Runaway

Chapter 34

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~Uploaded February 11th, 2015

Christmas shopping was probably the most stressful thing to ever be created on this earth.

I mean, you have to make a list of who to buy for while trying not to offend others by not getting them a gift, what item would a person like, not go too overboard with the spending, but at the same time not wanting to get people something that seems too cheap. Then there was the gift wrapping. Which patterned wrapping paper? Should I put it in a box? Should I have it wrapped for me?

In my case, definitely. Gift wrapping is another thing I apparently can't do very well. That and shopping under pressure.

Luckily, we have Andie, the master of all shopping and things organizational with her planner, brightly coloured calendars and somehow perfectly written to-do lists. I could take a lesson or two from her.

But thank goodness everyone agreed to do a secret Santa thing, so I was saved from that struggle. Well, mostly anyways.

So here I was at the Conestoga Mall in Waterloo just as the stores were opening. I took another sleepy sip of coffee as I followed Andie, Olivia, Helena and Teddy across the parking lot to the doors.

How can they be so chatty at this time? It was barely nine thirty in the morning, and the subzero weather had my coffee freezing in its cup.

"Come on, grumpy." Andie and Teddy looped their arms through mine and half-dragged me inside.

"I'm not being grumpy", I grumbled as we put our coats in lockers. "I'm being selectively sociable."

"You're just cold and tired", Teddy said. "Give it another ten minutes and you'll be fine. So where do we start?"

We all took out our lists of who to shop for, and compared them. "We've all got different people to shop for", Andie concluded. "Why don't we split up for a little while, and meet up later?"

Helena and Olivia agreed and headed off on their own. I tried to make my escape but found myself pulled forwards.

"You're not going anywhere", Andie said seriously. "You're coming with us, and we're going to help you with your secret Santa and Dylan's gifts."

"Why Dylan?", I asked. "He's not my secret Santa victim."

Teddy and Andie gave me one of those looks that read "Don't give me that crap" all over it.

"Dani, you like the guy, and who can blame you? He's great", Teddy said. "On top of that, you're pretty close friends. He called you like family, didn't he? Why wouldn't you get him a gift?"

Failing to find a valid argument, I let them drag me through the empty mall, much like my brain for the past week. I mean, in what other condition was it supposed to be? I understood that Dylan wanted time to sort his feelings for me, but that didn't make the wait for an answer any shorter, or any less frustrating. I took another sip from my coffee cup as we arrived at our first destination.

"HMV?", I asked as we strolled in. I scanned over the aisles of racks, filled with CD albums, movies, TV series on DVD, random mugs and Dr. Who memorabilia.

"Sure! It seems like the perfect place to start, especially since Brody is such a movie fanatic." Andie suddenly gasped and held up a giant stuffed My Little Pony, which honestly seems a little redundant. "Isn't this adorable?"

"Uh, yeah, I guess? Aren't you a little too old for that though?" Andie stuck her tongue out.

"It's not for me, silly. It's for Hannah. She's my youngest cousin and is totally obsessed with My Little Pony. Especially this one. Guess which one this is?" She held up the pink plush toy for me to see.