Survival Of The Fittest

((Continued from One More Time))


"Keep an eye out if you see a good spot." Claire said as she slowly wove the Taurus through the garage. As usual for a Friday afternoon, the place was jam packed, which left Jackie and her drifting aimlessly from one level to the next, coasting along at a 15 mph speed so as not to miss the tell-tale flash of an exiting car's brakelights. Hopefully they'd get lucky and manage to snag an empty space, but at this time of day that was easier said than done, especially when you had a conga line of drivers following behind you.

Be patient, she told herself as her gaze drifted towards the speedometer. She hated going slow, always had, and right now she felt awfully tempted to speed up to 35 so as to distance herself from the impatient assclowns that kept honking their horns at her whenever she so much as tapped her brakes. It wasn't like she came to a full stop at any time, but when it was this crowded it was sometimes hard to distinguish the kids leaving their cars from the ones coming back from the mall, especially if they weren't carrying a heavy load with them.

A sudden flash of red out of the corner of her vision snapped her out of her thoughts. Without giving it much thought, she pressed down on the brake pedal as hard as she could. Turning to Jackie, Claire flashed a sheepish grin and a whispered "Sorry" before she turned to watch the other car pull out of its spot and drive off. As soon as the way was clear, she cut the steering wheel to the left and pulled into the opening, right in between a huge dark blue Ford F150 (on her side) and a small lime green Volkswagon Beetle on Jackie's side. It was a tight fit, but with a little careful maneuvering, she managed to squeeze in just enough to give her some space on her side to get out.

Putting on the brakes, she shifted the car into "Park" and turned off the ignition, more than a little happy that she'd managed to find a spot so quickly. She opened her door just a little before turning her head to look at Jackie.

"Here we are."

Getting out of the car wasn't so hard, once she managed to squeeze her way through the door without her boobs causing her to get stuck like they'd done last time she'd driven here. It hadn't exactly been her finest hour, especially with Darius there to watch the whole thing. Although he hadn't said a peep, she could tell that he'd been trying hard not to laugh as he'd asked her if she would "need any help" making her way out.

She had to smile at the memory. Darius wasn't much of a social butterfly, but she never failed to make him laugh, even if it was more by accident than from any intentional display on her part. He was sweet too, and in spite of what other people thought about his sense of humor, he could definitely keep the party going whenever he managed to loosen up a bit. Of course, maybe that's what they both had in common, since they both sometimes got on other people's nerves by being a little too loose with their language. Even she had to admit that his wisecracks could easily piss her off on a bad day, and whenever they argued about stuff like going out together for a night on the town instead of just staying home and watching anime, he could be surprisingly hard headed for a shy Emo boy.

Any further thoughts of Darius were shattered by the horn of a passing motorist. Turning her attention back to Jackie, she saw the girl had already made her way out of the car. With her attention back on the immediate future, Claire began to think about how they should spend their time together. After giving it a little consideration, she tossed out the idea of going to Hot Topic -- after all, Jackie hardly seemed the type to shop at a store like that. Better to stick with the media store, or the food court, or even the bookstore. At least those places held similar interests for the both of them, or so she hoped.

Resting her hand on top of the driver's side windshield, she looked in her seat to check for anything that might have fallen out of her pocket. She spotted some loose change, a few pennies that were threatening to disappear underneath the seat, but nothing worth bringing along with her. Before closing the door, she leaned over just a bit to press down the lock button on the driver's side control panel, which had grown so glitchy over the years that she had to press down twice before the locks snapped shut. With a gentle nudge of her hand, she sent the door falling into place, latching shut behind her with a final creak of protest. She paused for a moment, more out of a nervous habit than anything else, as she spared a few seconds to look at the door, wondering all the while if she'd forgotten her keys.

Feeling her side pockets, she was relieved to find a small, pointy bulge in her right hip pocket. So she hadn't forgotten them, good. Turning to Jackie, she gave a small nod before turning to walk around the side of the truck and down the pathway to the second level. There were a few students who passed her on their way in from the mall, none of them anyone she knew, and as they passed by her with their handfuls of plastic shopping bags, she started to think about what she was going to buy.

To her annoyance, she couldn't remember what it was she'd wanted. Looking back at Jackie, he saw the girl swiftly catching up to her.

Wonder what she'll be getting?

((Claire McGowan continued in Sights and Sounds and Kids All Around))