Perception

Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fourteen

Do l look like a freakin' people person?

Unknown

~~~~~~~~~~

     The fourth of June was Petra’s birthday. The last few years to that we hadn’t really bothered celebrating such events mainly because we didn’t have the money. But even if we did, we would have had to carry the gift around forever or it would have just one more thing to have been stolen. But how many times does a girl turn sixteen? Therefore, I was determined to make this right of passage special.

    That morning I left Petra back in Dicksonville under Laura’s watchful eye. She was going to help out at the ram shackled Dicksonville School Haden Ulster, nicknamed Headmaster, had set up to help teach the younger children how to read.

      I had left on the pretext of buying a bunch of oranges so we could use the netted bag to repair our broken yabby net. Over the past three days, our net had been raided sometime during the night. That morning, the thieves must have been in a hurry because they had just sliced the netting rather then simply opening the door. I figured it had to be someone outside of camp; no one within would have dared. Plus, I had been patrolling the campfires looking into pots to see if anyone was cooking the small crustaceans that had been stolen from us.

   I had only one last stop to make before I could head back when I saw them. Huddled close together under the paint flaking scaffolding, a dark haired girl and boy; no doubt brother and sister judging from the facial similarities and the way the shorter boy clung to girl. The fear and utter helplessness wafting off these two was almost audible. No doubt it was this that which had attracted the sharks.

     “What a handsome looking lad he is too. Nine you say?” Richards asked, reaching out his hand and ruffling the boy’s dirty hair.

    I stopped mid-stride to listen and watch the rest of the scene unfold, realizing I must have already missed the start. Richards was a pimp, not that those two little lamb’s realized it, and he liked to stock his barn with the fresh, innocent and new to the street. Once you were in his clutches, he would pump his catch so full of drugs, they wouldn’t know up from down. He’s feed them a steady supply till it was the addiction keeping them there rather than his goons. Outwardly, I wouldn’t have fingered him as a bad guy.

      He resembled Father Christmas in a fat, jolly way but with black hair instead of grey and a neatly trimmed goatee. He liked to wear three-piece suits with brightly stripped waistcoats and a gold pocket watch chain stretched tight across his belly. Sadly, many fell for his charade. In the beginning, I would have too if I hadn’t been warned about him first.

    “You must be hungry. Come with me, both of you, and I will get you something warm to eat.” He placed his hand on the girl’s shoulder, gesturing to the car.

    The girl looked down at her brother’s face. He shook his head infinitesimally and for a fraction of a second, Richards’ mask slipped. His mask was quickly back in place when the girl looked back to him, then the car, then her brother; clear indecision on her face.

   Maybe it was the fact that she reminded me of myself six years ago, scared but determined to look after my sister, or maybe I had been listening to Petra going on and on about how helping others somehow was supposed to help ourselves. Hell, maybe it was gas. Whatever it was, it prompted me to do what happened next.

    “Hey Sookie, long time no see.” I bounded up careful to keep them between Richards and myself. “How’s things?”

    “I’m sorry, do I know you?” The girl asked. quietly confused. “And my name’s not Soo-“