “I haven’t. I am hungry, though. Do you want to stop by there?” Clarissa asked. “If you know where it is, I mean. If not, I don’t mind wandering around to find it.” Clarissa shrugged. At least Bashful hadn’t made her put on heels today…

words; 356
notes; bashful is a brat <3
outfit; minus the headband&eyeshadow

[pellinore]

Zirconium wasn't really that hungry, since she'd just been eating before she knocked Clarissa into the fountain, but it would be like... dessert. And she was finally making a new friend, this was good.

"Yeah, I think I know where it is. I passed it on my way in," she spun around, trying to remember which way she had come in from. "I think... I think it's somewhere over that way."

She hesitantly began leading the way towards where she thought the pretzel stand was. This whole place looked the same everywhere though, she wouldn't know if she was heading in the opposite direction from the pretzel stand.

"So um, have you read yet for English class? She assigned us so much homework this weekend," Zirconium said, attempting to make conversation while they wandered towards a wing of the mall that may or may not have a pretzel stand.

"Oh wait, there it is." She smiled, relieved that she had been going in the right direction. The pretzel stand was just in front of them, she could smell the warm dough and cinnamon.

[CLARISSA RAMONE]

Clarissa smiled and turned to follow Zirconium towards a more populated area of the mall. “If we get lost, I’m sure they have those big maps somewhere. Even if those are a bit confusing to understand,” she added tentatively. The last time she’d looked at one of those, it’d been for ten minutes because she couldn’t figure out how it was color coded. Not to mention the buildings were marked with a letter and then she had to browse the list for that letter and, oh!, it was just one big waste of her time. As they continued along, the silence was comfortable enough. Clarissa was worrying less and less about Bashful. She was making a new friend; he should be proud of her.

“I started it,” Clarissa answered, accompanied with an over-dramatic sigh. “Way too much homework,” she agreed. “I’m going to be up all night Sunday.” Because Bashful was making her go out on Saturday. He had yet to tell her where or what they were doing and it made her nervous to even think about it. He always had a surprise up his sleeve which bothered her oh so much. How was this supposed to help her? It was just making her paranoid and nervous and frightened. There was a distant chuckle in the back of her mind and she scowled briefly. How rude. As Zirconium spoke though, Clarissa forced a smile so as not to appear angry.

The pretzel stand smelled delicious even from this distance. As they approached, she was glad to see there wasn’t a long line. A mother and her son were buying now. It gave Clarissa time to grab a small sheet of paper with all of the options. She had been unaware that there was so many ways to eat a pretzel. She looked to Zirconium. “I’ll buy for you, if you want.” She said, trying to be polite as possible. She had enough money, anyway, even if Bashful had been making her shop more and more as of late. It was their turn, then, and Clarissa stepped forward, returning the sheet to the pile. “I’ll have a cinnamon-covered pretzel, please.” Clarissa looked to Zirconium and waited patiently.

words; 367
notes; pewpewpew
outfit; minus the headband&eyeshadow

[pellinore]

"Oh, uhm, okay. Thank you!" Zirconium replied when Clarissa offered to pay for her. Normally she would have declined the offer, but she knew that it would have just made things awkward, and she didn't think she could handle any more of that in a day. And it wasn't like pretzels were expensive; most of the prices were around two or three dollars. But still, she promised herself that if she and Clarissa somehow ended up at a food stand together again, Zirconium would offer to pay for both of them.

When Clarissa started to order, Zirconium quickly scanned the colorful menu board behind the cashier. How were there so many different types of pretzels? There must have been at least ten different types on the list. She didn't want to order anything expensive, since Clarissa was paying, so she went with the cheapest option she saw.

"Uh, I'll just have a regular pretzel with salt, please." She glanced at Clarissa, trying to gauge from her expression whether or not she really minded paying for her or not.

"Thank you," she said as the cashier handed her the pretzel, wrapped in a sheet of clear was paper. She waited for Clarissa to get hers, and then took a bite. Wow, pretzels were really good. She hadn't had one in like... well, she didn't know when the last time she had a pretzel was. Which would probably seem kind of strange to someone else, considering that many people associated New York City with hot dog and pretzel stands. But yeah, there weren't exactly pretzel vendors rolling their carts around the dorm hallways.

"Wow, this is really good," she said, taking another bite. "I haven't had a pretzel in a while."

[CLARISSA RAMONE]

Clarissa took out her wallet, pulling out the appropriate amount of cash. It was a good thing pretzels weren’t very expensive. She could hear Bashful complaining in the back of her mind. This money was for shoes or jewelry or eye shadow blah blah blah. His temper flared briefly at her attitude before he returned to a quiet sort of sulking. Rolling her eyes, Clarissa handed the bills over to the cashier. Smiling, she thanked them and turned to Zirconium. “Do you want to wander around, or sit down somewhere? I don’t mind either way.” She was trying to make conversation for the most part. The cashier cleared their throat and Clarissa looked. Oh, her pretzel looked delicious. She said thank you again, taking the pretzel, careful to hold onto it. The wax paper was usually rather slippery. It’d been awhile since she’d had a pretzel. The vendors on the streets just seemed so unsanitary to her and so she never ate from those. Sure, they usually smelled really good but it just seemed sketchy.

“Same here. It’s kind of funny what with all the food vendors.” She laughed lightly. Wondering if there were other people who avoided street vendors, Clarissa took another bite of her pretzel. Mmmm. Delicious. Clarissa returned her wallet to her pocket and looked at Zirconium. “Shall we wander?” she asked, a hint of a giggle in her tone. It almost sounded too formal. Clarissa started in the direction of the food court, figuring they could sit there for a little while. At least until Zirconium had to leave. Clarissa wasn’t in any rush, really. Even if Bashful kind of hated her ri—I do not hate you, doll. I’m just frustrated.

Bashful vented suddenly, interrupting her. Well then.

words; 293
notes; sorry this took so long & that it kind of sucks ):
outfit; minus the headband&eyeshadow
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[pellinore]

"Maybe we should go sit down somewhere," Zirconium said, laughing as she tried not to spill salt from her pretzel everywhere. "There are a couple tables empty over there, I think." The food court looked pretty full, but there were definitely some tables open.

Huh, this was the first time she'd really been at the mall with like, a friend. It was kind of awkward, especially since she hadn't intended to come with Clarissa, and had kind of met her by shoving her into a fountain, but whatever, she would make the best of it. And even if everything was horrifyingly awkward in her head, nobody had to know that. People around her would think she was one of those well, polupar people who actually had friends that they went places with. She was always envious of the girls walking around with their friends and laughing when she came to the mall; most of Zirconium's time there was spent sitting alone at a table waiting for her mother. So she might as well just laugh and look happy, and who knew, maybe she would even get a friend out of it.

"Aww, look at that, they're so adorable!" Zirconium said, as a mother pushing a double stroller walked past them. The two babies inside it were wearing matching outfits, and one had a cute little pompom hat. She didn't normally make a big deal over things like that, but she figured it was better than walking silently.