spare change

The plastic cup of change was sitting on her desk. It was one of those giant plastic cups that you might get at a baseball game that had various sponsors on the sides. She always hated things like that because she didn't want to throw them out, yet they were useless and ugly. And so it became her miniature savings account, filled about halfway full with change.

It was a nice day and she was low on cash, so she decided to walk to the bank to have her change counted. She estimated there was about $20 or so in there. She should probably wait until there's more money and she really needs it. But the sun was shining, and with the cash she could get a few drinks, maybe a fancy mocha, and so she started walking.

She was wearing a small purse, and cradling the cup of change in her left arm. Along the way she passed a homeless man. Spare any change? He asked everyone who passed. She shook her head and kept walking.

There was a line at the bank. She finally got to the front and placed the cup on the counter. Could you count this, please? The clerk sighed and explained that the change counting machine was temporarily jammed, someone had brought in a bunch of change laced with bolts, paper clips, and nails. They were very sorry, but it should be fixed in a day or two.

She nodded and walked away from the counter slowly, mulling over her options. She could come back later. She could go to another bank. She could find one of those coinstar machines. She could wait until she had a lot more change in that cup. Indecisive, she crossed the street and went into the coffee shop.

Sitting down, she starting digging through her collection of pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters. She took out twenty dimes, went to the counter, and asked for a coffee, preemptively warning the barista that she would be paying with change, but it was nicely counted out. She threw a few quarters in the tip jar and went back to her chair, sipping her coffee with her left hand while her right hand aimlessly shuffled through the coins. She realized she probably looked somewhat deranged, sitting there staring while drinking coffee and holding a giant cup of change. She gulped the rest of her coffee quickly and headed out the door.

There was a row of parking meters along the sidewalk. One was blinking red, and the car was still there. She put a few quarters in it. She walked past another car with an expired meter and an unfortunate parking ticket. She put a few quarters in that meter too, just to mess with them. She giggled a little as she thought of their confusion. A few spots up the street a car was attempting to parallel park. As the car maneuvered its way in, she dug out three quarters and inserted them in the meter. She caught the driver's eye, smiled, and nodded slightly. He looked confused, and as she quickly walked away she realized he was rather cute. She walked faster and headed towards campus.

In search of vending machines, she wandered in and out of the basements of campus buildings. After she bought some junior mints for herself, she put coins in each of the machines she passed. When she ran out of quarters she switched to dimes and nickels. Her cup was getting lighter and lighter.

Eventually she got bored, so she headed home. She passed the same homeless man. Spare any change? She handed him the cup, which now contained mostly pennies. He just stared as she walked away. Before she got to her apartment, she stopped at an ATM.