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Gwendolyn Caspian was never afraid to try new things, a trait that she carried around with great pride (which is normally how she carried anything anyway), and today, she was going to pride herself in finding new places to duck out of her civilian responsibilities. When one was a sailor senshi, defender of Earth and sometimes 'evil alien invader' of the White Moon, any other civic responsibility seemed pointless and mundane, and Gwen wanted nothing to do with that. Things like school, especially, Gwen had little time or care for. She had been doing fairly well as far as not skipping out went, but history class had just become too unbearable. So, once again, she slipped out, and this time she had learned from her last escapade, bringing a spare set of clothes to change into as she galavanted around the city.

And by galavanting, she meant looking for a place to hide before the truancy officer spotted her. This meant looking for a new place entirely, going away from the usual arcade and moving in a completely different location. Soon, she found herself near a store called Mad Marxz Skate Shop. By her brilliant skills in deduction (aka, her ability to read and see), she was intrigued by the skates on display, and she was also eager to go inside as she thought she saw what could have been an officer trailing behind her.

'This is as good a place as any... I don't even HAVE skates... do I even know how to skate?'

Willing to try anything once, Gwen gave a look around, ducking behind a rack and hoping that whoever she thought was following her would pass.

Gwen was so invested in the officer trailing her that she was taken completely by surprise by Feliks' 'sudden' appearance, and she was damn lucky that she had a good sense of balance as she spun around and succeeded in not knocking herself, him, or the displays over. There was nothing she could do to hide the surprise in her voice, and she had hoped that her smile wasn't too suspicious as she shook her head. "Oh, no, no, just looking around... you know, day off and I figured I'd use it shopping!"

She glanced over her shoulder to see if the officer had passed or not, and the moment another person came into view, she turned back around and motioned towards the back of the store, not really paying attention to what she was pointing at but moving towards it to stay out of sight. Perhaps the employee could help her out?

"So, this is a skate store, huh? Looks good! I mean, cool!" Her enthusiasm wasn't insincere, despite her cover up. She was always eager and willing to try something new, and skating was something that she had tried once or twice back at home, but never got around to trying out in Destiny City. She couldn't even remember the last time she put on a pair of skates... were they inline or regular skates? If it meant keeping her out of class, she'd entertain the thought of making a purchase this day. "So, what would you recommend? Got any red or orange ones?"

There was no sign of the officer, which only served to make Gwen look, and feel, paranoid and now completely aware of how suspicious she was acting in front of the employee. Too prideful to admit to the slight blush on her cheeks, she kept her back turned for a little while longer until she felt that she was able to collect herself once again. "Oh, sorry... skates. I was looking for a pair of skates, but I don't know if I want to go with inline skates or the other kind."

Her mind was drawing a blank as to what those were called; it had literally been years since she went to a skating rink, and the only skates they had to rent were the old, two-by-two ones with the brakes at the front. She recalled those distinctly since it was how she had lost her two front baby teeth when she was skating much too fast and fell flat on her face. She still never found one... that was 25 cents that she'd never get from the 'Tooth Fairy'.

Now that she wasn't worried about the truancy officer catching her, she turned to look at Feliks, getting a good look at him and trying her best to appear as innocent and not-suspicious as possible, though she was certain that she had already ruined that poorly constructed facade already. "It's been awhile since I skated, and I figured I'd try something new since my other... hobbies... seem to be coming to a stand still at the moment."

'More like you're too busy doing patrols and playing catch up in school to spend more time on them.' Gwen kept this to herself. She was always willing to try new things, though, so she wasn't lying completely. 'Hmmmm... I'm pretty sure I brought my wallet...?'

"Quads! That's what they're called... see, I don't know anything about skating, besides how best to look like an idiot when I fall in them," Gwen said, a light hearted chuckle in her voice in response to her own embarrassment, and without hesitation she followed him to the back of the store. With no officers or nuns chasing her down, her conscious was definitely clear enough to actually LOOK at the skates and not have wasted this poor fellow's time.

"As for my experience with them? Not so good. One time I wore a pair of quads and braked so fast I went fast first into the rink floor. BAM... never really skated again after that, you know?"

She excluded the part about the missing teeth, but thankfully they were baby teeth and had grown back out... eventually. She looked at the skates before her and pulled at her white strand hair, half-wondering if this was a mistake. The price on some of these were a little out of her range, but hopefully those were for the more advance skaters out there. Still, she was willing to try and see if her wallet was big enough for such a purchase today. After all, what officer or nun would hope to catch her when she had skates? It was a worthy investment.

"So, I'd say a beginner with some rough first experience so odd years ago?"

Gwen was already thinking of all the many escapes she could do with skates on her feet instead of just her regular ol' legs. Yes, none of the sisters would be able to keep up with her once she got these babies on, and her imagination was already trying to envision herself attempting tricks on the half-pipes, and the disasters that would follow after it. Then again, she survived worse in her Senshi encounters- how painful could falling with a pair of skates on be in comparison to, say, two spear blades to her side?

The moment Feliks dropped the word '100', though, all her of daydreams had disappeared in a puff of smoke, and it took absolutely everything for Gwen to not want to simply say nothing and march her way out the door. She didn't have that kind of money! However, she kept her cool (for the most part) as she withdrew her wallet to give it a gander, having a sinking feeling in her gut that she'd be walking out of the store empty handed and only have wasted poor Feliks' time. "I have... erm... fifty. Maybe a little more in loose change in my wallet or booksack somewhere."

'Well, Gwen, this is what you get for spending money on lunch when your sister's more than willing to make something for you!' Gwen thought bitterly to herself, trying not to appear too angry in front of Feliks. After all, it wasn't his fault that she was terrible with money. And unlike Jett and his antique store, Gwen was certain that there would be no use in asking for a raincheck. But, perhaps there was still some hope... no, she didn't need skates, but she didn't want to waste Feliks' time, or her own. 'One day, I'll learn the value of money... so that I can stop making a damn fool of myself!'

Had Gwen known that Feliks thought, even for a second, that she was a college student, her cheeks would have matched the color of the inliners that they were standing near, followed by an immediate rejection to that notion which would have given away her status as a high school student that was, in fact, skipping school. Again. No, it was for the best that Gwen could not read minds, but he was very correct about her budget.

"I don't mind what color they are... well, so long as they're not pink. I can't stand pink." Gwen said without thinking, before looking up at his hair and feeling her foot immediately jumping into her mouth. No, his hair wasn't blatant pink, but she knew a few people who would have considered it a shade of pink, and she immediately tried to salvage the situation. But it was like a bull in a china factory at this point. "But there are a few occasions where pink is nice, or fine... like, some shirts, or shoes... or hair. Pink is okay... sometimes!"

She cleared her throat, hoping she hadn't offended him and decided to just immediately get a pair of skates and high tail it out of there, before she was either caught by the truancy officer or made an even bigger fool of herself. Both of which were highly likely at this point. "So, no, I'm not too picky about most colors. All else fails, I can paint them, right?"

He didn't seem openly offended by her comment and his words seemed to confirm this, and immediately Gwen felt that she was simply overreacting. She still felt some lingering bits of embarrassment, but if he wasn't going to dwell on it, then neither would she! So, she let the topic go with relative ease, instead focusing on the one he had brought up, and she looked at her foot.

"Size 7. And a half. Sometimes it fluctuates depending on the brand of shoe," Gwen replied, giving her slip on's a kick and removing them with relative ease, as she knew she'd have to take them off and test the skates soon. She didn't care much for shoe shopping and paid little attention to what size she was in which brand- if the skate fit, then she'd wear it.

She bobbed her head at his suggestion, wriggling her toes with barely contained excitement. She couldn't believe she was actually going to buy some skates! Maddy would be pissed, but she could take a hike! She wasn't going to spend her extra allowance on anything else anyway. "Yeah, given how rough and tumble I am, maybe letting it alone would be for the best. But I think I'll do okay! If I can balance on a beam, I should be able to balance myself on skates, right?"

It was like saying 'How hard could it be', mere moments before she failed miserably, but Gwen was too eager to care about her own hubris and how she would soon eat her own words.

Gwen wasted no more of her time or Feliks, taking the pair of skates that he offered her and not even taking a seat before slipping off her own shoes. Gwen, ever confident and bold, knew that she'd get the hang of the skates fairly quickly, and she wanted to show him that despite her initial awkwardness when she stumbled in, she was serious about getting a pair and using them. Even if it meant that Maddy would kill her for spending her money on other things instead of stuff she thought were more important.

Maddy wasn't here, now was she, Gwen thought with a grin, slipping on the first skate and foolishly trying to slip on the other while she was standing, and she nearly paid for that. Thankfully, years of gymnastics meant that Gwen could recover her balance fairly quickly, and she saved herself from massive embarrassment before she could go crashing backwards and onto her butt. She flashed Feliks a 'I meant to do that' grin before eventually making her wait to a chair and sitting down to put on the other skate, and she took her time to tie the laces, determined not to look up until her blush was gone.

Once both were on and fitted, Gwen managed to bring herself up to her feet and she couldn't believe how tall she felt now with a pair of inliners on. She had to remind herself that it was only an illusion, but still it was fun to believe for a second that she was average size for once. Remembering that she was on someone else's time, she wriggled her toes and heel around, before giving the verdict. "I think they fit right. Are they suppose to fit like a shoe? If so, then I think they fit perfectly!"

She looked down at them and thought to herself with a grin. 'Yeah... let's see those nuns try to catch me now!'