"Ever since I've known you, your style has been either really chill, or really laid back," Kenya said while leading Tatiana through Old Orchard Mall, an outdoor mall located in the Chicago suburbs. She'd dressed in jeans, an oversized tee, and Jordan sneakers. "There is never really any in-between choices in your wardrobe. Some of your more formal dresses are actually gorgeous. And your chill style is nice - a little one dimensional because most of your laid-back outfits are the same: a tank, a pair of jeans, and flip flops. You don't really have a lot of cute sneakers in your wardrobe. No cute low heels. No cute high heels. Your wardrobe right now has no range. That's what I hope to resolve today."
"My parents didn't really let me go shopping too often," Tatiana reminded her. "And whenever I did go shopping, my mom was there. She wouldn't even let me go inside of the stores I wanted to."
"Your mom is pretty old school when it comes to a lot of things," Kenya said with a nod. "And your dad is even more old school than she is. I understand why up to this point, your wardrobe is limited. But while you're here, you have a chance to spread your wings a little bit. Experience life. Discover who you are and what you like. You've already done a little experiencing with Mr. Drake Graham." She flashed a smirk at Tatiana. "But now it's time for you to discover your personal style."
Tatiana glanced around them, at the people bustling around and at the stores looming over them. "Do you really think clothes shopping is necessary, if he's shown that he already likes me?"
Kenya abruptly stopped walking, turned, and gave Tatiana a blank stare. "That's all the more reason for you to go shopping, Tati. Are you kidding me? You're too smart to be this dumb. Just think about it: you hang out with him a few times each weak. Are you going to wear the same outfit? Is it enough that the color of your tank top changes every time you hang out? No. You want to give some kind of variety. He shouldn't be able to predict what you're going to wear. Not this early on, at least. And there are too many fashion options to limit yourself to one outfit choice. As your friend, I cannot allow you to go through your life without determining what your personal style is." She grabbed onto Tatiana's arm and led her towards a store with giant, glowing white letters over its double doors. "My crazy ass categorizes stores into two groups: skinny bitch stores, which I avoid like the plague, and every shape stores, which...is pretty self-explanatory. Today I will take you to some of the skinny bitch stores, because you might be able to find something cute in one of them."
Tatiana didn't consider herself skinny at all, but she nodded anyway.
"This is Nordstrom, as you could probably tell from the sign," Kenya explained, pulling the door open and leading Tatiana inside. "Technically, they're an every shape store. They have a plus-size section and some of their stuff is actually pretty cute. They have a little bit of everything in here, so I'd be surprised if we didn't find at least a few good ensembles for you." Her steps slowed down, and she withdrew her cell phone from her pocket. After looking at the screen for a few moments, she broke out into one of the prettiest smiles Tatiana had ever seen on her.
Without asking, Tatiana knew that Kenya had gotten a text message from Eric. That morning, Kenya had waken to a "Good morning beautiful" text message from him. Tatiana was so happy for her best friend, but it also struck her that she didn't have Aubrey's phone number, and he didn't have hers. If someone else scrolled through his phone and saw her listed in his contacts, that could land him in a considerable amount of trouble - likewise if she left her phone and someone else scrolled through it. In order to see him, she had to go to class or randomly bump into him outside of class. Realizing that forced her to face the fact that their courtship was far from typical. They had to be careful, mindful of the people around them. They couldn't be carefree like Kenya and Eric were. Her mouth curved downward into a frown as she watched Kenya examine skirts lined up on the nearest rack.
Kenya slid a few of the skirts forward, tapping her chin in contemplation. "What do you think about these?"
Still lost in her own thoughts, Tatiana didn't respond.
"Tati?" Kenya looked up. She raised a hand to her hip. "Tati."
Tatiana ran a hand through her hair. "Yeah?" she asked, sounded weary.
Kenya's brows drew together. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah." It was a lie. It felt like a lie as the words left Tatiana's lips, but she didn't want Kenya to worry about her.
"What's on your mind?" Kenya asked, continuing down the aisle.
"Aubrey. Whether or not I'm crazy for trying to attempt to see him while he's still my professor."
"Well...you did kind of jump his bones in a classroom," Kenya said. "I think your mind is made up, honey. Besides, life is boring without a little bit of crazy."
Tatiana's mouth slanted.
"You think too much," Kenya criticized, coming to a stop in front of a rack full of dress pants. "Stop it."
"Stop thinking?" Tatiana asked, laughing.
Kenya arched a look over her shoulder. "Yes."
A slender, blonde female clerk approached them. "Can I help you ladies with anything?"
"Sure," Kenya replied with a wave of her hand. "My friend and I were just attempting to steal all of these pants here, but there are way too many pairs for me and her to carry. Can you help us carry these out? We have a truck waiting at the curb outside."
The clerk blinked once, twice, then three times in complete silence, looking like she was trying to determine whether or not Kenya was joking.
Tatiana turned her head quickly to hide a laugh.
"My friend and I are good," Kenya said in a sugary sweet voice. "We're just browsing."
The clerk nodded, still looking more than a little confused before backing away from them.
Tatiana smacked Kenya on the arm. "Why did you mess with her like that?"
Kenya shrugged. "She looked a little concerned that I was trying to make off with their merchandise, so I had to play with her a little bit. People coming up to me like that in stores is a button for me. So is when they raise my money up to the light, checking to see if the dollar I just gave them is counterfeit. Whenever they do that and give me change back, I always inspect it the same way. Make sure they're not giving me some counterfeit shit back."
"She probably really wanted to help," Tatiana muttered, picking through the pants on the rack.
"Wake up, Tati - no one really wants to help," Kenya said. "She wants a paycheck. Probably hates coming into work every day. Standing for eight hours. Super short breaks. Refolding the same clothes all day long because people are messy as shit and careless. I don't think people consider the fact that the clothes they throw around stores have to be folded or hung up by someone. She probably prays that no one asks her for help or that when she asks, the customer says 'No.'"
"Spoken like a true former associate at the Guess Jeans store in Oak Creek," Tatiana declared, laughing and picking a pair of shimmering black dress pants from the rack.
Kenya rolled her eyes. "I counted one time. In one day, I had to refold the same pair of jeans thirty-two times. And we lived in the suburbs, Tati. Can you imagine if I lived in a bigger city?"
"You don't know that she hates her job. She could have really been trying to help. And cashiers are told to inspect the dollar bills. They aren't racially profiling you when they do it. It's not like she was following us around the store."
"Hmph," was all Kenya said in response.
Tatiana shook her head. "You're too much." She ran a hand down the material of the pants she was holding up. "What about these? I like these."
Kenya turned and studied the pants. "They're gorgeous," she commented. "You like them?"
Tatiana nodded.
Kenya smiled. "They're going to look amazing on you. Are they in your size?"
"Umm..." Tatiana checked the tag on the inside of the pants and hesitated before answering. "Yup."
"Are you sure?" Kenya asked, sensing Tatiana's doubt.
Tatiana lowered the pants to her waist and looked down.
Kenya sighed. "You're going to have to try them on. One of the worst feelings in the world is buying a boatload of cute shit and then getting home to find out hardly any of the pieces fit. We'll make sure you try everything on, just to make sure it fits. Let's grab a few more things before hitting up the dressing rooms, though."
They perused more of what the store had to offer. The clerk checked on them one more time, before she caught the hint that Kenya and Tatiana were independent shoppers. This time when she checked, Kenya was a lot more polite at least - she even apologized for joking earlier.
"No apologies necessary," the clerk told her with a wave of her hand. "It was pretty funny, actually. Latanya - she works with me - she was in hysterics when I told her what you said."
Kenya reviewed the clothing pieces draped over Tatiana's forearm. "Color me surprised. Your taste in fashion is almost as good as mine."
Tatiana had gone for sophistication when choosing clothes. Kenya had forced her to choose at least a few nice-looking casual outfits that didn't consist of tank tops or jeans, but Tatiana wanted to make sure she didn't look like the average student. She was dating or on the way to dating a grown man whose career as an entertainer was already established. Although her own career wasn't yet established, she still preferred to look like the sophisticated lady she'd expect to see on the arm of Aubrey Drake Graham.
Without attempting to come up with poetry, two lines appeared in her mind:
I might not be established yet, but I can play the part.
Showing the woman I can be may be the way to hisheart.