Melinda’s Journal

Saturday, March 3

I love the mall. Shopping for new clothes. Getting manicures. Just hanging out with my girlfriends.

Although I’ve been to the mall with Walter a few times, there have always been other people around. I love him, but I can’t really picture him trying on clothes with me.

Maybe shopping with him this afternoon isn’t the best idea after all?

Melinda’s Story

I looked up from my journal when my mother knocked on my open bedroom door.

“What’s up?”

“Did you and your friends figure out what you’re doing today?”

I shrugged. “Well, Pat doesn’t think he’ll be back much before dinner. Walter wants to go to the mall, but maybe hang out with Joey.” I made a face.

My mother raised her eyebrows. “Why would your friend want to spend time with your younger brother?”

I shrugged. “Because I don’t like arcades?”

My mother gave a small laugh before nodding her head toward my laptop on my desk. “Have you checked your grades yet?”

“Oh. Yeah. You want to see them?”

“Give me the highlights.”

I shrugged. “I made Dean’s List again. A-minus in English and Latin. A’s in everything else. Excellent comments from my teachers and advisor.”

“Excellent. I’m very proud of you.”

I gave a sheepish shrug. As much as I enjoyed hearing it, the praise made me uncomfortable. I studied hard for myself, not for my parents. But I appreciated that they recognized my effort.

My mother glanced at her phone. “We’re leaving around eleven to pick up Carter. You and Walter need to be ready to leave by then if you’re joining us.”

As she left, I considered my day. I stay home bored all day, or I could go pick out some new clothes for spring. I didn’t have to buy them. The mall near my school was much larger than the one where my brother was going today. All the stores in this mall were in the one near Hartfield. If I took pictures of the clothes I liked, I could buy them with my roommate next month.

I glanced around my room. The other option was to sit here, home alone and bored out of my mind. The choice was obvious.

---

A little before eleven, I found Walter waiting for me in the kitchen. “How far away is this mall? I’m hungry.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re always hungry.”

Walter grabbed an orange from the bowl of fruit on the counter before following me into the garage. He narrowed his eyes as I opened the front door of my mother’s car. “Why do you get to sit in front?”

I made a face. “Because I’m a girl. Girls in front, boys in back.”

My mother looked around. “Do we have everyone? Where’s Pat?”

I shrugged. “He left a few minutes ago.”

Nodding, my mother backed out of the garage. We rode in silence as my mother drove to a neighborhood near the middle school, stopping in front of a blue house. A door opened immediately, and a boy ran to our car. As Joey slid into the middle seat to make room for his friend, a woman appeared in the doorway. My mother waved to her before pulling out of the driveway.

The friend sniffed audibly. “Why does it smell like oranges in here?”

I turned to see Walter holding up his snack. “Want some?”

“No. My mother said I should never accept food from strangers. Who are you?”

Joey pointed to me. “Carter, that’s my sister, Melinda.” He pointed to his side. “This is her friend, Walter.”

“Boyfriend?”

Walter shook his head. “Boyfriend’s brother.”

I could see Carter was having difficulty processing this information. I could understand. Joey and his friends weren’t really friends with girls. To be honest, I had never really been friends with a boy before Walter. I let Joey do his best to explain the concept to his friend as we drove to the mall.

---

It felt strange to follow my mother to the food court. I hadn’t been shopping with her since Thanksgiving. At least she parked near the food court, so we didn’t have to walk far. Walter frowned at his options.

“I’m not sure what I want.”

I pointed to my favorite restaurant. “I’m getting a sub. And fries.”

“Yeah, that’ll work.” With a shrug, Walter followed me to Sam’s Steakery. “So, what’s the plan for today?”

I didn’t get to answer. My mother joined us in line. “I have been thinking about these fries all morning.”

I glanced around. “Where’s Joey and his friend?”

She pointed to the next restaurant. “Waiting for their pizzas. I already paid for them. Do you two know what you want?”

Walter shook his head. “I can get my meal, Miss Christina.”

My mother held up some coupons and a punch card. “It’s on me. I’m pretty sure I can get all of us for the price of one.”

I was a little surprised when she did. She had a coupon to buy one combo meal, get one free. Her full punch card got her another free one. However, since Walter’s extra-large meal was the most expensive, he managed to convince her to let him pay.

We sat at a table beside my brother and his friend. Carter’s eyes went a little wide when he saw Walter’s tray, but he held his tongue. Walter took a bite before turning to me. To my surprise, he actually swallowed before speaking.

“So, what’s the plan for today?”

I shrugged. “I was just going to go window shopping.”

My mother held up a hand. “Actually, I was doing your laundry last night, and it looked like you could use some more clothes.” Biting her lip, she glanced around the table. I couldn’t imagine why she looked uncomfortable. “Spring is almost here. You could probably use some short-sleeve dresses for school.”

I shrugged. “I guess. I mean, I have the clothes I wore in the fall.”

“I think you should buy some new ones. They’re probably getting a little small for you.”

Rolling my eyes, I took a bite of my sub. I had grown maybe an inch over the past two years. There was no way I had outgrown my clothes.

As I took another bite, my phone signaled an incoming text. At first, I thought it was Pat telling me his exam was over, but as I glanced at the timestamp, I realized he probably hadn’t even started. Instead, my mother was texting me from the other end of the table.

I could feel my cheeks grow red as I read the message. She wanted me to buy new bras. Larger ones. And dresses that were a little roomier in the top.

Across from me, Walter nodded in my direction. “You okay?” His voice was low, so I doubted anyone else had heard him.

I nodded. “Yeah. I’m fine. I’ll, uh, tell you later.”

With a shrug, Walter returned to his massive sub.

---

Walter was still eating his fries when my brother and his friend finished their meal. I was a little surprised when my mother excused them to go shopping alone.

I raised my eyebrows at my mother. “You’re not going to like, follow me around instead of him, are you?”

My mother smirked. “Should I?”

Walter popped some fries in his mouth. “I mean no disrespect, Miss Christina, but if you want to be one of the cool kids, Joey’s where it’s at. He’s much cooler than me and Melinda.”

Walter sounded so serious, but I could hear traces of one of the animated characters he voiced. I couldn’t help laughing.

My mother smiled. “I have no intention of leaving your brother unsupervised. I find it highly suspicious that two seventh-grade boys want to hang out at the mall instead of playing video games or working on those little models. And why on earth would they go in there? You two behave yourselves. I’ll text you when it’s time to leave.”

I watched my mother walk briskly toward a nearby store. It had been one of my favorites a few years ago. And only sold girls’ clothes.

I turned to Walter, narrowing my eyes at my friend. “What exactly did you tell my brother?”

Smirking, he cleared the table. “That he should try on some dresses and maybe ask a cute girl his opinion.”

I shook my head, following Walter to the nearby trash bin. “My mother is going to flip.”

“I can’t believe he listened to me.” Walter looked around. “Where to first?”

Taking his hand, I dragged him in the opposite direction as my mother. I wanted to put as much distance between myself and my brother as possible. “I need to go to the department store. You want to come, or would you rather hang out in the arcade?”

Walter shrugged. “I don’t mind shopping with you. So, where would you have sent your brother?”

I considered for a moment. “The pet store. My friends were always drooling over the puppies.”

“Not you?”

I frowned. “Not a huge fan of dogs. Or cats. Or, well, animals in general.”

Walter tugged my hair. “Yeah. I can see that.”

The department store was at the end of the mall. I stopped in front of the directory. “I need to go buy something without you.”

He smirked. “You realize now I’m just going to follow you.”

Rolling my eyes, I showed Walter the text from my mother. As he read it, I frowned at the directory. I could see the juniors and women’s departments, but I didn’t see a section for underwear. “Shunk. I don’t know where to go.”

Walter returned my phone, pointing to lingerie on the directory. “There. And I’ll be over here.” He pointed to the electronics section. “Come find me when you’re done.”

As I wandered the racks, I realized I had never shopped for underthings alone before. My mother had always come with me, handing me things she thought I might like. The selection was a little overwhelming.

“You look a little lost. Is there something I can help you find?”

I turned to the salesperson beside me. She didn’t look too much older than me. I was glad. The last thing I wanted was someone my grandmother’s age trying to help me.

I bit my lip. “I’m not really sure what I’m looking for.”

The woman smiled. “Would you like me to measure you?”

I shrugged. “I guess.”

She gestured to the changing rooms against the back wall. As I entered the cubicle, she removed a measuring tape from her pocket.

“Go ahead and remove your shirt, but you can keep everything else on.”

As the woman wrapped the tape measure around me, I tried to remind myself this was no different from my dance teacher measuring me for my costume each year. Actually, since she only measured my chest, it was a lot less uncomfortable. But it was still weird.

After taking a few measurements, the woman suggested my size. “Would you like me to help you find something?”

I shook my head as I pulled my shirt back over my head. “No. I can do it. Thanks.”

“Okay. I’m around if you need any more help.”

I followed her out of the dressing room. Now that I knew what to look for, the racks seemed a lot less intimidating. I also found the section of bras similar to ones I had seen my teammates wearing, instead of the ones that looked more for my mother.

I selected several, trying them all on. I couldn’t believe how much more comfortable I was. Much more than what I was wearing. I picked out enough to get me through a week at school, as well as half a dozen sports bras for under my dance leotards. Pleased with my purchase, I selected a multipack of underwear before going to the register.

The woman smiled at me as she rang up my selection. “Oh, these are some of my favorite. They fit okay?”

I nodded. “So much better. Thanks for all your help.”

“No problem.” She passed me the paper bag. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.” I glanced around. “I’m a little turned around. Which way is juniors?”

She pointed to her right. Smiling, I thanked her and went to view the sundresses.

Although I didn’t see any dresses I liked, I found some cute bathing suits. Sure, it would be a couple of months before I could wear them, but I just couldn’t resist. After quickly trying on a few, I bought my favorite one and went in search of Walter.

He wasn’t in the electronics section. I checked twice, especially the aisle with all the video games. Frowning, I pulled out my phone.

Walter had already texted me that I could find him in the men’s department. I searched the young men’s area first, where they sold the T-shirts and cargo pants Walter tended to wear. But he wasn’t there. When I accidentally wandered into the suit section, I found him standing in front of a three-way mirror. A man was measuring his inseam.

I raised my eyebrows. “What on earth are you doing here?”

Walter shook his head. “Mom texted me a little while ago. She wants to buy me a new suit and needed my measurements.”

The man stood, scribbling something on a sheet of paper and passing it to Walter. “Would you like help picking something out?”

Walter shook his head. “No. My mom has something in mind. She’s in your LA store. She just needed my measurements. Thanks so much.”

The man nodded. “Of course. Have a nice day.”

As the clerk wandered off, Walter snapped a picture of the paper the man had given him. I assumed he was sending it to his mother. I waited until we were leaving the store before bringing up the subject.

“You don’t have a suit in LA?”

Walter shrugged. “I had a major growth spurt this summer. I doubt my suit fits, and I didn’t think to bring home the one I have at school. So, did you find what you were looking for?”

“Yup. Wanna see?” I held out my bag with a smirk.

He pushed me away playfully. “Not really. That would be like me showing you my underwear.”

“Walter, I’ve seen you in your underwear.”

He frowned. “When?”

“This morning? When you stripped in my kitchen?”

He laughed. “Oh yeah. I forgot about that. So, where to next?”

Melinda’s Journal

Saturday, March 3

I am so glad I opted to go to the mall today. I know I had mixed feelings this morning, but I had a lot of fun. Walter, though, not so much.

At first, while we were shopping, he helped me decide what to buy. But I could tell he was getting bored waiting for me in the dressing rooms. When we were in Enchanted, he met some random girl. Of course, being Walter, he flirted with her effortlessly until I was feeling like a third wheel.

After making a random excuse, I left them alone. I was buying bathing suits when Walter texted, asking me to join him in the food court. He wouldn’t tell me what happened with the girl, except that things didn’t work out. He didn’t seem upset, so I didn’t ask too many questions.

Overall, however, the trip to the mall was a success. I found so many cute outfits. I wasn’t going to buy anything, but there were a few sundresses that were too cute to resist. I can’t wait for the weather to get warmer so I can wear them!

Attention Hammerheads

Melinda is always trying to build her vocabulary. What were some words in this episode that were new to you? She will add them to her vocabulary journal.