Oak Ridge man pretends to not be waiting for penny in change

A local miser pretended to thumb through a magazine at the grocery store checkout counter today in order to receive the one cent of change he was due. Rather than walk away after handing the cashier a $20 bill for his $19.99 purchase, 37-year-old Brent Hoover spent an uncomfortable minute-and-a-half lingering as the employee labored to break open a roll of pennies. "I really wanted that penny," said Hoover. "I earned it. But I didn't want the cashier to think I was cheap. I shouldn't have picked 'Cosmo' though. So much for the lack of awkward." This is not the first time Hoover has pretended to be doing something else in order to save money. Last Tuesday he engaged in a spirited cell phone conversation with no one so he would not have to give a homeless man a ride to Lake City.