The Day the Mall Became a Battleground

Beauty was her greatest weapon. I just wish she didn’t use it against me.

Trigger warning: disordered eating

As we walked into the front entrance of the mall, boys damn near broke their necks to stare at my best friend — and her only.

Her beauty was equal parts effortless and well-calculated: straight sew-in weave, low-rise jeans, and pink lip gloss that glittered under the mall’s fluorescent lighting.

The intrigue in their eyes disappeared when they looked at me. My denim Bermuda shorts, frizzy French braids, and Payless sneakers stunk of girlhood.

Sometimes a boy would try to get at her. Her reaction depended on their attractiveness.

Ugly boys were quickly dismissed. She said things like, “My boyfriend wouldn’t like that” or “My dad’s not too far from here.”

Cute boys were allowed to hang around. She drank their adoration slowly, like a thick, creamy milkshake. Every so often, she’d gift them a smile — not too wide though. Just enough to show interest.

Her mom passed down this technique to her, along with her wild, honey eyes and wide hips.

This time, two boys were interested. We were sitting on a bench inside the mall when an older boy motioned for her to come over. She winked at me and walked towards their loitering corner. I observed from afar while eating birthday cake Dippin’ Dots.

As she chatted with them, she pointed towards me. The boys looked my way in unison. I averted my attention to the homecoming outfits displayed on Macy’s mannequins.

She nodded, turned around, and walked back to the bench. Her body remained cool and smooth, displaying her signature hip-sway. Her smiling face buzzed with joy and excitement.

“Bryan wants to talk to you!” She yell-whispered in my ear.

“Who’s Bryan?”

“The one with braces and waves.” She got up. “Come, let’s walk with them. I know you think he’s fine.”

I noticed he was staring at me, eyes full of intrigue. I threw away my half-eaten Dippin’ Dots.

Bryan walked. I floated. Olivia and the older boy walked beside us, their hands in each other’s back pocket.

Bryan talked to me about his junior varsity basketball team, dreams of becoming a celebrity chef, childhood obsession with Teen Titans, and a pink lightning bolt scar on his neck that gave him the elementary school nickname “Harry Potter”.

I forgot my little brother’s name. He said it was fine, his little brother was forgettable too.

We walked in Hot Topic, our pairs going in opposite directions. Bryan and I went towards the band tees, while Olivia and the older boy checked out the figurines.

I pulled a Kid Cudi shirt from the wall. Its design was new to me.

“You have a really pretty smile,” Bryan said.

I thanked him, and quickly pulled random clothing items into the fitting room before the big, goofy, ridiculous smile on my face reached from one side of Hot Topic to the other.

Once the sudden urge to kiss him cooled down, I left the room and placed the items on the discard rack. I searched for Bryan in the store and couldn’t find him. I soon realized Olivia and the older boy were M.I.A too.

My thoughts raced: Did they say they were going to another store? What about the food court? Wouldn’t Bryan have stayed with me?

I checked my phone. I had one missed text.

Liv: marcus lives nearby, so we went to hiz house. knew u wouldn’t wanna lie to yr dad, so i didn’t ask. promise i’ll be back b4 yr dad comes to pick us up. c u then! :)

I left the store and avoided eye contact with its growing number of customers.

I headed to the food court and ordered pork lo mein from the mall’s only Chinese food restaurant. I sat at a nearby table, alone, and ate. Tears and peanut oil coated my tongue.

Author’s Note: I vividly remember when the mall was the #1 place to meet guys. Shout out to all the girls who rarely ever got hit on by cute boys at the mall but whose friends always got hit on. We should start a support group.

“The Day the Mall Became a Battleground” was the piece I created after watching Kathy Fish’s Skillshare class “Fast Flash Fiction: Writing Tiny, Beautiful Stories.” The main things I worked on were brainstorming tactics, including grounding sensory details and choosing a fitting title.

I brainstormed a very, very long list of titles and “The Day the Mall Became a Battleground” narrowly won. Here are some of my favorites:

Possible Titles: Mall Boys, The Great American Mall, Mating Season, Not a Girl Not Yet a Woman, How I Met Harry Potter, Fourteen, Almost Pretty, All American Black Girls.

Nia Simone McLeod is a writer, content creator, and pop culture enthusiast from Richmond, Virginia. She’s the creator and editor of the Medium publications oh, write and coiled. In her newsletter, she shares writing prompts, the best in pop culture, and sneak peeks at her upcoming work.