Slippery Dimes by Susan Hammerman
from Dystopia: a PUNK NOIR Magazine series
Kia blew on her fingers to warm them.
She had the smog shift, late afternoon, but the place paid BIG. With what she’d earned there, plus her savings, a private crate was within reach with plenty left for coffee, avocados, whatever she wanted. Eggs.
Every keystroke of human-verified replies to the hundreds of accounts she ran earned her a credit. With the new message, “hello beautiful,” the credit counter on Kia’s screen that tracked the day’s earnings had almost reached hot shower. When it did, she’d transfer those credits to her wristband bank account, her life’s savings. The goal was to get the human-verifieds to fall in love and transfer their credits to her accounts. Triple points for transfers!
“Credit Transfer Failed” blinked red on the screen. She swore, clicked into that account, and typed, “Didn’t go through! U mad at me, Darling?” Each keystroke cost a credit, and the day’s earnings dropped to cough syrup. She added a worried face emoji, and her credits fell to toilet paper. Then, Kia’s wristband bank account flashed. Auto-paired.
Transfer Successful.
Credit Balance — ZERO.
With her savings wiped out, Kia got it. The scam was a scam.
This story appears as part of Dystopia, a PUNK NOIR Magazine series.
Bio
Susan Hammerman writes crime fiction and lives outside of Chicago. Her short stories have appeared in Mystery Magazine, Dark City Mystery Magazine, Suspense Magazine, Blood and Bourbon, Retreats From Oblivion, the Stories (Within) anthology, and the forthcoming anthology, Becoming Nosferatu: Stories Inspired by Silent German Horror Films.
PUNK NOIR, the online literary and arts magazine that looks at the world at its most askew, casting a bloodshot eye over the written word, film, music, television and more.
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