The kid’s password was just an N drawn on the lock screen. "This is why you should always use an actual password and not a pattern, idiot." I thought with a superior grin. As expected, he soon placed his phone down- to lean over and punch his friend in the shoulder. I nabbed it right from his side, slipped it into my pocket, and rose to go to the restroom.
Once I was in the safety of a stall, I started looking through his messages. As expected, there were some embarrassingly erotic conversations between him and a “Kandas.” Not my business, though. I took several screenshots of the information, cropped out the time and date on each, sent them to myself to later send to my friend, deleted the evidence of tampering from his phone, and dropped it in the toilet. I crawled under the stall like an elementary kid so that it was locked from the inside. This way, it probably wouldn’t be used until the janitor came by and had to deal with it.
It had taken a few days to pull this plan together, and I’d been nervous that someone would see me grab it, but everything was worth it for the fifty bucks my friend had put up. The money was being saved up for a plan I had. I headed to the library to “pick up something to read.”
~
It was a rather long walk from my spot in the woods all the way to the more urban area. Cars were free from the traffic that would plague the streets this time of the evening on a weekday. It was a bit early for dinner, so fast food lines had but a few cars lined up… except for Chick-fil-A, oddly enough, making it the perfect location. I stood in the parking lot for a moment, taking a deep breath. It was time for my act.
I crossed my arms and marched into the building with my grumpiest scowl. Three or four families sat at the tables, mindlessly gulping down their fat portions. I waited in line, tapping my foot and rolling my eyes and sighing too heavily. The picturesque white family soon finished ordering, and I huffed as I stormed up to the counter. I was having too much fun playing the annoyed customer.
“How can I help you today?” the lady asked carefully, seeing my expression.
“My buds and I ordered four spicy chicken sandwiches, but you only gave us two! What kind of joke is that?” I glared indignantly up at her.
“Do you have the receipt?” she asked, touching her jaw nervously.
I feigned a moment of confusion, as though I needed to think up a comeback. “What… Do you want me to bring everyone and the food in here? Good God! We’re in a rush!” I growled.
I could sense the subtle doubt and irritation in her voice, but mine wasn’t really a situation where you could feel guilty about anything. “Sorry, sir. We’ll get that to you right away.”
I had already pulled this act at a few other restaurants, just never the same one twice. Only once did they refuse me, repeatedly saying they wanted to see my receipt. (I told them I would never eat there again and that I didn’t want the food anyway before storming out. They could never prove I was or wasn’t lying.) I think this business is what a normal person would refer to as “shameful” but… I guess I just don’t have any dignity.
This wasn’t the only way I got food, of course, else I’d be long dead. When I first came, I did some research on when Publix gives out lots of samples and perfectly coordinated my timing to get two or three samples whenever I went. Even better, the Publix had a drink machine that’s more exploitable that a five-year-old with an allowance. While getting my free cheesesteak sample, I could gulp down as much Coke as I pleased, throw the cup away when I was finished in the conveniently close trash can, and nonchalantly slip out. Drinking a lot is a great way to trick yourself into thinking you’re full, too… at least for a little while.
Of course, before I even left home, I was sure to bring something that would last a long while. A month before I cut and ran, I hid a nearly full container of Quaker oatmeal under my bed, which, if you don’t know, has about thirty servings of grainy goodness in it. A week later, there was another container, of course, which I took. When I left a few weeks later, I snatched the remaining one, giving me three full containers of the stuff. The thing is, oatmeal is on the bottom of the food pyramid, which makes it a good thing to eat a lot of. I think? Usually I’d just pour water in it and eat gross, cold, tasteless oatmeal, but it’s actually not that bad just eating it just as it, although it tries to steals the moisture from your mouth.
Combining these three methods, I had enough to get by, albeit in an uncomfortable state. I got plenty of water via a spigot on the outside of the school building, so at least that was covered. However, this couldn’t go on forever. I had but another two month’s worth of oatmeal, and only three or four more restaurants I hadn’t raided yet. I could go a second time on the busier ones, but after that returning would just be risky. Publix might kick me out eventually. I couldn’t just worry about it, though. Instead, my attention was on doing what I could for now, trusting that something new would come up when it was time.
I soon reached the safety of the trees, already bolting down one of the sandwiches. The forest, though not very dense, did a fair job of blocking the chilly air. The ground crunched and snapped when you stepped on it, a noise that I trained myself to listen for. If you pace your neighborhood enough, your feet will naturally guide you back home no matter what odd path you take. It was the same for my woods.
My tent was dark blue, a color that neither stuck out nor camouflaged. The good news was that, after taking the extra long trip to the nearest place that sold camping equipment, I found a beautiful brown tarp that would blend perfectly as long as it wasn’t snowing. The bad news was that it costed money. If I could just get access to twenty dollars, I could buy a tarp, batteries, and more oatmeal, maybe even throw in some candy.
There was a swishing and crunching of feet on the leaf-carpeted ground. I stood still, glancing around for the source. It wasn’t very loud, so it was likely a deer or something. It paused, maybe sniffing the air or something, then continued on at a fast pace. I sighed as the sounds faded. Maybe I could start catching and eating the precious forest animals… as if I had the skill for that.
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