Copper Pennies

CHAPTER 1: BREATHE

BIA

"You're plannin' to pay for that, right darlin'?"

    I jump at the nasal voice inches away from my right ear. The Swiss army knife that I had been admiring slips from my fingers, clattering on the polished concrete floor as I whirl around. 

An elderly woman with a pointed face and wiry gray hair eyes me with suspicion, her frail hands locked in a death grip on a plastic shopping basket as she shuffles backwards a few steps.

    "I'd hope that you. . ." her voice trails off hesitantly as she takes in my appearance. Threadbare sweatshirt, holey jeans, dirt streaked face.

    "Are you alright?" she asks, startled into concern. I press my lips together and fight to keep the irritated expression off my face as I pick the knife up off the floor.

    "Yeah, fine, thanks." I make my voice as polite as I can manage. "And yeah, I'm planning on paying for it." A lie. I'd been about to slip it into my pocket when she snuck up on me. 

She stares at me for a moment, her wrinkled face pinched into a half-concerned, half-suspicious expression. I awkwardly shift my weight from one foot to the other, tapping a finger against the smooth surface of the knife.

    "How old are you?" she asks after several moments of uncomfortable silence.

    "I'll be twenty-one next month." Another lie. I'm only seventeen, and I look even younger. "I get told all the time that I look fourteen. Good genes, I guess," I say with a laugh. "My mom was the same way, and now she looks thirty when she's forty-seven, so I guess that's something to look forward to." Lies. My mom didn't even make it to forty.

    She's still looking at me, suspicion etched in the lines around her brows. A few more moments pass, and I decide it's time to leave. Offering her another polite smile, I start to turn away, but she stops me with another question.

    "You from 'round here?"

    I press my eyes shut for a moment, hissing out an annoyed breath before turning back to face her with a smile on my face.

    "No, actually, I'm from Wyoming." I kick myself internally. Great job! Pick one of the few states you know absolutely nothing about! Quick thinking, Bia!

    "Oh, that's lovely! I have some family in Wyoming!" the old lady exclaims. Of course you do. "What part?"

"Cheyenne," I say automatically. It's the only city I know. "I like it there. They have great cheese." She gives me a little bit of a strange look. Shit, Wisconsin is the cheese one. Too late now, just roll with it. "There's this little shop near my apartment that sells the absolute best sharp cheddar in the country. It just melts in your mouth." I gush, running my fingers through my hair and pretending that I know what the 'sharp' part means.

I see," the old lady comments politely, still looking slightly confused. "So what brings you to Mogusa, Colorado?"

"I have some family here in Colorado that I came down to visit. We went camping out in the woods a little up north from here. We're actually on our way back home now, which is why I look a little rough," I say with a laugh. The lies flow easily off my tongue, having been told a hundred times before.

    The woman's face is beginning to relax, but she keeps talking before I have a chance to slip away.

    "Well that must be nice. Who are you visiting?"

    "My parents. And my little sister." Lies. My parents have been dead for more than three years. I have no clue where my sister is. "They moved here a few years ago, but I stayed in Wyoming for school."