Trip to the store

Saturday, July 4th.

Celine walked the streets of Hoorn on her way to the Xtra Store. She wore a black summer dress, in contradiction to yesterday, the Dutch weather had made a drastic change and the heat had set in during the early hours of the day. Even though it was only noon, the temperature had already risen to 25 degrees celsius. The only thing keeping Celine from overheating was the brisk breeze roaming freely over and from the massive lake next to which the city was built.

Just when Celine started to regret walking through the heat, she arrived at the mall. The Xtra Store was one of the first things she saw in there. Probably due to the fact she was headed for it, and only it. Everything else Celine and Madelynn needed was at their dorm already. All she had to do was walk into the Xtra Store, buy some items to tie up Madelynn with, and leave. Without dying of embarrassment. Or heat.

Celine walked up to the doors of the store and took a few deep breaths. "Here we go. Just act normal" she told herself. She pushed the door open, and walked in.

The store seemed normal enough at the beginning of it, it was actually kind of busy even. Knowing that she needed nothing from the 'ordinary' departments, she headed straight for the department she needed to be in.

The amount of items they had was surprising to Celine. She had done her extensive research and recognized most, if not all, items displayed before her. There were ropes, chains, padlocks, collars, gags, blindfolds, armbinders, hoods, special bondage tape and candles, clamps, strap-ons and vibrators. Even more items were a little further away.

Celine started picking out the items she would need for today.

She picked up multiple lengths of rope. Probably more than she needed. In the end she settled on 6 coils of 10 meters of hemp rope. The rope, as advertised on the label, was of excellent quality. Celine took her time to inspect more of the items on display.

All of it looked interesting to say the least. Celine decided against getting more than just the rope though, they had agreed on taking things slow. If at some point they decided to try more stuff, she'd happily go back to the store and get some other items.

Celine went to the register and handed the rope to the cashier, who shot her a suspicious look.

"Something wrong?" Celine challenged the cashier.

-"Not at all ma'am" he said.

Celine looked out the window while the cashier scanned the barcodes on the packaging of the rope. It was all she could do not to die of embarrassment. Meanwhile, the cashier knew exactly which department of the store these ropes came from. Hell, he put them there. And he most definitely knew what they were used for. The obvious embarrassment that Celine was showing merely confirmed it.

-"That'll be €51,-" the cashier said. Celine paid for the items with her debit card, put the items in a plastic bag the cashier handed her and walked out.

Due to the weather and the heat of the sun, Celine sticked to the shadows as much as possible while walking back through the crowded streets. Celine had only spent about 20 minutes in the store, which meant that she had more than enough time to dwell before she had her 'appointment' with her best friend. Before going to bed last night, they agreed that they'd start their session at 16:00. If their prospects were correct, they'd be busy for about an hour and a half. Which would let them end the session at a ripe time for dinner.

Because of the heat, which Celine was terrible at enduring, she went to a local cafe and took a seat outside. Under the shade of a parasol of course. The cafe she chose was a local favourite. The "Oude Waegh" cafe was situated in a 17th century building. The cafe's outdoor section was bordering on the Red Stone Square; which was the general public's nightlife center in Hoorn. Of course, it was also a hotspot for the students of the university.

"Hi, what can I get you?" a waitress approached. The waitress catched Celine's eyes. She had long, red hair, pulled back into a ponytail. Her pale skin was slightly red due to sun exposure, making the freckles on her face more subtle. Her skinny jeans and black t-shirt were partially covered by a leather, company issued pouch in which she kept the device they take orders with.

-"I'll have a coffee please" Celine replied. The waitress tapped on the screen of her device a few times and walked off saying "Be with you in a few minutes."

While she waited for her coffee, Celine checked her phone. Facebook had a few mentions and friend requests which weren't all that important. Her Instagram had a few follow requests from accounts that were obviously bots, creepy stalkers and just generally people she didn't know. There were a few people she did know, which she happily accepted, and a few requests of people she recognized from the hallway in her dorm. For the sake of making new friends, she accepted the people from her new school.

When the waitress returned with her coffee, Celine asked her if it was alright to take a selfie with her. The waitress, being just as extrovert as Celine is, accepted and they posed for a photo, which went straight to Instagram of course. After uploading the photo Celine came across a photo of her with Madelynn in Sunny Beach, Bulgaria. For a few moments she thought back to that holiday with her best friend. It was hard to remember most of it, because they had been wasted every evening while they were there.

After finishing her coffee, Celine went inside to pay for her drink, and while paying managed to get the Instagram username from the waitress. The excuse being to tag her in the photo of course. Which is all it was, an excuse to get in touch with the waitress again. She learned her name was Joyce.

After the little rest Celine resumed her way back to the dormitory, making sure not to forget the bag from the Xtra Store. Traversing the heat like this was much easier than it had been before.