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Story 10, Part 1 of the Kim Possible: The University Years series.

Disclaimer: All Kim Possible characters are the copyright of Walt Disney Corporation. I’m just borrowing them to write up a story with no intention of making any money. This is for fun. All other characters in my stories, that Disney doesn’t own, are mine.

A/N: I don’t know about elsewhere, but I know that the three days after Thanksgiving, in the USA, are considered big shopping days. Pretty much many people go out shopping to the stores, malls, etc. It is the kick-off of the Christmas Holiday shopping season, and I know from experience that things get to be pretty crazy at times during these days. The TUY gang, as mentioned in “Holiday Gatherings,” is planning to go shopping on Friday, so this story here is about the two separate groups as they hit the Middleton and Upperton malls. Let the fun begin! (big grin)

Story rating: Rated K+ (aka PG)
Written: August 2005

Summery: It’s fun times as the TUY gang hit the shopping malls after Thanksgiving!

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Kim Possible: The University Years

Shopping Craze
By JuPMod (aka JPMod)

It was a sunny yet chilly Friday morning, when Debra Oxford Tsuda opened the front door of her family home and closed it behind her as she left. Knowing the weather, she wore comfortable jeans, shirt, sneakers, and topped it with a light coat. Her hair was held back by a blue scarfheadband, yet the long blonde/brown hair bounced as she stepped down the porch steps and nearly ran to the waiting red Toyota Corolla.

“Hi, Kim, Ron!” Debra greeted the two occupants of the vehicle as she entered through the back driver’s side door.

“Hi, Deb,” Kim Possible returned the greeting with a grin as she sat in the driver’s seat. Her attire was much like Debra’s, except she wore a green turtleneck shirt and a purple light coat. Her hair was loose and free.

“Morning, Debra!” Ron, sitting in the front passenger seat, grinned. He wore a blue light coat on top of a blue flannel shirt. Instead of jeans, he opted for cargo pants to carry his molerat buddy comfortably.

As Debra buckled up, Kim backed the car out of the Tsuda’s driveway. “Ready to hit the mall, Deb?” the redhead asked as she put the car into forward/drive mode.

“I’m ready,” the Upperton U’s gymnastic star smirked as the car drove away. “It has been so long since I last went shopping for clothing and such.”

“Oh?” Kim raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t bother to shop for clothing during the past several months at Upperton U?”

The younger woman gave a half laugh and scoff. “Kim, when was there ever time to fully shop during school? I occasionally went to Upperton Mall, but I only had stayed for a short while to get the things I needed.”

“She got you there, KP,” Ron pointed with his usual Ron grin. “I’m amazed you make the time to occasionally shop given our full school schedule.”

Kim rolled her eyes. “Ron… You know I couldn’t stay away to see what new clothing comes out.”

“Uh-huh,” her boyfriend said as he looked at her. “You just couldn’t stand that you could barely pay for Club Banana clothing.” He smirked. “That’s why you shop at Smarty Mart.”

Debra shrugged. “So, what’s wrong with shopping at Smarty Mart. I do that all the time when I visited Upperton Mall.”

“You do?” both Ron and Kim mentioned, surprised. Ron turned around to look at Debra, while Kim was eying her through the rear-view mirror.

Looking back and forth between her two friends, Debra frowned. “Of course. I can’t afford the high prices of most clothing stores in the mall, particularly Club Banana, so I go to Smarty Mart. I get the same clothing for far less.”

“Booyah!” Ron pumped a fist. “We have a real Smarty Mart shopper here!”

Rufus jumped out of Ron’s pants pocket to run up onto Debra’s shoulder. “Smarty Mart!” he cried out, causing Debra to laugh as she patted the little fellow on the head.

Kim frowned. “Debra, I thought you were like me when it comes to certain taste in clothing.”

“I am,” Debra exclaimed. Her shoulders shrugged again. “It’s just that I figured that most people wouldn’t know the difference between clothing at Smarty Mart and Club Banana. They are made by the same company, right?”

Green eyes looking sideways, Kim noticed the satisfied smirk on Ron’s lips. Giving a sigh, she relented. “True. If it weren’t for me being on a budget, I would have shopped at Club Banana as I usually did when I was a teen.”

“Soooo,” Ron grinned as he placed hands behind his head. “This means we will be going to Smarty Mart. Debra and I have a majority here, right?”

Knowing him, Kim could tell he was pleased that they might be going to Smarty Mart. For Ron, Smarty Mart was his favorite place to shop. “I was hoping we could hit the Middleton Mall as we planned, Ron.”

“I thought we were doing that,” Debra said as she leaned forward. “We hit the mall first and check out the stores. Smarty Mart would perhaps be the very last place we’ll visit, at the end of the day.”

“What?” Ron was shocked. “No! Not shopping at the mall!”

Kim grinned in victory. It seemed Debra was on her side after all. “Sorry, Ron. Us ladies have spoken. We’re going to the mall.”

“Aw, man!” Ron sulked. “I hate shopping at the mall!”

Debra giggled, and Kim just smirked, knowing her boyfriend just hates shopping at the mall, as it means long hours going to store to store, particularly the clothes shops. Most men just do not have the patience for shopping compared to women, and Ron was no exception.

“Well, prepare yourself, Naco boy,” the world heroine teased. “You’re going to help us,” she thumbed Debra then herself, “go clothes shopping.”

Ron groaned, which Rufus copied. Both ladies laughed at this as they drove toward the Middleton Mall to be there after the stores open at 10:30 AM.

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“So this is your van, Felix?” Loretta Brown asked as she gazed at the brown passenger van along side Monique, George Castle, and Felix in Upperton U’s closest parking lot to the dorms. The van was the old style passenger type that was designed for comfort on long travels. It has two doors in the front, one sliding door on the right side, and two back doors. A sunroof was over the front top, while an old-style boomerang shape TV antenna was at the top rear.

“Yep,” Felix answered with a grin as he maneuvered his wheelchair to the sliding door. “It was used when my mom bought it for me two years ago. She and I modified it to suit my needs, given my disability.” Pressing a button on his chair arm caused the sliding door to open on its tracks toward the rear of the van.

When the door was fully open, Loretta looked in and whistled. It has carpeting, several leather chairs, a small couch, a tiny small kitchenette with cabins to hold food, a small frig, and few other items. “Felix, how could you afford this?” the New Yorker asked in awe, while Monique and George grinned behind her.

Felix shook his head. “Despite appearances, Loretta, this van, as I said, was used. The engine was pretty much shot, yet all you see here,” he swept a hand to indicate the luxury stuff, “was part of the van.” He smirked. “My mom knew of a co-worker at the Middleton Space Center who was a quite a mechanic. He helped renovate the engine to run almost like new.”

Activating his chair’s hover abilities, he gently raised his chair into the van before again putting it down on its wheels. As Felix moved toward the driver’s wheel, Loretta, George, and Monique hopped in and settled down in the leather chairs – Monique to the front passenger chair, George to the couch behind Monique, and Loretta on a chair in the rear besides the sliding door.

Upon placing himself in position, Felix pressed a button on the dashboard and the sliding door slid closed. Only then did he start the engine and back the van out of the handicap parking space and drive away.

“Felix,” Loretta called out, “if someone who can walk needs to drive your van, where would they sit?”

George answered instead as he pointed to a leather chair that is behind Felix to the side. “That chair slides on a track to the driver’s station, so if say any of us other than Felix needs to drive, we have a place to sit down.”

His lips widened into a grin, George gestured to the strange circular machine in the center of the ceiling. “One of the coolest unique features of this van is that it has cyber robotics in it.”

“Cyber robotics?” Loretta asked with a lopsided grin. “You telling me that this van can hover and fly like Felix’s chair?”

Felix shook his head. “No it doesn’t fly, Loretta. It does have cyber robotic arms to help, say, serve food, but my mom and I agreed that we would not give this van hover and flying abilities.”

“Why not?” Loretta was bewildered. “It would be way cool to have a van that can fly like your wheelchair.”

As the van left the main university entrance and turned onto Main Street, Felix explained. “It’s all because of the Doom-V.”

“The Doom-V?” Loretta was even more confused.

So Felix told the story of how, two years ago, Drakken, Shego, and Motor Ed stole his wheelchair in order to copy the cyber robotics technology into a fighting vehicle called the Doom-V. Kim, Ron, and Felix had managed to defeat the Doom-V and captured the three villains.

“So after that incident, my mom and I agreed that we shouldn’t make any vehicles with hover and flying abilities. We don’t want to alarm the Division of Motor Vehicles or anyone for the matter.”

Loretta nodded her understanding. “That makes sense. Besides not wanting to alarm anyone, you wouldn’t want anyone to control your van as Kim had done with the Doom-V using that game controller.”

“Precisely,” Felix agreed. “I don’t want anyone controlling this van, so it’s best not to give it hover and flying abilities. The only cyber robotics in this entire van is on the ceiling and some incorporated into the driver’s station to help me drive.”

Monique grinned slyly. “Nice to hear that story again, Felix, but we have a mission here.” She pointed forward. “We’re going shopping at the Upperton Mall! Full speed ahead!”

George and Loretta laughed, while Felix chuckled. “Not on your life, Monique!” Felix said. “I’m maintaining the speed limit, thank you very much.” This time it was Monique’s turn to laugh.

Going the speed limit, the van drove down Main Street toward Upperton Mall.

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From the outside, nothing seemed to have changed for Middleton Mall. It still has the same design that existed for years with a cylindrical shaped structure in the center connected to two rectangle structures on either side. It was the centerpiece of the large business shopping district of Middleton.

Yet as Ron, Kim, and Debra, with Rufus on Deb’s shoulder, walked through the glass doors of the front main entrance, it was easy to see that things have changed inside the mall. Not in the way of design, but in the way of decorations - Christmas decorations that was. The large fountain, which was in the exact center of the mall and in line with the front entrance, now supports a large decorated Christmas tree that nearly reached the third floor. Holy, writhes, and other assorted holiday symbols adjoined poles, staircases, and railings along the walkways. Almost every store also displayed the tokens of the holiday season with Christmas sales signs.

“They’re using the same decorations as last year,” Debra pointed to the tree as they walked toward it while they unzipped their jackets, as it was warmer inside the mall. Various people were also walking about around them, now that the stores were opened.

Kim snorted with a grin. “They’ve been practically using the same decorations as long as I could remember, Debra.”

Ron smirked. “You really think they’re going to spend a lot of money for new decorations year after year?” He gestured to the Santa Claus display with the empty throne in front of the tree. “They still place the Santa Claus display for the kids in the same place.”

“No doubt,” Kim said, “because it is in the center of the mall. Quite a nice spot for all the children who want to talk to Santa and get their pictures taken with him.” There was no doubt for the three that later in the day, this area would have a long line of parents and children waiting to greet Santa.

Before they reached the Christmas tree, they stopped in front of a mall directory, which displayed three top cross-sections, representing each floor. Stores were numbered and categorized to the type of goods or services they provided.

“So where do we go first?” Debra asked as they gazed at the directory. Rufus gave an “Hmmmmm” sound.

Kim smiled. “Simple.” She pointed to the far left of the third floor section. “We start there,” her finger moved toward the right, “and make our way across the mall. As we go, we’ll check out stores that interest us.”

Ron chuckled as he pointed to a store on the right side of the first floor section. “Like Club Banana?”

The redhead woman gave her man a knowing smirk of a grin. “Yes, like Club Banana.”

Ron clutched his chest in mock alarm. “I’m shock! You’re not going directly to the your favorite store first?”

Her green eyes narrowed as she pointed to him. “Oh, we’ll get there, Mr. Stoppable.” She smiled slyly. “We do have all day to walk around, and you’ll be our carry-on boy to carry our bags.” Her head turned to Debra. “Right, Deb?”

Catching on, Debra grinned slyly as well. “Right, Kim.”

Ron blinked, yet he slowly grinned. He knew Kim wouldn’t buy much given she was on a budget. “Whatever you say, ladies.”

“Good!” Kim grinned in triumph before pointing to the left. “Let’s go then!”

She walked off to the left, followed by Debra, who was tailed by Ron. The three made way through the mall to start their shopping day.

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Unlike Middleton Mall, Upperton Mall was different in design. Three stories tall, the mall is a hodgepodge of buildings that look like it has no real center. Yet it does have a center at the pentagon shape structure that has the front main entrance. The pentagon has least two rectangle buildings connected on one side to two cylinder structures, while on the other side of the pentagon has one larger rectangle building connected to two square shape structures. Various enclosed walkways connected the structures between the open spaces of the buildings. Despite the uneven design, it has grown to be accepted by the people as a good shopping mall with a variety of stores and a nice multiplex theatre.

Upperton Mall was part of the big business shopping district on the opposite side of the interstate from the small business area of Main Street and Upperton University. Besides the mall, there was a Smarty Mart, a couple supermarkets, several other chain stores, several office buildings, and other large businesses. Many had thought that once the mall and Smarty Mart were built, it would have put the smaller stores on Main Street out of business. Yet despite those gloomy predictions, the small businesses had not experienced any shortage of customers, given the large population of Upperton and the nearby university.

Despite the differences between Upperton and Middleton malls, the one thing in common they shared was the decorations for the holiday season. A large Christmas tree in the main center with holy, writhes, and other assorted decorations all about the mall.

In the Game Store, Felix was looking at the many games that could be played on his game console back at the dorm.

“How about this one?” He picked up a game titled “Star Fox IV”.

George looked it. “I remembered playing the original “Star Fox”. It was fun while it lasted. Yet when “Star Wars: X-Wing Fighter” came out, I found that far more exciting.”

“Yeah,” Felix agreed as he placed the game back on the shelf. “Now of these days, the fighter games are far faster than “X-Wing Fighter” ever was.”

“I say,” George nodded. “You better keep your eyes on the screen with today’s games or else if you move away from the screen just for a few seconds, you might end up killed.”

The two gaming guys strolled down the aisle and checked out the different types of video games. The truth was they could only look, given neither have the money to buy any of the games.

Outside the Game Store, Monique and Loretta were scoping out simple jewelry from one of the small mall vendors. Each vendor has a nice stand with pulled down doors to closed shop.

Eyeing a pair of teardrop sapphire-color earrings behind a glass case, Monique pointed them out. “Think they will look good?”

Loretta eyed the earrings. “Planning on any dates or anything?”

Monique smirked. “Girlfriend, if I was planning to go on a date, particularly a formal date, I wouldn’t mind picking up real sapphire earrings in any of the three jewelry stores in this mall.”

The sophomore student made a combination of snort and laugh. “My friend, if you could afford to buy any of those real gems, you presently wouldn’t be here looking at cheap jewelry.”

With a sparkle in her eyes, Monique whispered closely to the other woman’s ear. “On a date, would the guy know the difference between real and fake jewelry?”

A sly grin appeared on Loretta’s face. “Not unless he happens to be a jeweler.”

Both girls laughed not noticing Felix and George leaving the Game Store.

“Looking for that right piece of jewelry to impress the men, ladies?” George teased, causing the two women to turn around.

“Castle,” Monique began with one hand on her hip, “how would you know what piece of jewelry would look good to impress the guys?” Both ladies moved slightly away from the vendor stand to allow other people to survey the jewelry behind the glass case.

“Simple,” George flourished. “If I say I like a certain piece of jewelry, the ladies would wear that piece to impress me.” He placed a hand over his chest. “I am a guy, right?”

Both Felix and Loretta chuckled. Monique snorted with a grin as she pointed to him. “I’m not sure whether you are guy and not some intergalactic alien with long hair.”

“Well, I’m not a Vulcan, that’s for certain,” he replied with a slight title in his head as he rubbed a finger over his round ear.

Felix laughed, while Loretta looked at George queerly with a grin. Monique did her best to hold in her laughter as she narrowed her eyes at the smug, grinning architect student. “Well, too bad,” she said, “from what I know, Vulcans are quite hot to touch.” She titled her head up at him.

Giving a mock disappointed look, George snapped his fingers. “Maybe I should have taken that interspecies alteration offer to look like a Vulcan.”

With a hand over his eyes, Felix burst out laughing again. Not having any idea what a Vulcan was, Loretta just shook her head. Monique snorted, grinning at him. “Maybe, Castle, maybe.”

Feeling the need to change the subject before George and Monique made him laugh any more, Felix turned his wheelchair around to head toward the food court in the center of the mall. “Come on, I feel a need to get something to eat. Maybe a nice smoothie to cool off.”

“Good idea, Felix,” Loretta said as he followed his lead. “It’s 15 minutes past 12 now, so we better hit the food court if we want to get a table to eat on. The place already feels crowded now,” she indicated to the many people walking around the mall as they went in-and-out of the stores.

Monique picked up her single large bag from Club Banana, which she had visited first upon entering the mall hours ago, and followed the other two. “I’m with you guys. Let’s chow down and rest for a while.”

“No arguments from me,” George agreed as he tailed Monique. “I too could use a nice cool smoothie to drink.”

So the four made their way toward the food court to rest as the holiday crowds grow ever larger.

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“Either of you ladies cared for dessert?” Ron asked with a smile. Both Kim and Debra shook their heads.

“No thanks, Ron,” Kim said. “I feel full enough with what we ate.” She gestured to the empty Bueno Nacho food wrappings and boxes on his and her trays.

“Thanks but no,” Debra replied before taking a sip of her strawberry smoothie through a straw. Her lunch had consisted of Far East servings of rice, vegetables, and a salad.

Rufus, despite having gorged on nachos and a burrito, jumped on Ron’s shoulder and nodded his head eagerly. “Uh, uh! Dessert!”

Smiling that least his little buddy was with him, Ron had gotten up from his chair. “Well, pardon me and Rufus as we head over to get some ice cream.”

With that said, he strolled away and headed toward the ice cream vendor of the Middleton Mall’s food court, which was on the third floor right above the main entrance lobby. Besides the view of the Christmas tree on one side, the food court also has windows on the other side looking out at the parking lot and the views of Middleton beyond. The three university students had taken a table besides one of two open rectangles with glass and metal railings, giving a view of the many people walking about down on the first floor.

Debra eyed her redhead friend with a small grin. “Your boyfriend never ceased to amaze me, regarding that appetite of his.”

“Same here.” Kim smiled as she kept her eye on Ron who was not far away as he waited in a short line for ice cream. “He certainly burns off a lot of calories without even having to exercise.”

“Lucky him,” Debra snorted before taking another sip of smoothie.

Turning her gaze to the freshman student, Kim nodded with a frown/grin. “Yeah, he doesn’t have to worry much regarding gaining weight.” She pointed to Debra and then herself. “We on the other hand have to watch our weight.”

“Which is not easy,” Debra mentioned with a frown, “given all the desert foods that are out there.”

Kim reached over and patted Debra’s hand. “We both are not going to give in to temptation, Deb. Besides,” she smiled, “we both can easily work off the calories.”

Debra slyly smiled at that. “True. I certainly enjoyed our workouts together, Kim.”

“Same here,” Kim agreed, returning the smile.

At that moment, Ron returned with a medium cup of vanilla ice cream and a small one for Rufus. After placing the small cup down, which the pink mole rat immediately attacked with joy, the blonde man sat on his chair in a simple triangle with Debra and Kim on the small round table.

Seeing him indulge himself with the ice cream, Kim smirked. “You really are a food lover through and through.”

Ron smiled back. “Yep. It’s always good to find out the best tastes the world has to offer if I’m going to be a good chef.”

“You already are a good chef,” Kim snorted with a chuckle.

“It doesn’t hurt to see whether I can improve myself, KP,” he winked at her, causing her to chuckle again.

Out of the corner of her green eyes, Kim noticed that Debra was glancing sideways out of the corner of her blue eyes. She frowned, for she knew something was bothering the girl.

“Deb?” Kim turned her head to fully look into her friend’s eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“What makes you think that something is wrong?” Debra tried to feign innocence.

Kim frowned fully. “In the past hour, since we’ve first sat down, you’ve been giving sideway glances occasionally. You look like someone constantly on the watch.”

This time, Deb frowned, and for a few moments, she thought it was best not to tell her. Yet she knew Kim would understand better than anyone else. Sighing, she leaned forward. “Kim, Ron… Did you guys notice that there are people watching us?”

Glancing sideways themselves, Kim and Ron saw some people were watching them. They weren’t watching directly but occasionally giving glances. Some were teenagers, talking to each other while pointing at them. It was clear why Debra was feeling slightly uncomfortable.

Looking back at her friend, Kim nodded her head. “Yes, they’re watching. I’m not surprised. Debra, you know we are well-known to the public.”

“I know that,” Debra softly hissed. “It’s just I have a feeling they’re watching me more than you.”

Ron was confused. “How can you tell that?”

“How about we find out?” Kim said. “I’m going to the ladies bathroom. Just watch to see how many eyes train on me.” She gotten up and walked toward the public restroom off the side of the food court.

As she walked toward the bathroom, Ron and Debra noticed that some heads did turned toward Kim’s direction, but most were still trained on their table. A few minutes later, Kim returned, giving the same results.

After she sat down, Ron replied. “More eyes were on our table than on you, Kim.”

Debra sighed. “Now it’s my turn.” With that said, she rose and walked toward the restroom. Kim and Ron saw that out of those watching, most turned to eye Debra, and the same was when she returned a few minutes later.

After Debra sat down, Kim sighed. “You were right that most eyes were trained on you, Debra.”

“No doubt due to my new popularity after defeating Drakken,” Debra snorted, a bit disgusted.

Ron grinned encouragingly. “Don’t let them get to you, Deb. We’re here to have fun.”

Kim followed Ron’s lead. “Ron’s right,” she grinned softly. “Don’t let them ruin our time here.” She reached out to hold her friend’s hand, offering support and courage.

Sighing again, the petite young woman squeezed the hand back. “You’re right. It’s just…” She shrugged. “I’m not used to being stared at. Not on this level, compared to what I endured as Upperton U’s gymnastic champion before Drakken.”

“You’ll get used to it.” Kim squeezed her friend’s hand one last time before withdrawing. “Ron and I certainly did. Besides, it’s better that they’re just looking, rather than coming up to us. Least this showed they respected our privacy.”

Debra couldn’t dispute the sound reasoning. “That makes sense.”

Getting up, Kim picked up her tray. “Let’s get going.” She eyed Debra. “You want to find a good dress for Sunday, right? None of the stores we’ve been to have anything good enough. We’ll check out a few more stores before heading to my favorite one.” Kim’s face creased into slight joy.

Picking up her tray as she rose, Debra knew of what Kim was referring. “Club Banana, right?” she slyly grinned.

“Club Banana.” Kim confirmed with a sly grin of her own.

“Fine with me,” Debra said, grinning. “Let’s go then.” She walked toward the nearest trashcan, followed by Kim. Both ladies dumped their trash.

“Wait up!” Ron cried out as he quickly finished the small remainder of his ice cream as the two women placed their trays on the top of the trashcan lid. As the women walked away, he quickly placed the empty cup on the tray and scooped the tray up with a content Rufus sleeping on it. He gently placed his pet in his cargo pants pocket before dumping the trash, returning the tray, and making way through the crowds to catch up with his companions.

Kim and Debra both eyed each other with a grin, knowing Ron could easily catch up to them anyway.

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A couple hours after they had eaten their lunch, George was shifting through men’s shirts in the Gap Store with Felix watching, while Loretta and Monique were picking up and comparing the women’s clothing on the other side of the store.

Felix chuckled. “I never thought you were the clothes type of guy, George.”

“I’m not,” George grinned as he placed a shirt back on a rack. “I don’t talk or compare clothes like the ladies do.” He pointed to the Monique and Loretta still chatting away as they compared clothes. “If I have the need to buy clothes, I simply come in, see what I like, buy them, and get out.”

“Pretty much like most guys do,” Felix agreed with a grin.

“Yeah, but since we’re here and have to wait for the ladies to finish their thing, we might as well see what the men’s clothes look like,” George said as he gestured to the men’s clothing section of the store. He grinned and gave a small shrug. “Who knows? One might never know if one could find something they could use.”

Shaking his head, Felix gave a small smirk. “I’m not going to find what I need here. After we leave the mall, I want to stop by Smarty Mart to pick up some socks.”

George raised an eyebrow. “But you don’t walk, man!”

Pointing at his feet, enclosed by the sneakers, Felix replied. “I may not walk, but that doesn’t prevent the elastics of the socks from wearing out after so much wear and wash.”

Rolling his eyes, George snorted in agreement. “Tell me about it! I sometimes wish they could make good socks that have the elastics that last long.” He furrowed his face. “That reminds me that I should pick up more underwear, when we go to Smarty Mart. Some of mine have the waist elastics wearing out.”

Felix thumbed over his shoulder to the two women. “Good thing they didn’t ask us to judge what clothing they might look good in during this shopping trip.”

“How could you know what it’s like?” George asked a bit skeptical. “You’re a only child, Felix.

“You know I have an older sister three years older than me, right? Well, when she was in high school, she sometimes dragged me shopping and kept asking me whether she looked good in this or that piece of clothing. It was a real drag! I asked her why she couldn’t get her boyfriends to judge. She said she wanted to surprise them.” George rolled his eyes heavenward. “She was worst than Mom when she sometimes dragged Dad into clothes shopping.”

“I maybe an only child, George,” Felix frowned. “But my Mom had me as the only man in her life after she divorced my father when I was three. When I reached 12 years old, she dragged me shopping and asked me whether I think she looked good in particular clothing. I mean, she’s my mom! My mom was asking me for clothing advice!” The wheelchaired man huffed. “I couldn’t understand why she couldn’t get some of her female co-workers to help her out.”

George gave a sympathetic grin. “It’s us men they are trying to impress, Felix. They want our opinion so they could tell whether they look good or not. They have no idea we don’t have fashion sense sometimes.” He pointed to Monique and Loretta. “Least these two ladies are not asking us for our opinions, given they are not out to impress us.”

Felix only nodded in response.

Just then, George tapped his friend’s shoulder and again pointed to the two ladies, whom were approaching them.

“Okay, guys,” Monique said, “Loretta is going to buy a few clothes here and we’ll be out of here.” With that said, the two women made way to the checkout register in the back of the store.

As the two women walked away, Felix turned to George with a sly grin. “Good thing Kim and Ron are not here. No doubt Kim would ask Ron whether she look good in particular clothing. She always mostly dragged him shopping.”

George chuckled. “Yeah, he hated that.” His face curled up in thought. “I wonder what those two lovebirds are doing now?”

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Continue in Part 2 - www.deviantart.com/deviation/2…

:) (Smile) — Description
Story 10, Part 1 of the Kim Possible: The University Years series.

Disclaimer: All Kim Possible characters are the copyright of Walt Disney Corporation. I’m just borrowing them to write up a story with no intention of making any money. This is for fun. All other characters in my stories, that Disney doesn’t own, are mine.

A/N: I don’t know about elsewhere, but I know that the three days after Thanksgiving, in the USA, are considered big shopping days. Pretty much many people go out shopping to the stores, malls, etc. It is the kick-off of the Christmas Holiday shopping season, and I know from experience that things get to be pretty crazy at times during these days. The TUY gang, as mentioned in “Holiday Gatherings,” is planning to go shopping on Friday, so this story here is about the two separate groups as they hit the Middleton and Upperton malls. Let the fun begin! (big grin)

Story rating: Rated K+ (aka PG)
Written: August 2005

Summery: It’s fun times as the TUY gang hit the shopping malls after Thanksgiving!

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Kim Possible: The University Years

Shopping Craze
By JuPMod (aka JPMod)

It was a sunny yet chilly Friday morning, when Debra Oxford Tsuda opened the front door of her family home and closed it behind her as she left. Knowing the weather, she wore comfortable jeans, shirt, sneakers, and topped it with a light coat. Her hair was held back by a blue scarfheadband, yet the long blonde/brown hair bounced as she stepped down the porch steps and nearly ran to the waiting red Toyota Corolla.

“Hi, Kim, Ron!” Debra greeted the two occupants of the vehicle as she entered through the back driver’s side door.

“Hi, Deb,” Kim Possible returned the greeting with a grin as she sat in the driver’s seat. Her attire was much like Debra’s, except she wore a green turtleneck shirt and a purple light coat. Her hair was loose and free.

“Morning, Debra!” Ron, sitting in the front passenger seat, grinned. He wore a blue light coat on top of a blue flannel shirt. Instead of jeans, he opted for cargo pants to carry his molerat buddy comfortably.

As Debra buckled up, Kim backed the car out of the Tsuda’s driveway. “Ready to hit the mall, Deb?” the redhead asked as she put the car into forward/drive mode.

“I’m ready,” the Upperton U’s gymnastic star smirked as the car drove away. “It has been so long since I last went shopping for clothing and such.”

“Oh?” Kim raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t bother to shop for clothing during the past several months at Upperton U?”

The younger woman gave a half laugh and scoff. “Kim, when was there ever time to fully shop during school? I occasionally went to Upperton Mall, but I only had stayed for a short while to get the things I needed.”

“She got you there, KP,” Ron pointed with his usual Ron grin. “I’m amazed you make the time to occasionally shop given our full school schedule.”

Kim rolled her eyes. “Ron… You know I couldn’t stay away to see what new clothing comes out.”

“Uh-huh,” her boyfriend said as he looked at her. “You just couldn’t stand that you could barely pay for Club Banana clothing.” He smirked. “That’s why you shop at Smarty Mart.”

Debra shrugged. “So, what’s wrong with shopping at Smarty Mart. I do that all the time when I visited Upperton Mall.”

“You do?” both Ron and Kim mentioned, surprised. Ron turned around to look at Debra, while Kim was eying her through the rear-view mirror.

Looking back and forth between her two friends, Debra frowned. “Of course. I can’t afford the high prices of most clothing stores in the mall, particularly Club Banana, so I go to Smarty Mart. I get the same clothing for far less.”

“Booyah!” Ron pumped a fist. “We have a real Smarty Mart shopper here!”

Rufus jumped out of Ron’s pants pocket to run up onto Debra’s shoulder. “Smarty Mart!” he cried out, causing Debra to laugh as she patted the little fellow on the head.

Kim frowned. “Debra, I thought you were like me when it comes to certain taste in clothing.”

“I am,” Debra exclaimed. Her shoulders shrugged again. “It’s just that I figured that most people wouldn’t know the difference between clothing at Smarty Mart and Club Banana. They are made by the same company, right?”

Green eyes looking sideways, Kim noticed the satisfied smirk on Ron’s lips. Giving a sigh, she relented. “True. If it weren’t for me being on a budget, I would have shopped at Club Banana as I usually did when I was a teen.”

“Soooo,” Ron grinned as he placed hands behind his head. “This means we will be going to Smarty Mart. Debra and I have a majority here, right?”

Knowing him, Kim could tell he was pleased that they might be going to Smarty Mart. For Ron, Smarty Mart was his favorite place to shop. “I was hoping we could hit the Middleton Mall as we planned, Ron.”

“I thought we were doing that,” Debra said as she leaned forward. “We hit the mall first and check out the stores. Smarty Mart would perhaps be the very last place we’ll visit, at the end of the day.”

“What?” Ron was shocked. “No! Not shopping at the mall!”

Kim grinned in victory. It seemed Debra was on her side after all. “Sorry, Ron. Us ladies have spoken. We’re going to the mall.”

“Aw, man!” Ron sulked. “I hate shopping at the mall!”

Debra giggled, and Kim just smirked, knowing her boyfriend just hates shopping at the mall, as it means long hours going to store to store, particularly the clothes shops. Most men just do not have the patience for shopping compared to women, and Ron was no exception.

“Well, prepare yourself, Naco boy,” the world heroine teased. “You’re going to help us,” she thumbed Debra then herself, “go clothes shopping.”

Ron groaned, which Rufus copied. Both ladies laughed at this as they drove toward the Middleton Mall to be there after the stores open at 10:30 AM.

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“So this is your van, Felix?” Loretta Brown asked as she gazed at the brown passenger van along side Monique, George Castle, and Felix in Upperton U’s closest parking lot to the dorms. The van was the old style passenger type that was designed for comfort on long travels. It has two doors in the front, one sliding door on the right side, and two back doors. A sunroof was over the front top, while an old-style boomerang shape TV antenna was at the top rear.

“Yep,” Felix answered with a grin as he maneuvered his wheelchair to the sliding door. “It was used when my mom bought it for me two years ago. She and I modified it to suit my needs, given my disability.” Pressing a button on his chair arm caused the sliding door to open on its tracks toward the rear of the van.

When the door was fully open, Loretta looked in and whistled. It has carpeting, several leather chairs, a small couch, a tiny small kitchenette with cabins to hold food, a small frig, and few other items. “Felix, how could you afford this?” the New Yorker asked in awe, while Monique and George grinned behind her.

Felix shook his head. “Despite appearances, Loretta, this van, as I said, was used. The engine was pretty much shot, yet all you see here,” he swept a hand to indicate the luxury stuff, “was part of the van.” He smirked. “My mom knew of a co-worker at the Middleton Space Center who was a quite a mechanic. He helped renovate the engine to run almost like new.”

Activating his chair’s hover abilities, he gently raised his chair into the van before again putting it down on its wheels. As Felix moved toward the driver’s wheel, Loretta, George, and Monique hopped in and settled down in the leather chairs – Monique to the front passenger chair, George to the couch behind Monique, and Loretta on a chair in the rear besides the sliding door.

Upon placing himself in position, Felix pressed a button on the dashboard and the sliding door slid closed. Only then did he start the engine and back the van out of the handicap parking space and drive away.

“Felix,” Loretta called out, “if someone who can walk needs to drive your van, where would they sit?”

George answered instead as he pointed to a leather chair that is behind Felix to the side. “That chair slides on a track to the driver’s station, so if say any of us other than Felix needs to drive, we have a place to sit down.”

His lips widened into a grin, George gestured to the strange circular machine in the center of the ceiling. “One of the coolest unique features of this van is that it has cyber robotics in it.”

“Cyber robotics?” Loretta asked with a lopsided grin. “You telling me that this van can hover and fly like Felix’s chair?”

Felix shook his head. “No it doesn’t fly, Loretta. It does have cyber robotic arms to help, say, serve food, but my mom and I agreed that we would not give this van hover and flying abilities.”

“Why not?” Loretta was bewildered. “It would be way cool to have a van that can fly like your wheelchair.”

As the van left the main university entrance and turned onto Main Street, Felix explained. “It’s all because of the Doom-V.”

“The Doom-V?” Loretta was even more confused.

So Felix told the story of how, two years ago, Drakken, Shego, and Motor Ed stole his wheelchair in order to copy the cyber robotics technology into a fighting vehicle called the Doom-V. Kim, Ron, and Felix had managed to defeat the Doom-V and captured the three villains.

“So after that incident, my mom and I agreed that we shouldn’t make any vehicles with hover and flying abilities. We don’t want to alarm the Division of Motor Vehicles or anyone for the matter.”

Loretta nodded her understanding. “That makes sense. Besides not wanting to alarm anyone, you wouldn’t want anyone to control your van as Kim had done with the Doom-V using that game controller.”

“Precisely,” Felix agreed. “I don’t want anyone controlling this van, so it’s best not to give it hover and flying abilities. The only cyber robotics in this entire van is on the ceiling and some incorporated into the driver’s station to help me drive.”

Monique grinned slyly. “Nice to hear that story again, Felix, but we have a mission here.” She pointed forward. “We’re going shopping at the Upperton Mall! Full speed ahead!”

George and Loretta laughed, while Felix chuckled. “Not on your life, Monique!” Felix said. “I’m maintaining the speed limit, thank you very much.” This time it was Monique’s turn to laugh.

Going the speed limit, the van drove down Main Street toward Upperton Mall.

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From the outside, nothing seemed to have changed for Middleton Mall. It still has the same design that existed for years with a cylindrical shaped structure in the center connected to two rectangle structures on either side. It was the centerpiece of the large business shopping district of Middleton.

Yet as Ron, Kim, and Debra, with Rufus on Deb’s shoulder, walked through the glass doors of the front main entrance, it was easy to see that things have changed inside the mall. Not in the way of design, but in the way of decorations - Christmas decorations that was. The large fountain, which was in the exact center of the mall and in line with the front entrance, now supports a large decorated Christmas tree that nearly reached the third floor. Holy, writhes, and other assorted holiday symbols adjoined poles, staircases, and railings along the walkways. Almost every store also displayed the tokens of the holiday season with Christmas sales signs.

“They’re using the same decorations as last year,” Debra pointed to the tree as they walked toward it while they unzipped their jackets, as it was warmer inside the mall. Various people were also walking about around them, now that the stores were opened.

Kim snorted with a grin. “They’ve been practically using the same decorations as long as I could remember, Debra.”

Ron smirked. “You really think they’re going to spend a lot of money for new decorations year after year?” He gestured to the Santa Claus display with the empty throne in front of the tree. “They still place the Santa Claus display for the kids in the same place.”

“No doubt,” Kim said, “because it is in the center of the mall. Quite a nice spot for all the children who want to talk to Santa and get their pictures taken with him.” There was no doubt for the three that later in the day, this area would have a long line of parents and children waiting to greet Santa.

Before they reached the Christmas tree, they stopped in front of a mall directory, which displayed three top cross-sections, representing each floor. Stores were numbered and categorized to the type of goods or services they provided.

“So where do we go first?” Debra asked as they gazed at the directory. Rufus gave an “Hmmmmm” sound.

Kim smiled. “Simple.” She pointed to the far left of the third floor section. “We start there,” her finger moved toward the right, “and make our way across the mall. As we go, we’ll check out stores that interest us.”

Ron chuckled as he pointed to a store on the right side of the first floor section. “Like Club Banana?”

The redhead woman gave her man a knowing smirk of a grin. “Yes, like Club Banana.”

Ron clutched his chest in mock alarm. “I’m shock! You’re not going directly to the your favorite store first?”

Her green eyes narrowed as she pointed to him. “Oh, we’ll get there, Mr. Stoppable.” She smiled slyly. “We do have all day to walk around, and you’ll be our carry-on boy to carry our bags.” Her head turned to Debra. “Right, Deb?”

Catching on, Debra grinned slyly as well. “Right, Kim.”

Ron blinked, yet he slowly grinned. He knew Kim wouldn’t buy much given she was on a budget. “Whatever you say, ladies.”

“Good!” Kim grinned in triumph before pointing to the left. “Let’s go then!”

She walked off to the left, followed by Debra, who was tailed by Ron. The three made way through the mall to start their shopping day.

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Unlike Middleton Mall, Upperton Mall was different in design. Three stories tall, the mall is a hodgepodge of buildings that look like it has no real center. Yet it does have a center at the pentagon shape structure that has the front main entrance. The pentagon has least two rectangle buildings connected on one side to two cylinder structures, while on the other side of the pentagon has one larger rectangle building connected to two square shape structures. Various enclosed walkways connected the structures between the open spaces of the buildings. Despite the uneven design, it has grown to be accepted by the people as a good shopping mall with a variety of stores and a nice multiplex theatre.

Upperton Mall was part of the big business shopping district on the opposite side of the interstate from the small business area of Main Street and Upperton University. Besides the mall, there was a Smarty Mart, a couple supermarkets, several other chain stores, several office buildings, and other large businesses. Many had thought that once the mall and Smarty Mart were built, it would have put the smaller stores on Main Street out of business. Yet despite those gloomy predictions, the small businesses had not experienced any shortage of customers, given the large population of Upperton and the nearby university.

Despite the differences between Upperton and Middleton malls, the one thing in common they shared was the decorations for the holiday season. A large Christmas tree in the main center with holy, writhes, and other assorted decorations all about the mall.

In the Game Store, Felix was looking at the many games that could be played on his game console back at the dorm.

“How about this one?” He picked up a game titled “Star Fox IV”.

George looked it. “I remembered playing the original “Star Fox”. It was fun while it lasted. Yet when “Star Wars: X-Wing Fighter” came out, I found that far more exciting.”

“Yeah,” Felix agreed as he placed the game back on the shelf. “Now of these days, the fighter games are far faster than “X-Wing Fighter” ever was.”

“I say,” George nodded. “You better keep your eyes on the screen with today’s games or else if you move away from the screen just for a few seconds, you might end up killed.”

The two gaming guys strolled down the aisle and checked out the different types of video games. The truth was they could only look, given neither have the money to buy any of the games.

Outside the Game Store, Monique and Loretta were scoping out simple jewelry from one of the small mall vendors. Each vendor has a nice stand with pulled down doors to closed shop.

Eyeing a pair of teardrop sapphire-color earrings behind a glass case, Monique pointed them out. “Think they will look good?”

Loretta eyed the earrings. “Planning on any dates or anything?”

Monique smirked. “Girlfriend, if I was planning to go on a date, particularly a formal date, I wouldn’t mind picking up real sapphire earrings in any of the three jewelry stores in this mall.”

The sophomore student made a combination of snort and laugh. “My friend, if you could afford to buy any of those real gems, you presently wouldn’t be here looking at cheap jewelry.”

With a sparkle in her eyes, Monique whispered closely to the other woman’s ear. “On a date, would the guy know the difference between real and fake jewelry?”

A sly grin appeared on Loretta’s face. “Not unless he happens to be a jeweler.”

Both girls laughed not noticing Felix and George leaving the Game Store.

“Looking for that right piece of jewelry to impress the men, ladies?” George teased, causing the two women to turn around.

“Castle,” Monique began with one hand on her hip, “how would you know what piece of jewelry would look good to impress the guys?” Both ladies moved slightly away from the vendor stand to allow other people to survey the jewelry behind the glass case.

“Simple,” George flourished. “If I say I like a certain piece of jewelry, the ladies would wear that piece to impress me.” He placed a hand over his chest. “I am a guy, right?”

Both Felix and Loretta chuckled. Monique snorted with a grin as she pointed to him. “I’m not sure whether you are guy and not some intergalactic alien with long hair.”

“Well, I’m not a Vulcan, that’s for certain,” he replied with a slight title in his head as he rubbed a finger over his round ear.

Felix laughed, while Loretta looked at George queerly with a grin. Monique did her best to hold in her laughter as she narrowed her eyes at the smug, grinning architect student. “Well, too bad,” she said, “from what I know, Vulcans are quite hot to touch.” She titled her head up at him.

Giving a mock disappointed look, George snapped his fingers. “Maybe I should have taken that interspecies alteration offer to look like a Vulcan.”

With a hand over his eyes, Felix burst out laughing again. Not having any idea what a Vulcan was, Loretta just shook her head. Monique snorted, grinning at him. “Maybe, Castle, maybe.”

Feeling the need to change the subject before George and Monique made him laugh any more, Felix turned his wheelchair around to head toward the food court in the center of the mall. “Come on, I feel a need to get something to eat. Maybe a nice smoothie to cool off.”

“Good idea, Felix,” Loretta said as he followed his lead. “It’s 15 minutes past 12 now, so we better hit the food court if we want to get a table to eat on. The place already feels crowded now,” she indicated to the many people walking around the mall as they went in-and-out of the stores.

Monique picked up her single large bag from Club Banana, which she had visited first upon entering the mall hours ago, and followed the other two. “I’m with you guys. Let’s chow down and rest for a while.”

“No arguments from me,” George agreed as he tailed Monique. “I too could use a nice cool smoothie to drink.”

So the four made their way toward the food court to rest as the holiday crowds grow ever larger.

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“Either of you ladies cared for dessert?” Ron asked with a smile. Both Kim and Debra shook their heads.

“No thanks, Ron,” Kim said. “I feel full enough with what we ate.” She gestured to the empty Bueno Nacho food wrappings and boxes on his and her trays.

“Thanks but no,” Debra replied before taking a sip of her strawberry smoothie through a straw. Her lunch had consisted of Far East servings of rice, vegetables, and a salad.

Rufus, despite having gorged on nachos and a burrito, jumped on Ron’s shoulder and nodded his head eagerly. “Uh, uh! Dessert!”

Smiling that least his little buddy was with him, Ron had gotten up from his chair. “Well, pardon me and Rufus as we head over to get some ice cream.”

With that said, he strolled away and headed toward the ice cream vendor of the Middleton Mall’s food court, which was on the third floor right above the main entrance lobby. Besides the view of the Christmas tree on one side, the food court also has windows on the other side looking out at the parking lot and the views of Middleton beyond. The three university students had taken a table besides one of two open rectangles with glass and metal railings, giving a view of the many people walking about down on the first floor.

Debra eyed her redhead friend with a small grin. “Your boyfriend never ceased to amaze me, regarding that appetite of his.”

“Same here.” Kim smiled as she kept her eye on Ron who was not far away as he waited in a short line for ice cream. “He certainly burns off a lot of calories without even having to exercise.”

“Lucky him,” Debra snorted before taking another sip of smoothie.

Turning her gaze to the freshman student, Kim nodded with a frown/grin. “Yeah, he doesn’t have to worry much regarding gaining weight.” She pointed to Debra and then herself. “We on the other hand have to watch our weight.”

“Which is not easy,” Debra mentioned with a frown, “given all the desert foods that are out there.”

Kim reached over and patted Debra’s hand. “We both are not going to give in to temptation, Deb. Besides,” she smiled, “we both can easily work off the calories.”

Debra slyly smiled at that. “True. I certainly enjoyed our workouts together, Kim.”

“Same here,” Kim agreed, returning the smile.

At that moment, Ron returned with a medium cup of vanilla ice cream and a small one for Rufus. After placing the small cup down, which the pink mole rat immediately attacked with joy, the blonde man sat on his chair in a simple triangle with Debra and Kim on the small round table.

Seeing him indulge himself with the ice cream, Kim smirked. “You really are a food lover through and through.”

Ron smiled back. “Yep. It’s always good to find out the best tastes the world has to offer if I’m going to be a good chef.”

“You already are a good chef,” Kim snorted with a chuckle.

“It doesn’t hurt to see whether I can improve myself, KP,” he winked at her, causing her to chuckle again.

Out of the corner of her green eyes, Kim noticed that Debra was glancing sideways out of the corner of her blue eyes. She frowned, for she knew something was bothering the girl.

“Deb?” Kim turned her head to fully look into her friend’s eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“What makes you think that something is wrong?” Debra tried to feign innocence.

Kim frowned fully. “In the past hour, since we’ve first sat down, you’ve been giving sideway glances occasionally. You look like someone constantly on the watch.”

This time, Deb frowned, and for a few moments, she thought it was best not to tell her. Yet she knew Kim would understand better than anyone else. Sighing, she leaned forward. “Kim, Ron… Did you guys notice that there are people watching us?”

Glancing sideways themselves, Kim and Ron saw some people were watching them. They weren’t watching directly but occasionally giving glances. Some were teenagers, talking to each other while pointing at them. It was clear why Debra was feeling slightly uncomfortable.

Looking back at her friend, Kim nodded her head. “Yes, they’re watching. I’m not surprised. Debra, you know we are well-known to the public.”

“I know that,” Debra softly hissed. “It’s just I have a feeling they’re watching me more than you.”

Ron was confused. “How can you tell that?”

“How about we find out?” Kim said. “I’m going to the ladies bathroom. Just watch to see how many eyes train on me.” She gotten up and walked toward the public restroom off the side of the food court.

As she walked toward the bathroom, Ron and Debra noticed that some heads did turned toward Kim’s direction, but most were still trained on their table. A few minutes later, Kim returned, giving the same results.

After she sat down, Ron replied. “More eyes were on our table than on you, Kim.”

Debra sighed. “Now it’s my turn.” With that said, she rose and walked toward the restroom. Kim and Ron saw that out of those watching, most turned to eye Debra, and the same was when she returned a few minutes later.

After Debra sat down, Kim sighed. “You were right that most eyes were trained on you, Debra.”

“No doubt due to my new popularity after defeating Drakken,” Debra snorted, a bit disgusted.

Ron grinned encouragingly. “Don’t let them get to you, Deb. We’re here to have fun.”

Kim followed Ron’s lead. “Ron’s right,” she grinned softly. “Don’t let them ruin our time here.” She reached out to hold her friend’s hand, offering support and courage.

Sighing again, the petite young woman squeezed the hand back. “You’re right. It’s just…” She shrugged. “I’m not used to being stared at. Not on this level, compared to what I endured as Upperton U’s gymnastic champion before Drakken.”

“You’ll get used to it.” Kim squeezed her friend’s hand one last time before withdrawing. “Ron and I certainly did. Besides, it’s better that they’re just looking, rather than coming up to us. Least this showed they respected our privacy.”

Debra couldn’t dispute the sound reasoning. “That makes sense.”

Getting up, Kim picked up her tray. “Let’s get going.” She eyed Debra. “You want to find a good dress for Sunday, right? None of the stores we’ve been to have anything good enough. We’ll check out a few more stores before heading to my favorite one.” Kim’s face creased into slight joy.

Picking up her tray as she rose, Debra knew of what Kim was referring. “Club Banana, right?” she slyly grinned.

“Club Banana.” Kim confirmed with a sly grin of her own.

“Fine with me,” Debra said, grinning. “Let’s go then.” She walked toward the nearest trashcan, followed by Kim. Both ladies dumped their trash.

“Wait up!” Ron cried out as he quickly finished the small remainder of his ice cream as the two women placed their trays on the top of the trashcan lid. As the women walked away, he quickly placed the empty cup on the tray and scooped the tray up with a content Rufus sleeping on it. He gently placed his pet in his cargo pants pocket before dumping the trash, returning the tray, and making way through the crowds to catch up with his companions.

Kim and Debra both eyed each other with a grin, knowing Ron could easily catch up to them anyway.

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A couple hours after they had eaten their lunch, George was shifting through men’s shirts in the Gap Store with Felix watching, while Loretta and Monique were picking up and comparing the women’s clothing on the other side of the store.

Felix chuckled. “I never thought you were the clothes type of guy, George.”

“I’m not,” George grinned as he placed a shirt back on a rack. “I don’t talk or compare clothes like the ladies do.” He pointed to the Monique and Loretta still chatting away as they compared clothes. “If I have the need to buy clothes, I simply come in, see what I like, buy them, and get out.”

“Pretty much like most guys do,” Felix agreed with a grin.

“Yeah, but since we’re here and have to wait for the ladies to finish their thing, we might as well see what the men’s clothes look like,” George said as he gestured to the men’s clothing section of the store. He grinned and gave a small shrug. “Who knows? One might never know if one could find something they could use.”

Shaking his head, Felix gave a small smirk. “I’m not going to find what I need here. After we leave the mall, I want to stop by Smarty Mart to pick up some socks.”

George raised an eyebrow. “But you don’t walk, man!”

Pointing at his feet, enclosed by the sneakers, Felix replied. “I may not walk, but that doesn’t prevent the elastics of the socks from wearing out after so much wear and wash.”

Rolling his eyes, George snorted in agreement. “Tell me about it! I sometimes wish they could make good socks that have the elastics that last long.” He furrowed his face. “That reminds me that I should pick up more underwear, when we go to Smarty Mart. Some of mine have the waist elastics wearing out.”

Felix thumbed over his shoulder to the two women. “Good thing they didn’t ask us to judge what clothing they might look good in during this shopping trip.”

“How could you know what it’s like?” George asked a bit skeptical. “You’re a only child, Felix.

“You know I have an older sister three years older than me, right? Well, when she was in high school, she sometimes dragged me shopping and kept asking me whether she looked good in this or that piece of clothing. It was a real drag! I asked her why she couldn’t get her boyfriends to judge. She said she wanted to surprise them.” George rolled his eyes heavenward. “She was worst than Mom when she sometimes dragged Dad into clothes shopping.”

“I maybe an only child, George,” Felix frowned. “But my Mom had me as the only man in her life after she divorced my father when I was three. When I reached 12 years old, she dragged me shopping and asked me whether I think she looked good in particular clothing. I mean, she’s my mom! My mom was asking me for clothing advice!” The wheelchaired man huffed. “I couldn’t understand why she couldn’t get some of her female co-workers to help her out.”

George gave a sympathetic grin. “It’s us men they are trying to impress, Felix. They want our opinion so they could tell whether they look good or not. They have no idea we don’t have fashion sense sometimes.” He pointed to Monique and Loretta. “Least these two ladies are not asking us for our opinions, given they are not out to impress us.”

Felix only nodded in response.

Just then, George tapped his friend’s shoulder and again pointed to the two ladies, whom were approaching them.

“Okay, guys,” Monique said, “Loretta is going to buy a few clothes here and we’ll be out of here.” With that said, the two women made way to the checkout register in the back of the store.

As the two women walked away, Felix turned to George with a sly grin. “Good thing Kim and Ron are not here. No doubt Kim would ask Ron whether she look good in particular clothing. She always mostly dragged him shopping.”

George chuckled. “Yeah, he hated that.” His face curled up in thought. “I wonder what those two lovebirds are doing now?”

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Continue in Part 2 - www.deviantart.com/deviation/2…