Behind Blue Eyes

Chloe crowded next to her friend Amy. "I dare you to put this in your pocket." She held a silk scarf furtively to her side.

Amy glanced down at the wiggling fabric in Chloe's hand. She froze momentarily, feeling her pulse race even while her heart seemed to stop. A wave of panic flittered through her bloodstream. She'd never stolen anything before.

Amy searched her friend's face to see if she was kidding, as Chloe rubbed the silk against Amy's hand. "Take it," Chloe urged her again.

Biting her lip, Amy scanned the space around her. There didn't seem to be anyone watching. She didn't want to steal it, but there was a part of her, a small, secret part of her, that wondered what it would be like to take it; to commit a crime and get away with it. She didn't want to do it, but at the same time, she did.

She inched closer to Chloe so that their bodies were essentially smashed together. Then she grabbed the fabric from her friend's hand and wadded it up into her own before slowly dropping her hand into her pocket.  Her palms began to sweat. It wasn't too late to pull the fabric back out and place it back on the display table. She fingered the fabric in her coat, then made her decision. She released the silk and pulled her hand out of her pocket.

"Let's go," she nudged Chloe, adrenaline coursing through her. She quick-stepped toward the entrance of the store that lead back into the mall and had just crossed the threshold when she heard a beeping alarm go off.

Amy froze. Chloe hurried toward her and pushed her out into the mall as a security guard moved toward her. He stopped the girls in their tracks as another store staff member rushed to the scene.

"It's in her pocket," the store employee told the guard. "I saw her put something in her pocket."

The guard stared at Amy and held out his hand. "Empty your pockets, please."

Amy started to hyperventilate. She pulled the silk from her pocket and imagined herself in jail. Her mother was going to kill her. They would show her picture on the news. The police would know her name. She'd have a record.

"I'm so sorry," she said as the guard took the scarf from her hand. He grasped her arm lightly and re-directed her back into the store toward the office.

The staff member nodded toward the mannequins as they passed. "I knew putting security cameras inside their heads would work."