Categories > Original > Romance > A Kitten In a Dog-Eat-Dog World
Chapter 2
I watch the cab driver pull out of the parking lot so conveniently placed beside a cheap hotel-he was obviously trying to help me-and then looked around me. I’m not in the best part of the city. In fact, given my surroundings, I’m in a downright BAD part of town.
So…now what? I realize I have no idea what I’m supposed to be doing. I’ve run away, so what happens after that? A place to sleep is what I need now. Soon it’ll be dark.
I wander around the streets until I see a small, trashed park, and decide to stop and rest. A man with striking black hair and ice blue eyes is sitting on a bench, but otherwise, all the benches have people lying on it. Suddenly, one of the people reminds me of my mom, her body lying on the couch. I shake the thought from my mind, disturbed. “Mind if I sit here?” I ask tentatively.
“Not at all,” he replies pleasantly. He has to be in high school too, or just graduated. I sit down and let myself sigh in pleasure after an hour of aimless walking. I am not in shape.
It’s getting dark now. Soon, the park would be completely pitch black; there were no lights around. As much as I thought the nameless man next to me looked decent, I could trust no one. I get up awkwardly. What am I supposed to say? Nice meeting you? But I hadn’t! It was fun talking to you. That won’t work either, because we had exchanged exactly eight words. Oh, I’ve got it. Nice sitting with you. Not. Then, the words came to me. “Thanks for sharing the bench,” I say quietly.
“No problem,” he says.
I get up and start walking again. I envision my warm bed at home and then cringe. My mother is still in that place…
“Pssssst…” A voice hisses. I gasp, and spin around. A sweet little old lady is beckoning me. She has the shopping cart full of items of value. At least to her. As much as I like a good Christmas decoration, they won’t be of much use to her, considering Christmas is in 4 months.
“Yes?” I ask after a moment.
“Let’s be buddies,” she smiles. “That’s what you young people say, isn’t it?”
She strikes me speechless. “Uh…yeah,” I finally say, a bit lamely. “Buddies?”
“You need a place to stay, and I need a good young person with the ability to leap up and defend me from some hooligan!” she says, making wild punching motions as she spoke.
“Oh,” is my eloquent response. After a moment, I continue. “I’m not a very light sleeper.” Her smile grows wider.
“That doesn’t matter, dearie!” she says enthusiastically. “Any kind of sleeper is good for me! I’ve got blankets!” she added, seeing me shiver as the last of the sun set.
“Okay,” I say finally, no match for her manipulative words. A blanket sounds good right about now.
She smiles, the gaping holes where teeth are missing glaring out at me. “Come on then!” she says, and then proceeds to mutter to herself. “She’s such a skinny little thing. Wonder how much she eats. Teenagers are so strange these days…” After awhile, I just ignored the muttering.
We finally reached a long alleyway. The lady sits down on a blanket, still muttering things to herself. Her statements were getting odder and odder. “I’ll just sleep a little ways away from you,” I mutter, fearing for the dear old woman’s sanity.
“Okay, then,” she says, not a bit fazed by my rejection.
I walk down the alleyway. There is absolutely no room. A filthy African American woman with dreadlocks is sitting in a spot that could easily fit two of her size. She is a small woman, as small as me. “Excuse me,” I say hesitantly. “Would you be willing to share?” I thought about that man who shared the bench with me. Maybe all people on the streets were like that. But this woman was way filthier than the man, and had a hardness to her gaze. A split second after I asked that, she held out a knife threateningly. “Get away!” she hissed. “My spot!”
I stumbled back. Laughter rang out from the other side. “Aw, Naomi, give the girl a break. She don’t deserve your knife in her stomach.”
I spun around, setting my eyes on an equally filthy man. His eyes roamed my body freely. “I’ll let you sleep with me, Sweetheart,” he said leeringly.
“KEVIN!” shrieks a voice, which I recognized as the old lady’s. “Don’t frighten the girl so!”
“I’ll sleep with you,” I say shakily, walking hastily to the old lady’s spot.
“I thought you’d come around, Dearie,” she smiles. She puts a filthy blanket over me, but at this point I don’t even care. I lay my head on the stone floor, and after my day, it feels like the softest pillow. Letting myself fade into oblivion, I sigh contentedly.
I wake up freezing. It’s morning, so says the smiling sun and the watch I hid in my pocket. I look around, groaning inaudibly. The lady and her blankets are gone. So is my stuff. MY STUFF! I hop up in a daze, spinning around wildly. I’m sure I look like a freak, but there are more important things occupying my mind at the moment. Where is the lady?
“Gone,” yells the guy across the street. All the other people have cleared out; it’s just the creepy man and me.
“Did I say that out loud?” I call back confusedly. He laughs, a big hearty laugh.
“No,” he replies. “I just read your mind.”
“Oh,” I say, feeling foolish. “Where did she go?”
“Don’t know,” he drawled lazily with a smile. He was going to milk this. “What’ll you give me?”
“You’re disgusting,” I hiss. “Just tell me!”
“I really don’t know,” he protests, sitting up. “She does this to every newcomer. She’ll be back though, but not for awhile.”
“All my stuff is in there!” I whine. “My money and clothing and everything!”
“Well, you shoulda’ been smarter,” he retorts. “This ain’t my problem!”
I groan loudly and glare at him. “No thanks to you,” I say as my goodbye and stomp off into the great unknown. Now what would I do?
I watch the cab driver pull out of the parking lot so conveniently placed beside a cheap hotel-he was obviously trying to help me-and then looked around me. I’m not in the best part of the city. In fact, given my surroundings, I’m in a downright BAD part of town.
So…now what? I realize I have no idea what I’m supposed to be doing. I’ve run away, so what happens after that? A place to sleep is what I need now. Soon it’ll be dark.
I wander around the streets until I see a small, trashed park, and decide to stop and rest. A man with striking black hair and ice blue eyes is sitting on a bench, but otherwise, all the benches have people lying on it. Suddenly, one of the people reminds me of my mom, her body lying on the couch. I shake the thought from my mind, disturbed. “Mind if I sit here?” I ask tentatively.
“Not at all,” he replies pleasantly. He has to be in high school too, or just graduated. I sit down and let myself sigh in pleasure after an hour of aimless walking. I am not in shape.
It’s getting dark now. Soon, the park would be completely pitch black; there were no lights around. As much as I thought the nameless man next to me looked decent, I could trust no one. I get up awkwardly. What am I supposed to say? Nice meeting you? But I hadn’t! It was fun talking to you. That won’t work either, because we had exchanged exactly eight words. Oh, I’ve got it. Nice sitting with you. Not. Then, the words came to me. “Thanks for sharing the bench,” I say quietly.
“No problem,” he says.
I get up and start walking again. I envision my warm bed at home and then cringe. My mother is still in that place…
“Pssssst…” A voice hisses. I gasp, and spin around. A sweet little old lady is beckoning me. She has the shopping cart full of items of value. At least to her. As much as I like a good Christmas decoration, they won’t be of much use to her, considering Christmas is in 4 months.
“Yes?” I ask after a moment.
“Let’s be buddies,” she smiles. “That’s what you young people say, isn’t it?”
She strikes me speechless. “Uh…yeah,” I finally say, a bit lamely. “Buddies?”
“You need a place to stay, and I need a good young person with the ability to leap up and defend me from some hooligan!” she says, making wild punching motions as she spoke.
“Oh,” is my eloquent response. After a moment, I continue. “I’m not a very light sleeper.” Her smile grows wider.
“That doesn’t matter, dearie!” she says enthusiastically. “Any kind of sleeper is good for me! I’ve got blankets!” she added, seeing me shiver as the last of the sun set.
“Okay,” I say finally, no match for her manipulative words. A blanket sounds good right about now.
She smiles, the gaping holes where teeth are missing glaring out at me. “Come on then!” she says, and then proceeds to mutter to herself. “She’s such a skinny little thing. Wonder how much she eats. Teenagers are so strange these days…” After awhile, I just ignored the muttering.
We finally reached a long alleyway. The lady sits down on a blanket, still muttering things to herself. Her statements were getting odder and odder. “I’ll just sleep a little ways away from you,” I mutter, fearing for the dear old woman’s sanity.
“Okay, then,” she says, not a bit fazed by my rejection.
I walk down the alleyway. There is absolutely no room. A filthy African American woman with dreadlocks is sitting in a spot that could easily fit two of her size. She is a small woman, as small as me. “Excuse me,” I say hesitantly. “Would you be willing to share?” I thought about that man who shared the bench with me. Maybe all people on the streets were like that. But this woman was way filthier than the man, and had a hardness to her gaze. A split second after I asked that, she held out a knife threateningly. “Get away!” she hissed. “My spot!”
I stumbled back. Laughter rang out from the other side. “Aw, Naomi, give the girl a break. She don’t deserve your knife in her stomach.”
I spun around, setting my eyes on an equally filthy man. His eyes roamed my body freely. “I’ll let you sleep with me, Sweetheart,” he said leeringly.
“KEVIN!” shrieks a voice, which I recognized as the old lady’s. “Don’t frighten the girl so!”
“I’ll sleep with you,” I say shakily, walking hastily to the old lady’s spot.
“I thought you’d come around, Dearie,” she smiles. She puts a filthy blanket over me, but at this point I don’t even care. I lay my head on the stone floor, and after my day, it feels like the softest pillow. Letting myself fade into oblivion, I sigh contentedly.
I wake up freezing. It’s morning, so says the smiling sun and the watch I hid in my pocket. I look around, groaning inaudibly. The lady and her blankets are gone. So is my stuff. MY STUFF! I hop up in a daze, spinning around wildly. I’m sure I look like a freak, but there are more important things occupying my mind at the moment. Where is the lady?
“Gone,” yells the guy across the street. All the other people have cleared out; it’s just the creepy man and me.
“Did I say that out loud?” I call back confusedly. He laughs, a big hearty laugh.
“No,” he replies. “I just read your mind.”
“Oh,” I say, feeling foolish. “Where did she go?”
“Don’t know,” he drawled lazily with a smile. He was going to milk this. “What’ll you give me?”
“You’re disgusting,” I hiss. “Just tell me!”
“I really don’t know,” he protests, sitting up. “She does this to every newcomer. She’ll be back though, but not for awhile.”
“All my stuff is in there!” I whine. “My money and clothing and everything!”
“Well, you shoulda’ been smarter,” he retorts. “This ain’t my problem!”
I groan loudly and glare at him. “No thanks to you,” I say as my goodbye and stomp off into the great unknown. Now what would I do?
Sign up to rate and review this story