Chapter 278 - 278. Mall Finds

"Wait, but I need to go to the other shop to use my gift to get new modified gear." Cara had been trying to argue her way to her freedom. However, the other girls had teamed up and dragged her all the way to the summer wear store without any room for her to escape. 

"Just face it, we are getting bathing suits first." Jane wasn't letting Cara argue either. 

"Just come with us. If you run off on your own then all of us will need to pick out a bathing suit for you." Sammy threw this dangerous idea at Cara who wouldn't let this happen in a million years. She knew all too well that if she allowed it she would either end up in some dive suit or with something she could never wear in public. 

"It's better to just go with it. We have plenty of time and if you have been ahead on homework like everyone else we shouldn't have anything to worry about. Unless you have a date or something." Laura couldn't see what Cara was so averse to doing this first. 

"No, I don't have anyone like that." Cara was instantly ten times more annoyed making Laura want to push in on it more. 

"Oh, so there's someone you do like then? Hmmmm? HMMMMMMM?" There was no way to escape Laura as the four of them walked through the mall. 

"Oh look there is the perfect set of sandals for the beach!" Cara used the distraction to rush in to what summer wear store ahead of everyone else escaping the question and saving herself. 

"Aweeee. I wanted to hear who she liked." Laura was understandably disappointed that her attempt had failed. It wasn't often that she had hung out with the girls alone and wanted to make the most of it by talking with them about everything that they would be uncomfortable saying around the boys. 

"You should have known she would run away, I'm pretty sure we all would have...well, not Jane. we all know her and Asher are probably secretly dating now." Sammy said this nonchalantly as she walked in to the store too. 

Jane was left frozen outside without any ability to respond. "Sammy has a point, you two should just be open with it. It would make dates easier for you two." Laura supported the belief that the two had been secretly dating this whole time. 

As Laura walked in to the store too she couldn't hear Janes' response. "But we haven't gone on a first date yet." Her voice was quiet making it seem sad but looking closer someone would have realized she was embarrassed and excited for the possibilities. 

"Jane! We need help, Cara is trying to get an athletic one piece so she can swim laps at the pool the whole day whole time we are at the water park." Jane rushed in to combat Cara's decision with the other girls. 

"I'm telling you, bro, if you get those Teflon climbing gloves for Jane she would love them. You've seen her shift. Her nails get longer and sharper but the skin on her hands stays soft without scales. It will be a perfect gift for her training and gear." Art had seen Asher contemplating on buying some womens' fingerless Teflon climbing gloves. He had known that he was thinking of buying them for Jane in an instant. 

"You really think she will like them? I know her birthday is next week. She hasn't told anyone because she doesn't want to distract us from the day off but we ended up planning it on the same day." Art was shocked and grabbed Ashers' shoulders. 

"If you do not buy them for her as a gift I will encase you in metal and sink you to the bottom of the ocean. Get the girl you like a gift that will help her become a better hero. You know she will love them and use them every day even if they were flimsy and cheap. So just do it." Art was making sure Asher wasn't going to turn around and dismiss the idea. 

"Yes, yes, I will." Asher grabbed the green pair quickly not realizing it was the same shade as his eyes. Art caught this fact and nodded in approval. He thought it was the ideal choice and internally applauded Asher. 

"Alright, so I know that I didn't just hear that Jane was hiding her birthday from everyone." Louis was not about to let it slide by either. " We are definitely going to celebrate. Art is making the cake though. I have heard that you can make an epic birthday cake." Louis had heard this from Jane and Asher one day at lunch and had been trying to think of an excuse to get Art to cook again. 

"I think this is a great idea. I have plenty of vegetables I can use to make lunch and then Art can bring the dessert." Jackson was already sold on the idea and was thinking about the best vegetables he could pick from his garden for the occasion. "The real question is if Asher wants to have some space from everyone else that day?" Jackson brought a quizzical look to Ashers' face. 

"True, I'm sure that he will want to be alone to celebrate her birthday with a few hours of date time." Louis supported the and understood exactly. 

"Date time? He hasn't even told her out loud how he feels. The two have been dancing around their feelings forever." Art broke the news to the other two while Asher was stuck in a daze. 

"But Sammy said she was sure that you two had been dating the entire time. I even heard her whispering about it with Laura. Wow, who knew they were so wrong. Sorry for believing them." Louis felt a little bad for blindly believing something that he hadn't even heard from Asher or Jane themselves. 

The four boys stood idly in awkward silence for a moment before Afrt jumped to change the subject. "You already paid for those right Jackson?" 

"Yes, we can head to another store now!' Jackson picked up on Arts' goal and proceeded to push the daze Asher forward toward the register to pay for Janes' gift. 

After they had all paid for their things and Asher was looking a little more responsive they aimed themselves at the next nearby store. "I don't know why we are looking at the super phones. None of us can afford them yet." Art had dragged them to look at the super durable super phones. He was obsessed with the new features and how they could be adjusted based on the user. 

"Think about it, we are already modifying our gear in the modern technology class. There are tons of parts t the older super phones. If we use our existing phones and the parts to super phones then we could have a custom built one. Plus look, there are sales parts here for the new model that already has customizable options." Art made a good point drawing everyone's attention to the new shiny phone models.

"That's actually pretty great. We can keep what we have and just make it better. I bet it can even be made more durable with the right parts and effort." Asher had already seen a few of the students in class modifying their own phone and had the feeling that making their own super phones was a much easier task than it sounded. 

"Sounds good to me. I have some savings so I will buy the upgrade kit over there. Then we can use it on my phone. I don't use it for anything but studying and the gym app now." Jackson had no qualms about handing over his phone for a day or so. 

"Just meet me in the front of school tomorrow and I can bring it to class." Asher was excited about this additional project. He and the others had already brought a large group of students from the modern technology class together to work on projects. They had been receiving some very good leadership and communication skills without realizing it. 

"I want one that can handle my stronger zaps. I feel like it could be possible with the right materials." Louis was also on board and wanted to see what he would end up with. The modern technology class that Laura had introduced Asher, Art, and Jane to was paying off in mountains. 

"I'll need to thank Laura again for recommending the class. It is filled with so many hidden gems."Asher had begun to forget about the teacher of the class since there were so many positives in comparison. The more they attended and spoke to the students the more they realized just how much they could and would learn just by being there. 

They began to dig through the parts and upgrade kits finding a myriad of on sale items that they could grab to have even more options. They couldn't wait to meet up with the girls for food later and tell them about their finds. However, there was still plenty of time to explore until then.