The Almost Truth Read Online Free PDF Page A

to walk away, but on sudden impulse I turned back. I tore the flyer off the board and stuffed it into my pocket. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it, but I wanted it.

chapter five
    I parked my scooter in the free lot near the ferry dock. I had the change from the grocery, but that wasn’t going to get me very far. I needed money, and this wasn’t the time to go straight and get a second part-time job. I ducked into a 7-Eleven that smelled like boiled hot dogs and used the money I had to buy twelve Hershey’s bars.
    I didn’t have time to do things right. I usually printed up paper bands that I could wrap around the chocolate bars to make them look more official, but I was going to have to work with what I had tonight. I ducked into the bathroom and made sure my hair looked good and that I didn’t have mascara smeared under my eyes from crying. Looking wholesome was critical to my plan.
    Armed with the candy bars, I stepped back outside and looked over my options. The Four Seasons Hotel was nearby.As I drew closer, I knew I’d hit the jackpot. There was a group of businesspeople in the lobby, a sea of gray and black suits. Perfect. I plastered a smile on my face and headed toward a cluster of men while keeping an eye out for any hotel employees.
    “Hello!” I gave them a small wave. “My name is Molly, and I’m a member of the debate team at West Seattle High.” I’d found with the business crowd, debate was the best draw. Among an arty crowd, I pretended to be either with the band or in the performing arts. At a sports bar, I went with being either a cheerleader or on the girl’s basketball team. The trick to any good con is to know your audience.
    “We’re trying to raise money to go to state competitions in the fall. Would you consider buying a chocolate bar to help us out?” I held out one bar to the group of suits with another of my perky, future corporate leader of America smiles.
    One guy was already pulling out his wallet. “Can’t argue with teaching kids critical thinking. Unless they’re my kids, of course. I could use a little less debate at home.” Everyone laughed, and I joined in like I thought he was stand-up comic kind of funny. “How much?”
    “The candy bars are five dollars,” I said.
    “All right, give me two.”
    I passed him two of the candy bars, which had cost me far less than five bucks, with a smile and pocketed the profit. Two others bought one each, and I moved on to the next group. I managed to sell another five before the front desk clerk seemedto start tracking my movements. I left the hotel before she could have one of the bell staff approach me.
    I got lucky. Right across the street from the hotel there were a group of college kids outside a bar. I jaywalked over to them and shared how I was trying to raise money for our school to host a battle of the bands competition. I was able to sell the rest of my candy bars in less than five minutes.
    It was starting to rain. I ducked into a Starbucks. I ordered a medium black coffee in a large cup and then poured milk in up to the top, the cheap woman’s latte. I folded myself into one of the large, worn wingback chairs sprinkled around the room. I grabbed a section of the paper from the rack and opened it on my lap to advertise I was busy and wasn’t interested in chatting up any strangers.
    I did the math quickly in my head. The candy bars had cost me just under fifteen dollars and I’d sold them for sixty, clearing forty-five dollars in less than thirty minutes. It was better money than I made working as a waitress at the hotel, but I was going to have to sell cases of candy bars if I was going to come up with the thousands I needed to send Berkeley for my deposit by August first. I bit my lip to keep from crying again. I forced myself to take a deep breath. I wasn’t prepared to roll over and give up.
    In theory, my mom was right. I could take classes at one of the community colleges in Seattle or try getting