Chapter 277 - 277. The Mall

Asher and Art spent an hour planning it all out and were even welcomed back by Cara who was also fairly excited for this. She had not expected a group trip to pop up like this and couldn't knock the chance to go to an amusement park and water park. The group was also excited for it making lists of what to bring and shopping trips to grab bathing suits since they hadn't gotten any yet this year. 

The next day at school flashed by in a blink of an eye and everyone had decided that they were jogging to the mall for their after school work out and also to get their shopping done in preparation for their trip. 

"I think I nearly gave our teacher a heart attack when I handed in homework for the entire month." Art was worried that he had caused some mental trauma to their teacher since he had suddenly handed in a month's worth of homework instead of asking for an extension or assistance. 

"Well, you were the only one in the class not to hand anything in. even Stanley who sleeps through class gets his home work done." Asher made a good point but it was still not enough to shock their teacher so much.

"I think it was actually the fact that when Art handed it in he looked at the grading paper and caught a mistake Mr. Smith made." Jane giggled since she had seen this happen right as she walked out of the classroom ahead of Art. 

"No way! You corrected a teacher? That's super dangerous. Who knew we had a soon to be daredevil in the group." Laura was the one speaking causing everyone to look at her questioningly. 

"Of all the people to say that to me, why is it you? You know you literally lived at the obstacle course while at camp right?" Arts' point was clear but Laura didn't let it affect her in the least. 

"You could have all started out before me. I was just meeting with the school counselor about my plans to enter the tournaments and compete for a scholarship." Cara had been the last one there due to her meeting and no one wanted to start off without her. 

'We are going to do line running all the way there to keep the same pace and work on teamwork. We couldn't head out without you." Jane spoke for the entire group who nodded along with them. 

"Hm, well, I guess I should thank you then. But when I am in the lead, you will all need to keep up." Every single one of them realized that they had just signed up for a much harder run than they expected. 

From that point on the run was the most brutal attempt to keep up with Cara that any of them ever had. Whenever the person in the back of the line ran up they would set the pace when they became the lead runner. The only problem was that when Cara took the lead everyone became sprinters behind the speedy Cara. 

This entire experience led to them spending most of their mental energy to hold each other and themselves back so they could survive the sprint from Cara. Unfortunately, Art was the one who needed to overtake Cara and he happened to be the slowest. This was a deliberate order that Cara set up to push everyone just a little more. The result would be good but at the moment they were all in front of the mall panting. 

After they stretched and recovered everyone was excited to head out and find what they needed and wanted for the planned trip to the amusement park. "I am planning to go and use the birthday gift from Asher to get my gear for the tournament t all settled. I have my stuff already but it is better to have it all upgraded and prepared." 

Cara had been saving it for the right moment and knew that this was the perfect time to get her gear. She had been looking for ways to get better at manipulating the sound around her and decided that having a suit that could assist that would put her that much ahead in the upcoming tournaments. Especially the school tournament to win scholarships. 

"But first, you are coming with us to get a bathing suit!" Sammy latched on to one arm of Cara while Laura gabbed the other. Jane pushed from behind. 

"Boys aren't allowed, go and figure out your own stuff." Jane called back to them as the four boys watched as the girls straight up ditched them. 

"Well, I can't say I didn't see that coming. Sammy was whispering about it with Laura for a while there." Louis had caught on and just accepted it while the other three were a little stunned at the sudden abandonment. 

"I'm fine with this though. I actually need help since none of my clothes even fit anymore. I need to buy a lot more than just a bathing suit and I don't have anything that I can wear for the tournaments either. I was thinking of getting the survival suits that people have. It's similar to the materials of Asher's gloves and shirt." 

Jackson threw another surprise at them when he admitted he didn't have many clothes. "I kinda wondered why your style was like an old mans'. Those are hand me downs since you didn't have anything that fits." Asher hit the nail on the head as he watched Jackson turn a little red with embarrassment. It was clear that he wasn't happy with what he had at the moment. 

"Wait, Asher's gear is already survival oriented?" Art caught this and was curious how Jackson knew.

"I searched the brand and the guy that designs all of it is a designer that specializes in the all resist fabrics. He makes them so they can resist cuts, blunt hits, water, cold, heat, and a lot of other environmental dangers. He won multiple awards for it and was a big star until he went in to seclusion to make a new design like ten months ago." Jackson had found so much out and was glad to share it. "Now his gear is super rare and people are waiting for him to release more of it. But no one knows when." 

"That explains why I didn't find the entire set together. I was lucky to find the gloves under a fallen shelf. Man, I didn't know how lucky. These were on sale." Jackson nearly fell over at Asher's words. 

"Sale? They put a fashion and design stars' items on sale? The store lost out!' The group laughed about Ashers' insane luck as they entered the mall themselves. 

"Hey, do you think that the girls know there is only one summer wear store in the mall?" Louis remembered this and tried harder to keep himself from laughing since it was going to make the girls feel a little dumb. 

"I bet they will get angry at us if we go there though. Why else did they rush Cara along?" Art had already figured this out making Louis fall silent again. "Come on, let's go see what we can find for Jackson. Maybe we will find something cool for everyone. We need sunglasses, suntan lotion, maybe some hats." Art listed off a few things they needed and it made them a lot more dedicated to hunting things down. 

"Hey Louis, what would happen if you wore gloves with metal wire in them? Do you think you would be able to control your lightning better?" Asher had stopped in front of a large window showing a rock climbing themed display. 

"Not sure. Metal is a very good conductor for lightning so I would assume it would make it easier for me to guide it." Louis looked at the same display and started to notice that the gloves on display had metal wires running through to strengthen them against tough rock faces. 

"Then I guess we are finding something for you before Jackson. Actually, look. There are plenty of outdoor clothing options for rugged use. That sounds like someone like Jackson could put some stress on them since his body is stronger than normal people." Asher had just happened to look up and catch the gloves, but now thought he had found the perfect store. 

"Look, the shorts are made from the same stuff used in bullet proof bests but the new thinner version. I wouldn't be able to wear those out when we worked out." Jackson was ecstatic to see that they had found something he needed. He had worn through multiple old pairs of shorts due to his wear and tear. 

"See, all we needed was to have Asher lead the way and he found something great for both of you." Art had his arms crossed in confidence. 

Asher took the chance to whisper to Ary while the other two went in the store, "They would be perfect gloves for you too since you can manipulate the metal and they look like they don't have metal in them. It would make it seem like you are just using your own body strength." Art nodded as he went toward the store entrance. Asher had found him something amazing too.