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It was only when Sasha and Anne walked inside the shopping mall that they realised how utterly impossible it was to shop for Marcy. They were gluten free, had already played every fantasy role-play game ever (or hated it with a burning passion) and pretty much owned anything. While the shops stared back at the two, Anne groaned.
“Why does Marcy have to be so hard to shop for?” Anne exclaimed. Sasha nodded in agreement.
“Where do we even begin?” The other person said. And so they began wandering aimlessly around the mall, each store they passed becoming more and more disappointing with it’s contents. They zipped inside a promising toy store, only to find out it was sold out of the toys Marcy liked. They poked their heads inside a game store, and raced away when they saw how long the queue was. Anne and Sasha both tried to list anything Marcy would like, but nothing came to their minds. After an intense few rounds across the mall, they came to a stop by a cute little cafe. Anne sipped a cup of tea while Sasha drank three cups of coffee.
“Anne, we are the royalty of this mall, why can’t we buy them anything?” He asked, setting his coffee cup down. Anne’s face was in her hands.
“I dunno, we’ve tried everything! All the soft toys are gone, no games, nothing.” Anne replied. Her voice had an edge of hopelessness to it, and Sasha put an arm on her shoulder. Suddenly Sasha shot up straight in her seat.
“Anne, you’re a genius!”
…
“Arcade machines?” Anne screeched, seeing Sasha pull out a fat stack of coins. The poor girl looked incredibly shocked, and Sasha looked like he’d just solved climate change.
“They’re the only places with soft toys, besides, I haven’t done one in ages.”
“You did one last week and kicked it when you didn’t get a prize.”
“It deserved it! Now, come on Anne, it’ll be fun.” Sasha had a childish gleam in her eyes. Anne just shook her head.
“Alright, fine. I’ll help you.” Sasha smiled, and threw in the first coin. The machine came to life, and the two were ready.
“We’re going for the shark there Anne, I know for a fact Marcy does not have a shark plushie.” Anne nodded.
“Move a little to the left, then backwards.” She directed. Sasha swung the joystick in the directions.
“How’s my position?” She asked. Anne examined it.
“You’re good. Drop it.” The crane dropped and almost snatched the shark. The machine fell back asleep. Sasha banged the machine.
“BULLSHIT!” He screamed. Anne shoved a hand over her mouth, and pointed at a security guard. Sasha bit his tongue, and put another coin in.
“Again.”
…
It was late at night by the time Sasha and Anne returned to their place. Anne’s parents were sleeping, but Marcy was wide awake.
“Guys! You’ll never guess what came in the mail today!” They exclaimed. Sasha flopped on the couch and Anne flopped on her, struggling to keep her eyes from falling shut.
“What Marcy?” Sasha asked, yawning.
“My shark plushie I ordered!” Sasha and Anne looked at each other for a second. Marcy’s eyes flitted between the two in confusion. Anne started sobbing and Sasha kicked the leg of the couch.