Retail Therapy at Bendel (Open to NYC folk)

[alisa_lebeau_v3]

The Scientists at the Future Foundation decided that Alisa could go out on a little day trip. She had to be back before dark, and they gave her a little bit of homework for her trip. She had to come back with an item she purchased that she liked. No one could recommend anything to her, and she could not let others tell her what to buy. She had to decide for herself on ONE item, and then report how she felt about it from start to finish.

Alisa decided to try and shop for something small, like a nice handbag. It had been ages since she went into Henri Bendel's and bought herself a nice handbag. Well, one that was not recommended to her by someone else that was.

"Dis should be easy... just ONE item. One!" She thought to herself as she looked at all the "A-List" hand bags in stock. She picked one up that had a snake skin pattern and examined it carefully. "Actually, dis one looks kind o' wild. I t'ink I like it..."

She continued examining the handbag, as well as a black clutch for it. Why was it so hard to find something she, herself, liked? Why did it make her sick to not have direction?

"Dese Egg Heads better know what dey are doin' wit' dis little experiment."

Comments

[hellfire_empath]

If Alisa was looking for a place to buy something without any external input, Goodwill would have been a better choice - not only class-wise, but because the salespeople at Henri Bendel tended to get paid off of commission.

Brooke strode in, the heels of her Jimmy Choos clicking and clacking as she smiled a warm smile at some of the salespeople around beauty central, all of whom were more than familiar with her needs and wants. She was here for some of their scarves. It would be getting cold in a couple of months, and Brooke liked to be prepared with the proper things before it was too late.

Her smile absolutely faded when she passed by the handbags and saw - of all people - her. Even if her eyes were different - God, is she really wearing coloured contacts? Pathetic. - Brooke would recognize that hideous excuse for an accent anywhere.

"They must really be lowering their standards if they allowed you past the front doors," Brooke said lightly. "What, were you banned from your usual shopping grounds for your ear-screechingly offensive accent? Because I wouldn't blame them if that was the case."

[alisa_lebeau_v3]

"I have an account here, mind you." Alisa sighed, getting distracted from her little mission as she spoke to Brooke. She opted to speak without her accent, otherwise she would never hear the end of it. "I just thought I would treat myself to something nice. Maybe pick up a few scarfs while I was at it, since the fall will be coming soon. You know how horrible the wind chill is in the city once the temperature starts dropping."

She put the handbag back, and began to look for another one. Her eyes were not colored contacts, but a marvel of science from the Future Foundation. They even managed to regrow her hair, so she no longer had a mohawk, but a full head of hair like she used to.

"It's about time I did something for myself and no one else. Miss? Do you have anymore totes in this design, or is it the last one?" Alisa asked, double checking to make sure the bag had no flaws. She really did feel like she liked it. More so than the snakeskin bag she was looking at earlier.

"That is the last one, Miss LeBeau." The sales clerk spoke in a cheerful manner.

"Then I will take it. Please hold on to this while I continue to look around." Alisa said with a smile.

"Of course, Miss LeBeau! Just let me know when you are ready to check out." The clerk took the purse from her and brought it the cash register. "Please let me know if you need anymore help or are ready to pay for your purchase."

[hellfire_empath]

Brooke raised an eyebrow. "Look at that. The accent turns on and off. Is there a similar switch to turn you off as well, or did they not install that when they installed the rest of your cybernetic weirdness? Because honestly, the option would have been nice," she said sweetly.

She reached out and took in hand a haircalf satchel. "Penelope," Brooke said, speaking to one of the other salespeople. "Set this aside with the pashmina I called about this morning. I might want this for Sharona. She's practically run through the handbag I bought her for her birthday last year. Eastern European maids. You know how they are. Thank you." She turned back to Alisa then. "Really? Funny. I've never seen you carry or wear anything that seemed the slightest bit Bendel-worthy. Or maybe anything you wear just seems as poor and downtrodden as you are. I mean, really, Alisa. Why are you even trying to be something you're so obviously not? I'd be embarrassed for you if I actually cared a whit about you."

[alisa_lebeau_v3]

"I could purchase everything in this store fifty times over, and still not feel any pain in my bank account." Alisa tried not to frown as she moved to look at a few wallets. "I am simply here to purchase something I like, and that is it. Why does it matter so much to you?"

She looked over at Brooke, her eyes moved in a way that proved she did not wear full color contacts. There would have been a hint of black somewhere if she did, and her iris's would not look as green as they did. Her words were starting to bother her, but she was fighting hard not to back down.

"Well? Why? And why do you like to pin me to some stereo-type? You sound like you imagine me in some trailer park somewhere!" Her hand went to rest on her hip. "You do not even know me!"

[hellfire_empath]

"I know you well enough to know that you're overstepping the place that society has set aside for you," Brooke replied. "Trying to worm your way into the Hellfire Club, dating a superhero-slash-actor, mingling with those who are far above you on a social scale if not a monetary one. I mean, the phrase nouveau riche doesn't even apply to you, and that social stratum is already ridiculously low."

She studied another handbag before continuing. "New eyes. New hair. New wardrobe. You're clearly trying to be someone or something that doesn't come naturally to you. See, here, me? I'm in my element. I'm exactly where I should be. Dating a god, shopping on Fifth Avenue, working my way up in the Hellfire Club, getting control over my powers. Whereas you? You're always trying to prove yourself, reinvent yourself, try to become something that you were obviously never meant to be." She smirked. "You may as well belong in a trailer park for all that you'll never belong here, Alisa."

[alisa_lebeau_v3]

Normally, Alisa would have cowered at Brooke's words. She would have back-tracked, made some lame joke, or sought her approval. Instead, it was as though a light-bulb went off in her head. No, a spark that ignited a fire within her and brought her back to life. She now knew why she would do what Brooke said. Why she would re-invent herself over and over again. It was not to be somewhere that she did not belong. It was to get people to praise her and assure her she did.

With a smile on her lips, Alisa turned to Brooke, going back to the purse she originally looked at. She decided to humor Brooke for a bit.

"Oh no! What ever will I do?" She spoke in a mocking tone, her eyes never leaving the handbag. "What exactly would be my element, then? I would LOVE to hear you opinions! However can I change myself for the approval of the GREAT and POWERFUL Brooke?"

[hellfire_empath]

"Oh, look at that," Brooke laughed. "False toughness. I mean, it's cute that you think you have the toughness of a homeless person who can survive the coldest of winters, but the fact is that you have the strength of Kleenex in a thunderstorm. Stop trying to be someone you're not, Alisa."

Brooke set the handbag down and waved over Penelope, who offered her a small bottle of icy cold water. Brooke accepted it and took a dainty sip. She indicated that Alisa should get one as well and continued, "But at least now we're aware that on some level, you do crave my approval. After all, even sarcasm comes from a place of truth. But here's the thing. Shopping where I shop? Infiltrating the society I've always been a part of? Sure, you can be some lame designer impostor version of me, but you'll never be the real thing. Why not quit while you're woefully behind and try to carve out another place in the world for yourself? It'll save you a lot of pain and the rest of us a lot of headaches."

Brooke stepped away, then, ready to head on to the jewelry displays. "Accept that no one's ever going to accept you, Alisa. Maybe then your streak of bad luck will end and everyone you've ever met won't try to leave you or kill you. It would save you a lot of heartache."

[alisa_lebeau_v3]

Alisa handed the handbag to the clerk who was helping her out, smiling as she indicated to place it with the other one she was purchasing. Her hand waved off the offer of water she was given, before responding to Brooke.

"That is just so adorable! You, thinking I wish to be you!" She laughed again, a real laugh. It was absolutely funny to her. Alisa got herself under control before responding to Brooke. "That is just so cute! I could care less about your approval, or that of others. I lived for years like some beaten dog, hoping someone would pat me on the head, only to get another kick to the ribs. What did it get me? More headaches and heartaches then I care to remember."

Alisa walked with confidence, as though Brooke's words had absolutely no effect on her. And for once, they did not. She began looking over at the scarves, while Brooke focused on the jewelery.

"No more. I will not have people like you telling me where I should go, how I should dress, what I should eat, and how I should live my life." She picked up a black scarf, carefully looking it over before handing it to the clerk.

[hellfire_empath]

Brooke opened her mouth to say something snappy back to Alisa, but stopped. She closed her mouth and smiled instead, the corners of her raspberry-tinted lips curving up in dark amusement. There were many things she could have done here - used her powers on Alisa to make her feel horrible; used her powers on the manager to entirely ban Alisa from ever stepping foot in Bendel again...the possibilities were endless.

But what was the point? Alisa had the IQ of flat Diet Sprite. She wouldn't understand. Instead, Brooke's eyes swept over Alisa - head to toe and back again - and Brooke shrugged as if to say, Whatever.

She turned on her heel and headed towards the staircase to check out the jewelry on the next floor, leaving Alisa both behind and beneath her, where she belonged.

[alisa_lebeau_v3]

Alisa simply shrugged at Brooke's response, or lack there of. She waited for her to leave before walking up to the counter to pay for her things. She left the Clerks a sizable tip for having to endure listening to her and Brooke bicker, and then started back on her way to the Pier.

"Her opinions on my life do not matter. It is mine to live and do as I please with it. And it is about damn time I returned to my rightful place in High Society." Alisa thought to herself as she walked. "They wished me to return with something I liked and explain why? I will tell them I like myself as I am. I may be flawed, but I am DONE letting people talk and look down upon me. I will not cower or pretend to be what people want. I am who I am, a member of high society, an artist, a force to be reckoned with."