Walking home from school, Brenda silently wished that she did not live with her cousin, that Brian did not look like her and that they went to different high schools. As she silently wished this, her cousin Brian, who was only a day younger than Brenda, kicked at the leaves piling up on the sidewalk. As he did so, he kicked a stick into the street, disrupting some of the leaves in the gutter as he did so. A glitter of something caught his eye and commenting, "What's that," he stopped to pick up the object in question.
Not really caring for somebody's trash, Brenda ignored her cousin and continued walking, figuring that maybe she would call her best friend Jodie when she got home. A couple steps behind her, Brian yelled out, "Hey. Wait up," and quickening his pace, he hurried to catch up to his cousin, completely oblivious to the fact that she clearly did not like walking home with him.
Holding up an amulet, he told her, "Look what it found."
Barely glancing at the trinket, Brenda shrugged and commented, "It's costume jewelry, Brian. I had hundreds like it when I was a little girl."
Shaking his head, Brian exclaimed, "This is not piece of plastic. This baby is the real deal," and after a moment's thought, he mumbled, "I wonder if anybody would pay money for this or if there is a reward out for returning it to its rightful owner?" as he brushed the bits of what-not off of the amulet, noting that there was a strange image printed on it.
"It's garbage," Brenda retorted. "If it wasn't, it wouldn't be in the gutter. Nobody just drops things in the gutter. More often than anything, it is usually dropped in a public place, like on a sidewalk."
Feeling frustrated that his cousin wasn't paying attention, Brian finished brushing the rest of the debris off and holding it up, he commented, "Maybe this is the one exception. Maybe it was dropped on the sidewalk, but rolled into the gutter," he reached out for his cousin, unaware of the necklace swinging about as it touched her fleece jacket, skin, his skin and his jacket at once, and stopping her in her tracks, he said, "Would you just look at it?"
Unaware that the amulet had come in contact with her just moments previous, Brenda snatched the amulet from Brian, her hand and his hand brushing against each other in the process, and holding up the necklace, thinking that it was truly hideous looking thing, she commented in off-tone, "It's junk. Trust me," and before Brian could say or do anything, she tossed it back into the gutter, noting with some pleasure that it clinked against the cement, rolled a bit and then slipped down the storm drain a couple feet from where she and her cousin where standing.
Glaring at Brenda, Brian sputtered for a moment and then exclaimed, "Why do you have to be such a bitch sometimes?" and pushing past her, he continued on without her, giving the storm drain a passing glance as he past it.
Behind him, Brenda shrugged and thought, "What a dick. All this over a stupid piece of costume jewelry," and looking at the drain, she decided that it was for the better, she resumed her walk home, thinking that her cousin might walk home without her from here out, something she came to conclusion was a really good thing as she passed the drain without a second glance.