Disclaimer: I don’t own Stardust & Little Manhattan.

OCs: Jim Thomas, Daisy Thorn & Michelle Thorn

Chapter 3: Mall Glitch

The two girls ran from shop to shop. They looked everywhere: every floor, every elevator…Except for the boys’ CR. As Daisy said her idea about Tristan hiding in a boys’ bathroom, Yvaine gave her a startled look.

“What, you gonna check the male comfort room?” she asked, shocked.

“Well…I-I was kind of hoping that you-you will,” she finished. “There’s such a thin chance that Yvaine will manage to get inside one of the CRs…There’s a thinner chance that she’ll agree about this also,” she thought grimly.

“Daisy?! How am I going to get inside those bath rooms? Did you even notice that I’m a girl, just like you?” she asked exasperatedly.

“I know that your female, Yvaine. It’s just that, I’m much younger than you and-”

“Much younger, my butt! I’m just two years older than you! You call that ‘much younger’?” she asked in a gangster sort of way. Daisy’s brows met.

“Are you alright, Yvaine? You seem to be-”

“I’m fine! Let’s jus’ go find Tristan already!” she said tetchily.

“Yvaine, really, what’s the matter? You’re kind of speaking in a thuggish way…It’s not like you,” Daisy said sheepishly.

“I speak like this if the need arises,” she answered shortly. She grabbed Daisy’s hand and steered her around a particular shoe shop. “Tristan’s not here…Let’s go check at the department store.” As they go round and round each shop, Daisy had her final fill.

“Stop it, Yvaine! I’m tired,” she added breathlessly, looking for a place to sit down.

“Don’t you wan’ to find your bro?” she queried, once again in a goony way. She too was breathless; although more irritated than Daisy, she’s rather red in the face and sweatier. Daisy gave up locating a seat. She stared bemusedly at Yvaine.

“What’s wrong with you? A few hours ago, you were a kind of angel and right now…Right now you’re speaking like Tristan whenever he has a prank to do,” she answered. Yvaine gave a sigh. “Let’s go find a resto or somethin’…I wanna get somethin’ to drink, boy,” she said tiredly. Daisy pointed at a nearby café which they eagerly entered. A waiter asked them for their orders and they both agreed to buy ice-cold Mocha Lattes.

“With whip cream, please,” Daisy requested childishly. Yvaine just closed her eyes then muttered something inaudible. After the waiter left their table, Daisy glanced at Yvaine. “She seems awfully stressed-out…Why, though?” she asked herself, puzzled.

“Yvaine, what’s the problem? I’ve been asking you a lot of times why you’re so agitated since we started looking for the loser. And I’m really curious why you’ve been speaking in a gangster kind of way,” she explained briefly. Yvaine only glanced at her then took a magazine from the table beside her couch. Daisy sighed.

“I’m going to text mom and tell her that Tristan escaped or something like that. If that’s why you’re so tense in the last few hours, I’ll tell her that it isn’t your fault that Tristan got away. Is that alright?” she queried coyly. Yvaine looked at the table intently. “She’s avoiding my question,” Daisy thought sadly. An awkward silence occurred. Finally, their drinks came. Yvaine coughed to get Daisy’s eye. Daisy looked at her on top of the magazine she was reading.

“You can finally answer my questions?” she asked, eyebrows raised. Yvaine nodded then sipped her latte.

“I’ve been acting weirdly because well…I was panicking,” she started.

“Why?”

“Well…Whenever I’m in a situation that I don’t know how to get out of, I speak my mom’s language…You see, my dad had a one-night stand with well, my mom I suppose, although they weren’t married…My-my dad w-was just joking around b-but they both weren’t…They both weren’t e-expecting to produce a baby…My dad was a doctor so he had lots of jobs outside Brooklyn where he and mother used to live…I lived with my mom for seven years until my dad picked me up saying that we’re going to live in Manhattan and told my mom not to show her face in our lives again…My mom’s often drunk at that time so she doesn’t speak well…That’s why I somewhat got her habits of speaking whenever I’m bad-tempered,” she ended quietly. Daisy was stunned. “Why did she have to tell me the whole tale? She could have simply answered, ‘My mom used to speak this way’ or just ‘A bad tradition in watching gangster movies’…I mean, what the hell was that about?!” she thought, mouth agape. Yvaine looked at her latte, stirring it impassively.

“Yv-Yvaine…Why did you have to tell me about your family? Not that I wasn’t interested or anything, but it was…Disturbing,” she added shyly.

“I told you this to get it over with. Sooner or later, you’ll find out anyway and, yeah…In all my life I was hoping to tell this to somebody so I can get it off my chest…I’m sorry for troubling you. It wasn’t my true intention,” she apologized earnestly.

“Don’t apologize, silly! I was just wondering…” Daisy smiled. They looked at each other; finally the awkward pause that happened before never occurred again as they pass the time drinking and chatting quietly. As Daisy looked at her watch, it was already 4:15 PM.

“Yvaine, we have to find Tristan. It’ll be hard, he’s the master of hiding and disguises,” she said.

“I thought you already notified your mom about Tristan disappearing?”

“Nope, I didn’t do that…But I was tempted to. I figured that we’ll manage to find Tristan…And, besides, you didn’t give me a reply when I’ve asked if it was OK for you, remember?” Daisy asked. Yvaine narrowed her eyes.

“Something’s up. What’s the plan Daisy?” she asked, arms crossed. Daisy looked at her innocently.

“That won’t work with me, Daisy. You have a plan and I think it’s something that involves me sneaking inside a boys’ comfort room,” she continued smartly. Daisy smirked but did not elaborate.

“Fine. We’ll stay here ‘til the mall closes. You do want to find Tristan, right? Or you rather be an only child for the rest of your life?” Yvaine told her playfully.

“I was kinda afraid what your reactions going to be. That’s why I didn’t explain at first,” she said. Yvaine made a look that says “continue”.

“Oh, alright. I think Tristan and his buddies are still in the mall, probably shoplifting or something,” she said. Yvaine’s eyes grew wide.

“Shoplifting?!” she yelled. Everyone inside the café looked at her. She blushed and spluttered, “No…I said, shop drifting…You know, when you shop and you drift at the same time,” she explained lamely. The older people present shook their heads while the minors muttered and laughed at her. Yvaine closed her eyes while Daisy was trying not to laugh.

“Go on, Daisy,” she egged her on.

“OK, but don’t go screaming again,” she teased her. Yvaine gave her a thuggish look (“Maybe she got that from her mom again,” Daisy thought.) and drank half of her latte.

“Let’s just please forget about what happened. I want to get out of here,” she added.

“Alright. I was planning that you sneak inside every boy’s bathroom inside the mall while I’ll be waiting outside, preventing people to come in,” she said.

“And what about the males already inside?” she asked skeptically.

“I’ll just exchange the signs that say ‘male’ and ‘female’ on the doors so you can explain openly that it’s the girls’ bathroom, not the boys,” Daisy continued.

“Hello! Their urinators or whatev you call them are outside. They have stalls like us but most of them use the ones without stalls!” she told her, annoyed. Daisy’s face fell. “I haven’t thought of that,” she lamented, infuriated. Another idea struck her.

“What if…What if you dress up as a boy?” she inquired excitedly. Yvaine was glancing outside the café’s window and then muttered, “No need for that, Daisy. Your brother and his pals are heading out the mall.”

Daisy looked outside too. “But how could they afford money to buy those new clothes?” she queried, looking at the new leather jacket and matching black cap that Tristan was wearing.

“Never mind that, now. We need to follow them!” Yvaine said. Once again, she grabbed Daisy’s hand and paid the lattes herself at the counter. “Where are they?” she asked desperately, looking up and down the streets as they got out.

“There,” mumbled Daisy, pointing at the direction on the right.

“Where are they going?” Yvaine wondered alound as they follow them quietly.

“Dunno…But knowing Tristan, this cannot lead to anything good,” she said bitterly.

Author’s Note:

Please let me know what you think about this chapter (review). Tristan’s in trouble again, but this time, he doesn’t know that he’s being followed by Daisy and Yvaine. Continue reading to find out Tristan and his gang’s plan!