Orange II

It was loud. Really loud.

I couldn’t believe somewhere could actually be louder than the cafe we went to earlier, but here I was standing in the mall with a bunch of people swarming and chattering everywhere around me. It made me appreciate our stop at the park a lot more than I previously did.

“C’mon,” Emuru says, dragging me towards the thing she introduced to me as an ‘escalator’.

I’ve only known it for a few seconds, but I already liked it better than the stairs. It automatically let you climb up things without all the pain and effort that came with it.

When we reached the second floor, there were a lot more signs and displays than there were on the first, and Emuru starts introducing each and every new thing to me as we pass by them and make our way to the clothing store. It was during this process that I made a sudden distinction between the things I was automatically able to see versus the things that needed describing.

Anything that was an object commonly held by or attached onto a person like their clothes and accessories, I was able to automatically see as long as I could associate it with a person. It was why I was able to see the mirror that Emuru held, and the platter that the waitress used to carry the food over to us.

The things that made up a background or scenery however, needed to be described to me like the grass, the rocks, the display cases, and more recently, the doors.

I wasn’t too sure what the exact process behind how I see things was, but I figured that it was because I saw the things that could be held or attached to people as ‘a part of them’ that makes them ‘people’. The things they held onto and the clothes they wore all made them unique and helped define them as a whole from each other.

And today was the day that I was going to decide what defined me from everyone else.

As we went into the clothing store, I was met with a wide variety of options to pick from, and what Emuru decided to do next didn’t make it any better.

“I’m going to go pick out some options for you,” she says, “you go and pick out whatever you like, and we’ll meet each other at the dressing room later.”

Without giving me a chance to reply, she waves as she walks off towards another part of the store, leaving me alone again.

She’s quite the impulsive person huh? I thought, as I began to take note of how many times she’s cut me off before giving me a chance to decide or say anything, well I suppose right now, standing around doing nothing isn’t going to help me pick out what I want.

I walked around the store browsing between each rack of clothes, but no matter how many I went through, I couldn’t decide what to pick.

What would look good on me? I wondered, maybe something that Emuru might wear?

I picked out a midi skirt and placed it over me.

No, this isn’t it.

I walk over to try on a few jackets and pieces of plaid clothing.

This isn’t it either.

I pick out a sundress and look it over in the mirror.

Not this one either.

I let out a sigh. It was already hard enough that I wasn’t able to see how the color looked on me—I could differentiate what color the clothes were from far away, but if I put them over me, they got dyed in the color I was currently feeling, which was red—but in addition to that, no matter what I chose, I didn’t seem to like it.

Did I even like anything at all? Maybe a hoodie and a pair of jeans was actually just the style of fashion that fits me the most, even if it did look bland and boring. Everything else I put on looked too ‘loud’ and ‘extra’ and no matter how much I wanted to not look boring, something deep down inside me was preventing me from choosing the options that made me look unique.

“Nanashi~” I hear a familiar voice say as I turn around to see Emuru carrying a bunch of clothes in her arms, “did you pick out anything yet?”

I shook my head, and noticed that Emuru was orange again—something I still didn’t know the meaning of.

“I can’t decide what I want to wear,” I said, “I was actually thinking of sticking with the hoodie and jeans I have.”

She narrows her eyes and shakes her head.

“Absolutely not!” she says, “you’re wasting your potential by doing that! I mean sure, the hoodie and jeans make you look kinda fluffy and adorable in a sort of way, but you should definitely at least experiment with something. Here put these on. I want to see how you look in a sundress!”

She tosses a long white sundress to me, and points over to the dressing room, making her intentions clear.

I’m about to become her dress up doll aren’t I? I thought with dread, although I suppose I do need help with making up my mind.

I walk into the dressing room, and come out with the sundress on.

“Ooh, very nice,” Emuru says, “but it’s not the right season for it yet. We’ll buy it for the summer time. Next, I want you to try some dark decora outfits on.”

I take them and come out with an unnecessary amount of accessories on.

“Woah, too emo,” she says, tossing a pink shirt and black skirt over to me, “now let’s try some jirai kei.”

I came out once more.

“Haha, just as I thought—it’s cute, but it definitely doesn’t match your vibe,” she comments, “but I wanted to see you wear it anyway. Next, let’s try something sporty…”

The process repeats over and over again for the next thirty minutes, switching between many different fashion styles as she comments and rejects every single one. Finally, after my arms and legs were practically jelly from switching my clothes out so many times, the next time I come out of the dressing room, Emuru lets out a gasp.

“Yes!” she shouts, “this is exactly it! I knew something preppy like some light academia would be perfect for you!”

I was wearing a gray cardigan over a white collared shirt and light brown pants with a belt wrapped around it—or at least that’s what they would be colored if they weren’t dyed in my current blue hue. The color was only temporary though, as I felt a huge wave of relief wash over me after hearing she was done, lightening my blue into a nice shade of yellow

“I want at least 10 sets of what she’s currently wearing,” she says to a blue blob-shaped store employee before looking back towards me, “now you don’t have to be wearing a boring hoodie every day.”

I smiled, slumping down on a nearby bench, finally getting a chance to sit down after so long. I didn’t care what I was wearing anymore, I was just glad it was over.

Emuru sits down next to me, seemingly exhausted as well, even though all she’s been doing was giving me orders for the past half hour—but still, I recognized it as an opportunity to ask her about her orange hue.

“Hey Emuru,” I said, “can I ask what emotion were you feeling while dressing me up?”

She looks over to me.

“Why? Are you seeing a specific color on me that you haven’t seen before?”

I nodded.

“Orange to be exact.”

“Orange huh… I suppose that color matching would make sense. I guess what I felt just now was something like… excitement or… passion to be exact. If you couldn’t tell, I really like dressing people up because fashion is one of the few hobbies that I have.”

“Passion…” I murmured, “what’s that?”

For some reason I felt a strong dislike towards that word, even though I wasn’t really sure what it meant.

“Hmm, I guess it can be described as the feeling of doing something you like,” she explained, “it makes you so happy to do, that even though you get angry or frustrated at the challenges that may pop up along the way, you’re willing to pull through it. Like just now, it took over thirty minutes to finally decide on a style for you, but despite how annoying it was, I was glad in the end anyway.”

“I see,” I said, wondering if there was something out there for me that would make me feel this way too.

I suppose anger and happiness can combine after all…

“Ma’am your order is ready,” the employee comes back with a bag in hand before handing over a small piece of paper to Emuru, “here’s the total price.”

Emuru takes one good look at the paper and looks back towards me with a nervous smile.

“So… Nanashi…” she says, “you wouldn't happen to mind getting a job any time soon right?”