Her gray hair stuck out in all different directions. She was impatient, it seemed, for her shift to be over and she was annoyed that she would have to actually do her job instead of watching the recap on the Braves vs. Red Socks game on the TV behind her. She scanned over each item in a hasty manner and gave a glare at Finn when he didn't have his money ready. In return, he was not giving her the happiest of looks. He squirmed under her gaze as he reach for his wallet with a single ten dollar bill left in it. On the way there, his elbow knocked over a half-hazard display of gum. Not wanting to cause her anymore trouble than he already had, Finn stooped over to scoop up the gum packets. The floor was dusty and it had hurt him to bend over. His stomach had been killing him for a few weeks now, but he couldn't go to the doctor because then the government would find him and send him back to his parents. While gathering the gum, he noticed a slip of paper laying on the floor over to the side. He picked it up as well, laying it on the counter while he straightened up his mess.
"Pick four numbers."
He was confused for a moment as he laid his ten out. The lady scooped it up and dealt out his change like a pro, though he had noticed that it was slightly less than what he had been expecting back. "Ummm. Ma'am. I don't think this is right."
"Pick four numbers."
He had noticed on the counter that the slip of paper he had laid there was not there anymore. He wasn't the type to believe in luck and he knew that the probability of the lottery ticket the lady was holding that he assumed was the slip of paper of winning was one in perhaps 700 million. So, he had no incentive to actually give her four numbers. But, something in him gnawed at his conscious. It was telling him he needed to do this. So, he brought up the only significant numbers in his life. "Nine...seven...zero...six." The date he had become his own man. It was the only date he loved. His personal Independence Day.