SHOPPING with Kateri
“Ohmygosh, I can’t believe we’re actually going shopping together!” the water nymph squealed as she bounded through the glass doors. “It’s going to be soooo amazingly fun! We’re going to look at clothes and jewelry and makeup, oh and some guy clothes, too. I didn’t forget you were a man! What do you take me for? But eee! I’m so so so excited!”
Griffin’s eye twitched as he groaned, reluctantly allowing himself to be towed along, meeting the intense stares from the other shoppers with a steely one of his own.
“Remind me why exactly I agreed to join you?” the Wyvern suspired heavily, eying the colorful stores that surrounded them.
“So we can get to know each other better, of course!” she exclaimed, bouncing on her toes. “Ooh! I love this store!!”
With a sharp yank, she guided Griffin into the dimly-lit store called “Hollister.”
“How’s this? I think the color is amazing, but is it too... flashy? I mean, is it too short? Too long? Do you like it? Should I wear this over top or wear a belt? What about shoes? Heels? Flats? Ah, so many choices! What about this? Don’t you just love the color blue?” Kateri rambled, swaying before a mirror as she donned a deep blue sundress. When she realized he had a glazed look in his eye as he hunched over, she barked, “Hey, Fin, talk to me!”
Startled, Griffin straightened in the stool, his eyes wide.
“What did you call me?”
“Fin. It’s in your name. I guess I could call you Grif, or Iffin, or Riffi, or Griffy, but I like Fin,” she explained with a grin. “But I asked what you thought of this dress. Am I boring you? Aren’t you having fun?”
“It looks... nice,” he replied, his expression blank. “No, it is not that I am bored, it is that I just have not done anything for the past half hour.” Immediately, Kateri gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.
“Oh my goodness! You’re right! We need to fix that. Hmm.... Here! Try this on! And this! Oh, and you have to put this on!” She continued to pile articles of clothing carelessly into his outstretched arms until he could barely see around them. “Now go into the fitting rooms, put them on, then come show me! And don’t argue! Go!”
Knowing it was futile to object, Griffin grumbled as he made his way into the dark hallway, shaking his head at what he deemed was insanity.
“Are you done yet?” she called after a few minutes, her voice obtrusive and excited. “Come show me!”
“I feel... ridiculous,” he answered, tugging at the hot pink fabric.
“Don’t. I wanna see! Please, Fin, please? I bet it looks great, but I wouldn’t know. I wonder which one you put on. Come on!”
Sighing, he aversely obeyed, peeking around the corners to be sure no one was around. Having his wings cramped beneath a tight polo was extremely displeasing to him.
Kateri looked up from her cell phone’s screen as he moved toward her, his arms crossed cleanly across his chest.
“Oh my God.” For once, a surfeit of words didn’t spew from her mouth.
“Yes, I feel unbelievably awkward. May I change back into my clothes now?” Scrambling to her feet, the nymph smiled broadly, and, lifting her phone before her face, a short flash blinded him. “What did you—”
“Uh, I took a picture, obviously, and I’m currently sending it to everyone in the club! Well, everyone in the club with a cell phone. Okay, well, every girl with a cell phone. They need to see this.”
His cheeks flushed a becoming pink.
“No! I beg you, do not share this!” he pleaded, his eyes wide. Laughing, Kateri strode toward him, patting his shoulder soothingly.
“Don’t worry. It’s not to embarrass you or anything, though that shade of pink doesn’t really compliment your eyes at all,” she blurted, removing her hand. “It’s because you kind of look really good in that.” By now, his entire face has turned a lovely shade of red.
“I despise cellular phones,” he mumbled, shaking his head and uncrossing his arms.
“Ooh! What’s that on your wrist? A dragon? Isn’t that ironic since you’re a.... hydra? Gorgon? Whatever. You said you weren’t a dragon, right?” she questioned, clutching his hand in hers and turning it palm up. A shadow of the past drifted over his features.
“It is for my brother,” he stated simply, pulling his arm from her grasp. “The only aspect of my interests he respected was the idea of dragons.”
“I didn’t know you have a brother!”
“Had.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” she muttered, her eyes wide. “I have siblings, too! They were just born. Triplets! Can you believe that?” She continued to describe her family in excruciating detail, talking non stop and purchasing the pink shirt for Griffin despite his protests.
As he massaged his temples, he shook his head, following her out of the store.
“I have never hated anything more than shopping,” he muttered, speaking loud enough so only his ears could hear.
Yet, despite his annoyances with the water nymph, there were a few things that had been brought to light over the course of this adventure.
One. He secretly loved the experience of shopping.
Two. His favorite color was now officially hot pink.
