"I thought we weren't going to make it," I said with relief.

Both Ellen and Sh.e.l.ly had yet to settle into the bus as they held onto the bars on the chairs.

Ellen leaned against the wall of the bus while Sh.e.l.ly got out a water bottle from her marble.

"Yea that was a surprise," Sh.e.l.ly commented on my sudden change in direction.

"You know Luke would never let me shop properly and it would even worse when Alex joins us," I answered why we took the hover bus.

From my time with changing partners when I first entered middle school, Luke didn't seem so strict anymore. Alex nagged me more often before I got sick as he scolded me severely to live up to his 'family name'.

Sh.e.l.ly agreed as she nodded her head pitifully with her gaze looking down onto the floor of the bus.

I almost went crazy from living with Alex for a week, but it was different with Sh.e.l.ly who was likely stuck with Alex for her entire lifetime.

I spotted a big facility outside the window that was a outdoor mall but protected by a barrier to prevent the rain or severe wind from coming in.

The barrier resembled a large gla.s.s covering but with hexagonal shapes as a pattern to decorate it.

You could tell what kind of barrier it was by seeing the pattern that was on the surface of the barrier.

The doors of the hover bus opened as we stepped down its stairs.

"Wow," I gasped as I looked around my surroundings.

Each store had projections to advertise what they were selling and the robots greeted everyone that was pa.s.sing by.

I had never seen this kind of scene before as I finally understood the first district's nickname as the futuristic one.

Everyone shopping here were wearing casual clothing unlike my designer clothes I usually wore that were given to me by Luke.

However, Sh.e.l.ly and Ellen did not look as fascinated with this place as much as I did.

"Did you visit a place like this before?" I asked them.

"Most stores in the first district are like this," Ellen admitted as she took a glance to see what stores there were.

I was shocked. None of the stores I went with Luke were like this!

"But none of the stores I went with Luke were like this?" I questioned what kind of places Luke was bringing me to all this time.

Most of the stores I went to with Luke served refreshments and snacks while we shopped or more like when Luke went shopping to choose clothes for both of us.

But the refreshments and snacks were useless when Luke never even let me touch any of them.

"It was most likely that you went to VIP shops that need a exclusive members.h.i.+p to shop there," Sh.e.l.ly answered the reason for the discrepancy.

Well that explained a lot of things! The shopping mall here was not crowded but not empty at the same time. However, the places I went with Luke was empty except for the two of us and the entire staff prepared to serve us.

"If you want some candles, then it's probably best to go to the shop known for sweet aromas and bath products," Ellen suggested as she pointed out on her map of the mall that was projected from her marble.

"Let's go then," I held the hands of both Ellen and Sh.e.l.ly to bring them along.

I looked around some fascinating items around the store. I was looking at a bottle of perfume in my hands that would let your crush supposedly like you back.

The item in my other hand was a bottle of water that would make your bath water frizz with rose and lily petals.

I put those items down as I found beautiful crystal candles labelled with different effects.

"Maybe you like this one," Ellen recommended me a candle that would make the fire dance to display a play with a lovely storyline.

I put the candle in my shopping bag I got from the robot that greeted us when we came in.

I put more candles in my bag as I became interested in another candle that would hum a sweet lullaby to help you sleep and a candle that would make the fire glitter.

"How many candles do you plan on getting?" Sh.e.l.ly asked me as she noticed I had five candles and three bottles in my bag.

"Twelve since it's my twelfth birthday today," I wondered what other candles to get.

"Then we'll choose the rest," Ellen covered my eyes.

Huh?

When I opened my eyes, I found a small gift box wrapped in the finest white paper with a silk ribbon in my hands.

"Happy Birthday Rika!" Sh.e.l.ly and Ellen teased me.

"We'll buy everything you want today!" Sh.e.l.ly pulled out her card.

Tears welled up my eyes as I realized how lucky I was to have such good friends in the first district.

"Thank you," I sobbed from happiness.

"And I didn't even celebrate your birthday with you," I felt bad for not doing the same for them previously.

"What do you mean?" Sh.e.l.ly tilted her head in confusion.