status :: 5SOS

two

It was dark. Both metaphorically, and literally. The night sky could easily level out to the dark demeanor of his surroundings. Growing up as a kid living in rather poor conditions all Michael's focus was on finding a job and gaining money.

His parents were on his back; his only wish was to successfully get through a job interview and gain money so he could move out. Michael had always been independent—but he never knew where to start. Of course he knew the aspects of finding a job and gaining money; but those where only the basic steps.

Michael left his house, informing his parents that he was going out for a walk. In reality though, he knew that was false. He was honestly surprised at how his parents were so blind to his consistent lying. Michael snapped out of his thoughts, fully aware that they'd come back.

Due to the time of night, there was a slight chill in the air. Nothing too bad, considering it was summertime, but enough to be uncomfortable. New York nights could be like that; completely contradictory to the blazing heat of the day. This day was no exception, as though it was a beautiful day earlier, it was growing rather cool. Michael began walking; his body shuddering at the slight breeze that would brush by every now and then.

Turning the corner onto Main Street, Michael stumbled upon one of the many convenience stores with boarded up windows and a broken neon sign that had been stuck to one of the only windows that weren't smashed. It was one of the only stores on the block that weren't gated up and closed for the night, the lights visible from the outside of the store.

It must've been tough having a business of this side of town, he thought, with rebellious teenagers that didn't know any better way to live than to wreak havoc on all those around them. It was their choice of lifestyle, but you can't control where and how you're raised. He couldn't blame those who were defiant; after growing up witnessing that, it would be hard to adapt to any other lifestyle.

Michael observed the store from the outside, contemplating on whether on not he should walk inside and purchase some food. As if on cue, he heard his stomach growl reaching into his pockets to find, what he hoped was a least a few dollars, he came up clean.

This was just perfect. He was hungry and had not a dollar to spare. Michael knew he should have taken a few dollars from the swear jar his parents insisted they have—it's not like they'd realize any charge was missing anyways.

"Fuck it," he mumbled quietly to himself and walked into the store anyways. This wasn't the first time Michael had thieved from a store. It happened so often now that he didn't even realise he was stealing until he walked out of the store with something in his pockets. It was his own second nature. A bad habit, but one hard to break after adapting to it.

The only person in the store, besides Michael of course, was a young man—probably not much older than he was—sitting behind the counter with his head in a book. Michael walked down the aisles, scanning all of the items and then he glanced over at the person behind the counter to check if the coast was clear.

Without a second thought Michael grabbed a packet of plain crinkle cut potato chips and placed them in the pocket of his hoodie. He inconspicuously walked towards the entrance of the store, trying to act as innocent as possible.

"Oi, where do you think you're going?" A voice snapped, making the boy halt to a stop. "You not going to pay for those crisps in your jacket before you leave?"

Michael felt terrified, for the first time since doing this; he had been caught, red handed and he was completely and utterly terrified. The police were going to be called, and his parents informed and then they'd be even more disappointed in him.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Michael tried to argue with Ashton—he read his name tag—but he was just making even more of a fool out of himself, lying wasn't going to get him out of this sticky situation. He was now stuck between a rock and a hard place.