The Dream Mall

The Dream Mall

Weekends for some teenagers are like sundaes with hot fudge and a sprinkle of nuts, rewarding those who survive the long week at school, do their homework every night (ugh!), get up early on weekdays, and see how much they remember, or don’t, when taking tests.

Shopping at the neighborhood mall on Saturday is the cherry on top of the sundae. Knowing I’ll be going to the mall the following Saturday always excites me, giving me something to look forward to. I know where all the stores are in the mall and have become friends with at least five of the salesclerks, three of whom go to my school (Yeah, team!), and the other two attend our rival school (Boo, team!).

I’m Tammy, and I just had my thirteenth birthday party, thanks to Mom. The dining room was decorated with colorful balloons, streamers, a decorated cake, candles, and my favorite, mint chocolate chip ice cream. The party reminded me of the ones I had when I was younger, except now, the birthday cake had more lit candles, which meant I needed to take a deeper breath to blow them all out. My friends came over to help me celebrate becoming a teen. “Wow, I can’t believe it,” I excitedly shouted while clapping, “At last, I’m a teenager!” All my friends gave me a standing ovation, along with “Way to go, girl!”

I live with my parents and my ten-year-old brother. The neighborhood where we live has kids of different ages and sizes. Sometimes, boys play baseball in the street until the ball hits and breaks a nearby window. Then, before you know it, the street becomes empty because all the boys have suddenly vanished into thin air.

Typical of siblings, we get along sometimes, but other times, he is my mortal enemy. He and his little buddies play pranks on me whenever they can. One time, I walked into my bedroom, opened my closet door, and was surprised to see around fifty colorful balls bouncing out of the closet toward me. As I bent down to pick up these pesky balls, I heard giggles down the hall from the little troublemakers, who were probably exchanging high-fives over their successful prank. I’ve been trying to think of a prank to pull on them and haven’t come up with anything yet. I will, when they least expect it. Then I’ll be the one giggling down the hall.

Westwood Mall is two blocks from my house and feels like my second home because I’m there so often. Some Saturdays, I go alone to search out the holiday sales. When shopping by myself, I can walk around the mall at my own pace. The clothing store, “Pretty Chic,” is where I spend a long time browsing the latest trends for young girls. The mannequins look amazing, dressed in complete outfits from fab hats to stylish boots. Sometimes, in the dressing room, I try on various clothes, including jeans, sweaters, and shoes. Like mannequins, I finish my outfits with a classy hat. The fun part is modeling each outfit in front of the mirror, turning at different angles, pretending to pose for a camera while thinking, “I look pretty good in these outfits. I wish I could buy something,” pouting with a disappointed look. “Oh, in one more year, I can get a part-time job. Then I’ll be able to leave the store carrying my purchases like other shoppers instead of empty-handed.” Begrudgingly, I returned the clothes to the crowded racks.

On the second floor, there’s a bustling food court with a wide variety of eating places like Buster Burgers, The Pizza House, The Doghouse for perfectly grilled hot dogs, and of course, Dairy Queen. Sometimes when I’m with my friends, we’re hungry for the same thing for lunch, and other times we split up, go to our favorite place, then meet at a nearby table. The Pizza House is my go-to place if I’m alone or with friends. My order is always two slices of cheese and pepperoni with a small Pepsi. It most certainly is a small Pepsi since it has more crushed ice in it than Pepsi. We seldom have pizza at home, so the mall pizza always hits the spot.

One Saturday morning, while relaxing on the family room couch, I decided to skip the mall and keep reading the Nancy Drew mystery I started five days ago. This book has been sitting on my bookshelf for over two years, so I finally decided to pick up this dust collector and start reading it.

The next thing I remember is being in the mall, admiring the whimsical characters in the Christmas-decorated store windows. Everywhere I looked, there were colorful strands of garland, blinking lights, and festive wreaths. The most beautiful sight was in the center of the mall, where a golden, glittering star sat atop a multi-colored, lighted Christmas tree that stood proudly from the first floor to the second. The tree sparkled with an assortment of ornaments and silver tinsel dangling from the branches.

My first stop was the cosmetics store, which had counter after counter of products for every skin type imaginable. Without my mom there, I had fun experimenting with different kinds of makeup. Most ads encouraged people to try this product or that product to look younger. My goal was to look older. I wiped off all the makeup before leaving the store because Mom said I’m too young to wear makeup. A middle-aged woman was getting a makeover, likely for a special evening that night. Her makeup looked heavy, making her eyes nearly hidden by eyeliner and mascara. I decided I was finished browsing the store, walking back to the mall to plan my next stop.

I stepped onto the escalator that took me to the second floor. When I got off, I noticed a pretzel stand called “Twisted Treats” that I hadn’t seen before. The pretzels were huge; many were coated with rich chocolate, while others were dipped in creamy peanut butter. These pretzels were large enough to share with two or three people. A long line of hungry customers waited to order one of these salty delights. How awful it would be if, after such a long wait, they found out the pretzels were sold out. “Wow, they sure look good,” I thought to myself, and decided to buy one later when the line was shorter.

While standing in the center of the mall, I noticed two unfamiliar stores separated by a corridor. One store played loud rock music that travelled out to the mall. Shoppers were waving their hands and jumping around to the energetic, crazy music. In contrast, the other store played no music, but patrons inside were listening and dancing wildly to the lively rock tunes.

I started walking between the two stores when, suddenly, an extremely tall clown appeared out of nowhere, munching on one of the enormous chocolate-covered pretzels, laughing, waving at passersby, and dancing to the music. He was a nimble dancer, considering his height, and looked like he was going to fall over at any moment, but miraculously did.

As I slowly walked down the corridor, I didn’t see any more stores ahead of me. Instead, vendors stood at their booths, lining both sides of the walkway, selling a variety of items. The stands resembled those at the farmer’s market where I often go with Mom and Dad. Shoppers approached the tables, picked out items, dropped them into their shopping bags, and walked away without paying. It seemed to be the usual way to shop at these vendor stands, which made me wonder how the sellers made any money.

The passageway was growing darker and quieter, so I decided to turn around and head back to the mall. However, when I turned, the layout looked completely different, and I was overwhelmed by the noise from vendors, customers, and the music. The corridor seemed longer than when I first entered, and I couldn’t see an end in sight. Walking faster, I thought, “If only I could find the mall center, everything would be okay. Where is it?” I nervously frowned and thought, “How could it have disappeared so fast?” People were rushing everywhere, seeming to have no idea where they were going, just like me.

Finally, I saw the glowing light from the mall and felt immense relief. However, when I arrived at the mall center, to my surprise, I didn’t recognize any of the stores. The pretzel shack had been replaced by a helium balloon shop called “Up and Away,” where colorful balloons floated up and down the mall, as children chased them, trying to catch one to take home.

A man riding a bicycle with a monkey on his shoulder was circling the mall, selling peanuts. When I was close enough, the monkey, with a big grin, extended his hand filled with peanuts for me to take. They tasted so good that I bought a small bag from the man, not the monkey.

Having had enough of this mall, I wanted to leave; however, I couldn’t find the exit to the parking lot, no matter which direction I turned. It took a few seconds to realize I was completely lost. Nerves began to set in, along with a growing sense of panic. When I asked people where the exit was, no one knew, nor did they care that I was lost.

Walking further down the mall, I came upon a bustling food court, a cozy and familiar place to stop while shopping. However, this food court looked completely different from the one I had eaten at before. There were girls on roller skates circling the court, dropping small bags of French fries on tables where shoppers ate. The man with his monkey appeared out of nowhere, handing out peanuts. Young people rushed over to the monkey, laughing and playing with him while munching on peanuts and fries. Shoppers could prepare their own meals at a restaurant called “What’s for Lunch?” The hungry shoppers decided what they wanted to eat, went to the large kitchen, and began to assemble their lunch, from a simple burger and fries to a three-course meal with dessert. A shiny silver robot equipped with a calculator and notebook stood at the end of the kitchen, keeping track of the amount of food each person used and charging them accordingly. There was a long line of people waiting to prepare their lunches. The hungry shoppers exchanged ideas on what to create. In the center of the food court was a most unusual pizza place. There was a table that seated twenty people, ten on each side. There was a banner over the table reading “The Neverending Pizza.” Down the middle of the table was a hot rectangular pizza that stretched from one end of the table to the other. As people took a slice of pizza, a new slice magically appeared in its place. Hence, “The Neverending Pizza.”

When I left the food court, I saw a large slide in front of me that descended from the second floor to the first. When I was younger, I loved slides, so I decided to try this one. Kids waited impatiently to slide down, but for some reason, they moved aside to let me go first. I thanked them, walked to the top of the slide, sat down, pushed off, and sped down to the first floor. The cool breeze on my face was so refreshing that I was hoping the ride would last a long time. But no such luck. Before I knew it, I reached the lower level and found myself sitting in a small car equipped with a steering wheel, gas pedal, and brakes. Beats me how I ended up in a car. As I drove through the mall, people waved while shouting “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.” I returned their greetings. The signal in the center of the mall turned red, so I quickly pressed the brake, stopped, and watched other cars cross in front of me. When the light turned green, I started driving again, found an empty parking spot, zipped into it, turned off the car, got out, and walked down the mall. “Things are wacko!” I thought while rubbing my forehead, “and they’re getting weirder.”

Ahead of me was a large swimming pool where kids and adults were laughing while splashing each other. Strangely, they were all dressed in their regular clothes and weren’t getting wet. Even the shopping bags carried by shoppers stayed dry. I didn’t even ask anymore, “How could this be happening?” I’ve finally given up trying to understand what’s going on here.

Standing still for a short time, I looked around the mall, recalling all the bizarre and crazy events I had experienced since entering. Suddenly, I jumped after hearing a loud bang, like a door slamming shut. At first, I couldn’t locate the source of the noise, but then I felt my eyelids starting to flutter. My eyes opened, and, whoa, I found myself on the couch in the family room, with the mystery book I had been reading beside me. It slowly dawned on me that all the chaotic events in the mall were just a dream. “Whew!” I said as I exhaled, feeling total relief. Sitting up on the couch, trying to wake up fully, I recalled some of the adventures I had just experienced. “Incredible!” I thought, “What a vivid dream with a myriad of events going on at such a rapid pace.”

The following weekend, I decided to take a trip to the mall in person, not a dream. My friends were busy, so I went alone. After entering the mall, I stepped onto the escalator and rode up to the second floor. Everything appeared normal; however, as I stepped off, I looked ahead and saw a new stand with a sign that read, “Twister Treats.” Beneath the name, it read: “Gigantic pretzels covered with rich chocolate or creamy peanut butter.” After staring at the sign in complete surprise, I turned around and started walking down the mall. Ahead of me, a tall clown was eating a large chocolate-covered pretzel, dancing to loud music, while waving at passersby. I froze in place with my eyes wide open while shaking my head. “No, no, no! This is my dream all over again!” I thought as I slowly walked past some stores. Looking straight ahead, my eyes caught something so incredibly unreal. “I don’t believe it!” I whispered out loud, “Is this for real, or am I still dreaming?”