Lan-Yung and Ray decided to make the most of their day. They called home, spoiling their own secret adventure for the sake of some spending money. They each got a transfer, sent to their phones, of about fifty bucks. The teens found themselves starving, so they headed to the cafeteria for smoothies and sandwiches. They were amazed to learn they were both vegan, for the same reason: meat made them ill.

Ray chomped his sandwich. "I'd still be eating Triple Bacon Smackers if I could stomach them. I used to, when I was little. But Theresa made me stop, because I kept throwing up. Then they just stopped selling them, and it got a lot easier to stick to it. Every time we go downtown, to where people still eat that stuff... I smell that fried meat, it's like..."
Lan-Yung sipped her smoothie. "Like, hey, do me a favor and just leave your food, right there... right in front of me. Then leave. Thanks! Okay, bye now!" She laughed.
"But it'd KILL me."
She nodded along. "I never want meat in my stomach, ever again. But I still love the idea of it. Just surround me with that smell, and-"
A family of five walked by with trays full of Smackers fries, burgers, and onion rings. Ray and Lan-Yung inhaled deeply, then their stomachs turned, and they got queasy. It was all plant-based, but it was still junk food. It was close enough to be reminiscent, for better and worse.
She gagged. "Never mind, I think that ship has sailed."
"It's like, amazing and terrible at the same time, and then it's just gross."
"Like breathing solid chunks of deep-fryer scraps."
They laughed at that, and finished their meals. Then they cleaned up and hit the clothes store, Navy Deals. True to their name, they were literally never not having a sale of some kind – mostly on jeans. Unlike Clotters, none of them were made by small children, around the world... or at least, that was what they told the public. You could never be too sure, even in a 'perfect world'. The two kids tried on different things, just for fun. Lan-Yung dressed up in baggy dude jeans and a tank top with chains and a bandanna, and puckered her lips with attitude.
"You look like a gangster!" Ray exclaimed.
"Yeah, dude. You ever heard Hip Hop in Mandarin?" She spat some words, bopped some beats, all tough.

"I haven't!" Ray strained to grin, clearly intimidated by her worldliness. Or her urbanity. He was kind of preppy, for a loner.
"Don't be scared, you're on my block now." She pointed a 'Thank-You' in his direction. It was sign language, but he probably thought it was a gang symbol. She chuckled to herself.
Then Ray strode into the girl's section, with a surprising lack of self-awareness for a boy. He picked out a white dress with a red bow on the back, and some red sandals to match. He even grabbed a white hairband. When he came out of the changing room, Lan-Yung was surprised. Aside from a few giveaways, like facial structure, social cues, and low vocal cadence, he could have passed for a girl. As long as nobody asked him for the time, or directions.
The differences were so subtle, it seemed like nobody else could even tell. "Excuse me, ladies," said a man passing through.
Ray beamed. Lan-Yung saw for the first time that he'd never actually referred to himself as a boy – she'd put that on him, just like she'd projected her desire to return to the ocean onto the mall seals.
"Are you, a, um... " she tried to ask, suddenly realizing that the traits she'd been critical of, she'd seen on plenty of other girls as well, just not all at the same time; that this person might only have masculine conditioning, rather than actually being... a boy. He did say he was 'other', after all.
Ray tilted their head. "A what?"
Lan-Yung blushed. "Hey, what's your full name? I'm just curious."
"Raimundo Radigan. Why?" He twirled around, and disappeared into another person. She was 'live, laugh, love', all over the place; hiding between clothes on the rack, spinning on her toes, and saying, "Ooh, what's this?" in a higher pitch than normal. It was fucking eerie, as if he'd switched voice-boxes without telling her. Or like he had some little sister, who'd been waiting in the shadows to swap with him in the blink of an eye.
"I'm normally not into wearing this stuff," said Ray. "But I feel like exploring myself a little today," he laughed. Or, she, because it didn't sound like a boy's laughter. "Maybe sometimes I am a girl! Just not all the time."
Oh, shit. Lan-Yung's face turned red. Now she was the idiot with a crush. This dumbass was too cute, to unaware of herself. It was like, without being bullied and kicked at by other girls, she was free to be whatever kind of girl she wanted. Being a boy kept her free of the kinds of judgement they imposed on each other, and left her with only the kinds they reserved for boys. Then again, she was still oblivious in ways that weren't flattering. And she was aggressive, in little measures... like how she walked around without caring who else was there, or let her speed loose when any other girl would have carried a yield sign in front of her (figuratively speaking). Lan-Yung didn't want to be mean, but... it was obvious Ray had never worn a dress in her life, nor been expected to perform as a 'feminine entity'. Her unibrow was a looming threat. She was kinda cute, and kinda ugly, at the same time. Then again, Ray was twelve – sometimes people grow into themselves when they're older. As an experienced thirteen-year-old, she decided: if she couldn't save a dolphin, she'd save this pitiful excuse for a girl.
"I'm... right here," Ray replied. "I heard all of that."
"It's the truth." Lan-Yung put a hand on her shoulder. "But we can fix it."
They went to the bargain bin, for cheap small and medium women's clothing. Five bucks for two t-shirts, seven bucks for jeans, socks, undergarments... the works. Ray was getting a full wardrobe for like, a hundred dollars. Then, they spotted a red hoodie. It was the same color Ray was already wearing, but it was newer, and slimmer. It was fifteen dollars; an absolute steal.
"I can't afford all this," Ray resigned.
"Yes you can! I'll help you, and you can make it up to me later! We'll sell lemonade, and deliver newspapers, or whatever!" Lan-Yung told her.
"Seriously?" she blinked, with wide eyes.
"You only have right now! Next time, it'll be more expensive, or it'll be gone!" She shouted, "CARPE DIEM!"
"Yeah," Ray resolved, and took the hoodie in a medium. "I'm gonna carp the heck out of this diem."
True to her word, Lan-Yung helped buy the clothes. Her dad wouldn't mind, it was for a good cause. She made sure to grab some cheap makeup, too. And a pair of tweezers... she had to tame Ray's furious eyebrows if the poor girl was ever gonna see the light of day out from under them. The girls capped out their shopping spree at two hundred dollars. For a bunch of mostly cotton clothing, that was like piracy. It was tough, but Lan-Yung managed to walk away with nothing but bargain sandals, a t-shirt, and a swimsuit. Ray was the charity case, now – after her clothes, she got a swimming top and shorts. Lan-Yung tore herself away from a pair of jeans with sparkly beads on the back pockets, in pain – it was for the greater good, she told herself. She was gonna be a hero.