I waved goodbye to my best friend as she headed toward her car, then went back inside the mall to get one more thing. I had saved up babysitting money all year to buy the perfect prom dress, and had finally found that dress today. The dress was elegant and long, made of a shimmering green fabric that matched my eyes perfectly. I had promised my boyfriend that prom night would be the best night of our lives, and I wasn't about to let him down. He had been so wonderful and patient when I told him that I wanted to wait for sex, so I wanted to make it up to him on our special night together. I knew I could surprise him if I was wearing some sexy lingerie under my relatively modest dress, but I didn't have any money left. Now that I was alone, I could slip into the lingerie store and find something amazing to take home with me.
It's not like I'm new to shoplifting- I've done it a few times before, and I honestly enjoy the thrill I get from taking something. The trick is to act like it's no big deal. If you don't look like you're doing anything wrong, no one will look twice at you. I casually browsed around the store, picking out a few different items to try on, then headed to the changing rooms. I tried on all of the items and decided on a white, lacy corset with matching panties. The panties even had a hole in the crotch- I was getting aroused by the thought of my boyfriend's fingers finding that surprise! Not wanting to get too worked up, I quickly snipped the tags off of the corset and undies and put my own clothes back on over them. There were already quite a few unwanted items hanging in the stall, so I added the items I didn't want. As I walked out of the area, one of the saleswomen asked, "Nothing worked out for you?"
"Nope, too bad," I replied, smiling apologetically. "Maybe next time." And I confidently walked out of the store, sure that no one had noticed me, and with butterflies in my stomach from the knowledge that I had done something illegal. My stomach dropped a bit as I noticed two mall security officers standing right outside the store, but I looked straight ahead and strode right by them.
At least I thought I did. "Excuse me, ma'am, mind if we ask you a few questions?" I heard from behind me. I stopped to turn around, but both officers immediately came to my sides and folded their arms across their chests.
"Um, I guess... why do you need to talk to me?" I asked, hoping that I didn't look too guilty. But apparently they had already seen whatever they were looking for, because they smiled at one another knowingly.
"Just come with us and we won't need to make a scene," the taller, handsomer officer said, leading the way as the other one followed behind. My mind was racing. How could they possibly have known about my theft? Were there cameras in the dressing rooms? Was there a silent alarm tag on the merchandise? However it was, they certainly knew that I had stolen something. They led me to an empty corner of the mall and into the security office.
"I'll need to see your ID, ma'am." I rifled through my purse, pushing my own bra and panties out of the way to pull out my wallet and hand over my driver's license. "Just turned 18, I see. Well, happy birthday, but penalties are much harsher for adults than children. Do you understand that theft is a misdemeanor?" I nodded, eyes down. "And that misdemeanor charges come with jail time and hefty fines, between $1000 and $10,000?"
I looked up, shocked at the large fine amounts. I was supposed to go to college in the fall, and student loans don't pay for criminal fines. Would they even let me matriculate with a misdemeanor on my record? Would I be allowed to leave the state?
"I can tell you don't want any of those things to happen, Miss," said the handsome officer. "I believe we might be able to make an exception in your case, if you can show us that you truly regret your actions."
"I do, sir, I really do--" I stammered, eager to get out of there as quickly as possible.
"Then we'll need you to put on the stolen goods, look in the mirror, and tell us whether stealing them was really worth a possible misdemeanor charge."
"But I-" I tried to protest, when I was once again interrupted.
"Please, ma'am, we're trying to help you out here. There's a bathroom attached to the interrogation room, you can change in there, then come out and look in the mirror. If you don't want to do this our way, we can start filling out paperwork to send over to the police department."
Feeling ashamed and humiliated already, I figured showing them my lacy underthings couldn't make my situation any worse. And if this could get me out of trouble, it was worth it. So I went into the bathroom, took off my clothes, and left nothing on but the corset and panties. I noticed with horror that they were completely see-through; the white lace hid nothing. Deciding that it was too late to back out now, I quickly left the bathroom, walked straight up to the mirror and said, "This was not worth stealing. I regret my actions completely." I promptly turned around to go put my clothes back on, hoping that they were as embarrassed as I was to have been a part of this. Surely they hadn't known that my stolen goods were so revealing.
"Hold on just a minute there, young lady," came a voice over the intercom. "We're going to need to do a little more interrogation." I turned around, back toward the false mirror which the officers were standing behind.