CHAPTER THREE- TWO BROKE REBELS
SAW
I spent the night on Lux and Sierra's couch, ignoring all the screaming phone calls from Hutch about the University of Onderon losing.
After the third one, I'm so done with him I pick up.
"Hutch, I just escaped from jail." I snap. "I do not care."
"Wait, what? Are you at Bonteri's?"
I snorted and hung up on him. But, Hutch lives with me. He knows me well enough to understand that when I don't answer, it usually means "Yes."
There's a knock on the door around seven, while I get ready for work, Lux for a day of job hunting, and Sierra innocently does the dishes in the sink. A little too innocently, I might add.
Sierra dries her hands. "Lux, are you expecting somebody?" she asks.
"Uh, no. Are you?" Lux replies, sharing a look of momentary panic with his sister.
"Guys, it's not the cops." I say. "I just talked to Hutch. It's probably him."
Lux checks the peephole, nods and opens the door. "Hey, guys."
Hutch and Hero file in, smiling.
"Hey, Lux." Hero chimes in. "Listen, I can't be too long, my shift starts at eight."
Hero, as well as being a former rebel, is a waitress. Her boss isn't the galaxy's greatest believer in second chances.
Hutch shrugs. "Mine's at nine, but I'm driving her."
I hold a hand up to my roommate. "Hutch, sorry about snapping at you on the phone, but-."
"You were arrested!" Hero interjects. "How? What did you do?"
"We were on the streets after curfew." Sierra answers. "We thought we'd be okay because it was only from Saw's to here, but there was a patrol. Luckily, it was the dumbest cop alive."
"How so?" Hero asks.
"He actually believed Lux when he said his name was George Washington."
Lux shoots her a dirty look. "It's not right, guys. The curfew now is even earlier than it was during the occupation."
"And there was…the thing." Hero trails off.
"I'm done with this." I snap. "We've got to do something. We were rebels, for crying out loud."
"You forgot one thing: we don't have money." Hutch replies. "I am a cashier, working minimum wage at the Reddy Mart. Hero is a waitress. You're in the militia."
I look to Lux.
"Saw, I'm broke." Lux says. "Sierra and I don't have any money left over from our parents."
"We could put it on somebody's credit card." Hutch muses.
"And how do you plan on getting this?" Sierra asks. "It's not like people are just going to hand us their credit cards."
An idea forms in my mind. "You'd be surprised who people will give their cards to."
"Like who?" Hutch asks.
I point at Hero. "Like you."
"Me?" Hero asks, pointing at herself.
"You're a waitress. People let waitresses walk off with their cards all the time."
"Yeah," she says. "But where I work, the bill comes in a little holder and they put their card in with it. I can't open the folder unless I'm at the register."
"Okay, then just copy down the numbers while you're at the register."
Hero crosses her arms. "That won't work. My boss is everywhere, especially at the register. And also, I have regular customers who know me by name, and the server's name is printed on the bill. It's a good thought, Saw, but the reality is I'd get caught."
Lux drums his fingers. "Wait a minute. It could still work. We just need a different server."
"Like who?" Hutch asks.
"You're going to hate it, Hutch…"
Lux is right. Hutch and Sierra hate it.
SIERRA
I make up a haiku as I write down orders for people I hate.
I really hate this.
This was your idea, Lux.
You're gonna die, bro.
It's the worst haiku ever written, but I do not care a twig.
I plaster my fake smile on and carry the bill over to one of my tables. "How was everything today?" I chirp.
"Excellent, thank you." The customer replies.
"Great! I'll take this whenever you're ready," I reply, leaving the bill on the table and walking away. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the customer stick a credit card into the folder. After refilling another table's drinks, I pop back in and grab the check.
"Okay, Lux." I mumble under my breath while at the register. "We've got a GalactiCard here." I've just finished scribbling down the card number when someone clears his throat.
"Excuse me, Miss. There's a mistake on my bill."
I shove the credit card information behind the register and look up. "What seems to be the…problem, sir?"
Oh, just my luck.
Standing in front of me is the cop from the police station.
He gives me a look. "Do I know you?"
"I've worked a lot of other places. Maybe I'd seen you there," I reply smoothly. "Now, about your bill?"
The cop pulls the small paper back.
"No, I remember now," he says. "Guess I was lucky I came here for lunch, Taylor Swift!"
And before I can run or refute the accusation, he pulls out his blaster and stuns me, right in the chest.
…..
"What do you mean, Dendup has Sierra?" Lux yells.
Hutch takes a step back. "It wasn't my fault, dude! That cop who arrested you guys showed up and recognized her."
"Well, why didn't you do something?" Lux bleats.
"I don't know, Lux." Hutch says sarcastically. "Maybe because I couldn't without revealing myself."
"You let the cops drag a 13-year-old girl whose last name is 'Bonteri' off to jail?"
Hutch raises his hands. "Lux, chill. As far as the cop knows, Sierra's name is Taylor Swift."
"They're never going to believe that, dipstick!"
Meanwhile at Dendup's prison, the clerk gave a still-unconscious Sierra and the cop a raised eyebrow.
"Her name is Taylor Swift?"
The cop nods. "Yes, yes it is."
"Isn't Taylor Swift a singer or something?"
"Look, will you just write up the papers?" the cop demands.
The clerk rolls her eyes. No, just ignore the clerk when the prisoner's given you an obviously fake name, she thinks. The clerk never knows what she's talking about.
"All right," she mutters. "Send her to level 15, cell one."
The cop blinks. "Isn't that restricted?"
The clerk gives Sierra the up-and-down. She's not bad looking, obviously is smart enough to escape the station and give fake names, could pick up waitress skills as if she was a natural, and was in the company of two handsome young men. Yep, I think she meets our criteria.
"Yes, it is. But the records say the prisoner down there needs a new cellmate."
(Another disclaimer: I am in no way condoning credit card theft. It just seems like a plausible way for our rebels to get money.
Thank you StarwarsRulz and Kasai1214 for your reviews. You guys make me so happy! Internet cookies for both of you (::) (::).
Does anyone have any theories on what will happen to Sierra? Who is her cellmate? Will it ever get through the cop's cranium that "Taylor Swift" is a fake name? If you have an idea, please drop a review. I love hearing people's theories about my stories.
That being said, reviews and constructive criticism are wonderful! Flames, however, are only good for baking cookies.
I'll see all of you later, guys!)
