two sundays ago (or was it three?), i sold second-hand books with ade, flory, bianca and her bf, joo and adrienne plus male friend. it was all very fun and games, really. i PR-ed with bianca alot, prancing from table to table in starbucks announcing our wonderful news: BOOK SALE! CHEAP READS FOR NEXT TO NOTHING! HURRY! EVERYTHING MUST GO! and other exclamations alike.
it was, i must admit, "fun". it was certainly rewarding to see the horrified looks on the faces of the heckled, as they mumble with much difficulty that they'll, "drop by later". HA. as if!
then it occurred to me that this is the exact same thing i do to those heckling. except i usually include a glittering smile that tricks 95% of hecklers that i'm actually going back to look at their knick-knacks. SUCKERS!
anyhow, back to the story. some people DID stop at our stall to run their eyes over our overflowing table: books, mags, stuffed toys, decors,
shoes, you name it! i had originally thought flory organized a BOOK sale; i guess what's the harm in selling other junk if people will buy, eh? should've thought of it myself! haha.
one particular family came by that reminded me very very much of when i go shopping with my mum and brother. they stopped by our table. the brother sighed heavily as his sister proceeded to reach for titles such as "Becky Bananas", "Angels Unlimited: Budding star" and "Shopaholic Abroad". The first two were extremely suitable for girls her age; she must've been about twelve or so. but shopaholic? her mum wasn't fooled. the girl pleaded silently with her eyes and i could see her mum wasn't one to be crossed or whined at. you could literally see the prayer materializing in the girl's mind: "pleeeeease let me buy it. plllleeeeeeeeeease". all i could do as the shopkeeper-outsider was to stand by and smile at the girl in an "i understand" manner.
i was doing my fair share of crossing fingers.
please don't look at the back!her mummy turned the book around and furrowed her eyebrows as she read the synopsis. i could see the doors of her mind closing with a bang. slowly, she shook her head with her lips pursed, an expression that would cause any restless child to wilt immediately, and put the book back on its stand.
"No i don't think so. we'll just take these two lah."
the girl hung her head in defeat. i felt like patting her hand and saying,
Ah, don't worry, soon you'll reach the age where you can read whatever you like! and Shopaholic will certainly be there when you're of age. okay? so don't fret. anyhow, i kind of agree with your mum. there are certain elements of Shopaholic that aren't suitable for young eyes...i remember my own personal battles with my own mummy when it came to buying fiction. i wanted a funny chicklit read. she wanted "good" books that "taught me things" and that "had substance".
all i can say now at my wise old age of sixteen is that: MUMMY KNOWS BEST!
