Out Of Thin Air (Chapter Eleven) Getaways Turned Holidays
I think I did a pretty good job at looking not homeless as I walked into the Greyhound station. It wasn't an easy task, considering every inch of me was covered in now-dried dirt.
I only attracted a few glances, since there were only a few people there at the time. A large clock on the wall told me it was already eleven. School had started three hours ago. Wow.
"Hello?" I asked as I approached the counter where tickets were supposedly being sold. There was no one there at first, but aftera few seconds a blonde woman wearing too much makeup walked out.
"Hello..." she said, looking me over suspiciously. "Can I help you?"
"Yes," I said, trying to act normal. "Uh, do you have any buses leaving soon?"
The woman motioned to a board with times posted on it, and prices for tickets next to them. The least expensive was over $60, and I was pretty sure I didn't have any money at all. That was a pretty major problem.
"Give me a sec," I sighed and marched over to a small waiting area. I collapsed onto a plastic chair and took a second to think.
Problem number one: I had no money. I had left all of my stuff back at Aiden's on the staircase. Even if I did have it, I still wouldn't have $60 on me. Crap.
Problem number two: I was fourteen, and it was a school day. People generally become suspicious when fourteen-year-olds ask for bus tickets in the middle of the day when they really should be at school. Double crap.
So I was pretty much screwed. Again. Triple crap.
Then, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed something... shiny. At the base of the chair was a wallet. The sun had hit the latch thingy just right, and it reflected directly into my eyes. I picked it up, amazed.
The wallet was plastic except for the latch. It had little doodles of penguins all over it, which I found quite cute. It belonged to a girl named Madison Wright, age 18. She had a few other cards in there, like her Blockbuster membership card, a few credit cards (which I realized would be useless unless I had her signature)... and a whole wad of cash.
I counted up the money. $156 in total. Who carried that much around with them?
I had just hit the jackpot.
It wasn't until after I had popped out of my seat, wallet in hand, that I realized I was totally stealing all this money. After a few moments of internal debate, I decided to keep it. Here was my logical thinking: If someone was stupid enough to just leave that much lying around, they deserved to have it stolen.
"May I help you?" the woman asked as I went back to the counter.
"Yes, uh, I'd like a ticket to..." I took a quick look at the board again. "Chicago." I finally decided.
"That'll be $75," Her tone suggested I didn't have half of that. I internally scoffed, pulling a few bills out of the wallet.
As I slapped them down on the table, I could tell she was beginning to get suspicious. She glared at me as politely as possible. "How old are you, miss?"
Crap. I knew this was coming. "I'm 16," I lied smoothly.
She seemed to somewhat accept it, but then got another look in her eyes. "But shouldn't you be in school?"
"I'm homeschooled," I improvised. "Mom gives me Wednesdays off, in honor of Wednesday. The town." Geez, I should really get into Improv.
"But then why are you going to Chicago?"
"Because that's where my mom lives," I tried to make it sound like the most obvious thing in the world.
She bought it, and then gave me the ticket. Inside, I was celebrating like crazy. I was actually a good liar. I knew that skill would come in handy some day... like now.
"Thanks," I told her, pocketing the ticket and the wallet. I returned to my seat and heaved a sigh of relief.
My bus didn't leave until a little after noon, so I had about an hour to kick back. Either that or be bored out of my brains. Or be captured by Oliver. But for the time being I would try to look on the bright side.
Speaking of the bright side, the bus stop had vending machines, and I was starving. I hopped back up, and went to inspect them. As I was attempting to stick a crinkled $5 bill in the soda machine, I felt a tap on the shoulder, and I jumped a mile.
"Excuse me?" I spun around to see a girl, maybe in her early twenties staring back at me. "Oh, I'm sorry I scared you," she apologized, "But have you seen a wallet? It has penguin doodles on it."
It was Madison Wright. I felt a twinge of guilt, but then stifled it. "No, I haven't. Sorry."
Madison looked dejected. "Okay. Well, thanks anyway." I held my breath until she walkedaway.
Great. So now I was a criminal and a runaway.
"Keep looking on the bright side," I told myself as the machine finally accepted my -I mean Madison's- money. "At least you're free."