Zian Hausi had made a mistake, a very big mistake, a mistake so serious that future generations of her thoughts would probably remember this day as the exact moment everything went wrong, because agreeing to go out with Hajiara was not just a simple decision but a full commitment to chaos, noise, unnecessary spending, and a level of public embarrassment that no normal human should ever have to experience in a single day.
She stood at the entrance of the crowded shopping district with the expression of someone who had already accepted defeat before the battle even started, her eyes half-open, her posture relaxed in a way that made it look like she might fall asleep at any moment, while beside her, Hajiara was practically vibrating with excitement, looking like she had just been given permission to cause as much trouble as she wanted.
"I have a bad feeling," Zian said slowly, her voice calm and flat, as if she was announcing the weather instead of predicting her own suffering.
Hajiara immediately turned toward her with dramatic energy, her eyes wide and shining as if nothing in the world could possibly go wrong, which was already the biggest red flag Zian needed.
"Why would you have a bad feeling?" Hajiara asked loudly, completely ignoring the fact that she was speaking at a volume that made at least three strangers turn their heads.
Zian looked at her for a long moment before answering.
"Because you're happy," she replied.
Afianxi, who had been walking quietly behind them, instantly covered her mouth as a laugh escaped, while Muanthas turned her face slightly to the side, clearly trying not to smile.
Hajiara gasped as if she had just been deeply insulted.
"That's rude!" she said, placing a hand dramatically on her chest, as if she had been emotionally attacked.
Zian did not react.
"It's accurate," she said.
They entered the shopping area, and within seconds Zian regretted every life choice she had ever made, because the noise hit her first, followed by the crowd, followed by the overwhelming amount of colors and movement that made her feel like she had stepped into a completely different world where peace did not exist.
People were walking in every direction, talking loudly, laughing, shouting, buying things, dropping things, arguing, and somehow all of it combined into a single environment that Zian immediately labeled as dangerous.
She stopped walking.
Completely.
Right in the middle of the entrance.
"I don't like this," she said.
Hajiara grabbed her arm instantly and started pulling her forward.
"You'll like it once we start shopping!" she insisted.
Zian allowed herself to be dragged, not because she agreed, but because resisting would require energy, and she was not willing to spend that energy on something that was clearly already a lost cause.
"I don't think that's true," she said calmly as she walked.
Afianxi laughed behind them.
"It's definitely not true," she added.
Muanthas nodded slightly.
"She will suffer," she said.
Hajiara ignored all of them and dragged Zian straight into the first clothing store they saw, pushing her inside with the determination of someone who had a mission and absolutely no intention of failing.
Zian stepped inside and immediately froze again, her eyes scanning the rows and rows of clothes, each one more colorful and complicated than the last, and for a brief moment she genuinely questioned whether people actually needed this many options just to exist.
"This is too much," she said quietly.
Hajiara had already grabbed several outfits and turned back toward her.
"Try these!" she said excitedly.
Zian looked at the pile in her hands, then at Hajiara, then back at the clothes, and slowly shook her head.
"These look like responsibility," she said.
Afianxi burst out laughing so suddenly that she had to sit down to avoid falling, while Muanthas covered her mouth again, clearly struggling to maintain her composure.
Hajiara did not laugh.
She looked personally offended.
"Clothes are not responsibility!" she argued.
Zian tilted her head slightly.
"They are if people expect things from me when I wear them," she replied.
Without waiting for a response, Hajiara pushed her toward the fitting room again, ignoring all logic and all resistance, because in her mind, this was a necessary process.
Zian entered the fitting room slowly, holding the clothes like they might betray her at any moment, and once the curtain closed behind her, she stared at them in silence.
"This is how it ends," she muttered.
She picked one outfit, changed into it with slow, reluctant movements, and then stepped out again.
The moment she appeared, the reactions were immediate.
Hajiara gasped loudly.
Afianxi dropped her head back as she laughed uncontrollably.
Muanthas blinked once, clearly impressed despite herself.
Zian stood there, looking completely out of place in something so polished and refined, her expression unchanged, her posture straight but unwilling.
"I feel like I have meetings now," she said.
That was enough.
Afianxi completely lost control, laughing so hard she nearly slid off her chair, while Hajiara clapped her hands excitedly, praising the look without stopping.
Zian turned toward the mirror, looked at herself carefully, and then spoke again.
"I look like I reject people politely," she added.
Muanthas nodded.
"Very professionally," she said.
Zian crossed her arms.
"I don't like it," she concluded.
Hajiara dragged her back in again.
"Next one!"
This process continued far longer than Zian believed should be legally allowed, and by the time she finally escaped the store, she felt like she had aged at least ten years, her patience completely gone, her energy almost nonexistent, and her respect for shopping completely destroyed.
"Fresh air," she said as she stepped outside.
Afianxi nodded.
"You survived," she said.
"Barely," Zian replied.
They moved toward the food area next, and for the first time that day, Zian showed a slight improvement in mood, because food was something she could trust, something that did not require emotional effort or unnecessary decision-making beyond choosing what to eat.
Hajiara, however, immediately ordered far more than necessary, and it took Zian only a few seconds to realize what was happening.
"Wait," she said slowly.
Hajiara froze.
"…Yes?"
"Who is paying?" Zian asked.
Hajiara smiled.
"You," she said.
Zian stared at her for a long moment.
"This is betrayal," she said.
And just as she accepted her fate and paid for everything, the world decided once again that she was not allowed to have a peaceful moment, because the lights flickered above them, the air shifted slightly, and the familiar feeling of something unnatural returned.
Zian closed her eyes briefly.
"No," she said quietly.
The shadows moved.
Again.
She sighed.
"I came to eat," she said.
But clearly—
The day was not done with her yet.