...
amara matthews believed the best time of day was an early june morning. around 6:28am, to be exact. it's the time where the city is only barely waking up, starting to regain energy it lost when it fell to sleep.
hey, it wasn't called the city of dreams for nothin'.
she would climb out of her little hiding place, climbing up onto the bridge and dangling her feet off the railing. a couple of minutes would pass, and the morning glow would hit a smashed bottle that she positioned perfectly so the peach light would reflect onto the cool water beneath her feet. sometimes, if you looked really carefully, you could see things that the other boys had dropped in - pebbles, shoes.....once she noticed a bowl sticking out of the sand.
but nothing would beat actually roaming the city.
there was this fairytale that she read when she was younger, about this mermaid. her entire life she wanted to walk around on land like a human, so badly that she traded her voice for the chance to be with a boy she 'loved'. love was an icky concept, that wasn't what she wanted, but freedom? she would do anything for that. it wasn't the work she did that made her so desperate for a change - she loved what she did. it was getting away from her boys. sure, they wanted nothing more but to protect her, but god, she longed for a break.
her brown eyes stared into the water below, examining a shard of glass that she had scooped up from the water's surface. it was quite clouded, probably an old bottle that had only been smashed recently. she ran a finger over the edge, yanking it away when she felt a sting. "fuck," she mumbled under her breath, bringing the cut to her mouth, sucking lightly to diminish the pain.
once her hand hurt a bit less, she chucked the piece of glass into a stash of weird items placed so conveniently near the railing, sliding off onto the dock. she snatched her red shirt from a pole sticking out from the bridge and slipped it over her shoulders.
"goin' somewhere, flo?" a voice sassed from somewhere behind her.
"out," amara said as she adjusted her suspenders over her top.
"out where?"
the girl threw her hair into a ponytail and swiveled around to face the figure. " 'hattan," she replied, ducking down to tie up her shoes.
"why? you meetin' a fella?"
amara paused for a moment, wondering how she should reply. "mhmm," she lied smoothly, jumping back up to meet the brunette's gaze. "might wonder 'round a bit too while i'm there."
the boy squinted his eyes, examining the girl. "aight, but you stay safe, it's a gonna be a good day and ion wanna punch anyone."
laughing lightly, she shoved him in the shoulder. "i can defend myself. 'sides, how do yous know it's gonna be a good day?"
a small smile tugged at spot's lips. "i just knows," he said, swatting her on the chest with his hat. "now stop botherin' me, you is gonna wake up all the boys."
"yes sir," amara gave him a mock salute and swiped her newsbag up from the floorboards, jogging off down the bridge to manhattan.
...
amara's feet skipped along the pavement, soles hitting the pavement with a soft 'click' with every step she took. she took a breath and grinned. the morning air was cold against her face and refreshing. it was such a little thing, being up so early, but it meant so much to her.
new york was a funny little place. firstly, it wasn't very little at all. amara had been on the streets for so long, and she still had so many places she wanted to go to. the next thing was that it was very hard to get into those places. you either needed money, connections, or a pretty face, and most of the time, amara didn't have any of 'em.
manhattan was the hardest place to get into - well, at least for amara. she didn't know no-one, she didn't have no money to stay somewhere, and her face would only get her sold to some old guy who needs a child bride, and she wasn't exactly fond of old men. not to mention mr snyder (or spider, as everyone called him), and she was on his bad side - which wasn't ideal when he's the type of person who pops kid's balloons on the street. and he was an old guy too, yuck.
still, she loved the thrill of running away from her problems. sure, it ain't healthy, but it bet sitting around and letting others choose your life.
"watch it, lady!"
a voice snapped amara out of her thoughts, and she looked up, catching some guy in a blue suit's annoyed gaze. she shot him a cheeky wink back and laughed, sprinting off again.
she darted around corners, passing book stores and wash-houses and restaurants that she'd be sure to explore later. out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a small cafe, snd she took a deep breath in. someone was cooking waffles and it made her mouth water. the thought left her mind, though, when she passed a small little building tucked away in a corner.
"NEWSBOY LODGING HOUSE" it seemed to shout.
a small grin broke out onto amara's lips.
maybe spot was right.
maybe it was going to be a good day.
