New Tysons Wing Is, Like, So Awesome

Mindy Rogers, 13, who has iron-straight brown hair and a handbag decorated with hearts, crosses her arms.

"Can we go shopping?" she asks irritably. " 'Cause I'm here to buy stuff, and you guys are like . . . " She shrugs dismissively to indicate their lack of focus.

A lot of kids at the mall are "like . . . "

Compared with other shopping centers, "It's pretty much the same thing," Natty Montoya, a 17-year-old senior at McLean High School, says while eating sesame chicken in the food court with his friends. "But we wanted to come see the new mall because it's" -- he pauses -- "new."

Even on a crisp, early fall afternoon, when the air outside is perfect?

Going to the mall is "a thing to do," he explains. "It's kind of a default, like if you have nothing else to do."

"And guys like to come because they're hungry," his friend Allie Mak, 17, says as she watches the boys wolf down their chicken.

As the afternoon progresses, more teenagers file into the mall, fingering long-sleeved polo shirts at Hollister, riffling through leather belts at Old Navy, stroking pink mohair scarves at Free People, passing from stores booming out techno music to stores playing easy-listening tracks from the early 1980s.

No mall can make everyone happy. Two girls in black express regret that there is no Hot Topic, which they describe as "kind of a goth-emo-rocker" store. A blond boy in a surfer shirt yearns for roller coasters, "like in California," or a big pole to slide down.

But most of the visitors from high schools and middle schools declare it "pretty awesome."

And on opening day, it is the place to be, whether for looking around or for serious shopping.

At Hollister, a dim, cavelike store made up of a series of small rooms, Mindy Rogers buys two T-shirts and Ashleigh Hum, 13, buys a maroon polo. As they pay, they spot a certain "sevvie" -- a seventh-grade boy -- considered to be "really cute for a little guy."

When they announce the sighting to those who missed it, they are met with shrieks of agony. "Meanwhile, we were in Abercrombie looking at nothing," one girl groans.

A decision is made to go to Victoria's Secret. With its dark rooms, pink lights and big-haired, mostly naked mannequins, it's hard to miss, but the girls hurry through that part, looking a little uncomfortable.

"Eeew!" Liz says. "Victoria's Secret is scary!"

"A little inappropriate," Jordan Hansen, 13, sniffs as they pass a thong lined with black feathers.

But in the back room, they find what they are seeking. Cute pajamas! An overstuffed armchair with pink polka dots! A big, pink polka-dot dog!

Oooh! Don't you want that chair for your room?

Totally!