Takara Hamilton Pretty Penny There wasn’t ever much noise where I worked. If there was, it was the sound of car engines or people talking in the distance. I day dreamed for most of the day, that is until someone rolled up to my window to pay for their parking. It had been a horrible day at the Holiday Inn parking lot and I had a night shift that did not end until three a.m. I always hated the night shifts. Even with the lock on the door of the booth I was in, which separated me from the outside world, I was still quite nervous being in a parking lot alone. Two hours after my shift started I began to drift asleep. “Hello” A voice echoed from a distance waking me out of my sleep. “Oh, yes, may I help you” I stuttered as I tried to straighten up and look professional. I looked to my right expecting what I thought would be someone paying for their ticket, but it wasn’t. Standing at only 4 ft tall was a tiny boy dressed in his pajamas “May I help you?” I asked. “Not really, but can you do something for me?” he responded. I looked down at him and began to question why he was out alone, in the middle of the night. “Yes I can. What do you need?” “I have a letter for you, but you have to promise not to read it until I leave.”
I took the letter and the boy walked out of the parking lot. When he was gone I opened the letter that read: From Davey, “I live across the street, I see you working here all the time. I can tell it’s not a fun job and you hate it. My mom said you are a college student trying to make a pretty penny. I never understood why you couldn’t just find a penny and clean it. So I got the best looking penny I could find and cleaned it until it sparkled. Now you don’t have to work anymore.” When I looked at the bottom of the envelope there was a bronze shiny penny. At that moment, a smile took over my face that marked the day; I had made a pretty penny.
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