United again

CHAPTER THREE : MALL ENCOUNTER

_Ring ring! Ring ring!_

Rose groaned and rolled over, pulling the duvet over her head. Her phone kept vibrating on the bedside table.

"Who is it at this hour," she muttered, grabbing it with sleep still in her eyes. She squinted at the screen.

"BELLA?"

"ROSE!" Bella screamed from the phone so loud Rose had to pull it away from her ear. "Are you not ready yet? We’ve been waiting for 20 minutes!"

Rose shot up like she was electrocuted. The duvet fell to the floor.

"What? Today? The shopping?"

"Yes! The mall! Get ready now! We are already outside your gate!" Bella said.

"Oh my god, okay, okay!" Rose dropped the phone and ran to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth in 30 seconds, splashed water on her face, and pulled on jeans and a hoodie.

10 minutes later she came running downstairs, hair in a messy bun and one shoe half-worn.

"Dad!" she called out. "Where’s Mom?"

Her dad was sipping coffee at the kitchen table, scrolling through his iPad.

"Your mom is in Naira," he said without looking up. "Business trip. She said to tell you hi and be a good girl."

"Oh," Rose sighed, grabbing a bottle of water. "Alright. I’m going with Bella and the girls."

"Be safe, baby girl," he said, finally looking up and kissing her forehead. "Rex will drop you. Text me when you get there."

"Yes, Dad," Rose said, already running out the door. "Love you!"

---

20 minutes later, Rose stood in front of the shopping mall with her bag slipping off her shoulder.

Bella, , Elsa, and five other girls were already there, arms crossed and tapping their feet.

"Finally!" Bella said. "Every other person was waiting for you! We almost went in without you!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Rose said, out of breath. "My alarm didn't ring! And Rex got stuck in traffic!"

Elsa rolled her eyes but smiled and linked arms with her.

"Come on," Elsa said. "Let’s go before they close. You owe us ice cream for making us wait."

"I owe you everything," Rose laughed. "Lead the way."

They walked inside. Music blasting, lights everywhere, people rushing around with bags.

"Okay girls," Bella said, holding up her phone. "Selfies first, then shopping! That's the rule!"

For the next hour it was pure chaos.

"Smile!" _click_

"Try this bag! It looks expensive!"

"Rose, this color suits you! You should buy it!"

"Guys, look at this lip gloss!"

Rose was laughing so hard her cheeks hurt. She actually forgot about school, about Jaden, about everything. Until—

_CRASH_

Someone bumped into her. Hard.

Her shopping bags fell. Her phone almost dropped too.

"Ow," Rose said, looking up quickly.

Jaden.

Of all people in the whole mall.

He was holding a coffee in one hand, earphones in the other. He looked tired and annoyed.

He glanced down at her stuff on the floor, then back at her face.

"Are you always this clumsy?" he said, voice bored, like he was talking about the weather.

Rose's mouth dropped open. "Excuse me?"

Jaden didn't wait for an answer. He just walked past her, sipping his coffee.

"Hey!" Rose shouted after him, her face red. "Why will you call me clumsy? Stop that! Say sorry!"

Jaden didn't turn back. He just raised one hand like "whatever" and kept walking.

Rose stood there fuming. Her hands were shaking.

Elsa ran over immediately. "What happened? Are you okay?" She started helping her pick up her bags. "That was Jaden, wasn't it?"

"That guy," Rose said through gritted teeth. "Jaden. He said I’m clumsy! After he was the one who bumped into me!"

Elsa sighed and stood up. "I thought he said he wasn't going to come to the mall today. He told Tyler he had work."

"Me too!" Rose said, adjusting her bag. "Why is he even here? Does he follow me everywhere?"

Before Elsa could answer, a voice came from behind them.

"Hi, Rose."

Rose turned around. Maxwell.

He was holding two ice creams in a cup, both vanilla with sprinkles.

"Hi," Rose said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I saw you from far," Maxwell said, smiling and handing her one. "Thought you might want this. Vanilla, your favorite, right?"

"Oh, thank you," Rose said, taking it. The ice cream was already melting a little. "That's so nice of you."

Maxwell kept talking, walking beside her. "So how's school been? Are you settling in? Are the teachers treating you well? I heard Miss Florence is strict—"

But Rose wasn't really listening.

Her eyes had drifted past him. To the shoe section.

Jaden was standing there. He wasn’t looking at her.

But when he turned slightly to pick up a shoe box, his eyes met hers for one second.

Cold. Blank.

Then he looked away like she was nothing.

Rose frowned. _Why did he look at me like that? Why does he always look at me like that?_

"Rose?" Maxwell waved a hand in front of her face. "Are you listening to me?"

"Oh! Sorry," Rose said quickly, snapping out of it. "I have to go with my friends now. Thank you for the ice cream though."

Maxwell's smile dropped a little. "Oh. Okay."

He shoved his hands in his pockets. "Alright. See you in school."

He walked away, looking annoyed and disappointed.

From behind a clothing rack, Paige had been watching the whole thing. She rolled her eyes and turned to Bella.

"Did you see that?" Paige muttered. "She didn't even look at him. Only focus on Jaden. That made him angry. And it made me angry too iv always like Maxwell but he just sees me as a quick f**k dammn it its frustrating."

Bella shrugged, checking her nails. "Let her. Jaden doesn't care about anyone. And Rose doesn't care about Maxwell. It's not her fault."

"Still," Paige said. "It's embarrassing."

---

Two hours later.

"Okay, that's enough shopping for today," Bella said, holding like 5 bags in both hands. "My hands are dying. My card is crying."

"Same," Elsa said, laughing. "Let's go home before we spend our school fees."

They all said their goodbyes at the mall entrance, hugging and promising to send pictures.

"See you on Monday!" Bella shouted.

"Monday!" they all chorused.

Rose got into Rex's car and leaned back against the seat. She was tired, but her mind wasn't quiet.

_Clumsy._

_Why did he look at me like that?_

_And why do I care? I should hate him._

Her phone buzzed in her bag.

Elsa: `Did you see Maxwell's face? 😂 He looked so sad`

Rose: `Don't 😭 I feel bad now`

Elsa: `And did you see Jaden?? 👀 He was staring`

Rose: `He wasn't staring. I hate him.`

Elsa: `Sure you do 😉 See you Monday, rival girl`

Rose tossed her phone aside and closed her eyes. The car was quiet except for music.

Next Monday couldn't come fast enough. And she hated that part of her was looking forward to it.