Chapter 14 - Mother's Plea
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Lisa then chose to approach her aunt, who was still busy in the middle of her dress tryout as she asked,
"Aunty, can I take Consuela with me to some other place, like the gaming section? You can come find us there after the shopping is done. Also, I have your phone with me for contacting."
Aunt Mary opened the curtain a bit as she looked at her restless niece, and then towards the politely sitting Consuela in the distance, as she pondered for a few seconds before she replied,
"Well... alright then. Your aunt here has only a few dresses left to try on. Um... twenty or something, I think. Well, you won't be able to give me advice on picking my lingerie, right..? Okay then~! You two can go to the gaming section. I will do my best to quickly get through these!"
Lisa's face became awkward upon hearing the amount of backlog left by her aunt to clear. But when she thought about her aunt and cousin, both being females and recalling her aunt's eccentric ways, Lisa decided not to think too much about it.
Happy at having received her aunt's permission to roam around, Lisa went over to her friend's side to relay the good news.
Consuela looked unsure about leaving the adults behind at an unfamiliar place, but chose to trust her friend and left the clothing shop as the two of them took the elevator to the higher floors.
Being very sure of her own capabilities, Lisa desired to challenge her gaming buddy to some good old arcade games. To be precise, Lisa wanted to challenge Consuela in a fighting game.
Just as the two of them approached the toy section on their way to the gaming section, Lisa found a blonde-haired girl staring into the display shelves of a store.
'...sav...e..her...pleas...'
'What was that just now?? Did someone whisper into my ear? Some older lady?? But no such person is around me right now. And Consuela doesn't sound like that at all. Am I hearing things now? How strange...'
'No wait, who is that girl? Do I know her? She seems to be around the same age as us. Is she someone from our school?"
Lisa didn't know why, but she couldn't take her eyes off the little girl. Sure, she looked pretty, even when dressed in worn-out clothes, yet there was something about the look in her eyes as she stared at the selection of dolls placed in the outer display shelves of the shop that seemed to trigger something within Lisa.
Lisa struggled with herself for a while before she gave a sigh of defeat and marched into the store, with her good friend Consuela following behind her. As Lisa came out of the shop some time later, she was holding a gift box wrapped with a decorative cover, with a replica of the doll contained within that the blonde-haired little girl had been staring at from outside the store with longing in her eyes.
'Geez, why the hell am I doing this? Am I into charity or something now? Consuela's case was understandable due to the system, but... what's with this now? That blonde-haired girl has nothing to do with me or the system! Damn it... why the hell can't I just mind my own business for once?!'
While complaining and rampaging around in her mind, Lisa maintained a poker face outside as she failed to rein in her impulses to not buy the doll. Having spent her precious gaming money on a gift for a total stranger left a bitter taste in Lisa's mouth. She even felt like beating herself up for some reason.
'Wasn't it like this in my past life? Haah... no woman ever wishes to be intimate with me, but they all cried out about their tear-jerking life stories whenever they came across me... those money-mooching gold diggers... And why the hell can't I refuse their requests?? Although the blondie didn't exactly ask me to get it for her, but...'
'Oh well... it's a purchase made already. And I already tore up the receipt earlier to prevent myself from returning it. Makes no sense to curse my past. Better get this delivered and move on with my life. At least it would calm my restless emotions from earlier.'
Consoling herself to just go back home and play on her charged-up GBA SP, Lisa approached the blonde-haired little girl, who was still busy staring into the display glass at a very specific sample doll, patting her shoulder from behind as she spoke,
"Hello. Someone told me to give this to you."
Done saying her part, Lisa handed the packaged box to the little girl and decisively walked away, not wanting to keep wrestling with her emotions any longer.
Both Consuela and the blonde-haired little girl stared at Lisa's rapidly departing back in stunned silence for a while, after which the blonde-haired girl directed her gaze at Consuela and asked her,
"Who sent this?"
Consuela looked troubled as her gaze alternated between the departing Lisa and the blonde girl as she spoke nervously,
"L-Lisa did... She bought it for you, Alicia."
Having spent enough time away from Lisa, Consuela hurried to chase after her friend, leaving a dazed little girl behind.
"Lisa gave this... for me? But, why..?"
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Seeing Consuela catching up with her, Lisa slowed down, as the two of them resumed their aimless roaming of the mall. Having lost the money to play around, Lisa couldn't head over to the gaming section and began to try checking out books in the fantasy section of a bookstore outside the mall.
As Lisa saw Consuela glancing at her with an almost constipated look on her face, Lisa spoke impatiently,
"Alright, out with it. Why are you holding your thoughts to yourself? Let me guess... it's about that girl from before, right? Yeah, fine... I admit it. I just did what I did on a whim. I don't even know that girl at all! And yet... and yet *sniff*... my gaming money... *sniff*... laugh at me if you want to. No need to hold back..."
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