Misc.

urinetown 1

morning one, he finds her gravestone one year later 

-

night one.

it was the rustling of the bushes that made lockstock whip his flashlight over to the left. bright white cut through the pitch black like a scythe held by god, ready to catch them in the act, but it landed only upon a desperate raccoon gnawing on a filthy, rotten apple core.

the officer sighed, sleepy, and continued making his rounds. the main road lay up ahead, much better lit than the dingy back alleys lockstock patrolled from time to time. the streets were empty and quiet. a dog barked in the distance, and somewhere a trash can was knocked over, crashing onto the sidewalk.

around the corner, directly under a flickering orange street lamp sat a small, fragile little girl. her dress was old and worn and she clutched a ratty looking teddy bear to her chest. her socks were mismatched and one of her little black shoes was missing the buckle, and the strap of leather hung loosely off to one side. the girl, while a sorry sight, was, perhaps painfully, familiar to officer lockstock who paused under the street lamp, next to the girl.

"good evening, little sally." he said, glancing down at her.

"hello officer." the girl replied, staring at her toes.

"little late to be out, isn't it? must be past your bedtime."

"yeah? what are you gonna do about it?" she asked, scrambling to her feet.

"i was going to ask you to go home. i can take you if you'd like, so you're not on your own."

little sally grimaced at him, offended at the prospect of being defenseless. in the light, lockstock took note of a bright red bruise on her cheek. he frowned.

"oh, don't start pouting," little sally scowled, "i hate it when cops pout. it's stupid. you ain't got nothing to pout about."

"no, no, i just noticed your cheek. what happened?"

"nunya."

little sally crossed her arms and put her foot down, teddy bear still tightly clutched in one hand. officer lockstock looked at her the same way a parent does to their child when they've had quite enough fooling around. 

"come on now, i'm only asking a question."

"and i answered. i don't need to get my lawyer, do i?"

"define lawyer, little sally." lockstock challenged the ten-year-old flatly.

"awe just leave me alone." she pouted, sitting back down on the ground. 

officer lockstock considered this for a moment. he looked down at the girl and a brisk, frigid autumn wind blew through the streets. it smelled like garbage, sewage and death. hardly appropriate for a child to spend the night in. the policeman kneeled down and tilted his head.

"would you like me to call your mo-"

"no." little sally blurted out, whipping her head around to look at him. 

"what about your uncle-"

"no!"

"is there anyone i can contact to come and pick you up?"

"no! maybe i wanna stay out on the streets. better out here than anywhere near there." little sally spat, face hot with anger. 

suddenly, officer lockstock understood. little sally was quick to notice.

"i told you. cops ain't got nothing to pout about."

-

night two.