My American Idiots, chapter 11
That Friday, Jess, Trè, Mike and Billie went to the mall. Jess and Trè had a bet to settle and Mike and Billie were coming along to watch and get out of the house for a few hours. They were meeting up with Adie and Nat in the food court for lunch.
"C'mon Jess! Let's go!" Trè urged. "We've gotta get that top before lunch! You wanna show Adie and Nat don't you?"
"What?" Jess asked. "I'm not embarrassing myself by wearing what you consider style out in public!" she laughed.
"I've got a perfectly good sense of style, thank-you very much!" Trè replied indignantly.
"If you say so," Jess replied. "C'mon then, let's get this over with." They walked over to a chain of teen fashion stores.
"Preppy, preppy, preppy, dude what is that?!" Jess and Trè walked past each one, trying to find the right store. "Preppy, preppy, dude is there anywhere NOT preppy? Oh, perfect!" Jess exclaimed as they walked past a place that reminded Jess of a store called Jay-Jay's back home.
"C'mon, these places have some of the craziest stuff!" she grabbed Trè by the wrist and pulled him through the doors, who was making faces at Mike and Billie who were following behind, laughing. 'Help!' Trè mouthed as he went inside.
"Here's one for you Trè," Jess said, holding up a tee that had 'I swear it's this big!' written across it with a pair of hands set about nine inches apart. "Oh, hang on, needs adjusting!" she grinned mischievously as she folded the shirt so the hands were almost touching.
"Oh, ha-ha-ha!" he replied, grabbing it, and tossing it back on the rack. "We're here to find you a shirt, not me!" he replied, looking over some of the girls tees. "Ah, here's one!" he held a white shirt with the words, 'They may be small, but they're mine!' written across the chest.
"Ha-ha!" Jess laughed genuinely. "I saw one of these back home! Mum tried to buy one for Stephanie. Put it in the 'possibly' pile!"
"What?" asked Mike.
"Here," Jess grinned, stood up on tip-toes and draped the shirt over his head. "Ooh, very nice! Would you be a sweetheart and hang onto that for me, Mikey?"
"Do I have a choice?" he asked pulling, it off and fixing his hair.
"Umm, no," Jess replied distractedly, and continued browsing. "Trè, check this one out!" she lifted a brown tee off the rack and read it aloud, "'Blondes may have more fun, but at least Brunettes remember it the next day!' That's one for you, BJ."
"Another 'blonde' one!" Trè called across the store. "'I'm knot a blonde, I swear I'm knot!'. The 'not' is spelled with a 'k'."
Mike and Billie Joe must've had at least ten shirts each when Jess and Trè had finished searching. Finally they settled on a tight, black baby-tee, which had, 'Punk Princess' written in pink, red and glitter.
"Brought your boyfriend shopping, didja, love?" the check-out chick asked as Trè handed over the twenty.
"God, no!" Jess laughed as Trè handed her the change. "Just friends. We had a bet and I'm collecting."
"Robbing me blind, is what she's doing!" Trè accused comically. "That's a weeks wage for me!"
"Dude, you don't even work," Billie reminded him.
"Fine, then a weeks allowance," he made a face at him.
"Speaking of which, we're on shift tonight, Billie," Mike said, putting the last of his pile of shirts in the 50% off bin. Whether they were originally from there is another matter.
"Fuck!" Billie cursed. "Don't juniors get a fucking day off?!"
"Apparently not," Mike said. "C'mon, lunch is in 5 minutes, we're gonna have to haul it to get to the food court."
"How far is it to the food court?" Jess asked, coming out of the shop wearing her new tee, her dark pink jacket, bleach-patterned jeans, and Dianas. Trè wolf whistled. "Quit it!" she told him, punching him on the arm. "You're making me blush, and it doesn't go well with a pink jacket."
"The food court," Billie interrupted. "Is on the other side of the mall."
"Aw, fuckit," Jess complained. "C'mon then, Nat and Adie said that had shit to do today. Race yas to the escalator!" She ran off with Billie Joe, Trè and Mike all catching up and overtaking her. The four raced up the escalator, and along a less crowded section of the mall. They took the last escalator down into the hustle of the food court.
"C'mon Jess! Let's go!" Trè urged. "We've gotta get that top before lunch! You wanna show Adie and Nat don't you?"
"What?" Jess asked. "I'm not embarrassing myself by wearing what you consider style out in public!" she laughed.
"I've got a perfectly good sense of style, thank-you very much!" Trè replied indignantly.
"If you say so," Jess replied. "C'mon then, let's get this over with." They walked over to a chain of teen fashion stores.
"Preppy, preppy, preppy, dude what is that?!" Jess and Trè walked past each one, trying to find the right store. "Preppy, preppy, dude is there anywhere NOT preppy? Oh, perfect!" Jess exclaimed as they walked past a place that reminded Jess of a store called Jay-Jay's back home.
"C'mon, these places have some of the craziest stuff!" she grabbed Trè by the wrist and pulled him through the doors, who was making faces at Mike and Billie who were following behind, laughing. 'Help!' Trè mouthed as he went inside.
"Here's one for you Trè," Jess said, holding up a tee that had 'I swear it's this big!' written across it with a pair of hands set about nine inches apart. "Oh, hang on, needs adjusting!" she grinned mischievously as she folded the shirt so the hands were almost touching.
"Oh, ha-ha-ha!" he replied, grabbing it, and tossing it back on the rack. "We're here to find you a shirt, not me!" he replied, looking over some of the girls tees. "Ah, here's one!" he held a white shirt with the words, 'They may be small, but they're mine!' written across the chest.
"Ha-ha!" Jess laughed genuinely. "I saw one of these back home! Mum tried to buy one for Stephanie. Put it in the 'possibly' pile!"
"What?" asked Mike.
"Here," Jess grinned, stood up on tip-toes and draped the shirt over his head. "Ooh, very nice! Would you be a sweetheart and hang onto that for me, Mikey?"
"Do I have a choice?" he asked pulling, it off and fixing his hair.
"Umm, no," Jess replied distractedly, and continued browsing. "Trè, check this one out!" she lifted a brown tee off the rack and read it aloud, "'Blondes may have more fun, but at least Brunettes remember it the next day!' That's one for you, BJ."
"Another 'blonde' one!" Trè called across the store. "'I'm knot a blonde, I swear I'm knot!'. The 'not' is spelled with a 'k'."
Mike and Billie Joe must've had at least ten shirts each when Jess and Trè had finished searching. Finally they settled on a tight, black baby-tee, which had, 'Punk Princess' written in pink, red and glitter.
"Brought your boyfriend shopping, didja, love?" the check-out chick asked as Trè handed over the twenty.
"God, no!" Jess laughed as Trè handed her the change. "Just friends. We had a bet and I'm collecting."
"Robbing me blind, is what she's doing!" Trè accused comically. "That's a weeks wage for me!"
"Dude, you don't even work," Billie reminded him.
"Fine, then a weeks allowance," he made a face at him.
"Speaking of which, we're on shift tonight, Billie," Mike said, putting the last of his pile of shirts in the 50% off bin. Whether they were originally from there is another matter.
"Fuck!" Billie cursed. "Don't juniors get a fucking day off?!"
"Apparently not," Mike said. "C'mon, lunch is in 5 minutes, we're gonna have to haul it to get to the food court."
"How far is it to the food court?" Jess asked, coming out of the shop wearing her new tee, her dark pink jacket, bleach-patterned jeans, and Dianas. Trè wolf whistled. "Quit it!" she told him, punching him on the arm. "You're making me blush, and it doesn't go well with a pink jacket."
"The food court," Billie interrupted. "Is on the other side of the mall."
"Aw, fuckit," Jess complained. "C'mon then, Nat and Adie said that had shit to do today. Race yas to the escalator!" She ran off with Billie Joe, Trè and Mike all catching up and overtaking her. The four raced up the escalator, and along a less crowded section of the mall. They took the last escalator down into the hustle of the food court.
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