Over the Line (1)

"I'm not joking," I sighed.

My family went speechless as security guards blocked the entrance once they came inside.

My head hung as they were overdoing it, locking the door and guarding the area outside. And unlike before, all the workers stared at us, begging us to come inside their stores. What was with their sudden change? Ally spun to Luke and Alex, "did you seriously rent the entire mall? A simple shopping trip makes you rent it out?"

"Why not?" Alex didn't realize the problem.

"They always do this," I was equally annoyed.

"You're too overprotective of her. Nobody is going to do anything to her," Ally found it ridiculous.

"Ally, which store do you want to go to?" My aunt attempted to lighten the mood.

"We won't have to wait in line," she pointed out.

Ally gave into my aunt, and looked at the map to visit her favorite clothing store. Since I had nothing to buy, I decided to follow her. Our group separated into three, my uncle and dad going to the stores with Evan and Adam. While grandma and April decided to stop together. I raised my head to face the lovely sign, simple pastel colors giving a feminine feel. A little overwhelming when a fresh breeze of scented flowery air drifted into my nose. Oddly realistic enough to give the illusion I was inside a garden.

Once I entered the store, I was faced with an endless number of simple and clean-cut clothes. Scanning the most popular items, it was going for the minimalism style. Although the fabric was poorer, the stitches bluntly seen, the quality was on the higher side for the third district. Ally happily went through each rack, pulling out many items. She turned to ask me for my opinions, "which skirt looks prettier? The one on the right or the left?"

"Maybe the one with a simple ribbon in the middle. The other one has an extravagant belt and stripes, and makes it stand out too much," I analyzed.

"You're right. Maybe that's why it's on sale," Ally took a closer look.

"Are you sure you don't want anything Rika?" My mom asked.

"Nothing from this store," I continued to watch Ally.

Wait. This was the perfect chance to wear some clothes other than dresses. These clothes had to be more comfortable than what I currently wore. I changed my mind, "maybe I'll look around."

"The clothes in this area won't fit you. You have to go to the one dedicated to children," Alex stopped me.

"It should be in this section of the store," he oddly led me.

I nearly rolled my eyes from finding the designs to be too childish. Who wore cheap puffy skirts? The graphics were full of cartoons, most likely from popular kid shows. I was definitely not going to buy anything from here. The only decent items were simple pants, and roughly untouched jeans. My head began to throb as more hideous clothes entered my eyes. What did these designers think when they created this trash?

After spending most of my efforts, I managed to piece a few outfits together. Plain shirts and pants were the best bets I had. Accessories were needed to make up for the rest. Unexpectedly, Luke entered the changing room with me, helping me put off my current dress. Why were these people cooperative today? When I struggled to determine my size, Alex immediately pulled out the ones I wanted.

My first outfit was a pair of navy shorts and a white t-shirt. Fortunately, a random heart-shaped necklace held the entire arrangement together. To get a better look, I opened the door to face a large mirror. My mom gently smiled, complimenting me, "although it's a little loose on you, it looks good on you."

"Pass me everything you arranged, I'll bring new ones in smaller sizes," Alex intensely studied me.

"Here," I gave the clothes to him.

"Please give us the same ones for age nine," Alex called a worker.

Maybe shopping really wasn't for me. This was nearly at the same depressing level as shopping at those fancy boutiques. The sizes at this store had to be manufactured larger than other places. I soullessly went in and out the changing room, only slightly smiling to show them to my audience. Until I overheard the conversation between Luke and Alex, discovering why they were supportive.

"The quality has degraded compared to the previous seasons. It makes sense the sales decreased for the children section," Alex noted.

"You should increase the array of sizes. You can increase profits that way since children grow quickly. In addition to taking advantage of their sensitivity to the length of their clothes. You saw how Rika frowned when the sleeves went past her wrists," Luke suggested.

"I'll write the proposal and send it to my parents. The items Rika chose were the most popular ones in the past report," Alex revealed.

Of course the items I chose would be popular! Who would wear the other babyish designs? I pitied these poor children that had limited options to choose from. Although I didn't know the Monete family owned these stores, it was disappointing for anyone to manage things this way. I decided to be generous and let them know about their faults, walking toward them to join the conversation, "you're going to make a loss at this rate."

"No one is going to buy anything if there is this little to offer," I started.

"To start with, most of the designs are garbage. It shouldn't have taken me this long to find something somewhat decent," I scolded Alex.

"Do you think anybody would like to wear these childish clothes?" I gestured.

"It's for children," Alex pointed out.

"Do you think these would ever look good on me?" I took another approach.

"These horrible cartoons and hideous skirts," I found my eyes getting polluted.

"What do you suggest?" Alex couldn't disagree.

"Follow the designs of the other sections. Younger siblings like to follow what their older sisters wear. They look up to them," I was reminded of my previous life.

"Children hate it when they're treated like a child," I added.

"What are guys talking about?" Ally joined us.

"He doesn't believe most of the designs here are garbage," I sighed.

"Rika is right, these clothes are horrible. April never shops here. She shops at Rosette where there are more sizes and the designs are more princessy. She says anyone who wears these childish clothes will get teased," Ally recalled.

"At best, only kids in kindergarten will like these clothes," I supported her.

I was surprised when Alex began to take notes. He was really taking this issue seriously. He attentively listened to Ally, who found this to be a good chance to vent her stress to Alex. Although she didn't know his family owned this store, she wanted to be in the position where she was the one in power. Using the carrot and stick approach, complimenting and insulting the store. Ally continued, "even though the children section is trash, April borrows my clothes sometimes without permission."

"See! This was exactly why I didn't want to come to this section in the first place," I reprimanded Alex again.

"I can shrink the sizes for you. You can pick the clothes from the other section," Luke offered.

"You should have done this from the start," I was disappointed in them.

Fortunately, it was much easier to find decent clothes in the normal section. A pile of comfortable clothes quickly formed, and I waited for Luke to tailor them to my size. It was one of the rare times that Luke knowing my exact measurements came to my advantage. But he was slow in reducing the pile, trying to hide that he was using mana from my family. They used supposed hired tailors in a staff only room as the cover in altering the clothes. And my family believed them, thinking money could do anything.

As Luke passed me the clothes, I began to change. Stepping out of the changing room, everyone's reaction was unexpected. My mom awkwardly smiled, staying silent instead of saying her usual compliments. Meanwhile, my aunt and Ally tried to keep their faces neutral. Before I could ask, Luke explained, "the clothes appear too mature on you. It doesn't match your usual image."

"Try these ones instead," he passed me some clothes from the pile.

Looking at my reflection while wearing the ones Luke chose, I had to admit he was right. Why did this face appear so young? My eyes slightly dulled when I wore bright primary colours compared to the light pastel now. Nice, sleek belts made my face appear paler, preferring more childish ribbons in its place. This was depressing, accepting the harsh reality, clothes for my actual age wouldn't look good on me. On the other hand, my audience approved the outfit, pouring many compliments on me.

"It has to be in between. We need to combine the designs of the two current sections together," Alex mumbled.

"I don't want to buy anything," I sulked.

"Continue trying on the rest of the pile, I'll take those that work as samples," Alex urged me.

"I'm tired," I wasn't lying.

"I'll buy you something from one of the eateries or stalls," he asked Luke.

"Everything I left open should be safe," Luke approved his proposal.

Unfortunately, eating at the mall was a good offer, luring me to use the rest of my energy to show them the outfits. As more successful designs were found, I was closer to laying down on the couch. By the time I was finished, I was absolutely sick of every item inside this store. When Ally began to walk towards the checkout area, Alex interrupted her, "I can offer you a discount or some store credit."

"It's not like your family owns this store," Ally scoffed.

"We do own this brand. I would like to show you my gratitude for giving us some feedback," Alex appeared genuine.

"Wait, really?" Ally was stunned.

"He made me try on all those clothes for the same reason," I answered in his place.

"I would like some store credit," she reluctantly decided.

The number of items Ally received for free were nothing compared to the amount of samples Alex purchased. The cashier momentarily froze before scanning the large pile, eventually staring at me in amazement. It was obvious she thought the clothes were for me. However, I was already forced to change back into my original dress. From suffering under Alex, I realized buying new clothes wasn't worth it. To re-energize myself, I held a large crepe inside my hands, starting to think I chose the wrong place to visit. I should have asked to visit someplace else like the amusement park.

"Let's go to the food court next," Ally was hungry.

"They closed the food court down," I sighed.

"No way," she was in disbelief.