Prompt: Shopping Around

[Prof. Sky Alton]

around her were gleaming glass-topped counters, each displaying an array of beautiful objects for customers to admire, from blue glass bottles of eau-de-cologne to prettily enamelled snuff-boxes.

-Katherine Woodfine, The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow

Shopping is a very definite presence in a lot of stories, whether it’s the tantalising markets of a fantasy city, the gossip at a tiny village shop or the luxurious department stores of Edwardian London. For myself, my enduring memory of reading Philosopher’s Stone for the first time is the twinkling, sunlit Diagon Alley and all the wonders on sale there.

So, as you’ve probably guessed, the prompt this time is to write a story (200 words or more) where shopping plays an important part. It could be set in a shop or a shopping street, it could be about an item that your protagonist is on the search for. It can be anything you like, providing you really utilise your powers of description

You’ll earn 20 beans for completing this prompt as well as it counting towards the chance to snag our shiny Quill and Ink award.

There is no deadline as such for these prompts but if you’d like it to count towards your chance of earning the award for a specific year, we’ll need it by the end of that school year. If you’re comfortable sharing, then post below. If not, email your story to us via hol.bookclub @ gmail.com (without the spaces). Oh and remember it’s a good idea to check through your piece carefully for spelling and grammatical errors as they make it harder for people to properly enjoy your work.

[Adaleine Shuster]

"Where could it be?" I asked myself. I had been looking for the perfect birthday gift for one of my friends for two days with no luck. He had been my closest friend for years, and I felt that for this special birthday he deserved the best. I had gone to the mall nearest me, as well as town center. I now knew that I would have to look even harder. So, here I was. In Singapore, 6,288 miles away. I was not sure what I was looking for, or where I could find something. Why Singapore you might ask? I have a lot of family over here, and they said that I should come. I probably shouldn't have listened... Anway, I was supposed to be meeting them at the beach soon. I'm not really sure about what that has to do with what I'm here for, but whatever.
*3 hours later*
I am at the beach with my parents, and we are looking into all of the shops along the beach. I have not been to a beach in forever, and I have to admit that the warmth is nice. We walk into a shop that sells beach gear and sea shells, but I don't think that is right for him. After a bit of wandering we find our way into a store that sells creations made out of sea shells. They have some really cool stuff here, like mirrors, chairs, and lights. Suddenly, something catches my eye. It is kind of plain, just a picture frame. The shells that make it are gorgeous, and I know just the picture to go in it. This is it. This is the perfect gift, very plain, but still very meaningful. Who would have thought?

[Hannah Lovegood]

Arianna's Caught Red Handed

A spy named Allie was trying to get to New York as fast as she could because in one of the fancy department stores, there was one item that she really needed. But, she knew her arch enemy Arianna was trying to get there. Arianna had an advantage of living in New York. Finally, when Allie got to New York and went to the department store, it was closed down for the holiday and would be open again in a week. She knew that Arianna had probably snuck in there and was looking around and had a week without any employees to bother her. So, of course, Arianna had snuck in. She had looked down on the first floor but it wasn't on the first floor. When she got to the staircase to the second floor, an announcement came out that the store was closing in 5 minutes. So, she snuck up the staircase to the second floor, where there was nobody she thought. But there was an aisle over, a guy in a tuxedo looking through the cards display. Finally when Arianna realized that, she snuck down that aisle and went to the next aisle. But the next aisle was an emergency exit door so she pushed through it and ran down. And when it got opened, it set off an alarm and called emergency services. She snuck down and went over to the employee exit where she sat in her black dress, her black hair back in a ponytail, her black pokey boots hanging off the edge while Allie was knocking on the front doors but nobody was answering. So, she zapped the doors open with her superpower and went in. She looked around the store but there was nothing that she could find. Then, she saw that no one was around so she snuck behind the counter. Finally, she found it – a teacup, a cracked teacup. So, she slipped it into her leather backpack and went upstairs where she found a beautiful summer flower dress that she got for her older sister. Then she found these cute pink bows that she got for her little sister Abby. Then, she found a bowtie with little regular ties pattern on it that she got for her dad. And a fashion book for her mom. She got herself a lavender dress for her prom at her regular school. Then se left and got back on the train and headed home. While Arianna waited for every employee to have left, then she dropped down from her spot and snuck through the employee door because she thought everyone had left but she was wrong. When she snuck in, there was the main owner Emma and her husband Draco and her daughter Isabel just about to leave and they spotted her. Emma said, “Hello. What are you doing in our employee entrance?” Arianna said, “Nothing” and tried to get out the door but Draco had already locked it. Then Isabel said, “I know why you're here Arianna Flowerbud. You're here to get our cracked teacup because you're a super villain who wants to take over our business.” Then she grabbed her blond ponytail and swung it and it swung behind her.