Hard Day's Work

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When sun rise came I found myself awake in a room unfamiliar to me, in a bed I have never slept in before, in a whole building that is like a stranger to me. I knew next to nothing about this place except it was a shelter for the homeless. Then I was reminded that I was now homeless. My heart dropped within my body and it was filled with sorrow for my predicament. However, I thought to myself if it was even right for me to call myself. Am I really still homeless? I get a roof over my head and a comfortable bed to actually sleep in. So why do I still feel like I am homeless. Even if I have this place it doesn't feel like a home to me yet. Even if for the first time in my whole life I ate a Sunday family dinner.

It was…different eating with them all yesterday. It's strange. Normally people are quite shy about eating a meal at a table with strangers but I didn't feel that way at all. I felt more welcomed in a house of strangers than I did with my own family. I knew my parents. I knew how exactly what kind of people they were. And I feared them for who they were. But with these people I had nothing to fear at all. They were indeed strangers, but none of them had the thin air of intimidating ambiance like my parents did. At home I had to eat with my eyes glued to my food and my mouth kept shut in order to avoid saying anything I shouldn't. It was a hard experience eating and living with them and yet with these people, it was a refreshing experience to actually enjoy a meal with company. The food for once actually tasted good and I was able to savor the tastes I have never tasted before since food was always so bitter in my own home.

I rose from my bed and stretched out my arms as I looked around the room. Vivian's room was surprisingly similar to mine in the fact it was girly. There was a brown wooden desk against the wall in front of me with a board above it with a calendar and other papers nailed to the board. Beside the desk were some light blue painted drawers where I assumed Vivian kept all her clothes in. There were some clothing sticking out of the drawers as well and I noticed her room also had clothes littered about. I could even see some of her underwear just lying on the floor like it was nobody's business. It was Vivian's room but what if a guy walked in or something? Is she not worried at all? She must not get a lot of visitors I thought. And I could see why with a personality like hers.

I continued to look around the room until I couldn't believe what I saw. Cat Plushie dolls! I nearly lost it when I saw the big blue cat in the middle next to different colored cats. A black one, an orange and white one, and an adorable pink one! Who knew a demon like her had a soft spot for kitties! I was tempted to jump off the bed and hug one since they were so adorable but I forgot the demon I mentioned earlier was below me. I slowly grabbed the edge of my bed and looked over to see if Vivian was below me. I saw Vivian sleeping soundly under her covers with her head lying on her pillow. I was surprised to see Vivian sleeping so soundly in her bed like this. She looks so peaceful but for a moment it looked like she wasn't having a good dream. Her face scrunched up and she held onto her blanket tighter with her hands. I was tempted to wake her up but I feared she might bite my hand off or something. Luckily, at that moment there was a loud knock at the door and I heard Miss Laurelie's voice from outside.

"Vivian! Veronica! Wake up!" She said in a loud voice, "You two got a long day of chores ahead of the both of ya. So get dressed and meet me in the foyer, I'll tell ya'll what you two are going to do then!" After she said her piece I heard her walking down the hallway while saying good morning to some other voices. Then I heard Vivian shuffle in her bed as she was quickly awake and her feet were planted on the ground. She then looked up at me and I could tell she wasn't a morning person.

"H-hi…I mean…good morning!" I said to her as I tried my best to keep on a cheerful smile. She looked somewhat annoyed by me but sighed and wearily told me good morning back. She then looked around her room for a moment as she lazily got out of bed and went over to her drawers to find an outfit to wear for the day. I then thought I should do the same and so I carefully (I didn't want to fall) climbed down from my bed to the floor and went over to my bags that were tucked away in the corner of the room. I walked over to them before I bent down and unzipped my duffle bag to see what clothes to wear for today. But I had no idea what to wear since I didn't know what chores I would have to do. I would have to ask Vivian even though I really didn't wish to be a bother to her any further than breathing the same air as her.

I sighed before I forced myself to do it and asked, "Hey…sorry to ask. But what kind of chores are we going to do?"

Vivian stopped as she dropped her shoulders and looked back at me with angry eyes and an expression that told me she didn't want to speak to me. However, she told me anyway despite the look of friendliness on her face.

"It depends. Usually it involves cleaning up the shelter which involves sweeping, washing, wiping, and all sorts of fun stuff!" Vivian said sarcastically but I didn't catch on.

"Oh really? That does sound quite interesting to do! I don't think I've ever had the opportunity to actually clean anything besides my room," I said to her. It had just occurred to me that I don't know how to do much. I only ever put the junk and stuff scattered in my room back in its place but besides that I haven't vacuumed, done the laundry, or done any real chores. Mr. Niles and the other staff usually handled the entire house themselves so it was never an issue for me. Vivian stopped and stared at me like I was crazy for a moment.

"Never? How long have you been homeless?" Vivian asked me. I stopped as I wondered what I should say. I felt like if I just said, "Oh you know! A day!" Then she might think something is off about me…well more off about me.

"Oh…a short time…" I said back to her nervously. It wasn't exactly a lie but it wasn't entirely the truth either.

"A short time huh…? Then you really are a princess after all? You probably had like a maid clean your house for you. Lucky you," Vivian said distastefully as she picked out an outfit for herself. Uuuu! I so wanted to whip out some moves on her if I knew any! I bit my bottom lip hard enough to stop me from saying anything. Mostly because I wasn't good at arguments anyway and knew I would lose, I always lose arguments it seems.

I picked out some gray sweats and a white tee shirt that I felt would be okay if it got dirty. I would have to see if this shelter has a laundry or something later. I kept the clothes I wore from yesterday in my bag since I didn't know where to put them to get washed and was too scared to ask. Vivian had begun changing on one side of the room and I changed on the other as we stayed silent and didn't say anything to the other. I was still quite shy about taking off my clothes in front of another, but I thought we're both girls so it should be fine right? I mean that's the saying that's thrown around a lot to make the situation less uncomfortable but here I am still uncomfortable. I only have my mother to blame for making me so self-conscious about my own body. I feel ashamed by looking at my tubby self. After I had my shirt off I grabbed the slight roll of fat on my belly and sighed at it.

Perhaps those fitness classes were needed anyway even though I couldn't get fully behind them but now I wish I did. I then grew curious about Vivian and wondered if she was done changing now. So I looked over my shoulder to her and I then examined her back as she had her shirt off. I noticed the shocking scars she had on her body that was hard to look at. There were two deep scars near her waist horizontally and other thin ones near her neck that looked close to an X with other wounds. The first thoughts that came to my mind was what happened to her? Did she get those scars from a stranger? Someone she knew? Was she in an accident of sorts? My curiosity overcame me and I blurted out my thoughts.

"How did you get those scars on your back Vivian?" I suddenly asked her. She quickly became aware her scars were visible to me and grabbed a light blue shirt and quickly put it on to cover her back. She then turned to me looking slightly embarrassed and ashamed perhaps at herself. I figured she's so used to being alone in this room that she must have forgotten. I didn't notice she had them when we bathed yesterday because she never turned her back to me. She then walked over to me and pointed her finger at me with an angry look.

She spoke strictly and said, "It's none of your business okay? You didn't see anything. And you won't say anything about them either. Got it?"

I didn't want any trouble with her so I nodded my head and told her I understood. She then bumped her shoulder against my arm as she walked out the door already to go for the day.

"Sheesh, she didn't have to act like that. All I did was ask her a question…guess it was a sensitive subject," I said to myself as I groaned while rubbing my arm. I then finished getting dressed myself and stepped outside into the hallway. There I was greeted by Robbie who was sitting on the floor by Vivian's door which totally didn't scare me.

"Morning Veronica," he said to me with a gentle smile and wave. I smiled and waved back at him, grateful to see a more friendly face in the morning. Though I was curious as to where Marlow was but I wasn't going to ask or anything. Didn't want to seem like a fangirl like those girls from yesterday.

"Ready to get the day started? It will your first day as a stay in worker for the shelter. I will warn you now that Miss Laurelie can be tough and pretty strict on us. But just don't ever complain and do as you're told and you can make it out…mostly alive," Robbie said jokingly but I felt some truth to that anyway.

"Alright, I got it. But hey…is the work going to be really hard? I'm going to be honest and say now I have never done anything like this before. So I'm probably not going to be good at this…or you know…I could be terrible at it," I said tensely. But Robbie reassured me that I could handle the chores since he would help me out. He also mentioned Vivian would be helping out too though I'm not sure how to take that.

Robbie then led me to the foyer as we walked past some people that wished us good morning as we walked. I said it back to them and noticed how peculiar it was to hear those words. Even something as simple as saying good morning warms my heart. It's touching to me to hear these words from these people and I wonder if it's just as touching to them when I say it? Perhaps not. It's crazy for people to value something so trivial I thought, but the smiles some of them gave made me think otherwise. Heck, even a simple smile was nice to see. Truly walking these hallways that were filled with such kind people was like walking into a whole other world. What gave these people their kindness I wondered? I assumed Miss Laurelie must make sure they act like this for others or something.

We arrived in the foyer from yesterday and I noticed there were not a lot of people in the room as there was yesterday. Thinking about the entire shelter seemed like there were less people here than there was before. Yesterday it felt so crowded but today it feels like that's changed. We walked to the middle of the room where I saw Vivian was sitting in the same spot as I saw her yesterday away from everyone else. Miss Laurelie wasn't here yet so we just had to wait for her. I looked around again and saw Mr. Michael was at the front desk and was talking to some women. I wasn't sure if I even wanted to know what about. But since I was still curious about the people I decided to talk to Robbie about it.

"Hey Robbie, where are all the people? Did some of them leave?" I asked Robbie. Robbie took one look around before he remembered something and looked to me.

"Ah yes, some people left the shelter," Robbie said back to me.

"Seriously? Where do they all go?" I asked Robbie who looked at me slightly oddly like I asked a strange question.

"Well that's their business. But I mean…some have jobs to go to in the morning like any other person if they are lucky to even get a job. But most of them go back to living on the street," Robbie told me.

"Back…to the street? That's…terrible! Why do they have to go back on the street? They can't stay here?" I said back to Robbie in shock. Robbie stopped and looked at me with a sympathetic look. He put a hand on my shoulder and said, "You didn't think that all of those people that were in the shelter yesterday could actually stay here did you? The shelter isn't big enough to room everyone here. Only the elderly and children under the age of eighteen like you, me, and Vivian are allowed to room in the shelter for an extended period of time without having to leave. Half of those people you saw can only use the shelter during the night and the other half during the day. You heard of day and night time shelters right?"

"Umm…no sorry. I'm guessing shelters that house people during the day or night?" I asked back meekly.

"Putting it simply yeah. They're shelters that only house the homeless during the day or night. Like for nighttime shelters people are supposed to exit in the morning and occupy themselves elsewhere during the day, only returning for an evening meal and to sleep for the night," Robbie said.

"But this shelter does both for so many people? So it would be impossible to house them all at once huh? So it has to be split up by day and night," I said back to Robbie who nodded.

"Right, but Miss Laurelie still does what she can for them with the rooms we have available. Miss Laurelie makes some special exceptions for certain kinds of people like I said before; children and elderly can stay here regardless. But we have to work and help around in the shelter. Those with jobs help pay to keep the shelter a float and some of them have long time rooms here. So I guess overall it depends, but we can only do so much for people after all Veronica," Robbie said as he took his hand off me. I knew what he was saying was right but I felt incredibly guilty. I get to stay here without having to give anything back in return while some of these people whose lives may be hundreds of times worse than mine have to go back to the street. Me, the rich girl who lost everything because she was inadequate in the eyes of her parents. I then felt more determined to do the work that was going to be laid out in front of me to pay back what I owe this shelter for helping me out.

"I wish we could do something for them all…it's sad to have to be out on those streets. It's a constant life and death battle out there isn't it?" I asked Robbie who sighed and nodded his head again.

"This town has a really bad homeless problem after all. It seems like there are two kinds of people in this town. The homeless and those with a home to call their own. Those who have it easy and those who have to work every single day just to make it through a week. Or even simply rich and poor. It's a hard life for us homeless people, but it's not so bad as you may think Veronica. Don't worry about everything and you'll be fine." Robbie then turned away from me as I thought to myself. This town and its people are suffering and I'm just beginning to notice it. And now I'm a part of it…

Sometime later Miss Laurelie walked into the room while holding a basket filled with laundry in both arms. She then set it down in front of me and Robbie as Vivian got up from her spot and walked over to us. Two other men came in carrying four baskets more of laundry and set it down with the basket Miss Laurelie had. I had never seen so much dirty laundry before in my life! I mean…besides my own!

Miss Laurelie relaxed her muscles and rested her hands on her hip before she began explaining what we will do today which was a huge list! "Okay kiddos, we got a lot to do today. We just got out the holiday season so that means we got a lot of work to do! I don't want to see anyone slacking around here! Especially you three, no exceptions! Now here's what I want you guys to do: The walls and floors need a good scrubbing to get all that dirt off, the laundry needs to be done, breakfast, lunch, and dinner needs to be made…"

"A-all of that?" I said in utter shock at the burdensome load of work that she was listing off and was still listing off! Miss Laurelie however did not appreciate me speaking when she was talking and by the look on her face I thought she would surely rip my heart out, eat it, and then give it back to me.

"Don't interrupt me when I am talking! You hear me?" Miss Laurelie said strictly and I shut up quickly. Robbie just stood there nervously as Vivian almost snickered a bit at me. Darn that girl! If I had muscles I would do so many things to that girl!

"Yes…ma'am…I apologize," I said back to her meekly as she continued to list off the many chores we had to do. Including the ones she already mentioned we had clean the bathrooms, pick up the trash outside, take the trash to the trash cans outside, fix up the beds, and lastly if that all wasn't enough we had to finish all of this before we are allowed to have any free time to ourselves. It was apparently mandatory that we finish all chores before we are allowed to do anything we would like to do.

I didn't think about free time since that seemed like a distant dream! With a work load like that would I even have the chance to do anything I would want to do? Not that I would know what to do seeing as there is no internet or anything. I felt an ache in my heart when I told myself there is no internet for me to use which means no more grumpy cat. My life is getting sadder by the minute.

Robbie and Vivian simply told Miss Laurelie "Yes ma'am!" I followed their lead and said the same as Miss Laurelie nodded and told us she had work to do of her own before she goes to her job.

Then Mr. Michael called out to Miss Laurelie with a smirk on his face and said, "Ah Laury is pushing children to work so hard as always I see. Or as you would say you're 'building character' or something like that? Poor children. You should go a bit easier on them Laury. They're just children after all!"

Miss Laurelie literally and I mean literally shuttered when she heard Mr. Michael's voice. Like his voice alone sent a shiver from the bottom of her feet to the top of her head. Her hands instantly curled up into fists and I could see it in her expression with the twitch in her eye that she just barely snapped. She however, regained her composure and turned to Michael with a look of Amazonian warrior!

She forced a crooked smile on her face and said, "Michael…would you please refrain from speaking to me unless it is something important? The way I handle my shelter and the people that work for me will be decided by me. They can handle the work I am giving them with the three of them working together. If you think that is too much then you can gladly help them out!"

Mr. Michael scratched his chin with a displeased look and said, "Uhh…I'll pass on that Laury. Manual labor and good looks simply don't go so well together!" Mr. Michael winked at Laurelie with a smile.

"Oh is that so? Then I see why you don't pitch in at all with a face like yours!" Miss Laurelie said harshly before she turned on her heel and left the room without even looking back to Mr. Michael. Mr. Michael sighed as he spun in his chair to look ahead at the front door, apparently back to the "job" he had. I could only begin to imagine just what his relationship is to Miss Laurelie. It seems like he's the only capable of riling up Miss Laurelie like that let alone tempt her to question murder which I can understand how Miss Laurelie feels. Seeing Vivian on her pillow made me think how lovely a pillow would go on her face as I smother her!

Back to the matter at hand I looked in front of me to see the laundry baskets and I told myself that I should probably do the laundry first since it is right front of me. I didn't keep track of everything Miss Laurelie said to do so I hoped Robbie and Vivian did. I reached down and picked up a basket the same time Robbie did and we both realized we both had the same idea.

"Oh…you wanted to do the laundry Veronica? Well, why don't we do it together? We can get it done much faster together. I normally don't get the chance to do chores with another so we should be able to have some free time later Veronica," Robbie said with a warm smile. I nodded my head and smiled back, so very grateful that I had the chance to be here with Robbie. I saw Vivian of course disappeared without telling us what chore she was going to do or offer to help us at all. If all three of us worked on a chore together then we could get it faster but maybe it was better if we all weren't doing the same thing? Either way Robbie directed me to the laundry room which was on the far right section of the shelter in one of the rooms. He opened it for us both and we walked in while carrying our baskets full of clothes which I was getting tired of carrying. So much heavy lifting! I knew for sure my arms would feel that tomorrow…from dirty clothes! Which did smell quite…unique I guess I could say. All kinds of different scents were mixed together and piled up together to make this strange new scent I could not describe that did not smell entirely good or bad.

We set the baskets down on the floor and I looked to several washing and drying machines in two long lines in a narrow room with a rack in the back holding different cleaning supplies on its shelves.

"Okay Veronica, we got to load up all the machines with these clothes before we can wash any of them. You know how to do this right?" Robbie asked me.

"Umm…yeah sure. Washing clothes is easy enough!" I said with all the Girl Scout's honor I could muster to tell that blatant lie. Robbie nodded to me as he kneeled down to begin taking clothes out the basket and onto the floor. I stared at him hoping to get a clue on what the heck I was doing but he kept looking over at me which stopped me from looking at him to avoid him realizing how incompetent I was. I barely knew how this worked and I only knew that clothes went in the machine! I know you got to put like detergent in the machine too right? I then threw in random clothes from the basket into the machine without paying much attention to what I was putting in. Robbie then glances over at me and stopped when he saw me.

"Umm…Veronica? What exactly are you doing?" He asked me carefully. I looked back at him shyly and asked him what did he mean by that. He rubbed his head and said, "Well, you just put colors with whites. You know the colors will blend into the white clothes and ruin them right?"

Now I do. "Oh…! Yeah! I umm…was seeing…how many clothes I could fit in the machine! To make sure…we uhh…umm…had enough room for all the clothes!" I said with a big smile on my face. Why am I lying? Am I that scared of looking like a fool? I'm such a coward when faced with my insecurities!

"Oh…well don't worry," Robbie said with a gentle smile. Boy was Robbie just naïve or too kind? "Even if we don't have enough room we can wait until the machines are done before we wash the rest. Or if we really need to then we can hand wash them."

"Oh…great! Perfect! Just swell! Well…I am going to sort these clothes out now…" I said half hoping Robbie would confirm that I was doing the right thing. He nodded his head which I hoped meant that what I was doing was correct. I didn't know how to sort the clothes but I did separate colors from the white clothes. I wondered if they should be separated by specific colors too but I simply had no idea if I should. I looked over my shoulder to see Robbie's piles of clothes were organized so neatly! He had them separated by lights and darks, colors, and even fabrics! He looked like a saint in my eyes at that moment.

I followed his example and in no time I had somewhat organized piles like Robbie did. We did that for all of the clothes in each basket. We had to go back to the front lobby to get the other baskets that were left for us to take and brought them back to the laundry room to sort them out. After we had sorted them we washed the light and white clothes first. Robbie had turned the dials on all the machines which were apparently for the temperature. I never would have guessed that even mattered! He set it to hot for the light clothes, and turned some other dials before he then walked over to the rack to grab some detergent off the middle shelf. He came back over to the machines and began pouring the detergent in each of them before closing the doors and starting them up one by one. He nearly finished until Robbie apparently remembered something.

"Oh hey Veronica I forgot to tell Miss Laurelie something. You mind finishing up this last machine for me? Just pour the detergent in the machine and close the door. Then we can move on to finish the rest of the chores we have to do. Okay?" Robbie said before he handed me the detergent and walked out the room. I was paralyzed with the weight of responsibility on my shoulders. I couldn't believe Robbie trusted me with such a difficult task! I stared at the machine intensely and hoped that this machine didn't attack or bite. But Robbie described it so simply but I do not know how much detergent I should put in! I was so worried that Robbie would laugh at me for messing up something so simple that I poured a large amount into the machine and hoping that it was even with the rest of the machines I poured more into the others just to make sure Robbie didn't notice! I closed the door on the last machine hoping to be done with this whole ordeal. I did not even consider just how bad this day was going to get when I slumped down to the floor in relief in front of the machine and felt my hand squish some suds. I looked at my hand and saw the soapy substance on my hand and turned around to see suds swirling around the machine. I didn't think anything of it though and Robbie came back in moments later and saw that I had supposedly done my job right.

"Okay it looks like we're done here…so I guess we can wipe the walls and the floors or maybe work on the trash which isn't much. Vivian is working on the food thankfully so we don't have to worry about any meals," Robbie said as I stood up.

"All right…at least I'm confident in my ability to lift trash and throw it away," I said to Robbie who laughed.

"You make it sound like you're not capable of doing anything Veronica. I mean who could mess up something like laundry or throwing away trash?" Robbie asked with a chuckle. I laughed shortly with him even though I fully believed I was that person. Sure enough the machine began rumbling loudly as me and Robbie quickly looked at the machine and saw it shaking as it was overflowing with suds. We also saw the other machines shaking too and beginning to floor the floor with suds.

Robbie looked shocked as he looked to me in confusion. I gave a small nervous chuckle as I looked away from Robbie.

"Umm…you think I put in a bit too much in the machines?" I asked Robbie as the doors on the machines slammed open and suds blasted on to the floor in mountain loads and covered both me and him with a blanket of soap. A moment later Vivian had run to the room saying she heard an explosion before she witnessed what had happened. She saw me and Robbie standing there covered from head to toe and began laughing uncontrollably. Her laughter brought even more attention to my science experiment as some of the people in the shelter came to see what the commotion was all about. They too laughed and commented on the scene which further increased my embarrassment and disarray. I felt like a total failure and this was just the first thing I have done for the shelter.

After we had cleaned up the entire mess and ourselves, Robbie had to fix my mistakes and wash the clothes the right way by himself. He didn't get mad at me for blowing up the laundry room but he didn't want to take any risks. We moved on to something simpler like picking up the trash in the yard in the middle of the shelter. Loose bags, random paper, and other things that we put in trash bags. Now this I thought I couldn't mess up but I forgot that I couldn't put all the trash in one bag so when I made it more full than it should it busted and all the trash we collected spilled out on to the ground again! We had to increase our workload to get it to the trash can then. After that we tried to clean the floors and the walls. I even messed that up as I kept tripping over the wet floor and sliding all over the place since I couldn't remember where I already mopped. It was one accident and mishap after the other and through it all the people around me continued to laugh at me and me feel even worse. I was doing more harm than good in the few hours I began working here. I would have been fired on the spot by any other place!

By the end of the day I felt I had reached an all-time low. I wanted to payback the shelter for what it has done for me but I ended up making things worse for it. It was near the end of the day with the sun coming down as me and Robbie(or just Robbie) finished our final chore of the day of tidying up the rooms. It was a lot of work and that was increased due to my expert skills of screwing up. However, through it all Robbie didn't get mad at me even once or scolded me. He instead laughed it off and said we would just have to work through it somehow. He was way too kind to someone like me. I deserve to be yelled at or punished somehow! I was sitting out in the hallway when Miss Laurelie came walking through the hallway and over to me. Now I knew I was dead. Either that or she would kick me out the shelter as punishment! But I deserved this, I saw it coming. I better be prepared to go pack my bags.

Miss Laurelie stopped in front me of me and shook her head. She then said with her arms folded, "Girl, how in the world does one person blow up a laundry room, nearly break her neck and everyone else's while mopping the floor, break four vases, three cups, and a trash can…not to mention somehow being able to hit Michael with a baseball bat-Which I don't entirely mind because it was funny but uuu wee! You are a walking disaster! How is it you can't even do laundry girl?"

"Well…I umm…never learned was all. Never needed too," I said back lightly to her.

"Been homeless for quite a while? Or you parents never bothered to teach you to take care of yourself?" Miss Laurelie asked me. I looked up to her as I thought back to my own parents that never did teach me much of anything. Taking care of myself? I know how to dress myself, feed myself, and have somewhat enough common sense to get by. But in reality I guess I don't know much about actually taking care of myself besides that I think. Miss Laurelie must have known my answer by the look on my face as she then sighed and shook her head. I expected the next thing for her to tell me was to pack my bags but was surprised when she told me something else.

"Well, I need you to do something for me. Hopefully, it's something you can do without it blowing up in your or my face somehow. Knowing you it might do that with just you touching it," Miss Laurelie said as she reached in her pocket and pulled out a letter. I tried not to think I was a nuclear weapon experiment as she did. She then handed it to me and I hesitantly took it from her. "I need you to deliver this to Ms. Peter at her shop. It's a bakery off by Mockingbird road on the top corner. Marlow had left earlier to do a favor for me but forgot to bring the letter with him."

"Wait, you're giving me…a job to do? And Marlow left the shelter?" I asked Miss Laurelie. She then realized that I was very confused. One, that she actually is gambling on me to not mess this up and two. That Marlow had just left without even saying goodbye to me. I felt kind of heart broken and disappointed to hear that. I thought he would at least tell me when he was just going to leave. I had been wondering all day where he was and hoped to see him and thank him for everything he's done.

"Well Robbie is taking care of something else for me along with Vivian. Marlow is at Miss Peter's taking care of a favor that I owe Ms. Peter's. And…it's not like I would stop giving you work because of the performance you put on today. Just because one makes mistakes it doesn't mean that's the end. You learn from your mistakes and you try your hardest to not make them again. I mean that. Your hardest. I kind of like the idea of sleeping in clean clothes don't you?" Miss Laurelie said with a laugh before she walked away from me. I was sure to take her words to hear and try my best to not forget them. I didn't want to disappoint everyone more than I already have so I was determined to do this right! Now…where am I going?

Luckily, Mr. Michael came by and I worked up the courage to ask him where to go. Mr. Michael had clearly drawn out a mental map for me with landmarks and signs so I couldn't possibly get lost. He even offered to escort me but I didn't want to show that I couldn't do this alone. Plus I was eager to see Marlow and meet him for some reason. I was not quite positive of my own feelings why but I did. I made my way swiftly to the front door and outside the shelter in order to get to Ms. Peter's as fast as I could for a chance to see Marlow. As I was back outside I noticed I was given the chance to actually look at my own town. The town I have been living in since birth but barely know anything about it. I didn't know about the red and brown colored tile sidewalks that encompassed the restaurants, stores, and buildings. The sizes, shapes, and colors of everything around me that looked like it popped out at me like a popup book. Everything was coming right at me at once and it was all a new experience. The people, the smells, the sights, and all the sounds that enchanted my ears as I tuned in to the world around me. For the first time I heard the world, for the first time I was able to feel the world I have missing out on for myself. It all felt like I had walked through a brand new fancy door and walked right into a room of wonders.

How come I never got the chance to see this world? Being cooped up in my house most of the time I never even stopped to consider what was out there from my window. I only needed to worry about school and the place where I worked out. I was driven there by limo and never bothered to pay attention to my surroundings. I found myself taking slow steps through the streets and people as I took everything in with slow breaths to savor the taste of the new air and stimulating sights. This town was a part of what most people can call a home yet I barely knew it like I did my own house. But I had to end my small fantasy when I remembered that I needed to deliver this letter to Marlow. I had to find my way around again and find some streets or landmarks Mr. Michael had mentioned to find the right way I was supposed to go. Eventually I found my way to the bakery at the corner of Mockingbird Rd. like Miss Laurelie said. I was nervous about seeing Marlow again but I needed to be a big girl and do this! I can do this!

I pushed opened the doors to the bakery and welcome all new smells of breaks and pastry dished to my nostrils. It was a very clean bakery and looked like a fine establishment to me even though I had nothing to compare it to besides my own kitchen. I looked around until my eyes met the counter where there were loads of dishes and breads behind the glass. My eyes were glued on the delicious and scrumptious looking food and my stomach felt so empty and ready to eat again. I had to stop myself from drooling over the food when I saw a woman standing behind the counter. It was a moderately big woman with reddish-brown looking curly hair with plumpish features on her face with hazel eyes. She wore a red and black checkered shirt with blue jeans and a white apron around her body. Her name tag read Peter so I assumed she was the owner of the bakery.

She greeted me kindly in a slight country accent and asked me if there was anything she could do for me. I snapped out of my delusions about food and walked over to the counter while noticing the people sitting at tables while eating this bakery's food.

I spoke nervously and said, "I have a letter for you from Miss Laurelie ma'am." She took the letter from me and scanned the outside of it before nodding her head.

"Ah yes! You must be one of the people at Laurelie's shelter. Well it is certainly nice to meet you. My name is Maya Peter and I am the owner of this fine establishment. Thank you so much for delivering this. That was mighty kind of you child," she said with a kind smile. She didn't seem like a bad person at all. But I wasn't focused on her but I was scanning the room for Marlow.

"Uhh…I am looking for Marlow too. Is he here?" I asked. Ms. Peter looked at me for a moment and I guess one look at me explained everything to her.

She then said, "Ah yes! You must be one of the people at Laurelie's shelter. Well it is certainly nice to meet you. Now, if it's Marlow yer' looking for then I suggest you try his little home by the lake. He said he would be going back there after he finished up that job I had for him."

"Huh? Marlow has a home by the lake?" I said with surprise. I didn't think Marlow would have his very own home by the lake. But I thought he said he was homeless? Isn't that what he told me? So why is this lady saying he has a home by the lake?

"Yup. He's had that little home ever since he was born. Though it used to belong to his mother but now it's his. The lake is South from here and a bit to the left of there. It shouldn't be too hard to spot for ya," Ms. Peter said to me. I marked the directions in my head before I thanked her and headed for the door. She simply watched as I left without saying anything else to me. I did not have much to say about Ms. Peter besides she seemed like a very nice person. And I guess Marlow does jobs like that often? He must in order to take care of himself and that house of his. Or so I thought it was a house until I took nearly half an hour or so leaving town and heading off to the lake Ms. Peter told me about.

When I got there I saw magnificently huge blue lake that was separated from the town it seems. It was near a forest and secluded from any buildings or sounds of people. The only thing one could hear were birds and nature itself. It was a sublime and peaceful area with luscious green and life all around in the atmosphere. It was a really nice place to relax and I could see why Marlow stays out here. However, his house was still a shock to see. It was just a red tent that was set near the lake. Given it was a fairly large tent that looked like it could possibly hold a handful of people. There was a pot outside the tent hanging on a stand with rocks around what looks to have been a spot for a fire. And sitting on one of the rocks staring out into the lake was Marlow himself. Marlow had looked over and spotted me and he welcomed me with that smile of his.

"Oh hey Veronica! Can't believe you came all the way out here. What are you doing here?" Marlow asked me cheerfully. I slowly walked over as I was caught off guard by being here all of a sudden. What exactly was I doing here? Did I simply wander here for no real reason at all? I came here without a real purpose besides just wanting to see Marlow. How embarrassing is that? I came all this way for nothing? Well, I can't say I had no reason whatsoever to see Marlow. I did want to thank him but that did not have to be today! And it seems Marlow might have caught on to this right away by looking at me.

"Hey, Veronica. Don't tell me you came all the way out here by accident?" Marlow said with a laugh. Oh that laugh of his! I swear!

"No! I umm…well. I was delivering a letter to Ms. Peter for Miss Laurelie. And you happened to be close by from what I was told so…I wanted to come thank you for helping me out," I said to Marlow.

"Oh? Is that so? Well no problem Veronica! I would do anything to help a friend in need," Marlow said with a smile. I stopped completely when I heard Marlow mention to me that I was his friend. It was very odd for me to hear me of all people be told I was anybody's friend. I didn't have much of anyone to call a friend in school since everyone was too scared of my last name to approach me, even the teachers sometimes. So I never was able to make any friends. I couldn't even keep imaginary friends because my mother would mock me for having one. I felt like I did this morning when the people said their greetings. "Good morning"…and "friend"…both felt so very good to hear. It was so nice to hear those words that felt like my heart has been yearning to hear so badly! Marlow was my friend for sure even if it was on such a short notice. Thinking about it Robbie is my friend too right? Maybe not so much Vivian but perhaps I could even consider Miss Laurelie and Mr. Michael friends of mine too? How glorious it felt to have a friend! I felt so happy and thrilled at that moment that a big smile found its way pleasantly on my face.

"Right…I appreciate that a lot Marlow…it's nice…to have a friend," I said to him as Marlow patted my head gently. I felt like a little puppy compared to him and I didn't like feeling belittled but at the same time the way he rubbed my head felt kind of good and I didn't want to stop him.

"Of course it is! Everyone deserves to have a friend and that includes you Veronica. And since you are my friend I will always be here for you if you need me. So don't ever hesitate to come visit me here anytime you want. I can't guarantee I will always be here but I have a habit of being at the place I am most needed!" Marlow said with a laugh as I looked up to him and smiled. Hearing him say all of these kind things really brightened up my mood and made my day. I don't know if I really needed it but I was glad Marlow said that to me. It was worth the trip and a whole day of chores just to feel his kindness. I soon departed with a goodbye and headed back to the shelter smiling and sometimes skipping along the way. My first friend! What a miraculous day this was for me! I couldn't believe it! I always dreamed of having a friend to play with and hang out with. Oh look at me I can finally use such words for once! I wonder what I am able to do now that I have a friend or friends actually. Robbie was my friend too right which meant I could have a lot more fun than I ever had in my whole life. I mean just doing chores with him was a fun experience all in its own even if I am a walking disaster waiting to happen.

When I returned to the shelter I first went to look for Robbie who I could not find in his room. I then walked out to the middle of the shelter out into the yard where I saw Robbie. But he was acting very oddly for some reason. He was standing behind a tree in supposed secret and staring at something. I looked over to see that something was actually Vivian! Now why on Earth would Robbie but watching Vivian? All she was doing was reading a book by herself while sitting up against the largest tree in the middle of the yard itself. I as stealthily as I could walked over to Robbie and poked him on the shoulder. He jumped and squealed a bit in fear when I did and I had to put my hand over his small mouth. He then looked over his shoulder to see it was me and I smiled mildly at him.

I then removed my hand from his mouth as he looked at me angrily and whispered, "Hey! Don't sneak up on me like that! You could've sent me right into a coma!"

I whispered back, "Well sorry you're such a scaredy cat! I'm not the one who is acting all creeperish and staring at a girl! What are you doing anyway Robbie?"

He stopped and looked at me for a moment before turning around and peeking his head around the tree to see if Vivian had noticed anything. Luckily she didn't seem to notice a thing and when he saw that he hid head behind the tree.

"I'm…studying Vivian. I'm trying to find out more about her," Robbie whispered to me.

"Huh? Really? You're trying to learn about Vivian? Well that's…surprising. Why do you want to do that?" I whispered back to Robbie. He shrugged his shoulders as he looked at me.

"I'm not quite sure…but for a long time now I have been trying to befriend Vivian. She acted especially cold to me when you were gone and I thought that if she keeps this up her future doesn't look so good. So I am trying to find out more about her so I can be her friend," Robbie

said to me as he peeked his head around the tree back at her.

I didn't expect Robbie to care so much about Vivian. He even went through the trouble of looking like a creep in order to befriend her. I'm not sure if that's cute or just plain creepy. Perhaps both. But he is trying to do what he can for Vivian.

"Have you made any attempts to befriend her before?" I asked. Robbie nodded his head but told me that all his attempts to befriend her end badly. She never warmed up to him or anyone else besides Miss Laurelie. However, Vivian especially acted harshly to him he said. He never knew or understood why but she would always treat him the worst. Now that's something scary. The way she acted to me was nothing compared to how she treats Robbie from the way he says things.

"I know not a lot of people here like her. Perhaps even you. But I want to give her a chance…I want her to open up to us. I don't want her…to be alone. I want her to have a friend. I know it sounds foolish…but I think it would be nice to be closer to her," Robbie said. I poked my head around the tree and saw Vivian still reading peacefully herself. I feel envious for the book that she wouldn't yell at or attack. But Marlow did say that everyone deserves a friend and I surely wouldn't want to be alone if I was her. Being alone is a terrible experience and so she might actually be hurting inside from being alone.

"Well…if you really want to befriend her…then why don't I help?" I said to Robbie who stopped and stared at me for a moment.

"I want to befriend her not send her to a hospital," Robbie said sternly to me.

"Hey! I'm only bad with chores…I think! Come on! You been trying with no luck so maybe I might have some! Let's try to befriend Vivian together. Better than anything right?" I said to Robbie who thought about this for a moment and nodded.

"Well..o-okay…but let's try not to make things worse for us okay. We want her to be our friend not our enemy!" Robbie said as I knew he thought about what Vivian would do if this all goes badly. So we decided to work together as friends to make a new friend in Vivian. I wonder if maybe Marlow was beginning to rub off on me.

Author's Note

Ignore grammar please!