Chapter 2- The Shopping Trip

Alice was starting to settle into her new life in England. As the days ticked by, she was starting to get used to the chilly, British, September weather and the constant pitter-patter of rain.

"It's not always raining," Her Dad had told her at the dinner table once, "In the Summer, the weather is usually quite sunny and warm. The rainy spells are predicted to end soon, I hope."

Alice feverishly hoped so too. She was aching to explore more of London and due to the miserable weather, she spent most of her time confirmed in her room, unpacking. When she wasn't spending all of her spare time folding away her socks, she was helping around the house, hoovering the rooms and doing the dishes.

On one particularly bleak day, Mr Smith had finally reached a point where he had enough of being cooped up inside. He, like his daughter, wanted to explore London desperately, so he approached Alice's room and knocked soundly on her door.

"Come in," She said in a low voice, putting away several stray pairs of socks that were lying abandoned on her bedroom floor.

"Alice dear, I'm going heading out. I was just wondering if you wanted to come with me?" He offered, pushing open her room door gently. "Wow, it's neat in here!"

"Thank you," She grinned, "Where are you heading to?"

"I was thinking of going to the shops and grabbing some school supplies for you," He replied, casually, leaning against the door frame, "And get you your school uniform."

Alice stared at him for a moment, trying to interpret what her Dad had just said.

"Uniform? I don't understand?" She asked, blinking her eyes nonchalantly up at her Dad. "What uniform?"

"Your school uniform," He stated, unfazed. "Most schools in England have one."

Alice's insides did an uncomfortable squirm. The prospect of having to wear a school uniform filled her up with dread. She had heard tales from some of her friends that had to wear uniforms in America, and they all seemed much more like nightmares than happy fairytales. 

"Oh, I'm not wearing a school uniform." She said, dropping her jaw slightly with horror. Mr Smith sighed.

"Alice, honey. I'm sorry, but you must. It won't be as bad as you think," He assured, "But, do you fancy coming with me? Not just to get your uniform," He broke off, looking at Alice's crestfallen face, "But to grab some stationery and have some fun."

She nodded and pulled herself to her feet, looking slightly happier. She pulled on the first coat she could see, eager to see more of London, even though it was just a quick trip to the shops.

---

"WaterCreek Shopping Mall," Commented Mr Smith as he stepped out of the Taxi, "We've arrived, Alice. It's a fairly big place. We'll definitely get what we need."

Alice only could nod, awestruck by the city around her. She subconsciously undid her seatbelt and stepped out onto the crisp and wintery London streets. She saw Mr Smith hand the Taxi Driver a handful of coins before the vehicle drove off and disappeared into a mass of traffic.

"This way, Alice," Mr Smith said reassuringly, grabbing his daughter's hand, "Let's stop by Sainsbury's and get some food and stationery."

"Alright."

---

Alice and her Dad emerged from Sainsbury's, carrying bags full of food, stationary and comfort objects, designed to make their home feel a lot more comfortable. Alice had to admit, it felt really good to get out of the house. Although the downpour of rain had become even heavier, she realised that she was having quite a lot of fun exploring a foreign country. 

The air had become a lot more frigid, but Alice barely noticed. She was too engaged in exploring London. 

"Alice, the uniform shop is down there," Mr Smith nodded, tilting his head down in the direction of the shop. "I'm going to get one more thing from another shop." 

"Alright," She sighed, "I'll meet you back here in thirty minutes." 

"Sounds good honey, keep your phone on!" He called out to her, just as she had started to make her way down to the shop. Alice flashed him a thumbs up to show that she understood. 

Her feet splashed through the puddles of rain; she was soaked through to the bone. But to Alice, that didn't matter that much. She wasn't used to seeing such a heavy downpour of rain in her life, and she was intrigued by it. 

As Alice approached the shop, she slowly pushed the door open and stepped inside. She timidly peered around the shop, her gaze falling on a girl leaning against the counter. She was scrolling through her phone and had not seen Alice enter. 

Alice shut the door behind her and approached the counter, biting her lip.

"Uhh, Hello?" She asked the girl. The girl looked up at Alice, almost lazily, and rolled her eyes. Alice was taken aback by her rudeness. 

"What do you want?" She snapped, slipping her phone into her pocket. It took Alice a split second to realize that she was not a worker, she was merely a customer. A rude customer. 

"Nothing," Alice responded, in a low voice. She could feel both of her cheeks flushing red and looked away from the girl. 

"Time wasters," She mumbled, but it was loud enough for Alice to hear. She felt uncomfortable.

Suddenly a tall boy with wavy ebony hair appeared at the counter, carrying an armful of clothes. He handed it merrily to the girl and she took it from him, rather ungratefully. 

"I'll wait until your shift is over, Ray." She yawned, nodding to the boy. "You've got a customer to deal with." 

That's when the Ray arched his neck to look straight at Alice. He almost jumped out of his skin. 

"Sorry, I didn't see you there," He smiled warmly, glancing straight into her eyes. "What can I get you m'dear?" 

Alice could recall remembering how cute his accent sounded. He had quite a tinkly voice for a boy and it had a strong northern tinge to it. Alice could also recall how good looking he was. 

His eyes were upturned and bold and his smile was so broad, Alice felt herself smiling back. His hair was combed roughly backwards and Alice loved it. She loved almost everything about Ray. She loved everything from the way he spoke to the way he stood behind the counter, with his hands tucked into his pockets. 

"He asked you a question and you're supposed to answer," A sharp voice snapped from behind Alice. 

"Hey Emilia, it's fine," Ray said defensively, tearing his dreamy gaze away from Alice's for a second. 

"Sorry..." Alice stammered awkwardly, chewing on her fingernails. "I need a uniform for West Bridge Secondary School. I'm starting in a few weeks..." Her voice trailed off into nothingness. 

"Of course, what size?" He asked Alice. She gave him a shrug. 

"I'm from America so I don't actually know any of the England sizes," She admitted, "Sorry..."

"No worries, no worries," He said breezily, grabbing a tape measure from his pocket. He started circling Alice, measuring her arm length, her waist, her leg length and her torso width. Alice could feel herself blushing bright red.

When Ray was finished, Alice had already begun to fantasize a whole life stretched ahead of both of them. She could picture sunny walks along a beach together and cosy nights curled up on a sofa with Ray. She could picture dreamy theatre nights together and- 

"I'm going to head into the store cupboard to get your uniform that matches your size," He grinned, "These are far too big, one second..." 

When he had turned off on his heel and disappeared, Alice could feel a hand curling around her wrist. She looked down in surprise and saw the other girl, Emilia glaring up at her in vindictive fury. 

"Just to clear some... confusion," She hissed, putting a large emphasis on the last word, "I saw the way you were looking at Ray." 

"He's really good-looking," Alice responded dreamily, stretching her mouth into a smile.

"I would stop right there," She spat, "Ray's mine. We're dating."