County Line Road by Marie Etzler Page A

belt in the mirror. Sherle had her back turned to everyone as she rang up Double A’s sale at the register. Jimmy leaned close to the counter, pretending to look in the case, his shoulder right next to a bracelet rack. His heart rate was up. He felt like a kid trying to take a candy bar, but he’d never even done that when he was little. Is this what it feels like, he wondered, is this the rush some people enjoy when they commit crimes? He felt sick instead. The same moment that he slipped a bracelet off the end of the display and into his pocket, he realized what he was doing – committing a crime – and he fumbled to get it out of his pocket and return it.
    The bracelet had slipped down into his pocket. Nervous and unable to be smooth, he couldn’t dig it out so figured it would be better just to get out of there. He turned to leave the store when the security guard stepped in his path.
    “Give it up,” the guard said. He held his big hand out.
    “I got nothing,” Jimmy said and tried to slouch past him sideways. He wanted to project a vibe of someone up to nothing, but it wasn’t working.
    Double A got his change from the clerk and turned just as the guard dropped his hand on Jimmy’s shoulder like the claw of a crane clutching sand from a pile at a construction site.
    “What’s going on?” Double A said.
    “Police business,” the guard said officiously. “Back up.”
    In that moment, the guard looked away from Jimmy to Double A and the guard’s hand came off Jimmy just enough to let Jimmy slip out.
    Jimmy couldn’t resist the urge and ran.
    He ran through the mall in fear. He was blind with panic, making the store lights and signs seem like streaks of light stretching by him. He didn’t see another security guard lunge out in front of him.
    The guard tackled Jimmy in a single grab, but Jimmy was moving so fast, he swung the guard around in a circle. They both stumbled, and for a flashing second, Jimmy was afraid he’d get injured and not be able to run track. He rolled on the hard floor and slammed his back into the foot of a bench of senior citizens. The elderly man and woman jerked their feet up in shock at the young man rolling under their shoes.
    Jimmy held his hands over his head as if to hide and protect himself.
    The guard grabbed Jimmy by the shirt and yelled, out of breath, “Stop!”, his big chest heaving in and out.
    The guard from the store floundered upon them like a fish dumped out of a rushing stream. Double A was right behind him.
    “Jimmy!” Double A said, seeing him on the floor in a ball. “Are you okay?”
    “Back up!” the guard told him and held his arms out to clear the space. The elderly couple helped each other up, protesting.
    “Jimmy!” Double A said, still trying to get his attention. “What happened?”
    “You in on this too?” The guard eyed Double A up and down.
    “He’s my friend,” Double A said.
    “Leave him alone,” Jimmy said, getting up but still held by the guard. “He didn’t do anything.”
    “Keep a tight grip on that slippery one,” the guard from the store said. “He got a stolen piece of jewelry in his pocket, right there.” He pointed to Jimmy’s pocket.
    The guard fished in Jimmy’s pocket with one hand while clamping his shoulder with the other. Jimmy squirmed. He pulled out the bracelet and dangled it in the air.
    “What do we have here?” The guard smiled as though Jimmy had just made his day. He’d have something to brag about to everyone.
    The mall police officer arrived and took over. He shoved Jimmy up against a store front glass and hand cuffed him.
    “What are you doing?” Double A said.
    “Stay out of this,” Jimmy said to him. The cuffs were cold and hard on his wrist bones.
    “No, he was there too,” the guard from the store told the police officer. “They was both in on it.”
    Jimmy’s face was pressed against the cold glass, his fast breathing clouding it up and obscuring his face then evaporating in the