Clockwise Series Omnibus by Strauss Elle

Author:Strauss, Elle
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: adventure, historical fiction, fantasy, young adult, science fiction, time travel, social issues, love and romance, 19th century

Chapter Eighteen

CASEY

The best way to teach a teen the ins and outs of the twenty-first century? The mall.

I thought Boston on the first day would be a bit much, so I decided on the mall nearest to here. It wasn’t exactly small potatoes. It had two floors, with a food court on the second. I had a flashback from a previous winter, my birthday actually. Nate and I had just returned from a trip, and Jessica caught us together at the food court. She was so jealous she went public mean-girl on me.

And Nate broke up with her right there in front of everyone.

In his defense, she deserved it.

Willie and I walked to the bus stop near Nate’s house. It had a route that went directly to the mall.

The bus was half-empty when we got on, and I let Willie have the window seat.

“I just can’t believe all these buildings. There’s almost no raw land left.”

“There are still farms around here, but they’re smaller,” I said. “There are more if you get farther away from the city.”

A black guy took the seat opposite us. He wore a blue sports jersey that stretched over a very large stomach; his head was shaved bald and he had white ear buds in his ears.

Willie leaned over to whisper. “What did that guy eat?”

I shrugged. “We have fast food now.”

“Fast food?”

I thought of the food court. “Don’t worry. I’ll show you.”

“What’s he got in his ears?”

“Oh, he’s listening to his iPod.”

Willie raised his eyebrows. I dug through my purse and took out my phone. “We can store music in small devices like this. I tapped my music icon and a random song come through the small speakers.

Willie wrinkled his nose. “That’s music?”

“Yup. Get Nate to show you MTV later.”

“What’s that?”

I could tell I’d be answering a lot of questions today. Wouldn’t hurt to share some of the load with Nate. “Ask Nate later. He can give you the rundown on the TV.”

Willie stopped with the questions for a while; I think he had a lot to process already.

The bus pulled into the mall parking lot. Willie whistled as we walked to the main entrance. “Wow.”

I smiled. It was kind of fun to show off the future.

The mall was crowded with people–kids out of school, tourists, shoppers–on the lookout for summer specials.

Willie was taking it all in.

“It looks like we didn’t have to worry about the Irish,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

“In my time there is a social concern about immigration, especially the Irish and non-British Europeans.”

I watched all the passing faces. African Americans, South Americans, and Asians mixed in with the white populace. “This is what Americans look like now.”

When we got to the center of the mall, Willie stopped to stare up at the second story ceiling. A railing ran around the circumference of the upper level shops. People stopped to lean against them, and looked down at us.

“Incredible,” Willie said. “Every doorway leads to another store?”

“Yeah. There are endless ways to spend your money.

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