8 Chapter 8: Shopping (Extra?)

Ella was lying in bed, Rose sleeping on a separate mattress across the room. After "The Great Reunion," everyone had spent the rest of the day like normal. These people... If Ella had just reunited with her long lost sister, there would be a party, photos, and lots and lots of squealing. To be fair, there was quite a lot of squealing involved, but other than that there wasn't any sort of celebration. She rolled over. The other thing keeping her up was the question that had bugged her ever since she came.

Why did some people evolve to have animal features and some not? Perhaps it was pure chance, or maybe some sort of accident. After all, all these Vega adapted their features at the same time. Well, except for Suzi. She had had her powers ever since who knows when.

Well, I was born with an incredible mind. I bet some people wondered why they didn't have that. I suppose it's just luck.

~ In the Morning ~

Ella walked over to her bag. She had been re wearing the same clothes for 3 days, and even if she washed them they were one of the only pairs she had. I'll deal with is later. Ella got dressed and went downstairs, Rose following only seconds later.

"Morning Ella. Rose." Kiep greeted. "How are you?"

"Good. What's for breakfast?"

Oak beamed. "Were going out for the day! We haven't had a fun day ever since you came here, Ella."

"Plus," said Suzi, "you've been wearing the same clothes for 3 days in a row."

Ella was about to burst of happiness. "Oh thankyouthankyouthankyou!!!" She jumped on Kiep.

Suzi looked amused. "I enjoy shopping as well. We need groceries, new clothes, and electronics. Kiep, Oak, Sam. Do you have jobs?"

Kiep nodded. "I'm a writer, Sam works in a restaurant, and Oak takes care of Rose. But honestly, we wouldn't be able to do much without the money you left behind two years ago. How did you get that much anyway?"

"I can't remember." Suzi shrugged. "Like I said, without my memories I'm a completely different person. I don't think I was a prodigy before, was I? So unless we find a way to get back my memories, Mal is as good as gone."

Maybe that's why they didn't celebrate. Mal still isn't back, we only have Suzi. But no matter the circumstances, Ella was super excited. Normally the only shopping she did was for school supplies and her school uniform each year. This was going to be really fun.

"Wait a second," Oak said with sudden realization. "We still don't have enough money to do this. The bunker we found, and there's no rent for it which is the only reason we own it. We can't afford headphones, much less a computer."

Suzi laughed. "I have three jobs, remember? I'm an artist, a baker, and I work at one of the biggest software companies in America. I think we can have a little fun."

"I have a few hundred dollars left over from what I took from home," chipped in Ella.

Rose looked really excited. Kiep sighed. "Let's get this over with. When you were still Mal, you loved to shop. You always found ways to make money, little bakery stands, cleaning... From what I remember she had $600 in savings. That's what Mal left us." Kiep got up and grabbed her purse and sweater. "Let's go." Everybody followed her out.

"Ummm... So, I'm not 16 and I do not have a car. You guys have one though, right?"

Kiep smiled. "Yes. We do have one of those."

Sam climbed into the driver's seat and his cousins, siblings, and friend piled into the back. "Let's go!"

When the group arrived at the mall, the first thing that happened was a barrage a squeals from Rose and Suzi. Kiep looked like she wanted to run.

"Um... I'm going to go shopping for groceries."

"Yeah, here." Suzuki handed Kiep a pouch. "I think there's around $100 or $200 in there. I don't have a credit card though."

After giving everyone $100 for basic necessities, the group split up.

Rose's POV

I already had clothes, so I took it that "basic necessities" meant snacks, accessories and toys. So I stopped at a Ghiredelli chocolate booth and a candy shop. I saw this really fancy looking store called "Louis Vuitton," but honestly I wasn't that crazy as to spend 1,300 on a hand bag. I mean, honestly. My final shop was G. Giliweres where I picked up a little robotic car.

Ella's POV

I knew that a 10 year old in a mall would draw attention, especially one that looked 8. I stayed with groups and only went in stores with other people. I ended up going to Urban Outfitters and Zara. Because of the money I had before, my budget was bigger than everyone else's. Well, except for maybe Suzi's. I also restocked on dried mango and trail mix.

Sam's POV

I don't know what to buy. I never really was one to go to the mall to shop. I picked up a few comic books and a new stack of Magic Cards. My final item was a new controller for the Nintendo Switch. They were on sale.

Oak POV

I knew exactly what to buy. I went directly to the prank shop. That's all you need to know.

Suzuki's POV

My first shop was the apple store. I picked up a few laptops and 2 phones. Honestly, that stuff was expensive. Not much else I can buy, the electronics were over $100 on their own. I still can't believe they didn't have computers. How did they contact people? Was Rose even going to school? I was going to sign Ella up for a college program. For Rose maybe a 5th grade one? I still don't know.