by Adam France
‘Let me get my counters.’
We watched as Mr Williams poured the notes from each trolley into the counting machine. It was taking forever. Every now and then Zoe and I would look nervously at the clock, watching each precious minute tick by.
‘Well, that’s halfway,’ Mr Williams announced as he moved on to my trolleys. ‘But it seems you’ll have more than enough to pay off the loan.’
Zoe approached him. ‘Well, if that is the case, Mr Williams, do you mind if we get your signature now? We’re in a bit of a hurry.’
‘Shouldn’t we wait to see how much we have here first?’ Mr Williams asked.
Zoe’s eyes flicked between Mr Williams and the clock.
‘You said there’s more than enough. You can keep the rest.’ She gave a small nervous laugh. ‘Call it a bonus if you want.’
Mr Williams chuckled.
‘Well, what a lovely gesture.’ He stood up and clicked his fingers towards a younger employee. ‘Mr Limon is getting your papers right now.’
Zoe looked at me and smiled. I returned a wink. She had pulled it off.
That’s when we heard it. A single POP. Then another. And another. Mr Williams started looking around.
‘What was that?’ he asked.
The popping sound became more frequent. I looked at Zoe. Zoe looked at me.
‘Run!’ I screamed, breaking into a sprint.
‘Sorry, Mr Williams,’ Zoe called as she dashed for the door.
The popping sound began to grow louder as we ran outside.
We bolted as fast as we could down the main street. Behind us, people were running from the bank, screaming. We paused to look.
The popping grew louder as the automatic doors opened and rubbish began to spew out onto the footpath. Tins and paper and bottles and wrappers. Rolling out of the bank like the flow of a river.
‘Zoe Pimble!’ Mr Williams screamed as he stumbled out, his suit now covered in dirt and grime, his white shirt stained brown.
Zoe and I looked at each other before sprinting towards the house.
In mid-run, Zoe turned towards me, her fingers pinched together.
‘I was this close!’ she said through gritted teeth. ‘Next time, Paddy, it will be perfect.’
All I could do was give an anxious nod.
I found out the next week that Zoe was made to clean up the bank. I felt sorry for her. She was just trying to do something right for Uncle Keith.
Almost a month after that, Dad came home with a giant smile spread across his face.
‘It’s a miracle!’ he said. ‘Keith must have won the lottery. The bank let him keep the house!’
Mum was super excited. Nina started dancing with Bella in the lounge room. Troy and I gave each other a high-five. Uncle Keith wouldn’t have to stay with us. Mum gave Dad a giant hug. Everything worked out after all.
‘That’ll be four dollars twenty.’
I gave the shopkeeper my ten-dollar note.
As she opened the till I couldn’t help but wonder if Zoe had something to do with her dad’s new fortune. If she had somehow tricked everyone. I came to the conclusion that it would be impossible to get away with it twice.
‘That’s five dollars eighty change.’
‘Thank you.’
I dropped the coins into my pocket as I left the shop. Just when I was about to put the five-dollar note in my wallet, something caught my attention. Something oddly familiar.
I held the note up to the sun. That’s when I saw the Queen’s smile. It was different somehow – it revealed her teeth. And among those teeth was an all-too-familiar black one. The mark of the Black-Toothed Bandit.
I laughed all the way home.
Adam France lives in Brisbane where he works as a primary school teacher. When he’s not moulding young minds in the classroom, Adam is rocking out on guitar, throwing paint on canvases and writing twisted stories for kids. All this while juggling family life with his partner, Bree, and six-year-old daughter, Frankie.
Zahra Zainal is a Melbourne-based illustrator and graphic recorder. After a few short stints in the world of teaching and greeting cards, she found herself scribbling her way through life as a full-time illustrator. Some of her favourite moments as an illustrator include: a group exhibition in her backyard, and having her artwork covering a Melbourne tram. She loves libraries, coffee and reality talent shows. Zahrazainal.com