The next day, the girls came to the mall once again and visited Madeline at her job. She asked for a break so she can hang out again. They felt like chilling instead of shopping but Madeline just had to go back to the Glam Barn. So the girls stopped there one more time so Madeline could check out some clothes. It was no surprise that the Cow Belles entered after only twenty minutes. They kept their distances, especially when the same employee from the day before stood on the mannequin platform again.
"Hello, shoppers!" she declared. "Okay, if you were here yesterday, you may know that there was a teeny, tiny contest for clothes half off and there was only one winner."
"Me!" shouted Pamela, pointing at herself. "Right here! I was the winner."
Andrea shushed her from afar. Pamela glared at her as a response.
"Okay, I felt a little bad that I set some of your expectations a bit high," continued the employee. "So for today, everything here is 25 percent off. All of everything. Enjoy and spend lots of moolah."
The employee stepped down as the customers began shopping but with happier faces.
"Maddie, can I borrow thirty dollars?" asked Skye.
"What do I look like?" inquired Madeline. "A piggy bank?"
Skye looked at her up and down. "Yes."
Madeline sighed. She unzipped her fuchsia purse and reached down inside. She took out her wallet and opened it to take out a few dollars to give to Skye. "Pay me back soon," she ordered.
"Yeah, maybe next month." Skye counted her money.
"Finally, I can buy that shirt I had an eye on forever."
"Madeline, stop pretending you're not poor when we know you are," said Andrea.
"I am saving money."
"Then why are you shopping with us?"
"I ain't saving that much money."
Madeline walked off and searched for her desired shirt. Once she found it under thirty seconds, she reached out to touch it. When she did, she saw another hand touch it. She looked up to see Pamela staring her down.
"Uh, what are you doing?" Madeline asked.
"I'm gonna buy this shirt," answered Pamela.
"You can't because I'm gonna buy this shirt."
"Excuse me, I've had my eye on this forever."
"Hey, I said that!"
"Well, now I'm saying it."
"Can you say 'ow'?"
Madeline gave Pamela a sudden kick on her bare leg.
"Ow!" Pamela uttered as she slanted to the left and tried to reach her leg. She stood up straight almost quickly. "Oh, you wanna play dirty?"
She turned around and took off a leopard-printed belt from the belt rack next to the regular clothes. She held onto the buckle and whipped Madeline on the waist.
Madeline placed her hands on her hurt side. "Hey! Jesus the Kaiser, that hurt."
"Really? I didn't know you could feel pain on your love handles."
Madeline leered straight into Pamela's eyes. "You want to go there?" She fiercely unbuckled the pink belt on her white jeans and pulled it off through the straps. "En guard."
She attempted to whip Pamela with her belt on her leg but she dodged it. Pamela thrust her belt which Madeline canceled the force of with her belt. They commenced to fight each other with their belts as if they were having a sword fight.
"Lizzie, buy the shirt for me!" Madeline shouted, trying not to lose her focus.
"On it," Lizzie responded.
She made a circle around the store to avoid the belt fighting between Madeline and Pamela which was getting heated as they moved around. She was feet away from the shirt until Mauricia, out of nowhere, blocked her way.
"I'm sorry," she said. "But if you want Pamela's shirt, you're gonna have to go through me."
From not too far away, Andrea heard the convenience and sprinted right next to Lizzie to back her up.
"You're gonna have to get through me first," Andrea said.
Mauricia's eyes widened. She knew what she was going to do and was scared about it. Still angry about yesterday, Andrea jumped on top of Maurica, knocking her down with her back on the floor. She furiously shook Mauricia around while gripping her wavy, chestnut-colored hair. Mauricia's screams caught Pamela's attention, turning her head to follow her friend's calls. Madeline took that to her advantage and whipped Pamela on the back with her pink belt. Pamela leaped and fell down, safely on a pile of clothes that were knocked down from their racks. Madeline attempted run over her but Pamela put her head up and tripped Madeline by trapping her leg into the leopard belt. Madeline bumped into a tall mannequin and tumbled down on it, later feeling a bit glad it broke her fall. Pamela picked herself up and zipped to where the shirt was. But she stopped when she saw Debra taking the shirt off its rack.
"Give me that," Pamela demanded.
"It's not yours; I'm sorry," said Debra.
"I will murder you like you murdered the pigeon to make those earrings!"
"These feathers are fake."
"Just like you. Now give me it!"
"Hang on a second now."
Pamela grabbed onto the shirt and pulled it towards herself but Debra did not let go of it. They had a tug of war with it while shouting at each other overlappingly. They continued to pull and tug and clamor until Debra head-butted Pamela. She let go of the shirt and fell backwards.
"Namaste," Debra bowed before running off.
She zipped past the aisles of customers but found herself coming to a halt when Mauricia jumped in front of her after escaping Andrea's violent grip.
"You're not going anywhere," Mauricia said with a crazed look in her eye. Her disheveled hair helped create a maniacal atmosphere around her.
"Debra!" Skye called from yards away. "Toss it to me!"
Looking at Mauricia's serious face, Debra was unsure. Every time she moved, Mauricia moved. But she trusted her gut, rolling the shirt over the hanger while stalling Mauricia. When she decided to throw it, Andrea had popped up unexpectedly from a corner and jumped on Mauricia once again, pushing her down with a scream. Debra hurled the shirt into the air with Skye catching it almost flawlessly. She approached the counter in no time since she was near it.
Madeline landed on her feet and cheered once she saw Skye purchase the blouse. She ran towards her along with the other girls. When Skye turned around with the bag in her hand, Madeline spun her around into a hug.
"I never thought I would actually enjoy shopping," started Skye, "until today."
Madeline released her and took away the bag with a beaming grin. She pulled out the shirt and said in singsong, "Thank you, Skye! Now I have my dream shirt."
"It has a tear on the sleeve," Debra pointed.
"Uh, that's okay." Madeline dropped the shirt back in the bag.
"I can sew it up for you," Lizzie insisted.
"No way. I am not wearing a shirt that will be attached to you all day."
Lizzie pouted.
The store's employee -- the one who made all the announcements -- entered the middle of an aisle and noticed the big mess of merchandise. Also, from left to right, she spotted the Cow Belles lying on the floor, moaning and writhing in pain.
"Geez, over a shirt!" the employee asked.
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