Meg Brooke of Sylvan Crescent

Now I know exactly how Meg Brooke felt after buying her shimmery violet silk material. I went and did the same thing! Well, except that it isn't silk, and it isn't shimmery, but I paid only about 5 cents less than she did! (ok- it IS made, so it's not a material, but so?)I'm telling this very badly. Lets start from the beginning.

Yesterday, I went to Garden City with my brother and some friends. (they'll know who I'm talking about when they read this!!) Feeling in a happy-go-lucky mood after my SAT test on Saturday, I decided to just treat myself, so I ordered a $7.20 Doner Kebab with garlic and chilli sauce on it. I actually never expected the chilli to be so hot, but it was ok until I got into the middle of my kebab. By that time, the chilli had been piling fire on my already alighted tongue, so I took a sip from my sprite... guess what- my mouth got about 7 times hotter than before! So I frantically took another sip, and another (bad decision, I know!) until I finally gave up because I was on the verge of 'crying'! With my mouth at 100 degree celsius, I really don't know how I made it through the rest of the kebab... (maybe because it was so nice, that it helped.) :P

Well after that, we decided to do some window shopping. (What else can a bunch of girls do at Garden City, hey?) By this time, my brother had decided he did NOT want to follow us, so he announced his intention of paying Games world a visit. (What's with boys and Gamesworld???!) So anyway, we went our separate ways. First main stop (you got to understand that to list ALL of our stops is virtually impossible, so I'm just going to the main stores)was at Equip (it's a girls' store, selling all the hairbands and jewelleries and stuff like that) and I saw this really gorgeous silver hairband with diamonds (ok, fake diamonds) on the top of it they had three different designs, but it so happened that the one I really liked was the most expensive! I would have bought it, except that I couldn't try it on. They tagged up the bottoms, so that nobody could wear it! That's quite silly- people won't buy stuff they can't try, especially something costing about $19.00!!! I decided to be 'thrifty'; you know, not waste God given resources and all, so I opted for another cool champagne coloured hairband, with less diamonds, but stylish and classy enough for me. I paid $9.95 for that!

I felt a little bit guilty already- I mean, who pays ten bucks for ONE hairband? (alright smarties, you guessed it: ME). Anyway, someone in our group wanted to visit accesorize, so we did. A small corner shop, but quite interesting. There, I saw this lovely- absolutely lovely (even nicer than my $10 hairband) velvety scarf. It's one of those royalty type kind of design you see in the movies: a thick stripe of deep purple alternated with a thick stripe of a lighter shade of purple, and a thinner stripe of gold!! It's seriously fit for a princess... I really wanted it, but it was $40 without discount! Fortunately, they were having a 70% discount on scarves that day, so it amounted to $10.70. Grrr... it's still expensive, and I couldn't think of anything to match it with, and before I could made up my mind, someone bought it!!! *growls*

Well, having saved my money only to spend more of it, I entered Portmans. (Do you realize that the items I wanted are getting progressively more expensive? That's what happens really, to girls who get cooped up at home for months to study one textbook, and one white rectangular screen all the time. It's the shopping urge getting the better of my senses.)I didn't enter there voluntarily. I was persuaded to go there. Hmmm... (minorish music starts here). Almost instantly, after entering the store, my eye fell on a light peach shell coloured top. One of those fashionable tops nowadays. (minorish music intensifies) No harm done, I decided to try it on, you know, just to see how it fit and etc... bad choice (minor music changes to diminished chords) well, I did, and guess what? It fit so nicely, and my brown pants which I chose to wear that day really highlighted the colour, and I looked great! (diminished music intensifying) I came out to let my friends inspect it, and they all proclaimed that it looked so nice on me, and then asked me if I would get it... (anguished music building up, higher and taller)A lump in my throat. Would I get it? Should I? It looked great on me, and it was 'fashionable'. But it was so expensive! If I bought it, it would probably be the most expensive outfit (let alone top) that I have EVER owned! A torrent of thoughts crowded my mind as I undressed. Should I? It's gorgeous! But what about the $49.95 label? What would mum say when I bring home such an expensive garment? *gulp*

I finally got into my dowdy looking shirt (compared to the other) and walked out. Just to buy time to still my thoughts and think 'clearly' I hung the shirt on a rack and did the ribbon behind, trying to think. Yes? No? Yes? No? I must say I really wanted the yes, but the no was quite adamant too...

Finally someone asked the fatal question, "Are you going to get it?" (anguished music blaring now) I shouldn't have looked at it. I shouldn't have taken a peek at it. At the second glance back, my resolve and 'principles' of spending turned into a pillar of salt, only to dissolve afterwards, making my already amaroidal regret even more ascetic. (anguished diminished chords screaming in warning)

Well, someone was expecting a reply, so after gulping down a few more lumps in my throat, I throatily replied, "uh...uh...y-y-yes." (the final chord, and the piano lid slams down to reinforce my reply and then deathly silence)

Reader, (how Bronte loves to use that word) I paid $49.95 for that garment, and it was a niggling pebble of guilt at the bck of my mind shopping at Kmart, enjoying my gelare cookie and cream icecream, and driving home. The pebble grew in size as we pulled up the driveway, and transmogrified into a boulder as I stepped into the door and mum asked what I had bought.

I needn't tell you how it went after that. Suffice to say that in trying to gain some consolation by 'peeking' at my lovely outfit again, the garment seemed less peachy shell coloured, more crinkly and sheerer than it did at the store. In vain I searched for the element that made me buy it... the magical quality. As any magical substance wafts away never to be found, so did the magical quality of my buy elude my search.

I don't think I shall ever forget that day. The day AND the shirt. Yes, I forgot to tell you too, that on the drive home, I realized that one of the diamonds in my $10 hairband had dropped out somewhere, I don't know where...