Life, Love, & Lemons

Used Clothes

Wednesday night was always mine and Taylor's sushi night. Of course that was post getting our driver's licenses and pre-Dad's lay off. Now sushi night was getting harder and harder to pull off.

Bee come on you're my BFF & I haven't seen you in 4ever and a day!

Those were the kind of texts that I had been getting all week from Taylor before I finally gave in. I had to switch my work schedule so that I was working Saturday and Sunday, just so someone would pick up my Wednesday night shift. Now the only problem was finding the money to go. I didn't get paid until the following week and since Dad was looking more pitiful than ever. I couldn't bear to ask him for money and have him give me that big long dopey sigh, again.

The only place I could think of to get some quick cash was to go to one of those clothing re-sale shops. I had never been in one, but I always saw them advertised on TV and knew that I had to get some money somehow. The stupid people that had stolen my purse had stolen my last twenty dollars and with my car almost being on empty, I really needed a full tank of gas and sushi money.

"Welcome to Pandora's!" A way too cheerful brunette beamed from behind the counter.

I smiled and plopped my big box of everything I was willing to part with on the counter. There had to be at least a couple hundred dollars worth of clothes in there, and with luck I might even be able to get some other new clothes with the money.

"Are you looking to sell some clothes then?" She kept that same stupid smile pasted on her way too glossed lips.

"Um, yeah." I thought the big box would have given it away, but maybe her bad dye job had gotten to her brain.

"Alright well just like fill out this form and it should take me about ten minutes to go through this!"

She was way too cheerful to be working this job, but then of course I was the one with the burger job, so I shouldn't really be judging. I filled out the form that basically just wanted my name, phone number, and address then I browsed the racks.

I had never been in a resale shop and wasn't sure how I felt about it. Some of the clothes looked really worn and some of them I couldn't believe were so cheap! There was a shirt that I paid fifty dollars for a few months back at Abercrombie and they were selling for ten bucks! Crazy, I know.

"Miss Evans, your stuff is ready!" The girl called out in her all too cheerful voice.

I slowly walked back over to the counter to see two piles of clothes sitting there. The girl pushed the larger one in my direction.

"These ones we weren't able to take."

I looked down at the pile and thought she couldn't be serious. These were some of my more expensive items! My Michael Kohrs blouse that I wore for Homecoming court two years ago, a pair of stovepipe jeans, and my favorite black Steve Maddens from freshman year.

"What do you mean you weren't able to take them?" I wrinkled my nose.

"They were either out of season, or too worn. You know, those types of things."

This was a used clothing store. How could things not be worn? Ugh, I'd better at least get a decent amount for the things in the other pile. I knew that was at least a couple hundred spent on the two jeans on top alone.

"But these we are willing to buy and we're offering you $38.50 in cash or store credit." She beamed like she had just offered me a million dollars.

My mouth literally gaped open. "You can't be serious. $38.50?" I picked up one of the shirts from the pile. "This shirt alone was sixty bucks and is from Banana Republic downtown Chicago!"