The automatic doors slid shut behind her.
Anabelle grabbed a red plastic shopping cart. The wheels squeaked loudly against the polished linoleum floor. She didn't wander. She didn't browse. She walked with the absolute certainty of a predator tracking prey.
The cameraman hoisted his rig onto his shoulder, zooming in tight. The live chat was buzzing with anticipation. Everyone was waiting for her to steal something. Everyone wanted to see the poor girl get arrested.
Anabelle stopped in the personal care aisle. She reached out and grabbed exactly six boxes of a specific, high-end whitening toothpaste.
She tossed them into the cart.
Next, she moved to the hair care aisle. She picked up two bottles of a promotional shampoo. Finally, she walked to the refrigerated section and grabbed four cartons of eggs that had bright yellow "Manager's Special - Expiring Soon" stickers slapped on them.
She kept her head down, her thumb nervously rubbing her index knuckle as she mentally cross-referenced the barcodes with the crumpled glossy pages in her pocket.
Ten minutes later, she pushed the cart up to register number two.
Brenda Kowalski, the cashier, popped a bright pink bubble of gum. Brenda's eyes dragged slowly up and down Anabelle's muddy shoes and frayed flannel shirt. Her lip curled in obvious disgust.
Brenda grabbed the first box of toothpaste and dragged it across the scanner.
Beep.
The green numbers on the digital display lit up. The total started climbing.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The live chat was moving so fast it was a blur. Viewers were placing bets on how fast the security guard would throw her out onto the pavement.
"Forty-seven dollars and eighty-five cents," Brenda said, her voice flat and bored. She didn't even look at Anabelle.
Anabelle didn't flinch. Her heart rate remained perfectly steady. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the blank white emergency medical card Trey had given her.
"I need to register for a new ExtraCare rewards account with this card," Anabelle said, her voice polite but firm.
Brenda rolled her eyes hard. She aggressively punched the keys on her register, pulling up the new member screen. She scanned the blank card.
The moment the system accepted the new account, the register chimed. The new member welcome discount automatically applied.
The total on the screen dropped instantly from $47.85 to $35.00.
Before the viewers could even process the drop, Anabelle pulled the crumpled newspaper clippings from her pocket. She smoothed them out flat on the black conveyor belt.
She slid six manufacturer coupons across the counter.
"Two dollars off each toothpaste," Anabelle said.
Brenda frowned, snatching the coupons. She scanned them one by one.
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The total plummeted to $23.00. Brenda stopped chewing her gum. Her jaw hung slightly open.
Anabelle pointed a steady finger at a cardboard promotional sign hanging right above Brenda's head. "The store promotion says buying two of those shampoos generates ten dollars in ExtraBucks rewards."
Brenda glared at her, but the system prompted the printer. A long strip of receipt paper spat out, bearing a $10 store reward barcode.
Anabelle reached out, tore the coupon off the machine herself, and handed it right back to Brenda.
"Apply it to this transaction."
"You can't do that," Brenda snapped, her face flushing red.
"Store policy allows same-transaction application if the subtotal exceeds the reward amount," Anabelle recited, her voice dropping an octave. She sounded exactly like an obsessive couponer who had memorized the fine print of every rulebook, staring at the cashier with a paranoid, unyielding intensity.
Brenda's hands shook slightly as she scanned the barcode.
The total dropped to $13.00. The live chat froze. Millions of people stopped typing at the exact same second.
Anabelle pulled out her final weapon. Two manufacturer compensation vouchers for the expiring eggs.
"State consumer protection laws mandate that manufacturer compensation vouchers can be stacked with store markdowns," Anabelle said, her eyes locking onto Brenda's. "Scan them."
Brenda's fingers were trembling so hard she dropped one of the vouchers. She picked it up, her breathing shallow, and ran them over the red laser.
The register let out a loud, angry, continuous buzz.
The digital screen flashed red.
TOTAL DUE: -$0.15
The entire front of the store went dead silent. The cameraman forgot to focus the lens, letting the shot go slightly blurry.
The system couldn't process a negative balance. Brenda's hands shook violently as she manually keyed in an override, adjusting the total to exactly $0.00.
The receipt printer whirred to life, spitting out three feet of paper.
Anabelle smiled, a genuine, terrifying smile. She took the receipt, shoved the eggs and toiletries into her backpack, and walked away.
On Twitter, the hashtag TrailerParkGenius exploded, hitting the number one trending spot in three minutes.
Anabelle walked out the automatic doors. The California sun hit her face, warming her freezing skin. The corners of her mouth twitched upward. The hunt had officially begun.
