Molly felt someone behind her as she put her books in her locker the first thing Monday morning. Her books slipped from the stack at the bottom of her locker to the tile floor. She struggled to set order to her things before they were spread across the hallway. Finally she could turn around. Expecting to see Sara and Jess, Molly jumped when she saw Kim—the popular junior who had been in the store on Saturday—and her three friends, Pam, Marcy, and Jade. Surprised, Molly waited for someone to speak.
Kim put her arm across Molly’s shoulders. “So, Molly, how are you today?”
“I’m great, Kim. What’s up? I only have a minute or two before class.” Since when do they
like me? I’d better watch out for these girls—they’re up to no good.
“Sure—us, too. We just wanted to talk to you about something.” She looked down at the pointy red toe of her shoe—the same red shoes Molly had used to outfit her mannequin on her first day of training.
Molly’s radar turned to high alert. Something just didn’t seem right. “Okay …? What’s up?”
“Well, you have the coolest job at the best store. And I was thinking—well, I should say, we were thinking—that you might like to share your discount with us now and then. You see, we both have something that the other wants, and we can help each other get it.”
Ah. So that’s it. “Um … what exactly do you have that I want?” The nerve.
Kim steered Molly down the hall with her arm still draped over her shoulder. “Well, let’s face it. In this school, I have—we have—the power to make or break someone’s reputation. With us on your side, you could be one of the most popular girls. But with us against you, high school as you know it would be over.”
Molly stared at Kim with her mouth open. What nerve to come right out and say that! They never had anything to do with her before this. Ugh. If she didn’t do it, things could get really bad, but if she did, she’d be one of the popular girls. But at what price?
“I don’t know, Kim. I mean, I could get into lots of trouble for that. I could lose my job.”
“Oh Molly, you’ll never get caught. We’ll just try it once or twice. Okay?”
“You’re going to have to let me think about it.” Molly looked both ways down the hallway. “I’ve got to go now. Talk to you later.”
Later that afternoon, at the lunch table with Sara and Jess, Molly just picked at her food. “What’s wrong, Molly?” Sara furrowed her eyebrows.
“Hmm?” She looked up, elbow on the table, her head in her hands. “Oh, nothing,” she replied and then shook her head. “That’s not really true. Something is wrong. People are trying to get me to use my discount on clothes for them.”
“Who?” Jess demanded. She sat up straighter and looked around.
“Oh, that doesn’t matter. The point is that I don’t want to be in that position, and I don’t know what to do about it.”
At that moment, Kim and company walked by, squeezing between students seated on the lunch table benches. As she sidled by Molly, Kim reached down and squeezed Molly’s shoulder and gave her a quick wink.
“Never mind. I know who it is.” Jess rolled her eyes in disgust. “It figures.”
“So, what are you going to do about it?” Sara asked. “I mean, can you even do that?”
“It’s really against the rules. I could lose my job. Not to mention, it’s dishonest.” Molly took a small bite.
“But I thought we were going to …” Jess looked confused.
“I know, Jess.” Molly waved her hand. “Don’t worry about it. I figured out a way to share with you guys that wouldn’t actually be wrong.”
Sara’s eyes lit up, and she sat forward. “Really? How?”
Molly pulled apart her sandwich and scowled at it. She dropped it back onto her lunch tray. “The discount is given as a perk for employees but also to make sure that we can wear the clothes for work. So, I figure that as long as you guys use the discount on stuff I can also borrow and wear to work once in a while, it would be okay.”
“Great idea. It’s a win-win.” Jess looked impressed.
“It’s better than nothing. But that means no jeans for me.” Sara put her uneaten cookie back in her bag.
“Maybe I could buy you a pair of jeans as a birthday gift or something, Sara. We’re allowed to do that.” Molly laughed. “It’ll be okay. You can eat your cookie.” She winked at Jess and then looked back at Sara. “Skipping one cookie isn’t going to change your whole body type anyway.”
“And Sara, for the last time … You’re. Not. Fat.” Jess softly pounded her fists on the table with each syllable.
“Oh, I know. I know. I’m just shaped differently.” Sara rolled her eyes.
“What I wouldn’t give for your waist—instead of looking like a little boy.” Molly sighed and drank the last of her juice.
“So, back to the situation with Kim. What are you going to do?” Jess wadded up her trash and lobbed it into a nearby trash can.
“Well, I’m not going to share my discount.” Molly looked up at the ceiling. “I wish there was a middle ground. A way to keep them happy but not break any rules.” There had to be a way.
“I’ve got it!”
Sara jumped, startled at Molly’s outburst.
“Got what?”
“I know just what to do to keep everyone happy but not get into any trouble.” Molly waited for Sara and Jess to become interested.
“Well? Let’s have it,” Jess demanded.
“We have these things called Bounty Bucks. During the next ten days we’re giving a ten-dollar Bounty Buck to customers for every fifty dollars they spend.”
“Oh yeah, I’ve used those,” Sara chimed in. “My sister and I saved them up. You get them at one visit, and then you go back at a later time to use them as free money.”
“Exactly. Like a coupon,” Molly explained. “What if I give Jess and her friends a bunch of those to use? It wouldn’t be sharing my discount, and they’re only coupons. It’s not like it’s free merchandise. I wonder if that would make them happy.”
“Can you do that?” Jess sounded excited.
“I don’t see why not. I’ll just have to grab a handful of ‘bucks.’ They’re out at the cash register for us to give out to customers.”
“Perfect!” Jess and Sara agreed.
They all stepped over the bench to leave the lunchroom.
“So, when can we go shopping?” Jess asked.
“We’ll have to do it like we’re just out shopping—you know, trying on clothes but not buying. Then I’ll have to go back and use my discount to buy the clothes you picked out. And remember, they have to be things I can wear, and I’ll have to wear them to work at least once. Okay?”
“Okay. Sounds good.” Sara nodded.
“So, when?” Jess asked again.
“Well, I work tonight and tomorrow. Youth group is on Wednesday, so how about Thursday after school?”
“Great. We can hang out at the mall for a while. I’ve been saving my allowance, and my grandma already sent my birthday money.” Sara stopped at the door to her classroom, waved, and went in.
“Sounds great.” Jess went into the room across the hall.
Molly continued down the hall alone toward her biology class.
Waiting just to the right of the door to Molly’s class, leaning back with one foot up against the wall, stood Kim. She looked Molly up and down, lingering over Molly’s new Magna outfit—jeans, high heels, and a khaki jacket. “Well, what’s the verdict? You’ve had time tothink about it. What’s it going to be?”
“Kim, I feel like you’re pushing me. Would you risk your job if you were me?”
Kim scowled and stared her down.
Whoops. Better talk fast. “But, actually, I have a better idea than sharing my discount. That was expressly forbidden in training. There’s no way I can pretend that I didn’t know. So, what about this …” Molly told Kim all about the Bounty Bucks plan.
At first Kim stared skeptically. “I don’t see how …”
“Just let me finish explaining.”
By the time Molly finished explaining, Kim looked like she understood. “So the ten-dollar Bounty Bucks are really just like gift certificates.” She looked puzzled. “Hmm. That’s way better than sharing the discount. How can you get away with that?”
“I don’t think it’s as bad as sharing my discount, because it was never mentioned as not being allowed,” Molly explained. “The coupons are there for us to pass out. How would it be wrong?”
Kim snorted, shaking her head. “Okay, it’s your call. So, you’re going to get me some of those Bounty Buck things then?”
“Yeah. I work tonight, so unless something has changed at work I’ll be able to get them tonight, and I’ll give them to you tomorrow. But Kim, you have to promise that this is it. You won’t bug me for other stuff from my work.”
“Yeah, sure, whatever.” Kim laughed as she sauntered away.
“Molly, I’ve got you on fitting rooms and cash register tonight. I really prefer to have you on the sales floor, because it’s where you do best. But I do need you to learn how to work the cash wrap.” Donna spoke fast. “Since it’s supposed to be pretty slow tonight, I figured it would be a good time. Amy will be close by if you need her. I’m leaving for the day. So, any questions before I head out of here?” Donna, already buttoning her jacket, was clearly in a hurry.
“Nope, no questions. I’m good. Have a great night.”
Amy looked annoyed as she approached with the clipboard in her hand. “Hey, Molly. How’s it going? Okay, your sales goal is only five hundred dollars, because you’ll be on register. You have a goal of two credit card sign-ups. Oh, and don’t forget to hand out the Bounty Bucks to everyone who comes through the line. They get one for every fifty dollars they spend. Any questions?”
Molly shook her head quizzically at Amy’s curt demeanor.
“Good. I’m going to take my dinner break. Amber will be here in about twenty minutes.” She rolled her eyes. “So just hold down the fort while I’m gone. I’ll just be in the back room. Come get me if someone needs to be rung up.”
Molly looked around the empty store. No one in sight—perfect. She walked over to the cash register and grabbed the next week’s schedule, pretending to look at it. She wasn’t doing anything wrong. Was she? If it’s not wrong, why am I so nervous—and why do I have to hide it? “It’s just like coupons in the paper,” she whispered. Then why does it feel different?
She put the schedule back and busied herself straightening the bags. Molly looked around the store one more time and then grabbed a thick stack of the coupons and put them in the cargo pocket of her khaki pants. Snap. She secured the pocket, just in case. She took a deep breath and exhaled, trying to settle her stomach. She would give the coupons to Kim and then never do anything like this again. It wasn’t over yet, though. For the rest of her shift Mollybattled her inner voice. Don’t do it. Don’t do it. Too late.
“Here.” Molly slapped the Bounty Bucks on the table in front of Kim where she sat at the lunch table with Pam, Marcy, and Jade. “There are five of them here for each of you. I don’t ever want to hear of this again, though. Promise me you won’t hold this over my head or ask me for more. I can’t get more. Besides, the promotion ends in a few days, and that will be it anyway. Okay?” The four girls looked at Molly in surprise.
Molly wasn’t sure if they were surprised that she actually got the coupons or if they were surprised by her tone. She hoped it was both—and that they took her seriously. It could get bad if they didn’t.
“So, what exactly do we do with these?” Kim turned them over to read the instructions.
“You just take them to the store on one of these days,” Molly explained, pointing to the dates printed on the coupon. “You can use them just like cash. They are redeemable for merchandise, even if you don’t buy anything at all.” Oops. The light dawned as Molly realized exactly how these were different than coupons.
“But think about it. If you walk in there with five of these, since they are only given with a fifty-dollar purchase, that’s like saying you had spent two hundred fifty dollars to earn the coupons. There’s no way you guys spent that much. The manager would remember if you had. So, when you use them, just use one or two at a time and buy something else to go with it. Okay?” What have I done?
“Okay. That makes sense,” Kim said, and the other girls nodded.
Kim motioned with her head for the other three to leave with her. She patted Molly on the shoulder. “Hey, thanks, Molly. You’re a cool kid.”