FLASH
Riley stamped her foot. “C’monnnnnn Dad! You said we’d get to go look for my friends after that photo!” She whined. Emmett sighed. Ever since Riley had turned twelve she’d been acting out. All of the parenting websites he’d checked said that was totally normal; her way of testing boundaries and trying to work out her own belief system as she approached becoming a teenager....but that didn’t make it any easier to try and handle.
“Okay, let’s head over to the clothing store.” He suggested. “Didn’t you say Abby and Lisa were going to be there today?” His daughter huffed. “Like, yeah, I told you that already!” Emmett cocked an eyebrow at her, and, realizing that she’d gone too far, Riley backed down. “Sorry dad....” she mumbled. Emmett nodded in approval. “Alright then, why don’t we go take a look?” He asked.
As the two walked through the mall Riley fiddled with the camera her dad had given her to hold. It was so old! Like, it probably predated Mrs. Bell at school, and she was the oldest teacher in the whole place! She had to admit, looking through the camera’s lense thingie was kinda cool though...
The mall always surprised Emmett with just how long it took to get from one store to another. It was like the construction crew had been paid by the yard of tile they’d put down and decided to go all out on expanding the place before they’d actually realized how many stores had bought up space within it. After what seemed like ages, he and Riley finally made it to the clothing store she wanted to visit.
Riley’s mood improved as soon as they’d made it to the store itself. There were so many cute clothes! She grabbed a skirt she really liked, and this pink t-shirt, and some jeans—and—Emmett interrupted his daughter. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down.” He said. “I said I’d buy you some clothes, but not the whole store, Riley.” Reluctantly, Riley nodded. After visiting the changing room and figuring out which outfit she liked best, they got in line to make the purchase.
While they were waiting....