bad influence 》h.g.

Twelve || Pennyboard

My eyelids were clamped shut with the disgusting crust of dried tears, and my cheeks were sticky with salty trails when I woke up in the morning. I rubbed my eyes and widened them a few times to fully open them; man, last night wasn't one of my best. I grabbed my phone and clicked on the Facebook app. A red box containing a number 1 hovered over the message icon. I clicked on it to discover a message from Hayes:

Hayes: The whole thing's off, forget the list. You win, I don't give a shit anymore.

I don't know why, but something about that message sent a pang of disappointment through my chest. The list was stupid and I was risking a lot for it and I didn't want to do it at first, but it was starting to grow on me and I was beginning to love the buzz each objective gave me. I knew it was for the best though, considering things would've been extremely awkward after last night. I told him he was dead to me, for God's sake. I still felt like I hadn't proved myself to him though, like I needed to show him that nothing would stop me from completing that list. I was gonna do it. I'd finish the list, regardless of whether he cared or not.

What was the next objective?

'5. Steal at least one thing from a store.'

Shit. I couldn't do that. I'd never stolen anything in my entire life, not to mention every store I knew was filled with cameras, watching out for kids like Hayes to stop them raiding the shelves. Oh, for fuck's sake! Jesus, I'd cursed so much those past few days. I knew the reason for it, though. Too much time spent around a certain asshole. You pick up certain traits after spending 4 consecutive nights with them.

Would I dare steal from a store? Even just a pencil or something? No, that would prove to him that I was too scared to steal something valuable. Food? Nah, too predictable. Something cool, something that would impress him. And then it hit me. I had the perfect idea, and I could only pray that it would work. I got out of bed, freshened up in the bathroom, got dressed, grabbed a croissant and headed to the store with my barrel bag slung over my shoulder.

I drove to Skate Hut- which I assumed was a regular hangout for Hayes and his skater crew. It was also known to contain no cameras due to the sensors placed by the door that detected unpaid items and bleeped if you tried to take anything from the store. I knew by common sense that if you removed the security tag from whatever it was that you planned to steal, and managed to remain uncaught by the staff, you could walk free from the store with the item. I tapped my fingernails against the steering wheel nervously, my grip becoming loose due to the dampness of my sweaty palms. Then I finally plucked up the courage to open the car door after realising I'd been sat in the store car park for 5 minutes just staring into space and trying to rid myself of the sick feeling in my stomach. With one last deep breath, I headed into the store, gripping the strap of my bag tightly. It was a nice barrel bag actually, a navy blue and pink one from Jack Wills that my cousin over in England sent me as a birthday present.

Shut up babbling, Ava and just get on with it. I smiled and said hi to the girl at the counter and nodded politely at the other staff dotted around the shop, assisting customers, stacking shelves and just patrolling around. It seemed that the store only employed young, attractive, tattooed people as that is how I would describe the kids who worked there. I don't know, probably a way of attracting customers or something.

I walked over to the section that contained rows and rows of the item I planned on stealing, in about 100 different designs. As I walked past the skateboard display, I saw Krista Sanders from my PE class checking out new decks. She was heavily into metal music and dyed her hair a different colour every week. It was green that week. I smiled at her as I walked past, not expecting one in return. Just a little further down the aisle and around the corner was where I needed to be. My heart was pounding as I approached the shelves where they were displayed and finally I reached them: Pennyboards. I looked through the collection. If I was going to get one of these things, I'd at least choose a nice one.

After 5 minutes of consideration, minus a total of around 3 minutes of looking around guiltily to make sure I wasn't being watched, I chose a mint green board with baby pink wheels. It was a beauty. And as if things couldn't get any easier, turns out it wasn't security tagged, and it just had a sticker on the bottom that could be removed easily. I took one last look around before picking at the sticker and peeling it off. Then I unzipped my bag, slipped the board in and shut it again before walking down the consecutive aisle and pretending to browse through skateboard waxes and wheels. My heart was thudding but not in a good way this time. I felt a hot shiver down my spine and my hands began to shake, my jaw clenching. I had something worth like $90 in my bag and I was about to walk away with it without paying. One of the guys working in the store walked towards me and I felt like I was gonna throw my heart up it was beating that hard.

"Everything okay for you, miss?" Was all he said with a smile. I relaxed instantly. Well, I became less tense than I was right in that moment, but I was still terrified. All I could manage was a nod and a weak smile, too afraid to speak in case my voice gave me away. He walked away and left me to it. I continued to scan the shelves a little while longer before deciding to buy an alan key and some wax for my board to make me look less suspicious. I took them to the counter and paid before leaving the shop, relief flooding through me as I walked past the detectors without being bleeped.

I did it. I really did it. I stole a pennyboard. I could tick it off the list and show that stupid Hayes Gri-

"Excuse me, miss." A stern voice said behind me before a hand was placed on my shoulder. I froze and did not dare turn round. Holy fucking shit. I was done for.