Social Skills 101

[Bambi Engel]

((The title is entirely Aubrey's fault. Not technically unrelated to the main plot, but oh well. We really don't mind if anyone else joins.))

Bambi stared at the black screen of her computer, the last rays of the sun struggling to reach through the blinds covering the window behind her. She had just shut down her computer for the night as the clock struck her leave time. As she had been ready to stand to gather her things, however, the black of her screen had reminded her of other things.

The black of that man's suit, for instance. Now that she thought about it, he really could have been a female, what with the entire suit getup concealing everything. Despite her vow that night in the bathtub, she found that she had done next to nothing to keep it. It was just so... so difficult!

How could she change from what she's been her entire life?! She found her hands pressing to her face, strands of her brunette hair falling between her fingers. When ever people had worked with her in groups during school, she always was the one to calculate all the answers.

She also was always the one who never got the credit. The other students took her work as their own, and then turned their backs on her. They'd tell the teacher she did nothing while the rest of them worked. And of course she had never spoke a word against their claims, not wishing them to fail even if it meant her failing.

With an aggravated sigh that she would never make unless she were alone like now, she forced herself to stand slowly. How could she continue to live her life this way? Why did her life set her into such a pattern, and then drastically alter? Perhaps that was being too dramatic, though.

Gathering her things, she collected herself before leaving her office. The Global Bank head quarters had a strange beauty outside, but it really wasn't nothing to the places she had seen while traveling for meetings. She disappeared into the trio of people leaving for home that flowed with her into the streets of Switzerland.

[Aubrey 16]

((The title was definitely not entirely Aubrey's fault! Bambi is just trying to make me the scapegoat!))

Due to a lack of Creditors in the area, Aubrey decided to visit Switzerland. Actually, one of her favorite stores had just released this season's must-have item, and well, it was a must-have, so she had to have it! She'd be so 'out' if she didn't. And Aubrey couldn't bear even the thought of being considered 'out'.

Upon arrival, she made a beeline for the store, and wasn't paying attention to where she was going, which caused her to run face first into a woman with long, lank brown hair. If it weren't for her fantastic coordination, Aubrey would've fallen. "Watch where you're going!" She snapped, even though really it was her fault.

She looked at the woman she'd run into, cocking an eyebrow at her outfit. "That suit is so five minutes ago." She said, bluntly. "And really, am I the only person in the world who knows how to accessorize?" All this bad fashion was going to start making Aubrey's hair frizz, really, something had to be done.

[Bambi Engel]

((You be the scapegoat and I'll be the deer!))

Bambi was roughly jerked from her thoughts as someone bumped into her. The person felt like they should have been made of metal rather than flesh and bone. After fixing her glasses that had become crooked, she saw the person probably was if their neon pink hair was any indication.

"Oh, I apologize! I really should've, I suppose I was just letting my mind wander too much." She exclaimed, despite the fact it was probably the other woman's fault. She couldn't be sure she was an a Creditor since the attitude obviously hinted at otherwise. Working for Global Bank had given her the opportunity to meet multiple Creditors.

On the other hand, she noticed that every Creditor seemed to have some unique trait about them despite their usual lack of personality. If this was a Creditor, her trait must be... fashion?

Bambi raised an eyebrow, needless to say, at a loss for words. She glanced down at her own usual suit. She didn't see nothing wrong. Maybe the blue boots clashed with the peach tones? She thought so too, but she hadn't been willing to give the boots up for heels.

"Oh, well, I really try to conserve my money. I wouldn't want to waste it on jewelry of any sort." It was the truth, though she had a few pieces of jewelry at home. All of them had been gifts from the few men who had tried to court her despite her slight social issues. Evidently, they all had eventually thrown the towel in.

She ran her eyes over the other woman's outfit. Was that really the current fashion? It looked nice on the other woman, but she really couldn't picture herself in the same getup. The mental image looked simply ridiculous. Not to mention all the stares she would get at work! A shudder ran through her at the thought.

[Aubrey 16]

"Really, though, jewelery doesn't cost all that much!" Aubrey exclaimed. "Besides that, costume jewelery isn't very costly at all! And its adorable! Not to mention that you don't have to accessorize with just jewelery, theres hats, sunglasses, pins, belts, purses, the possibilities are endless!"

She paused, inspecting the woman's outfit. "Actually, your suit is kind of cute." She admitted. "But with your figure, you should be wearing something much more flattering."

She then pointed at the woman's shoes, wearing a slight scowl. "And those boots? Hideous. Really, you could probably pull off that suit with a cute pair of heels," She looked down at her own stilettos fondly for a moment. "Like these. Aren't they just the cutest?"

"Or maybe a fabulous pair of earrings!" She clapped her hands. "Really big, outrageous ones!"

[Bambi Engel]

"I'd just always imagined it was costly, though I've never looked at the prices myself." Bambi admitted, but she wasn't going to argue. The woman certainly seemed to know what she was talking about. All Bambi really knew were numbers and computers.

At the compliment, her cheeks colored faintly, but it quickly disappeared as she moved onto the boots. "But I really like my boots..." She stated, deciding not to admit that they were the so easy to run in.

Her blue eyes gazed at the pair of stilettos as the woman referenced them, an expression of slight horror on her face. "They are pretty," she started, "But aren't they difficult to walk in?" She had read so many stories online about women meeting disaster while in heels.

"Earrings?" The woman was moving on from article of clothing to article, to article of jewelry. Involuntarily Bambi felt her fingers feel the tip of her ears. She had never even had them pierced. "Earrings can be very cute, but I've never worn a pair before."

[Aubrey 16]

"But those boots just won't do. They just won't." Aubrey said, shaking her head. "These? Of course not!" She lied. "They just take some getting used to. Anyway, you don't have to wear such high ones, since your a beginner."

She gasped, covering her mouth with one hand, as if hearing that the woman had never worn earrings was a sin. Aubrey reached forward, and brushed aside the woman's hair. "Your ears aren't pierced!" She shrieked, horrified.

This was worst than she had thought! She hadn't taken the woman to be in such dire need of her assistance, this girl was a fashion emergency! She absolutely had to help her! But how? Suddenly, a brilliant idea dawned on Aubrey. "Here, I'm about to go shopping. Theres this new skirt out, and I just have to have it, its basically the greatest thing ever, anyway, you should come with me!" She smiled, Aubrey always loved having a shopping partner!

[Bambi Engel]

Bambi pursed her lips, considering. She had never tried heels, so maybe all those stories were just about women who would've gotten in the same trouble even if they hadn't been wearing heels. She flinched slightly at the woman's shriek, nodding meekly to confirm.

"Well, uhm..." She had nothing else to do. If she made up some excuse to leave, she would simply travel back to her apartment and do the same things she did every night. She shifted her feet nervously, glancing around.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt... I haven't been shopping in a very long time..." The last time she had went shopping was for food two weeks ago, and clothes shopping... a very long time ago. "I'm Bambi Engel, it's a pleasure Miss...?" Might as well get the introductions done, if they were going shopping together.

She knew many female employees at Global Bank often went shopping together, so it must be some sort of common thing for a lot of people to do. They talked about it at work sometimes while Bambi was gathering things. She was almost positive they did it just to spite her, as if flaunting the fact.

It had never bothered her, since she never saw the appeal. Why bother to go shopping with someone when you could get it done faster yourself? But perhaps there was something to it, some sort of appeal that you only got while doing it.

[Aubrey 16]

"Aubrey 16!" The android said, excitedly, linking arms with Bambi. "But you can just call me Aubrey, because the 16 part is really pretty unnecessary and saying Aubrey 16 all the time sounds ridiculous."

"Wonderful! Shopping is so thrilling!" She said, leading them in the direction of a strip mall.

"What are you most interested in first? Skirts? Shoes? Dresses? Pants? Blouses? Accessories? Personally, I suggest shoes," Aubrey said, frowning slightly at Bambi's boots. "Those ones are really just...terrible." She couldn't really think of a better word to describe those boots, but they were just awful, they had to be done away with.

[Bambi Engel]

"Yes, I can see how Aubrey would be more practical-" Bambi's sentence trailed off as her words disappeared. So she was a Creditor, and- Ouch! She matched Aubrey's pace to keep the android from dragging her along, obviously unaware of her strength.

The contact was strange, and her nerves started to peak. Attempting to calm herself down, she focused on Aubrey's question.

"Well, uhm... I don't go clothes shopping much... I guess we can go with your suggestion." She spoke slowly, already feeling a sense of loss. She reasoned she could still wear her boots, she'd just have a better range of choices now.

"I'm Bambi Engel, by the way. It's a pleasure to meet you." She found it slightly ironic that she worked for Global Bank and this woman was a creditor. The name brought no sense of familiarity, but she didn't work near that department and preferred to avoid it like the plague.

This one obviously had quite a personality, but some of the other Creditors... Some of them really creeped her out, more than other people did. Of course they were also way more dangerous than other people.

[Aubrey 16]

"You already told me your name, silly!" Aubrey said, oblivious to the fact that Bambi had had to lengthen her stride several paces in order to keep up with her.

"Shoes, then?" She asked, though it wasn't really a question. "I really love shoes. They're just great. You really can't go wrong." She looked down at Bambi's shoes. "Actually you can. But when you're with me, you can't."

The pair arrived at the shoe store and Aubrey threw open the doors in a fashion similar to one that was making a grand entrance, with Bambi still in tow. Shoes of all shapes, styles, cuts, and colors spread as far as the eye could see. The walls had shelves stretched from the floor to almost the ceiling, and shoes were neatly stacked according to size. Aubrey took a deep breath, as if basking in it.

"Whats your shoe size?" She asked, looking to Bambi. "And do you want another pair of more fabulous boots, some heels, or maybe flats?"

[Bambi Engel]

Bambi's cheeks turned pink as she realized she had, indeed, already introduced herself. How embarrassing. She kept her head tilted downward at an angle as Aubrey made what could not be called less than a "grand entrance."

"Uhm." She turned her head up to gaze at all the shoes, a bit surprised at their numbers. She'd never been in a store just for shoes. "I really like... boots. They're easier to run in." She stated, wondering if Aubrey would attempt to convince her to buy some heels.

And what were flats?

[Aubrey 16]

A man that worked at the shoe store came and asked if he could assist them. "No, no, you'll just get in the way." Aubrey said, absently waving him off.

She laughed a little. "Are you a track star or something?" She asked when Bambi said she wanted boots because they are easier to run in.

"Honestly, any acceptable pair of boots aren't going to be easy to run in at all," She admitted. Showing her a pair of knee length black boots with a thin heel.

"If you want something to run in, I'd go with flats." She said, pulling a pair of the shelf and looking at them for a moment, before scowling and replacing them.

Aubrey looked through the vast choices for a moment, before squealing, and pulling down a pair of strappy sandals. She ripped the shoe off her foot, and put the new one on, admiring it. "These are flawless." She said, staring at it fondly for a moment longer, before taking it off, and setting it aside. She was getting those shoes.

"But, really, I'm here to help you." She said, bringing herself back to Bambi. "Would you like me to find you a pair of shoes? Or do you want to find a pair and I'll tell you if you can be seen in public with them or not?" Usually, Aubrey would just do things her way, pulling shoes off the shelf, and thrusting them into Bambi's arms. But the woman seemed unsure of herself already, and Aubrey was feeling a little accomodating.

[Bambi Engel]

Maybe this wasn't so bad. Bambi watched Aubrey try the sandals on, admiring them herself. Returning to the matter at hand, she nodded her head. "Okay, flats... I'll try to find a pair myself."

She was pretty sure that'd be the best course, even if she liked the sandals Aubrey had picked out for herself. She'd just feel silly having someone pick out shoes for her. Ooh, but where to start? This place was huge!

She appeared thoughtful as she ran her blue eyes over the place. Her face suddenly lighted up as she walked across and down the aisle. She stood on tip toes, attempting to grab the box of shoes she had stopped.

Her fingers brushed the edge of the box and she tugged... too roughly, as about fifteen other boxes came falling down onto her. "Eeek!" She shrieked, falling backwards and throwing her hands up to protect her glasses.

The last box fell with a loud "thud", to the right of Bambi's head. She leaned back onto the floor, breathing a sigh of relief. She had no idea how she had never broken her glasses. Maybe her glasses had insane luck, just not her.

[Aubrey 16]

Aubrey nodded. "Mmkay, but I'll warn you now, I work on a 'three strikes' system. You bring me three bad shoes, and you're done, I'm picking for you." She said, in all seriousness, before turning back to her shelf.

"Oooh, Bambi! Look how ado-" She was cut off at the sound of boxes upon boxes toppling to the ground. She jumped, and looked to Bambi, who was buried beneath an accumulation of boxes. "Did you just knock all those shoes down?" Aubrey asked, a bit stupidly. It was obvious that she had.

"...Maybe its a good idea to keep you off heels." She commented, helping her out of the barrage of shoes and their boxes, and leading her away from the mess. Someone else would take care of it.

[Bambi Engel]

Feeling dizzy, Bambi was glad Aubrey was an android since she was able to help her without a problem. When she commented that maybe it was a good idea to keep her out of heels, she blinked a few times, before staring at Aubrey. "Uhm, YA THINK?"

It was a bit out of character for her, but it had been the point her head had been making mentally since the idea of actually trying heels was offered.

"I apologize. I just get extreme bouts of clumsiness sometimes. Yeah how about you pick? I trust your judgment." She had only seen the woman pick out one pair of shoes besides the pair she was wearing, but she wasn't too eager to touch anymore boxes.

It'd be just her luck for the whole shelf to fall on top of her next time. She liked to believe that if she could survive some strange gas mask man wielding blades, she wasn't going to die from a shoe shelf falling on her. It'd be ironic and it'd suck.