In Plain Sight

My head is clouded with lyrics to the new Taylor Swift song that is playing loudly over the speakers in the mall. This song is absolutely horrendous, but thankfully the music is loud enough to block any noise from the dressing room. I can hear Samantha rummaging around in the room next to me, but pay little mind to it. She's humming to the beat of You Need To Calm Down, almost distracting me from getting redressed.Pulling my hoodie over my head, I leave the dressing room. Almost as quickly as I turn the corner is when I bump into a large man with black clothing. His shirt reads "Loss Prevention."Great. Fucking great."Care to explain where all of your clothes went that you just had in the dressing room?" He asks me, grabbing my shoulder to prevent me from getting away. This guy is probably twenty years old or so. Hell, I might even be older than him. He might just look be a very large sixteen year old."Back on the rack." I lie, crossing

"If you didn't want me talking to Jackson, you could have just told me." Gracie says as I follow her quick steps outside."Gracie, wait. Please." I say, trying to stop her from walking away."No, Magnolia!" She yells in frustration. "You don't want me talking to Jackson and that's fine. I totally understand that! Don't pretend that it's fine though and then talk about me with your friends." She sighs, crossing her arms."Grace, we aren't talking badly about you. Julia just wanted to know if I was okay with you guys talking and I said yes. She went on to say that Jackson was an asshole and we all just kind of agreed. It has nothing to do with you." I assure her."It has everything to do with me!" She exclaims. "Listen, I don't want anything to do with Jackson if it means I'm going to lose all of my friends. I know you guys all have each other's backs and that I'm the odd one out, but I want to assure you that if you don't want me talking to Jackson then I won'

6 Months Later "He's perfect. Plus, he has money. God, he's rich. I deserve to be with a rich guy." Smack says as she passes the ashtray to Gracie. "It's not always about having money, you know." She laughs in reply."Yeah, but it helps." Smack answers."And what exactly is it that you're offering this guy? Other than sleeping with him, that is." Jackson says, taking a seat next to Gracie on the couch."That's all I need to offer him. Come on, look at me." She replies with a laugh. "I'm the best thing he's gettin." She flips her now very blonde hair to give emphasis to her statement. When Smack came home with a blonde balayage, I was completely surprised. I never imagined that she would go blonde, but she loves it. Hell, everyone loves it."Valid point." Jackson says with a nod. "Let me hit that." Gracie hands him the blunt as he takes a quick hit before offering it to me."I t

"Stay still!" Smack exclaims."You're stabbing me in the eye with mascara!" I groan."Well if you would just stay still, we would already be done!" She replies.

"Hey, it's so nice to meet you." Jonah says with a bright smile. "I'll leave you to it, then! Malany, it's so nice to have you here. Feel free to swing by my office anytime." Greg smiles at me."Of course. Thank you." I smile in reply. With a brisk nod, he turns to walk back down the hallway.