Chapter 17: 14 [a uniqlo secret]

“So, you guys are going to Uniqlo to shop for clothes?” Seberas asked curiously. 

“Yeah, itʼs a little too early for us to go home,” I lied, shifting my leg to hide the wet stain on my pants. 

He exchanged a quick glance with Yong Yu before nodding his head at Terasia and me. “Then, I will be heading home with Yong Yu first.”

“Sorry that we made you two wait outside Saize for so long just now,” Terasia quickly apologised. 

“Nah, it’s no big deal, don’t fret over it.” He paused and scratched his chin. “Right, I forgot to ask you about the time and day of our next meeting…”

“I’m completely free over the weekend,” she replied with a carefree smile. “Anytime will do.” 

“Hmm…then, are you guys okay with meeting on Sunday after lunch?” Seberas suggested after a moment’s thought. “Say, somewhere around 2 to 3 PM? That way, we can all go back home before dinner.” 

“Sounds good to me,” Yong Yu said. I nodded my head in agreement as well. 

“That’s settled then! Terasia, thanks again for inviting us to your house, I really appreciate it.” He flashed the both of us a wide grin. “Catch you guys later!” 

With an amused smile, Terasia watched the pair make their way down to the escalator and disappear into the sea of people on the ground floor. “Seberas’ a really energetic boy, isn’t he?”

“It’s a common trait among the guys in the Badminton club,” I explained with a laugh. “Come on, let’s go buy some new clothes to change into that won’t look as drab as our school uniforms.” 

The clothing store was located right opposite Saize, so thankfully we did not have to walk for long to reach it. An assistant, who looked like she could have been the same age as us, greeted us with a loud and cheerful “welcome to Uniqlo!” in front of the entrance. Once inside, we found ourselves in a spacious well-lit interior with wide aisles and a seemingly endless array of apparel in all styles, sizes and colours. 

“Woah…humans really do make wonderful things out of their lives sometimes,” Terasia remarked as she gazed at the row of beautifully dressed-up mannequins placed near the entrance. “Avery, what do you think of that dress?” 

I looked at the mannequins curiously. “Which one?” 

“The second one from the left.” Her eyes sparkled like emeralds reflecting the spotlight. “Don’t you think that her dress looks so cute?” 

I took in the black backless bodycon dress, with a plunging lace neckline and satin ribbon empire waist, which adorned the mannequin she had pointed out. My mind imagined Terasia in the dress, her curves accentuated perfectly in all the right places, and I could not help but sigh in jealousy and admiration. 

“It’d look gorgeous on you.” 

“Really?” she said, beaming. “Then, I shall buy this dress just for you.”

“Now?” I gave her an astonished look. “Y-you’re going home in this?”

Giggling softly, she winked at me with an enigmatic smirk. “Of course not, such a nice dress should be reserved for special occasions.”

“Ah…” I raised an eyebrow as we made for the nearest aisle, which belonged to the women’s section. Terasia happily picked a few clothes from the rack as we strolled past. 

“Avery, does this skirt look good on me?” she hummed, holding a mint-green pleated skirt which fell to her ankles before her. It was made out of a light and flowy chiffon material, the pleats adding a touch of femininity to a simple yet stylish design that created a flattering silhouette.

I subconsciously smiled. “If I have to be honest, Terasia, everything looks good on you.” 

“I know that,” she said loftily while she posed in front of a full-length mirror. “But I want you to praise me more. Go on, I’m waiting.”

“Sure, sure,” I replied with a laugh. “There, I’ve given you my praise.”

“I want to hear the actual words coming out from your mouth.” She pouted in an admittedly cute manner. “Ah, I think I’m missing the top…but what kind of top will go well with this skirt?”

“A blouse?” I suggested. 

She grabbed a lilac-coloured ruffle crop top from a nearby shelf and showed it to me excitedly. “What about this? Light purple contrasts nicely with the mint green too, don’t you think?”

“Mhm, the two colours definitely complement each other well,” I commented, nodding my head in approval. 

“I’ll go try these two out first.” She placed the skirt and crop top into a basket and glanced up at me curiously. “You sure you don’t want to get a pair of new pants?” 

“W-well, I mean…” Embarrassed, I shyly averted my eyes. “It’s pretty much dry already…” 

She made a “hmm” noise in response and smiled teasingly. “You prefer it to be wet, don’t you?”

“S-stop it, we can’t keep doing that in public…” I put up a weak protest as she pulled me towards the back of the store where the changing rooms were located. Though there was an assistant stationed at the counter outside, with a simple spell of hers, we easily slipped past the sleeping guy and entered an empty cubicle. 

“Can you hold this basket for me?” She passed me her basket and began unbuttoning her uniform blouse without a shred of hesitation.  

By this point, I wasn’t surprised by her lack of decency anymore. What was surprising to me, however, was the fact that she bothered to wear a bra but not panties. 

“But if I don’t, it’ll be so obvious through my blouse that everyone will be staring…” she said when I pointed it out, blushing as she slid her blouse off her shoulders. “I got scolded real bad because of that once.” 

“So, you’re like a half-exhibitionist?” I asked with a wry smile. 

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“I…no, I just feel strange wearing underwear under my clothes all the time,” she mumbled shyly. “Especially when I’m around someone I’m comfortable with, you know. It’s not something that we demons usually do when we’re in our human forms.” 

“Huh, I didn’t know that…” I caught the blouse that she tossed in my direction, shortly followed by her skirt which felt damp and cool to the touch. 

“You can keep those if you want to,” she said in a playful taunt. 

“I rather not do your laundry for you,” I said, passing her the basket. 

“Aw, what a shame. It’s not every day that you get a gift from the Demon Lord Lukterasia.” While saying such nonsense, she tried on the crop top and skirt together. “Oh, the skirt is a little loose around my waist. Let me just fix that quickly…mhm, now it looks much better.”

She twirled around to face me, her skirt swishing out in a captivating circle around her. “Hmm?”

“Hmm?” I absently repeated to tease her a little bit. 

“Hey, I can tell that you know what I’m trying to ask,” she said, pouting in a sour voice. 

I chuckled and nodded my head. “Yes, you look absolutely cute and stunning in that outfit.”

She broke into a roguish grin and bounced over to me, hugging my arm to her in such a way as to press it against her soft breasts. “I know, right?”

“Alright, alright, you don’t have to be close.” I jokingly pushed her away a little as we exited the cubicle. “Let’s go to the cashier to make the payment and go home before it gets too late.”

“P…payment?” Terasia’s face suddenly paled. 

“Woi, you again…” I sighed and reluctantly took out my wallet. “Since this is technically an unforeseen circumstance, I’ll pay for your clothes this time, alright?” 

 

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“Good afternoon, thank you for travelling with SMRT. We wish you a pleasant journey,” the disembodied robotic lady voice cheerfully announced. “Attention please, the train at Platform A terminates its service at this station. Passengers heading for Ang Mo Kio and beyond, please wait for the next train…” 

“You know, I’ve been hearing about this ‘SMRT’ guy while taking the train every day, but who exactly are they?” Terasia asked in an absent-minded voice while we stood in front of the subway map, a large Uniqlo paper bag swaying carefreely under her left arm. “Are they someone famous? Like, the king of trains or something.”

“Singapore…something something Transit.” I frowned as I tried to recall such a niche knowledge in my mind. “Mass Rapid Transit, if I’m not wrong. I guess you’re right in the sense that they own the railway, but they’re a corporation, not just a single individual.” 

“Corporation? What even is that? Human things are just too complicated sometimes.” 

“Well, I can’t say that I disagree with you, but that’s just how this world works…” 

She made a “oh” sound and resumed her quiet contemplation of the map. The train soon pulled into the station, thundering past us before screeching to a halt along the sun-drenched platform. The announcement for the train played again over the speakers, its words lost in the hiss of the doors sliding open, the sounds of conversation and hurried footsteps. A cool breeze from the train’s air-conditioning wafted past us, cooling my face and stirring Terasia’s ponytail like a lover’s gentle caress.

Then the departure chime rang, the doors closed with a resounding thud and the train accelerated out of the station in a screaming rush of wind. Before the dust had even settled, the announcement for the next train came. 

“Attention please, the train at Platform A will end its service at Jurong East, Platform D…for your safety, please stand behind the yellow line…”

Terasia looked up to glance at me briefly. “Say, Avery, the train line that we take every day is called the North-South line, isn’t it?”

“Mm-hmm, it’s the bright red line on the map.” 

“Have you ever taken the other train lines?” 

“Not usually, unless I have someplace specific to go that isn’t near the North-South line.” I gave her a questioning look. “Why do you ask?”

“I was just thinking…I haven’t really explored this country since coming here,” she said, fiddling with her fingers nervously. “So, I want to try travelling around the entirety of Singapore one day.” 

“Oh…” I looked at her and a thought suddenly came into my head. With a slight smile, I said, “since we don’t have any homework to do over the weekend, why don’t we go out and explore tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow?!” she exclaimed; I could see the eagerness written all over Terasia’s face as she met my eyes with an excited gleam. “R-really?”

I nodded my head. “Yep, tomorrow.”

“YES!” She almost jumped in anticipation. “Avery, Avery, are we going out for the whole day?” 

“Well, if you insist,” I said, chuckling softly. “Just remember to bring out enough money with you. I’m telling you first, I’m not going to pay for all your meals tomorrow.”  

“What a cheapskate.” Terasia stuck her tongue out. “You cheapskate of a Hero!”

“You—oh, you’re asking for it!” I made a lunge for her, but she skillfully dodged my arms and began running for her life. 

“Stingy Stefania!” she shouted as we began a mock chase on the platform, the loud rumble of the approaching train drowning out our shrieks and laughter.

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