As soon as my mom squeezed the van into an angled parking stall and stopped the car, I practically jumped out and into the store. She hollered at me to slow down as she plugged the meter and unbuckled my sister from her carseat. My grandma and my other sister followed behind. I looked up at the weird, horseshoe-shaped logo on the storefront in red and white. Finally, I was getting something from Lululemon! Since I had first heard about it over a year ago, every girl in school seemed to have made the drive to Saskatoon to get a sweater from here, but I didn’t even have a headband yet. 

I didn’t know where to start; there were tank tops and sports bras on one side, and shorts and yoga pants on the other. There were gym bags, water bottles, yoga mats, and headbands near the checkout. I knew what I needed, though: the classic, zip-up hoodie that every girl had. My eyes were drawn immediately to a bright, coral blue one with big, darker blue polka dots all over it, the Lululemon logo stitched over the entire front side. I tried it on right over my t-shirt; it was tight and stiff, and barely came down to my waist. I did up the zipper all the way over my chin, and then back down again. It didn’t exactly feel comfortable, but I knew I had to have it!

I turned to my mom to show her. My little sister squealed with delight and tugged at the bottom of it, so I put it around her shoulders. “See, Mom? Even Carly likes it! Please can I have it, please?!”

Grandma said, “Wow! So bright! That will sure get some looks. Are you sure you don’t want a black one? A neutral colour goes with everything.”

“No way,” I said, “nobody has one that looks like this!”

Mom sighed. “Alright, it’s your decision. But this is the only one you’ll be getting for a long time. We won’t be back in Saskatoon for a while, and I’m not spending this much on a sweater again, so think about it carefully.” Then she whispered to me, “And remember to thank Gramma for the advance birthday money so that you could get one, okay?”