Anthem City: Fall of the Possum

[Harri-chan]

Despite her blushing, she felt comforted by the ruffling of her hair, and she gave Amanda a shy smile. "I guess we need to buy some hair dye on the way home then... ", she murmured, looking back and forth between then two, "... if I'm really going to become part of the Hepkins family... ". Something about saying that aloud filled her with a warm, fuzzy feeling. Even though it was just Mother and daughter, Georgia had never seen a family that has as much love for eachother as these two.

[Blaze]

Amanda gives a small nod as a tiny smile spreads across her face. Suzie grins and pulls Georgia into a hug.

"Indeed. Georgia Hepkins.... has a nice ring to it." Amanda says with a giggle as the elevator dings and opens, letting them out into the lobby

[Harri-chan]

Georgia wrapped her arms around Suzie and squeezed her as the mix of emotions flowed through her body. It was going to be tough, it was going to be embarassing... but there were definitely positives. "Thanks", she smiled, finding herself letting out a giggle at the girl's spontaneous hug.

She only let go when the elevator dinged at the doors opened into the underground car park. "I guess this means I really will have to go to the dentist, huh, Auntie Amanda?", she asked with a little blush as a young woman walked passed them and into the elevator.

[Blaze]

"I guess so dear. Can't have your teeth crooked like that." Amanda says, slipping into her motherly tone.

"Aww, you'll be okay Georgia!" Suzie says, putting her arm around Georgia's shoulder as they head back out to he car. Suzie opens the door for Georgia to get in first.

[Harri-chan]

Rolling her tongue around her mouth, Georgia blushed at Suzie, but it felt nice, having all this closeness without it ever feeling awkward. She climbed into the back of Amanda's red car, and strapped herself in after putting her back pack down between her feet and the sleeping bag at her side.

"I'm gonna have to redo all my comic subscriptions... ", she murmured as she checked they hadn't bent inside the pack, and then looked up, seeming to wince slightly. She had no income anymore. Even though she'd already realised there would be no going back to her job... it hadn't quite sunk in how much of a change it would make to not have her own money. Her brown eyes watched Amanda climb in, and she chewed her bottom lip, "... actually, could probably go without comics for a while... ".

[Blaze]

Amanda gives a small nod as she starts the car and heads into the city.

"We have a busy day ahead of us girls. Need to get a bed for Georgia, arrange a dental appointment, perhaps some clothes shopping..." she says, ticking off the tasks on her fingers

[Harri-chan]

"Sounds like an expensive day... ", she murmured with a guilty look upon her face. Again she found herself comparing the day's plans to what she'd normally be doing and blushed. "I already have a ton of clothes in that bag, Auntie Amanda... and I have my sleeping bag right here", she reminded her, meeting her gaze in the rear-view mirror.

[Blaze]

"I know Georgia, but you need a proper place to sleep and properly fitted clothes." Amanda says firmly, leaving no room for argument.

She drives into the parking lot of the Anthem City Mall and parks in a space.

[Harri-chan]

Georgia looked a little suprised at the tone of Amanda's voice. It wasn't mean, yet... she knew the discussion was over. Slowly, it was beginning to feel like Amanda really was her Auntie. Climbing out of the car, she nervously adjusted her hat, watching the crowds of people heading back and forth between their cars and the mall, before turning to Suzie.

"I'll try not to embarrass you... but it's been a long time since I was a teenager... ", she whispered.

[Blaze]

"Pfft, don't sweat it Georgia. No such thing as a normal teenager. You'll be fine." Suzie says as she climbs out behind Georgia, closing the door behind her.

And so they enter the mall! Since it's Saturday, the place is packed with families out shopping, bored teens and the like. Amanda puts an arm around Georgia and Suzie and pulls them close.

"Stick close girls. Don't want to lose you."

[Harri-chan]

Every time Georgia thought she'd got used to seeing the world through the eyes of a teenager, something else came along. The crowds of people in the mall were rather daunting. She'd never been a fan of crowds, but it was even worse when she couldn't really see over anyone. When Amanda pulled an arm around her and Suzie, she glanced up at the woman with a little blush, and flashed her a shy smile. Her own skinny arm slipped around Amanda's torso, and she peered across her chest at Suzie. With all this close contact, she was starting to wonder how she'd ever gone so long without a good cuddle.

"Is it always this busy?", she asked, looking back to the crowds hesitantly. Her brown eyes drifted around the mall, but it was a group of teenagers stood around just outside the entrance that caught her attention. A few of them had skateboards, and one girl even had roller skates on her feet. The sight reminded her of the things she'd done when she was a teenager the first time, the things that had eventually led to free running... and The Possum.

"Auntie Amanda... if it doesn't cost too much... do you think we could get me a pair of sneakers?", she asked, glancing down at her black mary janes, before looking back up at Amanda.

[Blaze]

"On Saturdays, yeah. Maybe it seems busier because you're... you know." Suzie says, not wanting anyone to overhear.

"Of course we can hon. That's why we're here." Amanda says as she steers the two over to a clothing shop. It's one of those ones aimed at teens, with that manufactured attitude that all that chain's stores have because the head honchos heard that stores aimed at teens should have attitude. Suzie wrinkles her nose at it.

"Mom, can't we skip this one?" she asks Amanda.
"Oh don't be so melodramatic. They have clothes and Georgia needs clothes."

[Harri-chan]

Georgia looked back and forth between the Mother and daughter, looking a little suprised at which of the two wanted to go into that particular store, and which of them wanted to avoid it. "What's wrong, Suzie? Do you have friends working in there or something?", she asked, squinting through the windows to try and get a better look inside. "I don't mind where we get clothes, Auntie Amanda... ".

"Why don't you pick, Suzie?", she suggested. "You always look nice, and what I'm wearing now is yours anyway... ". Although she'd asked the teenager, her brown eyes did glance up at Amanda for final approval, kinda without really thinking about it.

[Blaze]

"Ehh, I just don't really like this store. It's just so... I dunno, manufactured? It tries to be something but fails? I can't put it to words." Suzie says. "But Mom's right. You need clothes and that's what's important."

Amanda nods and leads the two inside! Clothing hangs on racks all through the store and the counter is manned by a woman with hair that's been dyed purple. She has a nose piercing and is wearing all black. She watches the family enter and smiles.

[Harri-chan]

Without even realising, Georgia was soon replicating Suzie's nose-wrinkling expression as she saw the woman at the counter. "I feel so old... ", she muttered in a very quiet voice. As an adult, Georgia's clothes shopping experience had been limited. All she really needed for her Georgia Jones persona was some smart business wear, while the Possum had no need for anything beside her costume. Those times she was neither the shy secretary nor daring super hero hardly called for a huge selection of clothing either.

Still, she wandered just a couple of feet from Amanda's side, looking through a rack of hooded sweaters, "Some of this stuff isn't that bad... ", she said to Suzie, before moving over to the jeans. To the teenager who was used to seeing her Auntie Georgia in the evenings after work, still dressed in her smart skirts, blouses and tights, it was probably a little odd to see her even considering some of the things she was looking at now.

She started taking things off the rack that caught her eye, without really paying too much attention, and before she knew it, she was holding a bundle with several baggy jeans and a couple of tighter ones, a few t-shirts, and a small selection of hooded tops. "Uh... didn't think I'd picked up this much... ", she blushed.