15. Olivia was walking on the way home with her friend Victoria. As they walked, Victoria saw something shiny. She kicked at it with her feet.
Ting! Ting! Ting!
The shiny thing skipped across the road. Victoria smiled and kept walking. However, the sound made Olivia curious, so she stopped to look.
"Hey, it's a penny!" Olivia said excitedly. She picked up the coin.
"So? Those things are useless. I have a whole bag under my bed," Victoria said.
"I don't mind. They add up if you get enough of them."
"It takes a hundred of them to make a dollar, and a dollar even means little. Besides, they smell funny."
"I like the way they make my fingers smell when handle a lot of them. It makes me feel rich." Olivia laughed. "I always stop to pick up coins. I get about a dollar a month for free by doing it. That's more than ten dollars a year!"
Olivia shook her head. Her friend was fun, but sometimes she whined (抱怨) too much. Free money was free money. All she had to do was to pick it up. "If you don't want them, pick them up and give them to me."
"Maybe," Victoria said.
As they continued to walk along, they came across another coin. This one was a nickel (5分钱). Victoria stopped.
"Are you going to get it?" Olivia asked.
Victoria thought about it, "You made me think I need to start collecting free money, too."
Olivia remembered what her grandfather always said: "If you don't take it when it's offered, it won't be there when you need it."
"You're pretty smart," Victoria handed over the nickel.
"Thanks," Olivia smiled. "I'm saving up for your birthday present anyway."
Victoria smiled at her friend and looked for more coins as they walked the rest of the way home. It became their thing.