"If I really want to get what I want, I make sure to call him 'daddy'. He can almost never resist when I do that. I think it makes him think I'm a kid all over again."
"I know that trick, too! Too bad it never works when money is involved."
"Your dad really is a cheapskate!"
"I knooow," Elle moaned, "It sucks." She changed the subject, "So what are you gonna buy today?"
"I dunno, I'll see what's cool."
"Nat, you'll never be cool," Elle teased.
Nat recoiled. "Uh, shut up! Not on a day like today, anyway. Literally. It's so hot! Why did I decide to wear tights?" she whined.
"Trying too hard to be cool. Like always!"
"We aren't friends anymore," Nat returned, matter-of-factly.
The mall was about a mile away, but it was enough to build up a decent sweat for both of the girls. Elle felt the droplets beading up and running down her lower back. It kind of tickled.
As they neared the entrance, they saw a group their age. Some of them were skulking about in the shade, watching as others practiced skateboarding tricks. Elle felt a little self-conscious. She wasn't sure what rumors they would be saying about her. Had word gotten around school on Friday? She could barely recall what she had actually done in school the day before. Nat recognized one of the girls from the next grade up. "Dude, Phina What are you doing here?"
Seraphina was a slender girl with much darker skin and a wild, explosion of hair on top. She wore a vintage, threadbare ringer tee that fit tightly across her chest and considerably ripped-up boyfriend jeans. She picked up her skateboard and approached the two.
"Whassup, bitches? I'm just hanging with my friends. It's too nice to be indoors today."
"Yeah," conceded Nat, "except it's fucking hot out, and we're both modern girls who like modern conveniences... like air conditioning."
"Aren't you fancy?" Phina retorted, arching one eyebrow teasingly.
"Well, there ain't no environment faker than the mall, so you've come to the right place, honey." Phina looked over at Elle and gave her a once over. "Speaking of hot, who's your friend?"
Elle blushed, at once relieved that nobody seemed to recognize her and flattered that someone who seemed so cool was interested in her.
Nat clutched her friend's shoulders, "This is my friend Elle Rowan" she said, and then quickly added, "And you can't have her. She's taken!"
Elle stammered at the declaration, "Taken?! By who?"
Nat smiled broadly at her, then, with a nod in Phina's direction she stated, "Me!" With that, she turned back to Elle and planted a big, sloppy, wet kiss on her cheek.
Elle shrieked and ducked away, "You're crazy, Nat!" Phina and Nat burst into laughter. Elle came back to give her friend a light shove.
They stood awkwardly for a moment, regaining their composure, Elle felt like she was under a spotlight all of a sudden. She sensed Phina's eyes boring into her, and her own eyes dodged around, avoiding eye contact with the upperclassman. Finally Phina piped up, "That name, Elle. Say, are you that girl that I heard rumors about at school yesterday?"
"No. I mean, um, I dunno. What rumors?"
"I just heard a bunch of people talking about this girl who took her clothes off in the middle of class. I'm pretty sure the name they were saying was "Elle."
The poor girl's body language sald everything. There was no way she could lie her way out of it.
"You're not gonna believe It!" Nat jumped in, "The doctor said-"
"Nat! What are you doing?" Elle whispered. She was near tears.
"What? You know they're already spreading bad rumors about you. I was just going to spread some good ones. Make some people jealous."
Elle's bottom lip was quivering. Nat pressed on, soothingly, "Hell, girl, even I'm super-jealous. You're gonna be having hyper-sex while all us normies are gonna be doing things like normal."
"Hyper-sex?" Phina perked up.
"Yeah, dude, you know how some superheroes have heightened senses? Well Elle is like that. But she's not gonna be an X-Men, she's gonna be more like... O-Girl, if you know what I mean!"
"That so?" Phina looked toward Elle, who took a deep breath and sighed, eyes locked on her feet. "Damn, girl, I'm am jealous. It's hard enough for Julian to get me off as it is."
"Anyway," Nat butted back in, "talk about that if you're gonna be spreading rumors. We're going shopping." Nat herded her friend toward the door.
Phina called after them, "Aight, peace ladies. You should come around here more often, both of you!"
Hot tears scorched Elle's cheeks. "I'm soo embarrassed. I'm gonna diel"
"You're gonna be fine, Elle. Look, you've already got Phina on your side, and she's so cool! And get this, she's supposedly bisexual."
Elle turned around and saw Phina talking to her friends. She noted they all turned in her direction, eyes wide. "Really? But she said she was dating someone named Julian."
"So? That doesn't make you not bisexual, you idiot!"
Elle smirked, "Yeah. I guess you're right."
"Oh good, a hint of a smile. Maybe we can get back into the shopping mood now. You've got Phina on your side, that's a pretty good start."
The two girls entered the mall. Frigid air conditioning fought back against the summer sun, blasting across their bodies. Both girls shivered, and Elle's teeth chattered briefly. She quipped, "I'm so glad we're heating up the rest of the planet so that we can freeze our boobs off in here." She could feel the sweat evaporating off her body in the cool, dry air. In fact, it almost tingled. She felt another shiver rise from the smell of her back up over her shoulders.
"Maybe tights weren't such a bad idea after all!" Nat bragged, "I'm pretty comfy now."