꧁ Cʀᴏᴏᴋs: Bᴇᴛʀᴀʏᴇᴅ ʙʏ Bʟᴏᴏᴅ ꧂

6. Tʜᴇ Cɪᴛʏ ᴛʜᴀᴛ Nᴇᴠᴇʀ Sʟᴇᴇᴘs

I haven't toured around New York City in forever. I'm usually not one for going downtown and exploring, especially with the crime rates nowadays. But, after being imprisoned for eight years, I needed to step out into the world again and familiarize myself with the city's streets again. Lucielle offered to show me around, so we're going to spend some time together as she took me around the city to places I haven't seen or been to in a while, or even ever. I've never felt so excited to wander the streets of the city, but I can't help being nervous as well.

Ever since my arrest, my name has been all over the headlines, since it's not everyday you see a child being accused of murder. It's not likely someone would recognize me, but if they did, that's going to be an awkward interaction. I don't want to be spitted on by the rest of society over my past. But hey, the past is in the past, right?

I picked out an outfit from the collection my mom had given me, and tried to do myself up as best as I could. My hair wasn't in the best condition, and I didn't have great hygiene before. Lucy said she was excited to take me to some specific place, but she wouldn't say where. It was supposedly a "surprise", and I'm both excited and worried knowing her. For all I know, it could be anywhere from a nice restaurant to a brothel, and I wouldn't even be surprised if it was the latter option. Either way, I'm just eager to go out into civilization again.

Lucielle threw on a pair of denim shorts with another halter top, topped with sunglasses and white gogo boots- which was an interesting choice of shoes for walking around a giant, busy city. She put the short hair she had up into two french braids, ready to take on the day. Meanwhile I was in a pair of bell bottoms and a T-shirt, hair loose and messy. She looked like a fashionista, and I looked like a homeless man. Thanks for the show off, Lucy.

"Ya ready, Cynthia?" She asked, grabbing a small bag to fit her wallet in.

"Sure... I feel kind of underdressed, though."

She laughed and blew me off. "You're fine. No one cares about how you're dressed, people are more worried about being late to work. I'm just showing off."

She dismissed my concern and grabbed my hand eagerly. "Come on, we're going to be late for the appointment!"

Appointment? Was I being taken to the doctors or something? Whatever it was, she was awfully happy about it. She bolted towards the door, dragging me along.

We made our way down several blocks, running and pushing our way through the crowd. I was mesmerized by this woman's ability to run in gogo boots, that's gotta be a talent or skill somewhere. We paused for a moment to catch our breath off to the side by the bike lanes, and she checked the time on her watch. She sighed deeply and turned back at me.

"Yeah, we did all of that running for nothing. There's no way we're going to get there on time by foot, we're going to have to call a taxi"

"Why didn't we just call a taxi before running ten blocks?"

"I needed an adrenaline boost, it's good exercise anyways."

I exerted myself for no reason, great, good to know. She signaled for a taxi, and soon enough, one noticed us and gave us a ride. She told the driver the location: it was a hair salon. She looked over at me and grinned.

"Spoiled the surprise, but we're gonna get you dolled up first. When you look good, you feel good."

I've never been to a hair salon before, if I have, I don't remember what it's like. I was pretty stoked, and just relieved it wasn't Lucy's favorite: a brothel. I didn't know what types of hairstyles were in nowadays, but I guess I could see when we get there. As long as it blended me in with the crowd so it wasn't obvious I was a walking felon, I was fine with anything.