blue bag-part six

She drove to the closest convenience store. She looked at herself on the surveillance camera. She smiled. She hadnt done anything wrong. Not officially. Not yet. She could say she found the bag and there were no checks in it. She could give the cash back right now and still get a reward. She walked to the counter. Two packs of Marlboro. She told the clerk. She reached over and grabbed a bic lighter. One with designs on it. She had gotten rid of everything six months ago. She didnt even have an ashtray. They had the store brand lighters next to the bics. She would get the more expensive one. She laid one of the $100's on the counter. The clerk frowned. I dont  even think I have change for that this early. She told Mandy. She yelled back to an open door at the end of the counter. Hank do we have change for a hundred? Mandy fumbled for her wallet. Never mind I will use my debit card. She told the clerk. Her hands were shaking. She put the bill back into her wallet. She walked outside and stood at the side of the building away from the street. She opened the pack and smelled the tobacco. She lit the cigarette. Her head was spinning. It tasted wonderful. It tasted horrible. She felt guilty. She wasnt doing anything illegal. Just smoking a cigarette. She didnt want to smoke it in the car. She couldnt let Buddy know. She put it out in the ashtray. She still felt dizzy as she started the engine. She had no idea where she was going. She had all the money to do whatever she wanted and she didnt know what to do. Mandy drove to the mall. She roamed through the stores not really looking at anything. Suddenly she remembered her interview. She checked her watch. 11:10. Her appt. was at 2. She could go. She looked down and realized she was wearing jeans, a t-shirt and tennis shoes. Of course she had enough money in her wallet to buy and outfit to wear to the interview. She thought about it for less than a minute. She wouldnt go. She hung on to the strap of her purse a little tighter. Mandy wandered into a high end department store that she normally would have avoided. She went straight to the mens department. She found a nice shirt for Buddy. He would love it. She bought two. One in light blue and one in dark. She paid for her shirts. She put the change in her wallet and walked away with her bag. She waited for a bell to go off. For police to surround her guns drawn. Nothing happened. She walked out of the store.  Mandy set down at a bench in the middle of the mall. She looked down at the bag and realized what she had done. She had bought something for Buddy. She couldnt spend the money on herself. She watched the people walk by and wondered why they were here. Didnt they have jobs to go to on Friday? Were they out of work like her? How could they afford to be here? Everyone looked so happy. She was not. Mandy walked back to the department store and returned the shirts.