Survival Of The Fittest

((Morgan Leftowitz continued from Looking for 'Company'))

Morgan really needed to get himself a cell phone.

He was sitting all by himself on a bench across from the elevator with a thermos full of a standard Chinese green tee. It was warm and ran down his throat in seconds. While it was delicious, it didn't make waiting for Jen any easier.

He had been waiting around for about an hour so he reckoned and there was still no sign of his childhood friend. He knew that they were to meet at the mall today and maybe get him a better overall look so that he could be a little more confident with people and be braver when actually talking with them, but she never said where they were to meet or what time.

Morgan was starting to get worried. Was Jen actually going to come today? Maybe she completely forgot about him today....not that he wouldn't be surprised...She could have had a great date and went on a second and was recuperating from a night of pleasure. It had happened before, he wouldn't be surprised if it happened again.

No, no that couldn't be it...She wouldn't abandon Calm yourself down Morgan

Morgan tightened his grip his canteen and took another nervous sip from it. He began to scan the crowd again for any signs of his good friend.

((Tiffany Baker continued from Roses Without Thorns))

There was a sale today at American Eagle, and that made Tiffany happy. Well, a lot of things made Tiffany happy but sales at the mall did it better than ice-cream. But not better than ice-cream cake, but those only turned up at birthday parties, which also made Tiffany happy.

She was walking, almost skipping, through the mall and past the elevator- wait a minute, that big guy on the bench there… was that Morgan? Quiet, timid, little (well not little anymore) Morgan was one person (of many) that Tiffany did not expect to see at the mall on a Saturday afternoon. She stopped to watch him fiddle nervously with a thermos, and then take a sip from it. Yeah, that was definitely Morgan; nobody else would carry around that thermos in the mall.

"Morgan!" Tiffany called out as she skipped merrily over to his bench. "What a surprise to see you here," she said cheerily. She eyed the thermos in his hand. Morgan was always carrying around a thermos recently, filled with some mysterious beverage that he drank from constantly. She had suspected it to be coffee at first, but the smell was nothing like the stuff her mother drank in the morning.

"So, what brings you to the mall, Morgan?" Tiffany asked, "do you have a date with Jen?"

Morgan was in the middle of taking another sip of his drink when he heard his name called out. The excitement almost caused him to spit his tea back up, but he was able to swallow it down, coughing a couple times, before screwing the cap back on his thermos, putting it down and attempting to regain his composure.

When he turned his head though, he was disappointed to see that, it wasn't in fact Jen Romita, but instead it was Tiffany Baker who was rushing up towards him. His shoulders slouched down but he was able to force a smile. Her company was by no means bad, just, not the company he had really wanted.

The two of them had been classmates since about 3rd grade in elementary school. While she was no where near the closeness of Jen when it came to talking to him. She at least continued to contact him every once in a while.

"Um, hey there Tiffany, it's uh- been a while hasn't it?"

His face began to lose color as she brought a mention of a date with Jen. As much as he would have loved for it to be true, that just...wasn't the case. More importantly though was the thought that he was being that obvious around Jen, he didn't exactly talk to her much in the hallways or anything, just after school. The possibility made him feel uneasy.

He waved his arms defensively in front of himself, as if to dispel the whole notion.

"No-no-no-no, I'm not on any date or anything, I'm uh, just waiting for someone, heh heh. "

It was a very bad half-lie, but something that he hoped would deflect the topic to someone else.

"Well, you're meeting somebody, so that's kinda like a date isn't it?" Tiffany asked, "I was just teasing anyway." It was kinda cute to see Morgan all worked up and flustered over something though. Normally, he was just a bit distant and quiet. At least he was now. Back in elementary school, he was more active and outgoing, and played a lot with Jen Romita.

"So, who are you waiting for then? What did you have planned for your ‘date'?" Tiffany continued, winking at the mention of a date again. Jen Romita was the most likely candidate; Tiffany couldn't think of anybody else Morgan was close enough to that he'd actually be out here at the mall waiting for them. "If you're gonna be shopping, there's a huge sale going on at American Eagle today, and some other sales at some other stores like Hollister or Old Navy."

Actually, it was kind of weird that Morgan was waiting for his companion to show up. The guy was usually the one that was late… unless it was a date and he needed to impress the girl. It was the only good reason for a guy to be at a mall on a Saturday after all. Well, besides those really fashion obsessed guys that would wear more makeup than she did, or those packs of basketball players pretending to be thugs. But Morgan wasn't like those people.

Which meant he was on a date. Right?

It's not a date...

Morgan sighed, while it was true that he and Jen were supposed to spend time together today, that didn't constitute a date, it was just hanging out and going shopping. Besides it made him feel better to say that instead of worrying about the boyfriend she was dating finding them together and ending in a bad situation or a black eye.

Still, it was going to be impossible for him to deflect Tiffany of the assumption that it was a date, not that he wouldn't try now.

"Well uh...I'm waiting for a friend of mine you see. We were just going to sorta hang out a little, they were going to take me shopping for clothing as well..."

He looked down to his rather plain white t-shirt and blue jeans, not exactly the look that would sweep Jen, or anyone else for that matter, off their feet.

"I kinda need it, or so I am told."

Morgan took a cursory glance at his watch, "But I don't know where my friend is, we never really discussed a time or place to meet at. Kinda silly of us, now that I think about it."

He shook his head and chuckled at his own stupidity.

"You're gonna be shopping? You've gotta hit those sales I told you about."

Tiffany really couldn't help but be enthusiastic about shopping. Being able to mix and match clothes of all types and colors was very fun after all. And she could buy those clothes cheaper when there was a sale. But then again, not everybody shared her passion for shopping. After all, Tiffany didn't like video games or action movies, but other people did. It'd be best not to overwhelm Morgan with shopping energy

Morgan looked down at his clothes to illustrate his plain clothes, and Tiffany's eyes followed. There wasn't anything particular wrong with plain clothes, but she had to agree that Morgan had that special kind of blandness.

"I saw some things at Hollister last week that you'd probably look good in," Tiffany said. "Maybe some of it will be on sale today. Can't say no to saving money on good clothes, right?"

Morgan looked at his watch and sighed about how he didn't even know where the person he was meeting was. At least that meant he wasn't on a date. What kind of guy plans a date without even setting a definite time or place? At least there was something Tiffany could do. She took her little pink cell phone from her purse.

"Well, why don't you call them and find out where they are? Do you need a phone? You can borrow mine."

((The phone conversation between Jen and Morgan has been approved and worked on between me and Killer_Moth))

Morgan's eyebrows raised when Tiffany brought out the pink cell phone. It reminded him of how much getting a cell phone would be a good investment. He looked up and smiled at Tiffany.

"Thanks," he said taking the cell phone from her and standing up, "Just a moment I just got to give em a call!"

He moved a good ten feet away from the bench so that Tiffany wouldn't overhear too much, she had probably already figured out that it was Jen coming to visit him, but just in case she didn't, he didn't want to outwardly reveal it to start the date debate all over again.

He dialed the number on the phone and waited for her to pick up.

"Hello?" Jen's voice came through the speakers.

Morgan excitement peaked up as she answered, "Hey Jen it's me!"

"Highpockets! What's up? I didn't recognise the number?"

He scrached casually at his chin,"Well...I'm kinda borrowing a cell phone at the moment, but I was just checking to see....if you were coming to help me shop today."

"Of course I am. You think I'd miss the chance to give you a makeover? Where are you? you want to meet me there or pick me up?"

A wave of relief went over his body, she was going to come today!"Oh uh, I'm at the escalator of the second floor right now!"

"Right now? Shit! OK, ok. I'm on my way. Where's the best place for you to meet? I'll be there in 20 minutes. Depending on traffic"

"Oh ok! I'll meet you at....." he paused, where was it that Tiffany said there were good sales on clothing? Hollander? Hollaneer?

"Oh! I'll meet you at Hollister! I'll see you in twenty-someodd minutes! Bye Jen!"

(This conversation will also likely appear in Minnesota Mallrats))

He closed the phone and couldn't help but make a small fist pump. Jen was going to be here and they would get to spend some time together. He couldn't have been more exited with the news.

He turned around to Tiffany and walked towards her, his face curved into a wide grin.

"Thanks a bunch Tiffany! They're going to be meeting us at...what was that place again? Hollister's was it?"

He handed her back her phone and then began to grab his thermos and his bag taking a cursory glance around the mall.

"So....uh....where is this place? As you can imagine I don't go there too much..."

Tiffany watched Morgan for a little bit as he moved off to make a phone call, but was quickly distracted by other things happening around the mall. A mother pushing a stroller carrying a ridiculously cute baby stopped by a bench to play with the infant. A pair of girls Tiffany recognized from her church waved at her as they walked past.

The next time she looked back to Morgan, he was walking back to her with a huge grin on his face. Whatever was said during his phone call, it was good news. He told her he'd be meeting his friends at Hollister. A good choice, as there was a sale there today, and Morgan would look good in the styles they had at Hollister.

Except he apparently had no idea how to get to Hollister. Tiffany couldn't help but laugh. "How do you miss one of the biggest stores on this floor? You must've seen it when you came up the escalator."

Tiffany made a mock exasperated sigh as she took her cell phone back from Morgan. She didn't really understand how people could come here so infrequently as to not even know where the big stores were, but then again, shopping wasn't everyone's preferred pastime. "Well, since you don't know where you need to go, I guess you'll need a guide. Do you want the scenic route? It's also a good way to burn off extra calories."

The scenic route was really just the long way around the mall, which Morgan needed to see if he was making date plans for the mall. It'd be hard to find a place if one didn't even know where to find it after all.

Morgan turned away and coughed at Tiffany's laugh, trying to hide a slight flush in his cheeks. It was true, he probably could have seen the store if he wasn't frantically searching for his friend. Still he was a man of priorities and shopping was not exactly high on his to do list.

Regardless or that, Morgan was just exited that he would be able to get some better advice on how to look good. The thought being similar to what he had heard occasionally on the television resembling something like, "If you look good, you feel good", or something like that. Besides with Jen and now Tiffany being able to possibly provide some assistance in this particular area, it would be all the better for him in the long run

He turned back and was able to eke out a smile, "Well uh, actually, I would kinda appreciate a guide, now that you bring that up. So um, thanks for helping me out Tiffany. "

He was incredulous to the fact that just walking through a mall could actually provide calorie loss. They were just walking after all, it's not like they were playing basketball or running a marathon. Still, the ability to find more possible shops that he could visit either on this trip or at a later date, so he didn't exactly find any fault in doing something such as that.

"I'm up for the scenic route...Just, you take the lead, me leading just won't work here..."