My friends oohed at what he said. I rolled my eyes and sipped more of my water. I would need more water if I kept getting embarrassed. Problem is that I was not at all embarrassed. I did not feel humiliated. I could care less if my friends embarrassed me until the cows came home. I would remain calm and collective.

When I say that I am not like other girls, I mean it. My friends claim that I an alien, and I said that if I were, I would not be friends with them. Aliens are geniuses. It made them shut up. I sighed and surveyed the mall. If only aliens would invade the mall. Then my life would be complete.

I reached in the pocket of my pants and pulled out this folded piece of paper. I have had this paper for a while. It has stains and tears here and there, but I still carry it when I go to the mall. I love reading it and imagining.

You are probably wondering what is on the paper. It is a list. A list that I created. I titled it "Dead Shopping." I gave it such a name because everything on said list has a good chance of you dying. You may be asking, "Carly, why would you make such a list? You are not a killer - are you?" I can assure you that I am not a killer. Allow me to explain.

Dead Shopping means what you think that it does. You will die when you shop. But you will not die by going to your favorite stores and restaurants. You will not die if you purchase the latest styles. You will die if a monster gets you while you are shopping. That will happen only if you shop - at night.

Again, I do not know if this is true. It is just something that I believe. I believe that our mall is haunted during the night. I believe that monsters shop and kill anyone who trespasses at night. A feeling in my heart is telling me that is true. Monsters are real and haunt the mall. I know that you think that I am crazy. I am losing it. But hear me out. There are a couple weird things about the mall.

Malls have security guards, right? They stay at the mall during the night to make sure that nothing gets stolen. And every store and restaurant has a camera. The mall guard or guards will check said cameras for suspicious activities. I admire the brave guards - if we had some.

That is what puzzles me. Our mall is big. Probably one of the biggest malls in the world. You would think that we would have security. Strong security. But no. We do not have cameras or guards. I could not help but find it weird. There was no security before my parents got the key to the mall.

The key to the mall.

I slammed my fist on the table as a smile spread across my face. I had a plan. A plan to prove that the mall was haunted and that monsters existed. It was perfect. I do not know why I had not thought of it earlier.

"Guys," I said. "I just thought of something. Would you like to stay at the mall for a bit longer? We do not have to shop or eat. We can hang out here or walk around."

"I would love to stay here until Monday," Sammy said. "But I have other plans tomorrow. And I frankly do not want to sleep in the mall."

"What if you slept on a sleeping bag? Or perhaps a nice bed? There is a mattress store here. We can rest on the beds however long we want."

Alice was fiddling with her cup. "I do not think that we can do that, Carly. We cannot lie on them because they do not belong to us. They belong to the store."

"We can make the beds again and smooth the wrinkles out. It will be like that we were not on them."

"What about our hairs?" Alyssa challenged. "Goodness gracious. They will be all over the pillows and sheets. It is just not worth the risk."

I squinted at her. "What is life if you cannot take risks? Besides, we have to sleep somewhere if we are going to stay the night."

Sammy put his hands on the table with his fingers and thumbs spread out. He looked at me as if I were out of my mind. I am not. "'Stay the night'?" he repeated. "So what are you getting at, Carly?"

I clasped my hands in my lap. "Nowhere except having a sleepover." My grin grew wide. "We have not had one in such a long time. I cannot remember our last one."

"A sleepover sounds great," Eddie said. "I am up for it. When should we have it?"

I was playing with my fingers. "Tonight."

Elsa rubbed her hands together. "Sounds like a plan."

I laid back in my chair. "But there is a catch." I glanced at Skipper. "Would you be interested in joining us?"

Skipper scratched the back of his head. "I do not know. I do not want to be a burden."

"Are you kidding?" Alyssa commented. "You are not at all a burden. We would be honored if you joined us."

"Then you talked me into it." He placed his arm on my chair. "So what is this catch?"

"We are not sleeping at a house. We will be sleeping at the mall."

Everyone stopped what they were doing. Elsa dropped her drink, and it fell on the table. Thank goodness that it did not spill. Everybody's eyes were wide.

"Shoot!" Elsa exclaimed. "Oh, shoot!" She scooped her cup up and examined it. She let out a whoosh of air. "It is fine. My cup is clean."

"So...what do you say?" I asked.