Participants:
| Scene Title | Hell of a Shopping Trip |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Mel goes shopping for Kendall's birthday, discovers that she hates geek shopping, and scares a mom. |
| Date | June 9, 2010 |
Geek Stores
Melissa has absolutely no idea what she's doing.
She stands just inside the door of a comic book store, staring blankly. The covers are a riot of color to her, and the titles may as well be Greek to her. She doesn't know anything about comics. Or what kids turning 17 want for their birthday.
She groans, shaking her head. “What the fuck am I doing here?” she mutters, drawing the attention of a kid who gives her an odd look. She is clearly out of place here. Not only is she a girl, but who expects to see a Goth in a comic book store? Clearly not this kid.
The longer Mel stands there, the more lost she gets. And the more lost she gets, the more frustrated she gets. Finally she grabs half a dozen books at random and takes them up to the counter. The geek working might have made a comment to her, but the ticked off look on her face forestalls that, and he simply tells her the total.
Cash is given over, a receipt and bag given, and she stalks out of the store, breathing a sigh of relief once she's out of geek-ville. A shake is given, as if the place gave her the creeps, and she takes a look into the bag with the comics.
It's not enough.
Grimacing, Mel continues on, trying to think to all the movies she'd watched, and comments Kendall had made, trying to figure out just what to get Kendall for his birthday. Cards! He mentioned cards. Oh hell, now if she could only remember what sort of cards.
She slips into a gaming store, and all but growls at the man on duty. “What sort of gaming cards do you have and what kind would a kid turning seventeen like?” she demands, making him blink and stare for a moment.
“Uh…well…our card games are over there,” he says, pointing to a rack. “Any of 'em would work.”
Mel gives a little grunt and turns to move to the rack. Again she looks lost, and there's a little whimper. That sound has a little boy shopping with his mom looking at her. “I can't do this. I don't wanna do this. Why am I doing this?” she mutters to herself, which gets the mother looking at her as well. But it's a sort of disconnected interest.
The names seem to blur for Melissa. One is as good as another to her, but she's determined to get it right. Kendall's had a bad break, and she wants to do her best by him. “This is fucking ridiculous!” she blurts out after a full five minutes of just staring, which has the mother and son hurrying away to the other side of the store, despite the boy complaining because what he wants was back there, by the loud lady.
That has Melissa hunching a little. Oh sure, now she's wrecking the day for little kids as well. Could it get any better? She grabs packs of cards without even looking at what they are. Poor Kendall is going to get a little of everything. He won't mind learning a new game…or four…right?
It's not until she's starting for the counter to pay for her purchases that she sees it. She stops and a smile slowly forms on her lips. She may not be a geek, but there are some things even a girl like her knows Kendall will want. She veers off to the side and picks it up as well, before putting her things on the counter, surprising the cashier by the abrupt change in mood.
Maybe this birthday shopping thing isn't so bad after all.