Mall Walking by Mitch wells17@gte.net Special thanks to Debra Jean Hopkins It was a perfect plan. In the morning, Helen asked Quinn to hold her purse as she answered the phone. Quinn looked in the purse and got an idea. She picked out Helen's credit card and mused about how she hadn't been at the mall lately. She hid the card when Helen returned. "I have to go, sweetie. I have torepresent your father's client in a lawsuit and he's coming with me. We're taking his car. Daria's out with her friends, so take care of the house, okay?" "Oh, don't worry about it, Mom." Quinn returned Helen's purse. When Helen and Jake left, Quinn looked at her other prize from her mother's purse, her car keys. She wouldn't be needing them, Quinn needed to get out, and the house wouldn't collapse without her. The traffic was light, so Quinn made it to Cranberry Commons quickly. She found a spot, but also found some competition for it in the form of another car. She cut the other driver off, thinking that the driver should have had more courtousy to give the cute the right-of-way. The other driver found a space right next to Quinn. -Now-, Quinn was worried. The driver got out, went to Quinn's side, and knocked on the window. From there Quinn could see that the person she cut off was female. She wore a t-shirt, faded jeans, and, when Quinn looked down, knee-high boots. Quinn groaned, this woman was quite a fashion victim. Quinn lowered the window, wondering what the other driver wanted. The driver bent over and Quinn saw her face. It was a woman in her late-30s, wearing an off white newsboy cap. This woman, Quinn figured, was beyond help. "You know," said the woman, "you could have got us both -killed-!" "Well," Quinn returned, "you should -watch out- for people who try things like that!" "Maybe, but you -shouldn't- have tried that in the first place." "Well, you...you're not my mother, so there!" "Actually, that relieves me," said the mystery woman as she left with a smile. It took a couple of minutes for Quinn to figure out what that meant. Quinn was at Cashman's, trying on outfits without Sandi's criticism and Stacy's praise for once. "Do I look good or what " she said to herself in front of a mirror. "Or what." Quinn turned around and saw that woman from earlier looking through the t-shirts. "You seem to be quite absorbed in appearance, you know." "What would -you- know about it?!" announced Quinn, "I'm the vice president of the Lawndale High School Fashion Club." "Oh. -Those- guys. So, you're Quinn Morgendorffer? I've heard of you. Nothing I've heard has done you justice. You're even more embarrassing in person." Again, the woman was gone before Quinn realized what she meant. Quinn decided to drown her troubles at Yogurts of the World. As usual, she ordered a vanilla with no sprinkles. As she sat down to taste it, she felt all her problems drifting away. "You better watch out eating that," said a voice behind her, "you're so thin, you'll waste away when you're twenty." Quinn -already- knew who it was by then. "Look, who -are- you anyway?" "Oh, just a cartoonist who needed a change of scenery. The name's Debra Jean but my friends call me 'Debbs'." "Well, why are you pestering me?" "Not pestering, just offering my opinion. You don't -have- to listen to me, although I -prefer- you do." "Well, I -won't- listen to you, so there!" Quinn sat there and closed her eyes. ----- Debra Jean sighed and ate more of her M&M covered chocolate yogurt. She had learned so much about Quinn, even through rumor, and was both disgusted and worried about her. Quinn had the type of life where, if she wasn't careful, disaster would befall her, the type of disaster that shouldn't happen to anyone. Still, Quinn had a lot of personality potential, but very misdirected. There was more to life than popularity, boys, and clothes, but that girl just didn't seem to notice. Debbs sighed and ate her yogurt. She was going to the art supply store that afternoon. The odds were against her meeting Quinn there. Debbs left the art supply store with some new pencils and markers. She spotted Quinn entering J. J. Jeeters. "Well," commented Debbs in a tone loud enough for Quinn to hear, "look at who's committing heresy." "Aaah!" Quinn regained her composer and explained "FWI...," (Debbs rolled her eyes at this) "I'm looking for a scrungie that I couldn't find at Cashman's. Uh, don't tell anyone." "Why? Afraid that you're friends will see you try something -different-?" "Grrr...!" "Yeah, I know. I'm acting like the Darien to your Serena. Of course, that would mean that a thousand years ago, we were -lovers-." Quinn rushed into J. J. Jeeters looking nauseous. Debbs smiled. ----- Later, Quinn was changing in Jeeter's dressing rooms. They were smaller than the ones in Cashman's the walls that separated them were less effective. There was plenty of space above each wall and enough room between the wall and the floor to see the feet of whoever was in the next room. Quinn changed back to her regular clothes when she noticed that some one had entered the room next to her. "Hmmm, cramped but plenty of air conditioning," the woman in that room wondered out loud. Quinn knew that voice. "Miss Hopkins?" "Debbs. Don't mind me, just trying on some jeans and intimate apparel." Quinn had trouble opening her door. "Oh yeah. That feels good." Debbs put her jeans, seat first, over the wall her changing area shared with Quinn. Quinn looked at the seat, thinking about how she was looking at where Debbs butt had been. "Ah, what the heck," said Debbs, as Quinn happened to glance under the wall and saw a pair of panties slip off Debbs' bare feet. "Oh, I feel so free!" Debbs' hand reached over the wall, holding the panties, and casually tossed them at Quinn. "Keep an eye on these, willya By the way, ignore the odor. I was thinking of a Lemon fan fic I just read." Quinn finally got the door unjamed and ran like the wind. ----- Debbs smiled, pulled down the cuffs of her jeans, and put her boots back on. She was surprised that Quinn didn't see the price tag on those jeans and panties, which would have told her that they were from the -store-. Besides, one was only allowed to try intimate apparel over other clothing anyway. Debbs shrugged and wondered if that last one was a little cruel. Debbs later went to the book store and got the latest Simpsons comic, all the time wishing that they would bring back Radioactive Man. She shrugged and left, seeing Quinn walk by with her bagged booty. "Taking your ill-gotten gains home, are you?" "How did you know...?" "I guessed. So, how are you going to tell your mother lawyer about this little AWOL trip." "Simple, I'm getting home before she does. Wait, how did you...?" "Follow me." They went to the parking lot to Helen's car. "Here." Debbs pointed at the licence plate, which read "SXE LAWR". "I recognized the licence tag," explained Debbs, "I'm not from Lawndale, but even before getting here, I've heard of your mom. She's kind of like a myth trying to be a legend. She might be where your attitude comes from." "-What- attitude ! Why have you been bugging me since I got here?" "-sigh-I'm not. All I've been doing is supplying color commentary. You never -had- to listen to me, although I prefer you did. You see, you don't -have- to listen to others' opinions. You should do what -you- think is best, but you're one of those people who feels that they have to keep -up- with what's popular just to exist. Life isn't all boys and fashion, there's also work, survival, learning, and that's just the surface. You're more than just a dress-up doll, Quinn, you're a -person-, and I think the only person who -really- needs to be convinced of that is -yourself- so you can convince others." Quinn stood blankly for a minute, got mad, entered her mother's car and drove off. I tried, thought Debbs as she entered her car and drove off, wondering if there was any e-mail for her at the Vista library. ----- Daria Morgendorffer had a fun evening. Besides the usual tirades with Jane, Trent, and Jesse, she came home to learn that Quinn was grounded. Apparently, she had borrowed Helen's car and credit card sans permission. Unknown to Quinn, Helen's client never appeared and the case was canceled, leading to Helen and Jake's early return home. Only Daria knew what happened to the client, he was on Sick, Sad World that night, being interviewed after the police talked him down from making a grave mistake involving his product. Daria decided to check her e-mail. She got one from her online friend Debra Hopkins. It ended with "Keep an eye on you're sister." Daria's reply ended with "What do you think I've -been- doing?" End