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“Listen kid, if you’re gonna give me money, you’re gonna have to buy somethin’ first. Get some gum or some shit.”
The cashier let out a heavy sigh as he glared down at the small child standing below, a crisp one dollar bill held out in offering. She was no older than five, maybe a young six, with mousy brown hair, shoved into a messy ponytail by a green elastic band. Her eyes were a dark brown and wideset on her round face, making her look a bit like an old lizard.
“No sir, my name’s Margot Eloise Carter!”
She spoke with the voice of a child who had been taught carefully on the rules of etiquette, but her tongue slipped between the gap in her front teeth when speaking the ‘s’ in Eloise. Her arms remained extended, attempting to force him to take the dollar from her waiting hands.
“I didn’t ask for a name kiddo, I asked for you to buy somethin’.”
“Don’t you know my daddy? Scott Carter?”
The man closed his eyes for a moment, his fingers kneading the skin between his eyebrows in minor frustration. This was getting nowhere. Still, he attempted to humor the girl.
“Mhm, sure. Comes to town every week or so.”
“He said you’ve been real sweet, knockin’ some money off your prices. Said he’d pay you back real soon.”
“And what’s that got to do with anything?”
Margot pouted slightly, waving the dollar a final time at him, a bit irritated with his supposed ignorance.
“He said he owed you a buck, but he keeps forgettin’. So I brought you one.”
He stared, the cogs in his mind turning desperately for an answer that he knew wouldn’t come. Eventually, he spoke up in a stiff voice.
“Did your daddy put you up to this?”
The brunette shook her head.
“Well then… thanks young lady.”
He took the dollar with shaking hands, watching as her smile brightened, knowing her father would be pleased. Wordlessly, he reached below the counter, rummaging for something tucked beneath the wood. The man handed her a small pack of watermelon gum, pressing it into her empty hands.
“Thank you sir! That’s mighty sweet of you.”
Margot tore open a pack, popping a thin strip into her mouth.
“Run along now.”
And that she did.