Gretel went off to buy coffee...

...at the mall, after lunch, as what has become customary these past few days. She took her bag, went out the door, and started to descend down the stairs... Her steps were a little wobbly, because she was breaking in her new black shoes. She had actually taken them off for the first part of the day and had been walking around the office barefoot, but now that she had to go down to the mall and buy coffee (and pass by H.), she needed to cover her feet solely for the purpose of looking fabulously fashionable. On the fourth step down she accidentally dropped her bag. She laughed, partly because what had happened was funny and partly because she just realized how nervous she was. "This is absurd," she thought "I'm just buying coffee. Why am I being like this?". She gathered herself picked up her bag and continued to descend down the stairs.

As she turned the corner she could see a familiar figure in the distance and her heart raced. She looked away for a moment and looked back, the figure was still there. With her knees shaking, she went inside one of the shops, to calm herself and to look at shoes. Shoes seemed to calm her. Vans shoes most especially. She asked for her size, all the while thinking of what she'll be faced with once she steps out of the shop. Unfortunately, the shoe store did not have her size meaning she could no longer delay it, try as she might. Gretel had to face Hans.

And so with all that is in her, she breathed deeply and exited the shop. And as soon as she took her second step, it happened. She tripped and fell on her butt. Utterly humiliated, Gretel struggled to get up only to fall back down, "Fashion, be damned!", she thought to herself. Suddenly, a hand was extended and as she looked up, she saw that the hand was connected to that familiar figure that she saw in the distance. The one and only H.

Sigh.

Actually, the third paragraph is a lie. This is what really happened --

As Gretel neared the stall,

H: Hi, musta na?
G: *Smiles and puts her socialera mask on* Ok lang naman. Ikaw? Wala ka kahapon ah.
H: Oo nga eh. *Smiles shyly*
G: *Raises an eyebrow, smiles with a semi-pout, and keeps on walking* Namiss ka ng mall... (Sa loob loob: Ako din!!! Namiss kita!!! Gush.)
H: *Blushes* Oh talaga? *Pabiro* Shempre, ganon talaga.
G: *Smiles mischievously and walks past while looking back for just a bit and then flips her hair and keeps on walking... Bouncy curls and all.*

Sigh.

Gretel's a coward wrapped up in a tease topped off with curls.

What do you do with girls like her?