As soon as we walk through the mall's doors, I see my bank.

I need to deposit this cheque.

Turning towards Veronica, I say. "I have to go to the bank. You can come with me or go into Victoria's Secret."

Veronica grabs my hand. "I'm not going in there without you. Besides, I think you need some sexy lingerie. You never know when you're going to get lucky."

I laugh. "It's going to be a long time before that happens, V. I like being single, and it's less stressful than being in a relationship."

"Being with your brother isn't stressful. We're still in the stage of getting to know each other. I'm sure all the bad habits will come out eventually."

"If I have to buy lingerie, it will be to make myself feel good, not because of a guy," I say, walking into the bank.

There's no one lining up, and I get served by the first teller who sees me. Pulling out the cheque, I say, "I would like to deposit this."

The lady's eyes widened at the amount on the cheque before she said, "I'll have to get the general manager." She pushed her seat back and walked to a back room. The door closed behind her.

Veronica turns towards me. "I'll wait for you at the seats. I know the manager won't say anything without your permission, and you need your privacy now."

"Thanks,"

She walks over to the seat and pulls her phone out of her pocket.

The manager walks out of the office and over to me. He looks at the cheque and then at me. "I'll process this for you, Miss Harris." He takes the cheque and types it up on the computer. "The transfer will take 24-48 hrs."

"Thanks," I walk away from the teller and over to Veronica.

She looks up from her phone. "Time for Victoria's Secret. I have the perfect thing chosen for you."

I shake my head. "Whatever you have in mind. Forget it. I'm not interested. Please stop pushing me into buying things I don't need?"

She holds her hands high. "Sorry, I didn't think I was overstepping my boundaries with you."

"You are. I've had enough of everyone treating me differently since I returned to this town."

Veronica doesn't say anything as we step into Veronica's Secret. She heads straight for the corsets and matching thong. She pulls it off the shelf and turns towards me. "What do you think of this?"

"It will look good on you. I'm going to look around. See if I can find something appropriate to wear underneath my interview clothes tomorrow." I walk over to the bras and look for a white one. There are different kinds and sizes of bras.

I have no idea what size to get. When I lived on the island, I normally wore a costume top under my clothes.

It was easier to get changed when I wanted to go for a swim after teaching the kids.

Now that I'm back in Los Angeles, I need a closet full of appropriate clothing for being a teacher.

I find a white strapless bra in the corner and pull off a few different sizes.

One of the workers approached me and said, "Can I help you?"

"Sure, I would like a white strapless bra, but I'm unsure of my size."

She looks at the ones in my hands. "Put them back on the shelf, and I'll measure you. It will give you the exact size, and then you can purchase whatever you want from here."

I looked at the name tag, and it said 'Riley.' "Thanks for helping me out, Riley."

A smile spreads across her face. "It's part of my job. How is it possible that you don't know your bra size?"

"I've never had the use for them until I got a job here in Los Angeles."

"Okay, so you're going to want something you can wear all day that won't get irritating."

"That's right."

She starts measuring me up and writes down everything on a piece of paper. When she's done, she takes me over to the strapless white bras again and pulls my size from the rack. "Let me know if you need anything else." She gives me the bra before walking over to the next customer.

I pull off two more bras in that size, one in white and one in black. As I walk down the aisles, I see a cute black thong and put it on the pile of clothes I have.

If I go out, I'll wear a black thong. Not that I'll be getting laid by any means. I feel like wearing that colour.

As I approach the cash register, I see Veronica there with all sorts of lingerie, and she turns towards me. "I see you've found something, too."

"Yeah," I said, placing my stiff on the counter, and the girl rang up my items.

She told me the amount, and I paid it.

Veronica and I walk out of the shop with our bags. "Where do you want to go next?"

"I don't care. As long as I get a black skirt, white button-up shirt, and a couple of skirts and tops for when I start my job."

She loops her arm through mine. "I know the perfect place." We walk by a few stores until we reach Deeva Boutique.

When I enter the store, I see a woman close to our age, and she walks over to us. "Welcome to Deeva Boutique. Can I help you win anything?"

"Sure, can you show me the skirts you have available?"

"Follow me, ladies." We walk to the back of the store, where rows of skirts are displayed. I go through the racks, finding four skirts I like and putting them aside.

Veronica picks up a couple of skirts and a dress with a slit up the side. "Do you want to hit a nightclub on Saturday? I want to see what this city has to offer."

"Sure," I walk over to a rack and look through the dresses. I find a red strapless dress with slits up the side, and the back is backless. "What do you think of this dress, V?"

A smile spreads across her face. "You're going to look great in that. We should go to the salon on Saturday and get our hair done?"

"Yeah, I think I'm going to get some highlights in my hair." After grabbing everything I needed, I headed to the register to pay for my items.

After we've finished clothes shopping, I walk into the supermarket to grab stuff for dinner, which I will cook for the boys tonight.

Veronica looks at everything in the trolley and says. "I'll help you cook tonight."

"Okay," I say, placing everything on the conveyor belt and waiting for the cashier to ring up the groceries.

He tells me the amount, and I pay it.