Chapter Twelve: Girls Day Out!

We were led into Soph's house by her younger brother who said in a bewildered tone that his sister is behaving crazier than never before! Laura & I sprinted towards Soph's room but we tripped & fell on the floor as we were just about to enter the room.

"Oww! What the hell!!" I groaned.

"These marbles!!" Laura said, fixing her spectacles back over her eyes.

Yeah! There were so many marbles rolling on the floor. We decided to crawl into the room instead of trying to rise to our feet which would only result in us falling down again! Sheesh!

"Well, I thought people usually walk into a room, not crawl into a room." Soph remarked seeing us.

"Even I thought people don't usually have marbles scattered all over the floor right outside their room." I said as Laura & I stood back on our feet.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I forgot about the marbles!" she admitted sheepishly.

"Whoa! Look at this! You room's in such a mess! No wonder this is an emergency!!" Laura said, looking around.

True that! The doors of Soph's closet were wide open with dresses, accessories, make up stuff falling outside & scattered all over the room. It was as if some wildest of the wild cat fight had just taken place!

"But what's the use!! I don't have even one proper dress to wear on my date!!" Soph sulked.

"You going on a Date????" Laura & I exclaimed simultaneously.

"Wow!! Where is he taking you??!!" Laura excitedly asked.

"Well....ah I don't know....!" Soph replied.

"When did he ask you out or rather how did he ask you out?" I threw the next question eagerly.

"Well...ah...He sort of didn't ask me out....!" Soph answered hasitantly.

"How did you two meet?" Laura asked the third question enthusiastically.

"Well...ah...We didn't really meet as such...." Soph grew more hesitant.

The eagerness had died to a certain extent at this point. By the time I hurled the fourth question, I was pretty sure something wasn't right.

"Hold on! Who is this 'He' that we're talking about? I mean, what's the guy's name?" I asked, eyeing her curiously. 

"Er..um, Richard....or maybe Michael?" Soph replied, or rather asked, sheepishly.

"Wait a sec! Don't tell me you don't even know his name!!" Laura exclaimed in astonishment.

Sophia nodded.

"And he probably doesn't even know you exist in this planet?" I asked shaking my head.

Soph nodded again, plopping down on the bed with a heavy sigh.

"And..uh, you're preparing for an imaginary date with him? Isn't that madness?" Laura asked amused.

"Hey! You two aren't really making the situation better for me!" Soph grumbled, "And secondly, he will ask me out for sure!! He is so freaking cute!!!!" she gushed.

I sighed, "Okay, lets start with the basics. Where did you see him?"

"Actually, he is in our school. I saw him playing golf today! He looks really good, I tell you! I really wanna know him!" Soph said dreamily, "And then we will go on a date....and then we will kiss...."

 O...kay? Laura & I couldn't really find the right words to say to her. We both shrugged at each other.

"So Girls!! We are going shopping tomorrow since its weekend so that when he asks me out, I should have a dress kept ready for our date!" Soph said, clapping her hands in delight.

"Ermm....not to be rude or anything, but don't you think you should atleast try & know his name first if not anything else?" Laura suggested. I nodded encouragingly to that.

"Oh what's in a name?! Come Monday, I will think of ways & means to get on talking terms with him but as of now, shopping malls await us!" Soph chirped gleefully!

Laura & I gave in. Shopping wasn't really a bad idea after all! We three hadn't hung out since a long time.

Just then, I spotted a photograph that was almost hidden beneath Soph dresses. I picked it up to see that it was a family photo which probably seemed to be taken a decade ago cause Soph looked extremely young in it.

"Hey! Doesn't she look somewhat like Susan?" Laura asked, appearing at my shoulder & pointing at the girl who stood extreme right of the photograph.

"Yes...." I said slowly, looking properly at the girl, "You're right. She does looks a bit like Susan!"

"That's because the girl is Susan." Spoh said quietly.

Laura & I were shocked hearing that.

"But how come she is in your family photo?" I asked.

"Susan is my first cousin." Soph responded in a low voice.

O....kay? I never saw this coming!

"Why didn't you tell us all this time?" Laura asked.

"That's because I didn't want to!" Soph said, "Look here, I've got nothing to do with her. We don't even speak to each other. She's snobbish, she's rude & she is the most pampered & spoilt brat you could ever come across. She wanted me to join her group & become like her but I declined so she looked down upon me. I didn't really have friends before you two cause everyone wants to be in Susan's friend list. Besides, after how she badly insulted Laura, I thought both of you would start keeping distance from me since I'm her cousin."

"Are you insane? What made you even think that?" Laura said, "I've said I'm lucky to that have friends like you & Andrea and I will still say that! You're nowhere like Susan. You are a great friend Soph!"

"Absolutely! Just that its hard to believe that someone like her could be related to a sweet person like you." I said.

"Thank you so much guys! I seriously had no clue how you would react to Susan being my cousin." Soph said, "I feel better now!"

"Aww!! That calls for a girl hug!" I said.

And we three hugged! Best Friends-Plus-One Direction-Fans Forever!

****

The thing is Laura & I aren't that shopaholic. So the next day, in the mall, we didn't hop in excitement like Sophia & other girls when we got to know about a sale on major brands that was going on. To tell you the exact details, Laura & I were not only running here to there behind Soph but also carrying her shopping bags.

"I seriously hope Soph finds a boyfriend ASAP cause I want to pass on the job to him of carrying shopping bags for her in future!" Laura said, holding four bags.

"Trust me, we're on the same page!" I told her, struggling to keep up with Soph while holding her bags.

"Wowwee!! Lets go in this outlet. They ought to have some great collections!" Soph clapped her hands in delight, skipping into the shop.

Laura & I sighed, following her. Soph picked up many dresses than she should at one time. Then she was walking into the trial room, wearing each of the dresses one by one, stepping out & showing it to us. For the first couple of dresses, we were giving her honest feedback of how she looked, whether the dress suited her or not. Until now, none of the outfits really matched either hers or ours expectations. When Sophia walked into the Trial room to try on the sixth dress, a mischievous idea popped in my brain. I quickly whispered to Laura what I had in mind. Her lips parted in a perfect O by the time I completed narrating my plan to her.

"But we can't do that!" she exclaimed, "I mean Sophia will be very pissed off afterwards!"

"Oh come on!! Just do as I told you, Okay?"

"Uh....Erm...." she looked doubtful.

"Okay?" I asked her again.

"Fine!" she nodded, giving up!

Yeah! Now the fun begins! Wink! Wink!

"How is this?" Soph asked eagerly as she stepped out of the trail room, twirling to show her dress to us.

"Well....ah! Uh...." I began in a very serious tone, "The dress is looking good on you but the problem is....er....don't you think its showing off your private assets more than it should? What do you think Laura?"

"I-I?? Yeah Yeah, Andy is right. S-She is right." Laura nodded vigorously in nervousness. I slapped my head mentally. She will give the game away!

But Soph actually took our words seriously. She looked at herself doubtfully in the mirror,

"Um, maybe you are right after all! I will try on some other dress!" Soph said. She picked up the seventh dress & went inside the trial room.

I somehow controlled my laughter. When Soph came out again wearing the next dress, it was Laura's turn to comment in a dead serious manner,

"Soph.....um, I think you look extremely thin wearing this dress as if you would be blown away the next passing wind. What say, Andy?"

"Absolutely! I couldn't have put it across in better words than you." I told Laura in a grave tone.

And then again, Soph did listen to us & went back in the trial room to try out some other dress! This went on for a couple of rounds. Laura & I kept on inventing some or other stupid remarks about the dresses Soph wore & showed it to us. Ultimately, she got irritated & tired of everything.

"That's it!!! I think this is a very bad day for me to come shopping. I might just consult an astrologer before I go for shopping the next time!" Soph sulked.

Not able to press back anymore, I fell into fits of laughter. Even Laura burst into peals of laughter. That was when it struck Soph that we had been fooling around with her all this time!

"Hold on a sec! I can't believe this!!! Who's the mastermind behind this??!!" Soph glared at us.

"It was Andy's idea to play a prank on you!" Laura quipped at once, between laughs.

"Laura, you can't blame me like that when we both know it was your plan!" I put up a shocked expression.

"Did you know Lying is not good for health?"Laura asked teasingly.

"Well, Laughter is the best medicine that I can afford!" I replied back in the same manner.

"I don't care who's prank it was anyway cause both of you were equally into it & I won't spare you two for that!!" Soph frowned hard.

As Laura had accurately predicted, Soph was pissed off.  Laura & I began to run with Soph behind us. We didn't realize when we ran over the entire place with Soph chasing us. It was like Tom & Jerry Show with the only difference being that Soph was one Tom and Laura & I were two Jerrys! HaHaHaHaHa!!!

Inspite of running all around, Laura & I couldn't stop laughing at the mess. We realized that even Soph by now couldn't help but laugh while chasing us. And soon, we three created a huge chaos in the shop. The end result--the manager threw us out of there! Sheesh!    

"Oh God! That was...That was mad!" Laura exclaimed, breathless out of running.

"I swear it! Andy, you're such a nuisance creator!" Soph said, "Lets go eat something! I'm damn hungry!"

I chuckled. Man! I never thought I could play a prank like this! Mark or even my parents would probably faint if they hear I created a racket in the mall! Oh boy!

We made our way to the Food Court. After taking the burgers & sandwiches, we sat at a table to hog them.

"Its a result of spending so much time with Drake! You might fully turn into a prankster if you hang out with him!" Soph remarked, sipping her coke.

"No! No! Never! You ought to be joking on this!" I said, shocked at what she said. In no way I can be like Drake! And I don't spend time with him out of my free will. In every occasion till now, I was forced to be with him in some way or the other. Damn!!!!

"You can deny as much as you want Andrea Wilson but Drake has started affecting you!" Laura said, munching her sandwich.

"Drake & I cannot stand each other even for a split-second, that's the truth you've got to accept." I told in a matter-of-fact manner.

My two friends shrugged at each other.  

***

We went looking for footwear after that. And man! the store in which we were in had all kinds of shoes ever made by humans on Earth. Be it all varieties of ballet, boots, heels, sandals, flats, sneakers--you name it & you find it present right in front of your eyes. I tried on a couple of them. I love kitten heels. They suit best with my height. After all, I don't want to look taller than the cute guys I come across! Ha Ha!

I tried on cone heels & walked a couple of steps. But I was finding it tad difficult to walk on those. I tried to balance myself but I tripped & fell forward on a sofa that was there with my face down! Oh God! So embarrassing! I looked around to see if anyone saw me falling like that but no one did! Phew! I quickly got up & pretended to never have had a Footwear Malfunction ever! Ha! 

"Hey Soph! Try these! Will look good on you!" I heard Laura say. She was speaking about a beautiful pair of red stilettos. Soph got into those. She loves highest of the high heels but this time she bit her lips anxiously. 

"What happened?" I asked, walking up to my two friends.

"Ermm....These stilettos are great but I think it will make me look taller than Mr X on our date!" Soph said, acting to wipe a heavy tear off the corner of her eyes.

Till the time Soph doesn't find out her crush's name, she decided to call him Mr X.

"I can so relate to you Girl!" I told her gravely, keeping an assuring hand on her shoulder as if she was going through life & death.

Laura rolled her eyes at our over-dramatic antics! Then we three broke out into giggles!

At the end, Laura & Soph purchased one pair of shoes each.

***

It was almost evening when we were heading out of the mall but----

"Oh My Gosh!!! Why didn't I see it before????" Soph exclaimed in a high pitch seeing a maroon lacy frock worn by a mannequin, "I want this dress! And I'm buying it!!!"

She rushed into the store like a hurricane. Laura & I sprinted after her. Soph took the dress & entered the Trial Room. 

"NOOOOOO!!!!!!"

Laura & I were alarmed hearing Soph's shriek from inside.

"Soph!!What happened??" we asked simultaneously, banging on the door. Soph came out. She looked greatly distressed & we instantly came to know why. The dress was tight & wasn't fitting her.

****

"I can't believe you bought the dress Soph! It wasn't of your size!" Laura said when we were walking towards the parking area.

"I don't care!! I will lose weight, become slim and go on a date with Mr X wearing that dress!!" Soph announced as she sat at the driver seat of the car.

"And how do you plan to achieve that?" I asked, getting into the passenger seat next to her while Laura occupied the backseat.

"Jogging obviously!" Soph responded, "So every early morning before school, I will go to Joggers Park & both of you will jog with me as well."

"WHAT!!!" Laura & I exclaimed, horrified at the concept of waking up at the crack of dawn to go jogging to lose weight which we probably didn't want to lose on the first place.

"But But But if I jog, I might lose all my flesh, become a skeleton & perish altogether!" I said.

"Exactly! And I'm proud of my weight, why would I want to lose it?????" Laura said.

"You two are great friends! So tomorrow sharp 5:55 am, I will see you two at Joggers park. Wear appropriate dress & sneakers." Soph instructed us as though she never heard our protests.

Laura & I slouched back into our seats, mentally counting the hours, minutes & seconds that we would no longer be able to dedicate to sleep atleast for a few weeks now!

We dropped Laura at our house first.

"Thanks to both of you!" she said, "I never ever had so much fun like I had today!"

"Laura! Don't you worry! We will have similar outings in future as well!" I chirped. Soph nodded cheerfully. Then goodbyes were said & next Soph dropped me to my house.

Girls Day Out it was, for sure & next it will be Girls Jogging Out as well! Sigh! Sigh! Sigh!

~*~*~*

Helloss!!

So here is the next chapter. Hope it was enjoyable. A big Thank You for those of you who voted & commented on this story till now. Makes me very happy :D

Any guess what will happen at the Joggers park? ;)

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enchantedgirlXX