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Penelope leaned back in her seat. "Ah... I was drinking... black tea, thanks." She gave Susan a hesitant look. "You should ah... well, go ahead and order then, we can talk about something else when you get back." She smiled. "Unless you have any more questions that is... I would ask what your classes have been like, but you know... It'd be kinda pointless..."

She felt a little uneasy. It felt like Susan was acting a bit... different, though it was probably just her imagination. Really, her reaction had been better than anything she had ever possibly hoped for. She guessed she had just been expecting something a little more negative, though she certainly wasn't complaining about it...

Penelope blinked, surprised. That certainly wasn't the sort of question she had been expecting. " Ah, well... er... It being summertime and all, I think that, well, isn't the whole long hair and layered clothes thing getting a little warm? Shorter hair and some lighter layers would probably make things a little more, ah... comfortable. For you." She leaned her elbows on the table. "I mean, I'm not exactly an expert when it comes to girl's clothing. Until just recently I didn't even bother to own any. But ah... I sorta know what I like I guess... A lot of flannels and hi top sneakers really. She shrugged. "We could go shopping some time... if you want. I mean, there is a mall around here."

She took a sip of her tea, wincing slightly as it scalded her tongue. "Now that you mention fashion, I actually have some colored contacts somewhere... I wonder where they went... Not that they really looked that good, though they did match my hair." She fingered a strand of her hair absentmindedly. "Thing is, when I switch, I end up reverting to a sort of physical base state... or something. If I have a piercing in, the piercing stays, but if I don't, it disappears, and my hair color changes back to brown too... " She paused, blushing slightly as she realized that she was babbling about her condition again. "Sorry. ah... so yeah, shopping. That's up to you though. I've spent alot of my money on clothes recently..."

"Slippers and dresses huh?" Penelope paled slightly. "Eesh. I've never done that sort of thing... I mean worn that sort of thing. I just... couldn't you know? My boy brain and... and whatnot." She tapped the side of her head, smirking. "The girliest I ever went was probably my swimsuit but..."

She trailed off, blushing a deep red. "Er... enough about that. I wouldn't mind heading to the mall later." She smirked. "Not sure if I'll be much help to you though... I'm just barely letting myself get into that sort of thing myself." She sipped her tea. "Is it really cooler in Japan. I heard something about it getting really humid in the summers. Though I guess there's a big difference between heat and humidity..."

"Ah... right. Yes, well, okay." Penelope said, taking another sip of her tea. "I mean, yeah, sounds good. Um... if you don't mind me asking. Er, well, when was the last time... you cut your hair anyways? Not that there's anything wrong with it being long. Just ah, curious." Well she was. Susan's hair was crazy long. It nearly went down to her calves. Hair like that didn't just grow overnight, how long had it taken? "Oh! and ah, well, is it difficult? To deal with I mean, wash and comb and stuff. There's just... so much of it."

She blinked, not entirely sure where all these questions were coming from. She assumed they were just things she had been subconsciously thinking about for a while.

Penelope had gotten lost about halfway through Susan's explanation. Well, mostly when she had mentioned a fringe. What part of the hair was the fringe? She assumed it must have something to do with the edges. Her routine sounded fairly time consuming and complex to remember to do every day, well, at least by Penelope's standards. She had never really thought much about hair care until recently, having spent much more time as a boy and all. Her hair always would revert to a base, healthy state, no matter how disheveled it had been before. Now that she thought about it, that was really a lucky break for her wasn't it?

"That sounds... complicated." She said, smiling sheepishly. "But it certainly keeps you hair, you know, looking nice." She finished off her tea, and set down the cup with a small clink. "I've never... really done much with my hair you know, besides when I had it dyed. It's just a little pointless you know? That is, if I'm changing back and forth too much."

"So..." she glanced around the cafe. "Um... I'm pretty much done with my tea. I mean, I'm ready to... we can head over to the mall whenever you want. I'm good to go." She glanced back to susan and smiled. She felt like there was something she was forgetting about, but she couldn't place a finger on it...

Awwww, Susan was blushing. That was really cute, especially with the ears. Penelope couldn't help but smile at her before nodding. "Ah, sure. Let's go. Just have to go pay for the ah, the tea." She stood, giving the note Susan placed on the table a confused look. Was she... putting down a tip? Seemed like a rather large one, seeing as they hadn't even dealt with any waiters or waitresses. She headed over to the counter to settle her bill, taking a minute there to fumble through her pockets for her wallet before returning to the table. "So... yeah, ready to go then? It's not too far from here...

[exit to mall?]