Red Herring ✔️

9. Mirrors

The mall, that night.

"I gave up my shift for this. And I can't find anything I like," Mazie grained. Despite her better judgement, Mazie drove Amelia and her to a local coffeeshop downtown; so now she was pissed, tired, worried, and jittery from caffeine.

"It's not like you need the money," Amelia countered, rifling through yet another rack of fall clothes.

Mazie rolled her eyes and followed Amelia's lead. Though Amelia was right - her father's credit card was burning a hold in her purse as she shopped - she didn't tout or brag about that information. Mazie worked as much as possible to avoid asking her dad for anything. Lord knows her mother wasn't chipping in. "I like working there," Mazie explained. "I like it better than shopping."

Amelia sighed. "For someone with such a great sense of fashion, you sure do hate shopping."

"God created the internet for people like me."

"Shopping online is the same thing as picking something out in this store." Amelia motioned to the quant little boutique inside the mall to which they were starting their shopping journey.

"The difference is that I have to find a new outfit today which adds a lot of pressure," Mazie explained, not expecting Amelia to understand. They didn't have the same taste in fashion. While Amelia found dozens of cute items, Mazie couldn't spot a single thing that was her.

"Your senior pictures aren't for another week. You have time."

Her best friend was uncanny about always staying positive. That's how they balanced each other out. Amelia's positivity versus her negativity. Her light versus Mazie's darkness.

This situation was her own fault. Her mother - before she left, that is - tried effortlessly to convince Mazie to book her senior pictures appointment with a local photographer during the summer. Mazie adamantly put her foot down, insisting on waiting until the fall season which was her favorite time of the year. Now that the appointment loomed ahead in the near future, she was stressed about finding a new fall outfit for pictures.

"Let's just move on to another store because I can't find anything I like here."

Sneaking out of the store before the store employee noticed and could hassle them to buy something, Amelia and Mazie ditched the boutique for a large department store next door. Already, Mazie spied clothes more her style and color wheel. And they had black jeans. They were speaking her language.

"Black jeans!" Mazie cheered.

"You already have like twelve pair. Yo do not need more! Do not spend your money on that!" Amelia leapt in front of the rack of black jeans and blocked Mazie's path.

Pouting, Mazie halted and balled her hands into fists at her side. "Amelia! Move!"

"No! You're wearing black jeans right now!"

"So?!" Mazie yelled.

"So wear a pair you already have!" Amelia smacked Mazie's hands away when she attempted to sneak around her to grab a pair.

Huffing, Mazie leaned back and surveyed the rest of the store. "New black jeans boost my self-confidence."

"Shut up, you're so dramatic."

"Fine, I'll search for a top first." Grazing through the aisles, Amelia and Mazie picked up sweaters and jackets that might photograph well. Before long, dozens of items piled up in Mazie's arms that she could try on. The feeling in her arm numbed as the hooks of hangers dug into her muscles. Mazie humored Amelia by picking out a colorful long sleeve shirt that she would absolutely not ever wear.