“I want that.” I pointed at the giant plushie in the window display.
“Well, you’re not getting it,” Sarah responded, not slowing down.
“Says who?”
“Says the $10 in your pocket.” Sarah glanced back to see me standing in front of the window, longingly. “Reah, come on!”
“Ugh. Fine.” I dramatically stomped after her. “Wait,” I whined.
She stopped, spun around and said, “What?”
“Can you get it for me?” I begged with puppy dog eyes.
“No.” She stated flatly. “That thing is expensive and you’re not going to be able to pay me back. Besides, where would you even put it? It’s enormous!”
“I can pay you back,” I insisted.
“With what money?” She didn’t wait for an answer before continuing with, “Exactly. Now let’s go.”
I followed her through the mall with an overdramatic stance, whining all the way to her favorite clothing shop. We’d come here so that she could get a pair of new shoes she’d been waiting to drop for months.
I waited outside the shop while she went in to get her shoes or whatever. As I waited, I went on my phone to scroll through social media. I wasn’t really processing any of the posts I was looking at, and internally was trying to figure out if I would be able to convince Sarah to buy me that plushie. By the time she exited the shop again, I didn’t have a plan, and left myself disappointed.
“Tell you what. I’ll treat you to lunch.” Sarah offered before I could say anything.
“To the food court!” was my eager response. It would probably be a while before anyone actually bought the colossal toy. I had enough time to save up for it. I’d just complete some quests.
Sarah chased me all the way to the cafeteria. We got some chicken and noodles at a food court Chinese restaurant, and sat down together. The mall wasn’t very busy despite it being a Saturday afternoon, but that wasn’t a problem for me. I didn’t like crowds anyways.
We chatted about nothing, and I was almost done with my food when I heard a little ringing sound. I looked around to see a guy with a cardboard sign and a bell. I looked back at Sarah, then gestured to the guy with my head.
“I thought that was illegal in malls,” was all she had to say.
I shrugged. “I’m gonna go check it out.”
I stood, picking up my bag from the side of the chair, and cautiously walked over to the man. The sign read “SIDE QUEST - acquire a bag of rice and pour it on me. Reward - $20.” I looked at the man’s face, then back at the sign, then back at his face. His expression was blank. I nodded at him, he nodded back.
I returned to Sarah. “Yeah, not taking that one.”
“What does he want?” The sign wasn’t legible from where we were sitting.
“Wants rice poured on him,” I responded through the last of my food.
“Weird,” was all she had to say on that matter.
