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Amara's phone was ringing, and she definitely did not want to answer it. The ringtone told her a la Pink Floyd that it was someone from the school calling. As she fished it out of her purse, it jauntily sang out with: "Hey teacher, leave them kids alone!" She liked the song, but it definitely wasn't what she wanted to hear right now. "What? What is it?" she asked as she flipped the phone open, bringing it to her ear. "..." A %$*#ing recording? If they were going to go to the trouble of calling her and interrupting the shopping spree that she was taking refuge in, they should have at least had the decency to put a real person on the line. "Son of a $%*#@!" As if she needed the school to inform her that she had missed her chemistry lab.

During the course of the phonecall, she didn't slow down her forward momentum for a moment, so it was no real surprise when she came hurtling into someone again. "$*#@!" The phone fell from her hand, and landed (though some stroke of incredible luck) right back into her purse. Well, it was a big purse, so maybe that was understandable. "... Hi there," Amaravati said, tilting her head to the side to observe the young man that she'd just crashed headlong into. "I don't think we've met before. Sorry about that, by the way. I wasn't looking where I was going." Again. What in the world was he wearing on his head? Were those glowsticks? Really?

Amara stared at Demy.

Amara stared at Demy some more.

... Amara was still staring at Demy.

"Err... thank you?" What? Had he just handed her a glowstick? Really? From right off of his ... crown-thing? Blinking, she held it gingerly in her hand, as if trying to decide what to do with it. That... was unexpected. Run into people? Yes. Bowl them over? Yes. Receive random, un-looked for glowsticks? ... Not so much. Right, so, what was she going to do with it? And most importantly, why had she taken it from him in the first place?

It was about that far into her thinking process that her manners (yes, Amara did in fact have manners) kicked in, and she automatically returned the greeting. "No, we haven't meant. My name's Amaravati. Most people call me Amara, though." She was, in fact, so surprised that she didn't even swear. "I kind of was having a bad day. Or at least, I was having a pretty good day until I got a call from my school." At which point her day had taken an abrupt 180. Reaching up, she hooked the glowstick to the ribbon tied around her throat in lieu of a necklace.

It wasn't just every day that someone gave Amara a glowstick. Or, you know, anything at all. So, she figured... why not repay the favor? "Say... do you like shopping?" she asked, glancing at her new acquaintance with faint curiosity. He seemed a little strange, but not in a way that was off-putting, really. ... Ha. It was a safe bet that anyone she asked in a mall would like shopping, but still. Worth asking regardless. She had only just started shopping today, so she didn't have a huge bundle of bags with her. That was a small blessing, considering that she had ran roughshod into him. On an ordinary day, she might have sent packages sprawling all over the walkway.

"Yeah, schools don't normally call you, but they have my number instead of my parents, and I kind of ditched the lab today." Which she still didn't regret-- she had needed the break. What Amaravati needed, she took when it came to that kind of thing. It applied pretty generally too, but even she had her limits. "Why's it gotta be good?" He seemed so enthusiastic that she just couldn't stop herself from engaging, from asking him more questions, and trying to keep apace with his energetic demeanor. That same enthusiasm drew a faint smile from the young woman, and she had to keep from snorting when he fussed with his hair.

Amaravati let out a peal of laughter, the sound surprisingly pleasant coming from a girl who tended to swear in copious amounts. He was singing. Right out in the middle of the walkway, just singing to himself, and somehow it was charming. It startled another smile out of Amara, this one broader than before. "Say, since you like shopping so much, why don't you come along with me? I haven't been shopping with anyone in ages. You simply cannot understand how devastating that is." Prattling on with him as though he were her new best friend (and perhaps he would be!), she drew him along toward one of her favorite stores before she had so much as gotten an answer out of him. Whatever, it was not like he'd mind, right? Right.

Of course right! Idly linking an arm with Demy, she led him to a store that had a bright neon sign. "So, this one has a lot of shiny things in it. What kind of shiny, glowing things do you like? They have the most awesome %#$#ing shoes, I am telling you. It's crazy. I have these boots that light up and the lights switch between the different colors of the rainbow. I don't wear them all that often, except when I go clubbing." But when she went clubbing, they were divine. "I know! We'll pick you up some shoes, and you can help me find some as well. I'm running low on shoes this week..." Did she mean this week? Surely Amaravati didn't need a new pair every week? ... But yes, yes she did.

Shoes were to die for, after all. "I don't really play video games, but I've got all the consoles. I used to play Mario, back in the day." And babbling, still babbling. "So, what game were you checking in the arcade?" She was only a little curious, but enough so that she wanted to know. From his behavior, she wanted to guess that it was either DDR, or GH, but she could've been way, way off. Sure, she knew a little about video games... so sue her? It was tempting to reach out and pat Demy. He was so much like a hyperactive puppy that she had to firmly remind herself that most people did not like to be randomly touched.

"What?" ... Then it registered. He thought she expected him to buy the shoes. "No, no. I mean, I could get you a pair of shoes like that, if you like them so much. It's not like I spend my money on much these days..." Much else, anyway. She liked buying shoes. She had an amazing shoe collection, in point of fact. "I wouldn't ask you to go shopping with me and then expect you to pay for it." Not that he would know, really, would he? They had just met, after all. "I'm from Crystal. I've got money put aside, and more besides. Seriously, it's no big." It was not at all a big deal. One single pair of shoes was not going to break the bank. Besides, she was lonely.

"Well, I won't make you try on a dress, then," Amara said, the grin back again in full force. Why she had waited to respond to that, she didn't know, but... hey, it was kind of funny, imagining a guy in drag. Granted, it wasn't so difficult to imagine Demy that way, but still. Narrowing her eyes, she considered the problem that 'shiny or glowy' posed. "Hmm. D'you like lights? Like, Christmas light style? Or is it more... relegated to glowstick-like things?" There were glow in the dark paints that he absolutely had to see, no matter what.

Dragging (though he wasn't fighting her) Demy inside the store, she turned to flash a grin at him. "Yeah, well... don't worry about it. I'm not much good at videogames in general, so you'd have one up on me." Amara, admitting that she wasn't good at something? Obviously, the world was coming to an end. "What else would I do in light up shoes, silly? Crystal Academy doesn't allow you to wear that kind of thing to school." And when one lived at the school, that did tend to get in the way of one's fun, most times. Now, when she was out and about? Sure, she wore flashy sort of things. At school, it was all simple, business-like shoes.

Giving a little shrug of her shoulders, Amara gave a wry grin. "Yeah, we just met, but it's obvious from the way you talked about my boots that you'd like a pair of your own. Besides, I've got nothing better to do, y'know? It would be fun hanging out, and trying on shoes." Shoes were, in point of fact, her favorite thing ever, so that worked out quite well. "And you gave me something after we just met," she pointed out, tapping him lightly on the shoulder as she guided him in the direction she'd chosen.

"Right. So, they come in loads of colors. What's your favorite? Or do you even have one?" There might be rainbow shoes, maybe. She wasn't sure. She hadn't looked at the stock here of late. "Well, we could string a lot of glowsticks together. That would be like Christmas lights, wouldn't it?" Delightedly, she considered the problem, never happier than when she had something fun to work on. "Yeah, this place has a lot of inventory. A %*#@ of a lot. Don't suppose you need a new jacket, or something?"

Why was it always the boys who had no money that were the most fun? He was squeaking, and making happy noises, and overall just being absolutely adorable. She definitely, definitely needed to keep this one. ... Well, for shopping, anyway.

"Mmm... they have a lot in blue. Purple's my favorite color," Amaravati said with a toss of her hair. ... Hair that was, in point of fact, dark purple. "See these boots over here? They look like they could be your style." Of course, given that Demy's 'style' appeared to be a mishmash of color and, well, style, Amara probably could have pointed to just about anything and been on the mark. "Maybe we can find you some green or purple laces so you can switch 'em out," she mused, looking over a particularly awesome pair of boots.

"Do you tie glowsticks onto the shoelaces? You should try it if you don't, and see how you like it." If he managed to walk anywhere without staring down at his feet, she would be surprised. Exceedingly surprised. Tapping her finger against her chin, she tilted her head to the side. "Right, so, those boots would look good with this jacket here. Why don't you go try them on? I think you'll be able to find your size pretty easily."

He was adorably involved, and she hadn't had any reason to expect that he might be. Men (even boys like him) didn't seem to actually like shopping all that much. In point of fact, men seemed to absolutely loathe shopping in all of its forms, unless it involved picking up booze. Then suddenly all of their enthusiasm appeared all at once, as if by magic. That seemed to apply to videogames too in some cases. Shaking her head, she grinned, and watched Demy move through the store like a kid in a candy shop.