Just Delinquent Teen Things
A single streetlight flickered outside a twenty-four hour minimart. The neon green and fluorescent off-white lighting up the small parking lot. It was getting close to eleven at night yet the city seemed alive; unlike a small town that often packed up shop around nine. As a group of young adults had pulled up with loud rock music playing Holly was standing outside of it, leaning against the wall and smoking but pushed off to go towards them.
"Hey, sick ride there." She smiled brightly giving the cigarette a flick from her hand to the wet ground.
"Thanks," the one who had been driving was weary of her given she looked like she'd been sleeping outside the past few days, "listen. I ain't got no cash to spare so…"
"Shit man. I'm hurt. Lady gets mugged, tossed into a puddle and people think they're a bum. This city sucks." It was all lies. She'd been sleeping on a nearby rooftop the last couple of weeks after arriving in Gotham, "I mean, yeah," the woman let out a sigh, "I was going to ask if you'd loan me a quarter to make a call," Holly knew she did not sound like them, her accent was thick of the western states still and she used that to her advantage, "my coach-hound bus left without me. I had just enough for the next bus out tomorrow…" A huffy, upset tone changed to something more sullen, "My mom's gonna be worried sick. I just wanted to call her, sorry." She started to back up.
"Oh my god Tim, don't be a jerk." One of the others slapped his arm, "Give her a quarter."
The man, Tim, rolled his eyes and grabbed his wallet out. He opened it and her hand was out before he grabbed anything. A dollar was the smallest he had on him. She was happy to take it, "I'll ask the clerk to change it, get you the rest back." Her smile was pure bullshit gold, wide and toothy.
"Nah, keep it." Tim stuffed his wallet back into his pants.
"You're a super great guy, thanks."
All of them went into the minimart; Holly leaned on the counter waiting for the clerk to turn around from stocking cigarettes. She did not mind, she did not want the others to hear her anyhow, "Can I get a pack of red slims, uh… this lighter," she pulled a nickel lighter out of a display and set it on the counter. The clerk could not have been much older than she was. He resembled a mop, thought Holly, a mop with brown hair and bags under frosty hues. He grabbed the pack of red slims and set them down next to the lighter, "these chips, and a bag of ice from the cooler outside." She grabbed a bag of chips and watched him ring it all up, "Oh and my buddy Tim is the one paying for all of us. I'mma go grab that ice." She pointed to Tim.
While the clerk looked to where she pointed Holly snatched up her items then swiftly exited. She made eye contact with the clerk through the window, waved and smiled when she did then pulled open the cooler door and crouched down as if she was leaning into it. Holly nearly crawled away toward the sidewalk then bolted. Turning in at the first alleyway and getting on top of a makeshift ladder to reach the fire escape to the rooftop she'd camped out on. Making a mental note never to go back to this mini-mart. She was running out of gas stations and minimarts in the whole south end to commit petty theft.
Well. Fuck.
She needed a job soon.
