Shoppin' the Spectrum (Malachai)

[Kai-Belle Hong]

"Class dismissed."

Kai-Belle hated those words. Because, when she was here, everything was calm. Everything was somewhat serene and she liked the way that her mind could be quiet. It wasn't inundated with the emotions of a school filled with people. She could relax the blocks in her mind. She could relax how hard she strained it was like taking a mental vacation. Occassionlly, someone would show up with a troubled mind but usually, like Kai, they would end with a clean one.

Kai gathered up her bag, her name embroderied on the front in flowing pink font against the darker pink pag. She slid her pointe shoes off and tied them together, on the bag. Kai never really bothered changing when she was done, this was one of two studios she studied at anyway. The one in the mall was just convenient.

Sliding her black glittery ballet flats on she headed out into the bustling mall throwing her mental shields back up. Dressed in her black leotard, pink tights, and a small pink sheer wrap around on her waist, she walked through the mall. Long wavey hair was pulled up into a messy bun as her slight frame made it's way through the bustling walkways of the mall.

Music came from a store up ahead and she paused, looking in the window at the display. They had super cute clothes, she hadn't bought anything for a while hell she was practically hibernative when she was at school. Stepping into the store she paused for a second gaining her bearings, pointe shoes hanging from the strap of her bag as she walked towards the female side of the store.

The prices weren't terrible, and she did have an allowance. She hadn't spent much of it in a while so she had some stored up. Ooooo! Clearance! spotting the rack in the back she decided to start there. Lucky, with her tiny ballet dancer frame, she could usually find things easily that didn't fit most.

[Malachai Roen]

While Kai typically worked in the lingerie department of the store (he had... One could say, quite a bit of experience with the area), he often did sweeps around other sections of the store. He had been working at From the Spectrum for over three years now; as such, he was getting pretty high in seniority, considering most people who worked at places in the mall only stuck around for a couple years. Once he graduated, he might find somewhere else, hopefully relating more to his field, but for now, he was happy enough where he was at.

And so, he was hovering around the woman's section at the moment, hanging up shirts and rearranging things like the pro that he was, along with helping the occasional customer. It had been a slow afternoon so far, but business would likely pick up as school got out, he figured.

Sure enough, he was folding up a pair of jeans as a young girl walked within range, apparently catching onto the clearance rack and heading that way. Kai finished up what he was working on and approached her, as he was supposed to do, and, with a smile, asked,"Hello, miss, can I help you find anything today?"

While it probably wouldn't matter to most people, in this particular circumstance, the young woman might notice his name tag, which read a simple "Kai". It was easier to go by than his full name, and easy to remember, in case people wanted to leave good feedback for his service.

[Kai-Belle Hong]

Kai had a couple pairs of jeans, one had some strange lace like pattern painted on it in white to give it the appearance they were lace jeans, the others were dark wash, her favorite. She pulled out a shirt and looked at it, a cute white blouse with tiny flowers and leaves on it. She thought it might work for her. She wasn't sure, she was a try things on kind of girl.

She jumped a little when the associate snuck up on her. She had no idea that he was close by which was strange for her she must have been very interested in the clothing instead of the world around her. She looked up to the man standing there, her eyes dropped to his name tag and her brow rose.

"You.. you're name is.. Kai?" she asked softly.

She didn't know what else to say. It was not often you met or found someone that had the same name as you. Especially, the opposite sex. She bit her lower lip softly she wasn't very good at talking to people but at the same time she really needed some clothes and he was just trying to be a nice associate. He probably got paid crap, but hey, at least he had a job.

"Umm.. I .. I ask because.. mine is too. Umm.. I'm .. I'm Kai-Belle Hong, actually." she said as she shifted uncomfortably. "I .. I was just .. checking out the clearance it's been a while since I shopped and I thought.. umm .. more bang for my buck here." she grinned a little bit, she really did like to get a bargain.

[Malachai Roen]

Kai glanced over what the young woman was looking at, and gave a nod of approval with a friendly smile. Unlike a lot of men his age, men's and women's fashion interested him equally, which was one of the reasons why he was so good for the job. He liked to give honest feedback for what people wanted to buy; if he didn't think something suited a customer, he would do his best to find them something that did.

Fortunately, this girl seemed to know exactly what she was doing. What she had chosen would definitely flatter her petite, feminine frame.

What she said first, though, wasn't what Kai expected, and he blinked, glancing down at his own nametag. It wasn't an incredibly common name, but he didn't think it was exotic enough to really point out. "Yes, it is," he answered politely, keeping his curiosity to himself. Maybe she would explain her question.

Ah, she did. Kai's expression turned a little surprised by her admission, and he gave a small, amused laugh. "Wow, that's quite a coincidence. I've never met anyone named Kai before. A pleasure to meet you." He dipped his head slightly. "Malachai is actually my full name, but I find three letters are easier to remember than eight." He smiled and glanced at the rack that Kai-belle had been looking over, nodding understandingly. "There's no reason to pay the full price for something when you can find something else you like for cheaper," he agreed. That was actually something Kai had never really had to think about before - he never worried about having enough money, coming from the rich family that he did.

"I like what you've picked out," he commented, gazing over the items again. "Is there anything else I can help you find?"