She sneaked out of the cabin on Saturday and found Emma at a bus stop, almost palpitating with excitement. Lauren hugged the redhead a little too hard because she was so happy to just hang out and even ride a bus with a normal person. She could picture herself being normal, too.
They blabbered over their phones until the bus rolled in, and Lauren greeted the driver with a radiant smile that surprised him. She eyed the people sitting on benches and holding onto poles in wonder. As she smiled at everyone until they settled in the back, Emma coughed.
"You've... never ridden a bus before?"
"What? No, of course I have!" Lauren's cheeks flushed pink and she stopped smiling. "Not often, but sometimes."
"So you didn't know where to put the money just for kicks? Most of us have a card in the first place..."
Lauren floundered, defeated. She'd seen right through her. "Fine... I've never ridden the bus before."
"Oh, so you're one of those rich kids," Emma said, raising a brow.
She winced at the term, hating how it seemed to put a barrier between her and the rest of the people here, including her friend. But it was true. She never needed to ride the bus and nobody around her ever had. Public transport was a foreign concept to her people because a vast majority were affluent and owned a vehicle.
For her, everything had been either within walking--or running--distance or covered by a car.
"Well... we're not exactly billionaires..." Lauren uttered, toying with her sneakers. "My family's just comfortable and fortunate."
Also, she hadn't wanted to push money in people's face and make them uneasy or for Emma to judge her quickly based on that. Nobody in her family bothered to purchase yatches or privates jets, either. Despite having the means for it, they found it pretentious and it was frowned upon.
"That's cool," Emma said and bounced on her seat. "I better be your friend so you can throw dead presidents at me, in that case."
She laughed, shaking her head. "At least you're honest."
"Gimme the sugar." Emma rubbed her hands, making a funny face. "I'm in it for the good stuff."
"God, not that awful sugar-baby thing!"
They giggled and passed the rest of the ride exchanging music on their phone playlists, sharing headphones and letting each other hear new songs. The bus dropped them at a mall outside of town. The girls hopped from store to store and took their time to explore, mix and match and try on outfits.
Lauren hadn't lied when she mentioned she's outgrown her clothes this summer. She'd been procrastinating on the shopping spree because it was tiring to put on and take off clothes repeadetly with only half of the items being pretty or fitting. But with Emma's guidance, the experience changed into an interesting one.
She'd get along so well with Devin on that aspect...
Lauren loaded on new clothes and stopped at the restaurant area after Emma said she was hungry. She had been enduring her growling stomach for about an hour at that point, but she hadn't dared to bring it up in case her friend didn't want to or if grabbing lunch together was too soon. She ordered half of what she'd normally eat, knowing her portions were usually much larger than what humans ingested in one sitting.
"There's a green spot outside of the mall. Wanna take the food and bags and eat there?" Emma suggested.
They decided to eat outside under the soft breeze and sunny sky, plopping bluntly on the grass because all the tables and benches were occupied.
YOU ARE READING
(REWRITING) The Skylar Experiment : Coveting
Science Fiction"Three weeks. That's how long I got to have drama-free. I'm not sure what is happening to me or to Oakwood. Nothing's the same since I rolled into town and it just keeps getting weirder. Suspicious agents in suits roam the streets without an explan...
