It's a living... (solo)

Another girl was staring back at her from the mirror. One who looked mostly well rested and kept. One who wore her hair in a fashionable messy bun, who liked yoga pants and belly shirts. This persona she had created on the fly in order to shop without garnering suspicion. She was just a normal teen looking for new clothes. Nothing to see here.

As soon as the changing room door closed locked, she turned to the full-length mirror and stared herself down. She was wearing her most passable clothing; a long black sweater and casual skinny jeans. They fit funny on her body because she had stuffed a large bra with plastic bags, and used the same tactic to form hips and a new butt for herself. To outside eyes, she probably just looked like a grungy teenager who was trying to grow up too soon.

To her, this was the closest she got to being normal.

After a moment she set her armful of clothes down on the bench and began to undress. It took a few seconds to dislodge all of the bags from her bra. She let them gather in a pile in the corner. Next was the pants and the padding for her butt. After everything was off she looked at herself again. A scrawny, pale girl with undergarments stood staring back at her. If it weren't for the stolen makeup on her face and the bun on her head to hide the rats in her hair, she would look like her sickly, hungry, sleep-deprived self again.

The teen turned from inspecting herself to the clothing she'd brought in. She was in a rather upscale boutique this time, so most things were worth at least a good 50 or more. As she had many times before she started rolling and folding the clothes, then began to pack them onto her in various ways. The bra filled up quick with thin silky shirts. She tucked a few pairs of Yoga pants around her gaunt hips to fill them back out. The rest was expertly tucked away in her underwear. She pulled her sweater and pants back on, working out any lumps, and inspected herself in the mirror again.

She looked as she had when she came in. A little too filled out for her age, but wearing the wrong size of pushup bra wasn't a crime. To outside eyes, she didn't look like she had $480 dollars worth of items hidden away.

That was all that mattered. 

She turned and made to exit the booth, shutting the door behind her. Then she headed straight back toward the front of the store, where a lone salesgirl sat at the register.

"Um... excuse me? I think someone may have had a bit of an accident in one of the changing booths. There was some sorta spill on the floor." Eisely pointed toward the back of the store, where other shoppers were still milling about. The girl scrunched her face up at the thought of what the 'mystery spill' could be, "Ew. Thanks for letting me know."

"You're welcome."

The teen turned like she was heading back into the store, stopping by a small display of jewelry. She waited for the employee to leave the counter and head back to the stalls before she headed for the door.

When the girl started poking her head inside to find the fake mess, Eisley darted outside. The anti-theft alarm sounded as she passed through. She headed to the left, then crossed the street quickly.

A few blocks away she allowed herself to slow down, heading off the main sidewalk into a side area where she had stashed her backpack and belongings. Many years of practice helped her change quickly into different clothes, and stuff her haul away inside her backpack.

Her slim frame vanished under a baggy flannel shirt baggy jeans. A buky coat helped to hide the fact that she was scrawny. She plopped a large ballcap on her head, sweeping her loose hair up under it to help disguise her gender. Lastly, she scrubbed the makeup off with the bottom of her shirt and some water that had collected on the pavement.  She barely passed for a boy these days, but it was still enough to disguise her for the most part.

When she was ready she slipped back out onto the street, heading further away from the shop she had hit. She knew a few consignment stores a short subway ride away. She would get a pretty penny from a few of the items, and hang onto the rest for when she needed money again.

Eisley kept her cool when she heard the chirp of a cop car as it passed, likely heading in the direction of the theft. Even though her heart was beating frantically in her chest, she paid the police no mind and continued on at the same sloping pace. 

This was just another day living the best life she could at the moment.