Roaming to purchase a gift

The state park store is located, at the central. It takes about 40 minutes of hiking on a straight trail without any twists.

As usual, the trail runs along the way surrounded by striking view. It doesn't matter how much hiking the students participate the graphic images never fail to impress the youngsters. This particular trail includes a long-distance glimpse of the lake where they went fishing.

Around 11 A.M. the students arrived at the shop.

The two-story building acts as the final attraction for all visitors before departing the place. The store sells a variety of products ranging from clothes to decorative items.

Coffee mugs, photo frames, customized t-shirts to key chains, though the items lack the variety in colors, the students were still excited to find the right product.

The kids were all scattered inside the building sauntering the place as they enter, looking at every item displayed and planning to purchase something that will make them treasure about this trip.

Seth had informed the kids not to spend carelessly and only to get things if they fancied. He also warned the students not to roam unnecessarily inside the store, destroying things.

Everyone agreed.

...

As groups, the kids buzzed inside the shop. Carmel, Sara, and Ivy were together as a group; they all planned to buy something for sure.

Carmel and Josh made a pact to gift each other a surprise. Sara thought of purchasing for her friends, and Ivy wanted to get something for Bridgette as the girl flunked this trip.

Back when Seth announced suddenly, the girls planned to go together until Bridgette declined.

***

The entire trip Bridgette avoided Carmel's presence, not because she held hatred for her, but she wanted to move on. And that can be possible only if she maintained a distance with Carmel and her blossoming romance. Understanding her, Carmel gave her space and didn't get annoyed from Bridgette aching to avoid her.

Plus, Carmel can notice Bridgette's actions; the blond girl puts on a tough front, trying to come up with excuses to dodge any opportunity for a group activity. She appeared desperate in avoiding Carmel.

Carmel found it to be cute of Bridgette.

***

Apart from choosing a surprise gift for Josh, Carmel also decides to get one for Bridgette to display her friendship.

Meanwhile, the guys made a ruckus they all went in for the getting hoodies, caps, and wallets; it even included socks.

Josh, while shopping with his friends, got himself a t-shirt and socks, as they were cheap and had durable material. After quickly paying for his stuff, he then secretly watched Carmel from afar, trying to do a recon on her.

Carmel was in the photo frames counter.

'She's getting a picture frame, how silly!'

'I can top that.'

Josh scoffed and looked around. There was a separate section for couples to purchase matching outfits and adornments. Josh checked if someone's tailing him, and then went past the area to swiftly scan through the items showcased.

Amongst all of the lovey-dovey things, there laid a little snow globes section with lots of hearts and sweet kinds of stuff filled in it. Out of all, one caught Josh's eyes particularly.

A snow globe; in it was a swan couple – one with tiara portraying the female and the other as male which resembled taller than the female. Their heads faced downwards facing each other, low and subtle with only inches away from the touching. The cute pair of swans stood firm and glistened with the glossy gold fillers.

The features were distinctive and neatly crafted with intricate details of representing the swan. The snow globe looked enchanting, and Josh liked it. Without having second thoughts, Josh purchased it. He requested it to be gift wrapped and placed in a separate bag.

Josh appeared extremely satisfied, and now he can't wait to meet Carmel and surprise her with his snow globe.

'She's going to love it.' – Josh gloated within.

…

Sara, who accompanied Carmel, also became fond of the picture frames.

The only picture that the four girls took happily was during their lake house visit on Day 3. That time, Bridgette didn't avoid anyone as Sara requested on taking a group photo together.

Scanning the various picture frames, Sara got reminded of that one photo they took together. She quickly picked out four frames to purchase. However, the process of getting that one photo inside this frame will take time, and so, Sara's gift will reach her friends a little later.

Apart from it, the state park is also known for its custom-made fragrance from the wildflowers and scented woods.

Perfumes and scented candles are the most common collectible things the visitors can purchase in memory of visiting the park.

Sara chose four different perfumes for her friends.

Lily for Ivy.

Rose for Bridgette.

Jasmine and rosewood for Carmel.

Vanilla for Sara.

For scented candles, she preferred to get all the lavender-scented ones as she knew the girls fancy Lavender the most.

After collecting all of the things, Sara went to pay the bill.

…

Carmel froze on the picture frame section and spent most of her time there, searching to find the best gift to surprise Josh. However, the frames didn't fascinate her. Carmel stepped out of her ambushed state to locate Josh, naturally.

Soon, she found him near the billing area, his face grinning. Instantly she became disturbed from it, seeing him notably happy troubled Carmel because she knew that he is done, with his purchase.

'Damn, look at him, flaunting his smile to everyone.' – Carmel hated and loved it because it triggered her to work harder in finding the perfect gift for him. She pledged and moved her feet away from the frames and onto the other places.

No more picture frames, she vouched.

…

Ivy, unlike the others, didn't desire anything that they had, nothing impressed her. She roamed in disappointed and soared to the first floor to take a peek. There Ivy found boots on sale, Ivy being the outdoorsy person got drawn to it. She went to check it out.

It a short boot, not the cowboy style and looked plain to Ivy's eyes. Weakened from not getting interested with the items exhibited, she sat down on the nearby vacant seat to catch a breath.

At that point, she discerned the plants and shrubs display.

The store also sells gardening items to encourage the activity.

The state park is known for its rich heritage, and Ivy noticed some of the plants she never heard off before. Slowly, getting up from her seat, she went to see them.

Ivy's eyes glanced everything and finally landed on Red Azalea. They looked bright, cheerful, and so pretty. It satisfied Ivy as she chose to gift Bridgette, a beautiful flowering Red azalea shrub.

The gift will be healing Bridgette and help her regain her self sooner. Also, Ivy knew that Bridgette loves flowers and enjoys gardening. This plant will be joining her posh little garden back at her home.

Satisfied with her gift, Ivy came downstairs to reunite with her friends.

...