Chapter 7_Shopping Trip

Tomiko was standing in front of a department store.

It wasn't a place she was used to shopping at, so she was a bit intimidated. Normally she would only shop for groceries at convenience stores, and clothes at recycle shop stores. Anything else wasn't worth her time to shop for. But she found herself in a very unusual position.

She had a lot of money, and something that she wanted to buy.

Even before the tares arrived, Tomiko’s family was a bit on the lower earning end of the spectrum. It used to not bother her. It was all she ever knew until their situation got worse.

But it wasn't ‘worse’ anymore. She had a well paying job now. With the money she got from diving, Tomiko noticed she was being less frugal about spending. Not too long ago she would only buy food if it was on sale and found a way to work it into a meal with little waste. Now she just bought whatever ingredients were part of the meal she felt like cooking. It was even to the point where she didn't feel required to cook every meal to save, as pre-made meals seemed to be convenient and still within her budget.

Tomiko had thought about saving it for something like college, but she felt she had already thrown away her chance by not having exemplary grades. No institution could possibly want an average student like herself.

She was still going to save a little, but she didn’t really have any goal in mind to use it on. Maybe for when she moved out. Or maybe for if something went wrong with her job. She hadn't thought of a reason, just that it seemed like the right thing to do.

But she also felt she shouldn't have so much money. Like, it was possible her dad may find it and ask too many questions about where the money came from.

Regardless of the undecided reasons, Tomiko found herself in a position of having money and wanting to spend it. And she knew exactly what she was going to spend it on.

A gaming console.

Specifically, the kind that Aio had repeatedly recommended. Tomiko was pretty sure it was the same kind Chimon owned and played before their meetups. So she knew what it looked like. But because she had tuned out every time Aio recommended she buy something, she didn't know what the name was.

And that was why she was in front of a department store.

Tomiko figured this would be the best place to find what she was looking for. Not only would the console most likely be displayed, but there would also be a sales representative who could answer her questions. As much as Tomiko didn't want to talk to another person, she knew very little about video games, and figured there would be a lot of important information to make the right purchase or possibly purchases.

While her ultimate goal was to buy a gaming console, she started by going to the clothing department. She already knew how to shop for clothes, and doing so here would ease herself into the environment. She hadn’t planned this beforehand. She mostly just saw the clothes and was drawn in by something more familiar to her. She did feel good about the decision though, as it may have been embarrassing to go to the video game section right away. What if the clerk thought it was Tomiko’s main reason for coming to the department store. It would be true, but it was a little embarrassing to think someone else would get that impression of her.

She didn't think herself the person to care what a store clerk thought, but it seemed people viewing her as someone interested in video games wasn't an identity she had come to terms with. It was more so that she was curious about the past-time and wanted more context. Maybe she could learn all the terms Chimon said so she could be less flatfooted during conversations and be closer to her professional diver ideal.

The clothing section was a lot larger than she expected. She figured that it would just be a little larger than the recycle shop store she normally purchased clothes from. The section ended up being a bit overwhelming for her. There were so many bright colors and unique patterns. The floor layout made it difficult to decide how to approach browsing the clothes. She was experiencing a bit of choice paralysis. One by one she slid the hangers on the rod to get a good look at each.

As she looked, she became a bit discouraged. All of the patterns and designs looked fun and special, but none of them seemed to feel like a fit. None of them felt like her. In terms she wasn't able to put into words, one of the out fits seemed to fit the image she thought of herself.

‘Do I even need new clothes’ Tomiko thought. She had plenty that fit at home. Sure some of them were a bit worn, but she didn't have a reason to have very many outfits aside from her school uniform. All she really used them for was going to the store and wearing them around the house. She took a mental inventory of everything in her closet. Aside from what she wore to school, she had enough for about five days of different outfits. That seemed like plenty to her. She knew by how much Aio seemed to spend on clothes that it was on the slim side for a girl's wardrobe, but too much more would take up unneeded space. That would be the main reason she would give if someone asked why she didn't purchase a new outfit that trip.

Although, Tomiko didn't leave the clothing section empty handed. She got a few new pairs of stockings, because most of hers had holes at the feet, and some new shoes to wear for running. Nothing too fancy, just something that wouldn’t hurt as much. She really wore out her current ones for all they’re worth. The new pair of shoes did cost her quite a bit, so Tomiko didn't feel too bad about not getting a new outfit. Being cute just wasn’t meant for her.

Having two shopping bags in hand, Tomiko felt confident enough to go to the electronics section. She had to pass through the appliance section to get to it. While passing through, she thought about how one of the burners on their stove top didn't turn on anymore. It wasn’t dangerous, and it was only the two of them living in the apartment, so one burner was all they needed. The damage was something that they should have reported to the landlady, but her dad said they shouldn’t and he would get around to fixing it himself. Tomiko had no idea why her dad was being so stubborn. There wasn't a particular incident or accident that had damaged it. It looked to be simple wear and tear from an appliance getting too old. Definitely something that the landlord should be responsible for to have fixed. The whole appliance should be replaced, honestly. It took way too long to heat up and two of the buttons required way too much pressure to work. If Tomiko remembered correctly, the reason her dad didn't want to tell Rin had something to do with him already causing her enough problems. At some point Tomiko tried to make a counter argument, but her dad said ‘don’t be such a burden’. She hadn't brought it up since.

It took Tomiko a couple of tries going down the wrong aisle before finding a section that had video games. She was able to recognize and avoid going down the phone aisle, but all of the other electronics were so unfamiliar to her that they all seemed to be similar.

Unfortunately, Tomiko had found a couple of different handheld consoles. She wanted to get the one that Aio had recommended, but didn't remember what it was called, or the features that made it unique. One of the models displayed sort of looked like what she remembered Chimon holding, but it also could have been a color variation of a different one she saw in a box behind glass. The two consoles were not different enough in shape for her to definitively say it was one over the other.

She was hoping to avoid asking for a clerk, but because she needed one to unlock the case anyway she decided to get assistance in identifying that right console she was looking for. She awkwardly waited in line because she didn't want to look for a representative roaming the sales floor. There was only one person ahead of her so it wasn't a big deal. When it was her turn she started describing what little she remembered about the mechanics of the games Aio talked about to the store clerk.

The description that Tomiko gave must have been too vague, because the store clerk seemed to have no idea what she was talking about. Tomiko tried the last line of attack, and described a game that Aio had talked for hours about. Something about a teacher who had to teach the next rulers of different countries, but the kids end up trying to kill each other, so the player had to decide who lived and died.

Tomiko felt really embarrassed describing it out loud. The store clerk seemed to think it was funny. They didn't laugh, but they did have a dumb grin on their face like they were trying to hold in a reaction.

The description worked though, as the clerk knew exactly what game Tomiko was referring to and brought her over to the only system that would play it. It was the console that Tomiko had initially suspected, which was a little frustrating knowing she could have saved herself from the free comedy act she performed for the clerk. At least she could walk away knowing for certain she purchased the right one.

Tomiko asked the clerk if there were any other accessories she should purchase with the console. The clerk gave about a ten minute spiel about the many different accessories and who would be the type of person to buy them. An extra controller if you want to play multiplayer games, a pedometer peripheral if you wanted to play a workout game, a strange ball that was specific to one game. Although a bit excessive, the clerk did go into detail about what brands or variants to avoid. They were very adamant that a specific screen protector was the best option, and anything else would ruin the playing experience.

While Tomiko thought the clerk was just very motivated to sell products, it was really because the clerk thought she was kind of cute and was a bit charmed by her earnest attempt at picking up the new hobby.

After everything was said and done, Tomiko ended up buying the console with an included game part of a special bundle the clerk recommended for value, the game she attempted to describe as Aio recommend, an extra controller, a screen protector, a spare charging cable, and a sturdy carrying case. A bit more than she was expecting to purchase, but all of it seemed pretty common add ons. She really wanted to relate with Aio on this experience, so she tried not to skimp on aspects that seemed important. She felt the screen protector was a bit excessive. If it was in a case it couldn't get damaged, right? But the clerk said if she wasn’t happy with it she could just return due to the brand's commitment to satisfaction. Tomiko planned on bringing it up to Aio to see if it seemed unnecessary and return it if she agreed.

At first Tomiko was hoping to get some advice on games to purchase, but decided not to when she saw the console model included a game and she felt obligated to purchase the one she had described to the clerk. Two was plenty. Also, she didn't want to get advice after her poor explanation of the game she remembered. The clerk's opinion of what Tomiko would be interested in may have been skewed.

When she exited the electronics section, Tomiko tried covering up that she purchased video games by placing them in one of the other bags. With two bags around it, the print on the box was difficult to see unless someone was looking specifically for it. She had to put all her clothing purchase into one bag. It was warping the handle area a bit, since the store clerk did give her two separate bags for her clothes for a reason, but it had a low chance of breaking before Tomiko got home. She wasn’t going to be doing any other shopping.

Once again, Tomiko wasn't fully sure why she felt the need to hide her purchase of a game console. It just seemed like the right thing to do at the moment. Still seeming to care more than she wanted to recognize about her public image, and still distrustful of what had interested her.

Back in her room, she looked at the cover of the still wrapped game. The picture wasn't at all what Tomiko had envisioned from Aio’s recounts. She said that the characters had very personal and relatable personalities, but on the cover they all looked so serious and ready for battle. How could anyone relate to a military leader during battle?

To make sure that she made all of the right purchases, Tomiko decided to wait until after talking with Aio on Monday. It would be easier to return if it was all still wrapped. That was the main reason, but something else was keeping her from opening up her gift to herself. It was an odd disconnect. Like… it wasn't for her.

She put everything back in the shopping bag and placed it under her bed. Something to be enjoyed at a later time.