Vicky finds something

After finishing their lunch, Zack and Vicky decided to vixit some of the smaller stores and kiosks that were scattered around the mall. First, they hit up a cell phone accessory kiosk where Zack picked up a new case. Next, the pair went into a novelty invention shop and sat in a pair of sophisticated massage chairs. After that, they went to a record store that had just opened. While flipping through the small store’s selection of vinyl albums, Victoria spotted it. There, in the window of the dress shop across the corridor, was what she wanted to buy.

“Hey! What’s up? Where you going, Vicky?” Zack shouted to his blonde friend as she darted out into the hallway.

“THAT’S what I’m buying!” she answered, pointing to the strapless dress in the window as Zack caught up to her.

Zack looked at the garment as it clung to the mannequin in the display. For the most part, the sun dress was made of green cotton. Yellow fabric edged the dress. It was decorated on the chest and lower hem areas in a purple and white fleur-di-lis pattern, similar to one found on decorative handkerchiefs. Zack watched Victoria’s eyes light up as she found the item on a rack and headed towards a fitting room.

“Your girlfriend is going to look fantastic in that dress, Sir!” a saleswoman said to Zack as he waited.

“She’s not my girlfriend, Miss,” Zack sighed in reply.

“Really? Could have fooled me, with the way you came bounding into the store after her!” the saleswoman winked as she turned to help another customer.

Zack heart sank at the comment. When he stood up for Victoria, he had planned at some point to tell her how he felt about her. However, he couldn’t help but feel that his actions had pushed him into the dreaded “Friend Zone”.

A sudden buzzing in his pocket caught Zack’s attention. When he retrieved his phone, he saw a picture of Chloe and the word “TEXT” in bold letters. After clicking in his password, Zack eyes were greeted with several messages from his best friend.

“HEY BUDDY!”

“WHAT’S UP?”

“how’s Vicky?”

“u guys cumin back 2day?”

Zack rolled his eyes at the use of text shorthand in the last message. It was one of the few pet peeves he had. He suppressed the urge to comment about or correct her grammar. Instead, he typed out one of his typically long and thoughtful responses.

“She’s doing better. We are probably not coming back for another day or two. We are at the mall right now. She’s trying on a dress right now.”

A few seconds later, his phone lit up again:

“Bet u want 2 B in there w her!”

There was only one way for the high school senior to reply:

“Hi Heather!”

Another text came in:

“Srry Z! Heather stole my phone!”

Followed by two more from Chloe’s number:

“no i didn’t!!!”

“DAMMIT! gave myself away”

Zack laughed at the comical exchange.

“What’s so funny?” a voice asked from behind him.

“Oh, Heather’s stealing people’s phones again!” Zack chuckled as he turned towards Victoria. When he saw her, his eyes nearly jumped out of their sockets.

“What do you think?” the blonde questioned her shopping buddy.

Zack took a moment to properly look over the girl in front of him. As she modeled the dress for him, Zack couldn’t help but stare. The dress fit her perfectly. As she twirled, Victoria was oblivious to what she was doing to her friend. But that was nothing new.

“WOW! You should get that dress, Vicky” Zack commented.

"One step ahead of you Zack!" Victoria replied as she headed back to the fitting room to change out of her new outfit and pay for it.