The 'Party' PT 2 ...

Feb 2005...

The three of them made their way downstairs and got in the car. It didn't take long for Amanda to start the car and soon enough, they were on the road.

The drive to the mall was quite long. Amanda planned on taking them to Starlane mall. She heard it was a great place to shop for quality clothes, accessories, home and school supplies. Though their things were a bit expensive. It was for sure, worth the price.

During the ride, Savannah thought of this as a great opportunity to calm her thoughts down. She sat close to the door and looked outside. The trees, people walking through the walkway, buildings coming closer into view. It all seemed so natural . She knew they had a long ride ahead of them, so she decided to lay down and take a short nap, since she was the only one at the back seat, she felt more comfortable.

With time passing, Savannah ended up not falling asleep but instead, kept on bumping her head by the car door.

The long drive ended up being cut to a halt when Amanda stopped the car. Savannah quickly looked out the window to see a massive building. It was wide and tall and had Starlane mall written in cursive letters above the building with a big star and like 5 other stars next to it. It looked like a 5 star hotel and had a sloping design. Kind of shaped like the wave on the beach.

As expected, there were cars parked at every corner of the entrance. It took almost 15 minutes for Amanda to find a good parking space.

The three of them got out of the car and made their way to the entrance. As expected of a large and well known mall, the place was huge. As soon as you walk in through the automatic doors, you'll see the escalator right at the center of a big open space.

And if you stand at the foot of the escalator, you'll be able to see the first floor if you look up.

"Wow, this place is amazing". Amanda said once they entered the building.

"How did you even find out about the place". Savannah asked.

"That's not what we should be worrying about. But what we should be worrying about is where we're going first". Adam asked as they stopped walking.

Amanda looked around for a while before saying, "Let's go upstairs first , look at a few things for a while before deciding on what to buy Adam". Amanda said as they all went to the escalator. Though Amanda hasn't thought of a gift to buy Adam, she still wants to make this the best day for him.

The three of them strolled round the first floor for a while. The place was huge. There were restaurants, cloth stores and so much more. Savannah couldn't stop staring at the place and wondered were they'd go to first.

Looking at the way the place was, it was evident that the whatever they were going to buy was expensive. Savannah knew her mom well and she knew she would buy something that was cheap yet also precious .

Savannah followed her mom as she walked into a figurine store. The place was white and clear. It was cold and there were shelves by the walls and four tables in front of the shelves.

There were glass figurines of people, animals and abstract things like people and animals standing on cube-like stools. Just by looking at the place, Savannah could tell that everything in the store was expensive.

The three of them walked into the store as Savannah looked around the place. A lady sitting behind a table by the left corner of the room acknowledged their presence and stood up.

"Oh, good day Ma'am. Would you like to purchase a figurine?" The lady said as she walked to the centre of the room.

"Oh yes. How much does this cost?" Amanda said as she picked a blue figurine shaped like a lady dancing.

The lady walked closer to Amanda before saying,"It costs $50".

"Oh", Amanda said as she carefully placed the figurine back on the shelf, "are there any figurines that cost less". Amanda asked as she looked round the room.

"Oh yes, there are some over here". The lady said as she walked to the shelf opposite that one.

Amanda looked at them for a while and stopped when she saw a white and black figurine of a lady playing a flute. " How much does this cost". Amanda said as she picked up the figurine.

" It costs $38".

Amanda looked at it for a while before turning to look at Adam and Savannah. " Do you like it?" Amanda said as she showed the figurine to Adam.

Adam didn't say anything but instead, took the figurine from Amanda and stared at it for a while before saying, "It's nice. I like it".

" Do you want one as well?" Amanda asked Savannah. Savannah didn't say anything for a while before looking up at her mother.

"Yes". She said softly.

Amanda didn't say anything but instead turned back to look at the lady. She then took her focus to the other figurines on the shelf. They were all beautiful but Amanda was looking for just one unique snowflake in particular. She strolled through the shelf until she saw one. " What about this one". Amanda said as she picked up a blue and white figurine of a man and woman dancing.

" It costs $34".

"Do you like it?" Amanda asked Savannah as she turned to look at her. Savannah didn't say anything but just nodded. " Okay then, I'll take both of them". Amanda said as she handed them over to the cashier lady.

The lady walked over to her table and typed on her monitor before packing the two of them in their individual boxes. "Your total is $72", the lady said as she looked up at them.

Amanda looked through her purse for a while before saying, "do you accept card?"

" Yes". The lady said as Amanda handed over her card. Once the transaction was done, the lady gave Amanda the boxes and put them in a nylon bag before they left.

"Where are we going next". Adam said after they left the store. Amanda hadn't really planned for them to stay there for such a short period of time. It's barely almost dusk and they've already bought Adam's gift. But still though, it's already 12:14, maybe they should just go eat .

"We're going to Tasty Crisps".

"Are we eating there or ordering take out?" Adam asked.

"We're eating there, and then we'd do a little window shopping, if we still have time, then we'd get to know our way around town a bit before going home".

The restaurant was around the same size as the figurine store. It was dark blue and white and gave a modern look. There were just a few tables with people already sitting there and the counter was filled with people . Amanda managed to make way through the crowd. It took a while for the cashier's to acknowledge her.

" Ma'am, what would you like to order?" One of the cashier's said once he acknowledged her presence. A tall man, probably in his 20s with a light beard and thick brown hair, asked Amanda.

" I'd like one plate of lasagna and two plates of spaghetti".

"Would you like anything else?" The cashier asked.

"No nothing, that'd be all". Amanda simply said.

The man typed on the monitor for a while before saying," Okay, are you paying with cash or transfer?"

"I'll pay with transfer", Amanda said to the cashier before turning to look at Adam and Savannah, " the two of you can go and look for a free table for us while I pay, okay?" The two of them nodded before walking away.

After Amanda was done paying for the meal, she walked over to the table Adam and Savannah chose.

" But what about the food?" Savannah asked Amanda once she sat down.

"It will be here in a while". Amanda said.

The three of them waited for a while before the food arrived. Just like the restaurant, the food was served like those in a 5-star hotel.

"Wow! It looks so good". Adam said before he took the fork and began eating.

"Does it taste as good or does it just look that way". Amanda said before she too took a fork and began eating.

"It tastes better than it looks!" Savannah said while chewing her food, "we should come here more often". She said once she was done chewing.

"Can you here yourself?" Adam said.

"If you know how much I paid for this, then you'd only come here once in a month". Amanda said.

"At least it was worth it". Savannah said.

"Thank you mom ",Adam started as Amanda looked up to see him, "the gift and the food and everything just made today feel amazing!" Adam said once he was done eating.

"If you want your next birthday to be even better than this, then you should start cleaning your room more often ". Amanda said as the three of them laughed.