Jessica Parnasso

The $20,000 Chameleons

Tara sipped on her venti mocha swirl perusing the golden, silver and bronze lamp stands at her first stop of the day. She knew she didn’t need any of these items, but the thrill of hunting for a treasure that the tag sale owner didn’t realize they had was exhilarating; the best way to spend a Saturday in Tara’s mind. Sometimes she felt bad, as if she should say something. Something like, “Hey! Lady! You can’t sell this for 2 bucks! This is worth hundreds! It’s a first edition! Are you daft?!” She knew she just didn’t have it in her. Instead she bought whatever item with a slight smirk on her triangular face with the sharp chin her mom always said reminded her of Jay Leno. I know right, way to affect confidence in your young child’s life. As if it wasn’t hard enough to fit in. But that was neither here nor there. She loved her mom and always wished she had her full approval; but then again, who had full parental approval at every moment?