Lost

Chapter 1 : Normal day

The young girl spent the day outside. She was exhausted, but she was proud of herself. She managed to go through many people's pockets, stealing some bills, and finding a cute keyring for her little sister. Her parents were too poor to pay them school, or they just didn't care, she didn't know. She wasn't even in front of her house that she could hear them having another fight. They could have, at least, closed the window! She entered, her parents on her right in the kitchen, and ignored them. But she felt her heart breaking when she noticed her little sister on the couch, hiding under her small blanket with Paddington on it. She went to her, and took her in her arms before going upstairs. When she reappeared, her little sister had a big relieved smile, and hugged her. The blanket slid from her head, catching her sister -four years older than her-.

- "What happened to your hair?" asked Constance in a sigh, surprised. "DANY!"

- "WHAT!?"

A tall and skinny boy, with a shaved head, got out of one of the door. He was the oldest one, but he wasn't close of his sisters.

- "What do you want!?" replied the boy.

- "It's your idea!?" asked angrily the blonde child, showing her sister's head.

- "She looks badass!"

- "I don't care! I don't wanna you to force her in your...hatred state of mind!"

- "She had cooties!"

- "And!? It don't mean she have to become a Nazi skin-head like you!"

She didn't let him the time to answer, and went directly in their room. It was cold, as the window was broken, and there were no beds, just one mattress on the floor, with two pillows, and an old blanket that Constance found in someone else's room. There was only a small and broken wardrobe with their clothes inside, and books on the parquet. She sat on their bed, her sister on her lap.

- "Let's see what he did," told Constance watching Jane's head. "It's not that bad. What do you think?"

- "Yes," smiled the little sister.

- "Ok, if you like it, it's all that matter. I've something for you."

Jane turned her head with excited eyes, while Constance was searching on her pockets. She finally found the keyring in the shape of a Teddy bear. The youngest girl took it, her mouth wide opened, and hugged it.

- "I love it! Thank you!" told Jane with her baby voice.

- "Anything for you, big shaved head."

Jane tried to wrap her tiny arms around her older sister. Constance did it with no problem. To hide the yells, the blonde sister decided to read a story to her sister, trying to teach her how to read. She was ten years old, and was unable to read correctly, she didn't want her little sister to be the same, Jane had already lots of shortcomings by staying alone at home, or spending some time with the neighbors. But she didn't like when she was alone with the parents, or with Dany, they had their vision of the world, not a peaceful vision. Constance tried to not listen to them, by spending her time in the streets, she felt closer with the people they were rejecting than with her own family, and hoped Jane wouldn't become like them.

- "DINNER!" called their mother.

Jane jumped from her sister's lap, messed her feet with the blanket, and fell on her knees.

- "You're hurt?" chuckled Constance.

- "No," answered Jane, standing, and rubbing her knees.

- "You're so clumsy."

- "I know."

The blonde girl stood, put her hands under her sister's shoulders, and raised her to take her in her arms. The two girls went downstairs, where their father was waiting for her.

- "How much today?" asked the man.

Constance put Jane on the floor, allowing her to sit at the kitchen table. The blonde kid searched on her pockets, and gave him some bills. The father took it, and counted them.

- "That's all!? Fifty dollars!?"

- "It's crisis for everyone," shrugged Constance.

- "I see..." sighed the father. "Sit at the table."

She was relieved. In fact, she won more, but she put the rest in her secret jar. She was saving money for Jane and her, in case something could go wrong. And something would go wrong, she just didn't know what, and when.

- "See, today, I had a job appointment," began the father, "we were three men, two whites and an Arab. They preferred keeping the Arab than one of us. He had nothing more than us, he was not very experimented, but because if you don't hire an Arab, you're definitely a racist, and that's unfair, this is why it's the crisis, this is why honorable white men like us can't find job, because Arabs, or blacks, or others, decided to steal people's job in our own country!"

The man kept telling his tirade while Dany was firmly nodded at each one of his words. Constance stopped participating, she didn't want problems, and knew he had no job because he was unqualified and alcoholic. By luck, Jane wasn't listening, too busy to try to eat her chicken nuggets with no hands. Their mother turned a deaf ear, like usual. Nobody knew exactly what she was thinking about this. Constance was even sure she wasn't thinking at all. Her eyes were empty, her skin pale, and her hair colorless. She wasn't smiling a lot, just at Jane. She was clearly her favorite, and Dany was their father's favorite, but Constance was nobody's favorite. Well, maybe she was Jane's favorite, and she hoped she was, because Jane was her favorite too. The little sister grabbed her older sister's arm, and lightly shook it to have her attention.

- "Yes?" smiled Constance.

- "Can we go to our room?" murmured Jane.

- "Sure."

The blonde kid stood, taking the two plates, while Jane jumped of her chair, blocking her leg, and falling on her belly, on her sister's chair. Constance had an amused smile, and helped her to stand. While Constance was cleaning the plates, Jane went around the table, and hugged her mother.Once in their room, Jane sat under the window to have some lights, and began to draw, while Constance was next to her, reading a school book about science.

- "I want a dog," told Jane, still drawing.

- "Yeah? Maybe one day. It could be cool."

- "Yes, it is cool! Mallory has a dog, and he is so cute and funny! I want a funny dog, not like the Andrew's dog."

- "Oh yeah, he is so awful!" stated Constance.

- "Mr.Andrew is awful."

- "Jane!"

- "What? It's true, I heard you telling that to your friend."

- "You listen to me in secret? I should be careful of what I'm saying, now! You're like a spy."

- "A spy? Cool," smiled Jane.

- "An annoying spy," joked the blonde kid."

- "Still a spy!"

Constance playfully pushed her sister's head, making laugh the young girl. When she finished her drawing, Jane showed it proudly to her sister. It was a dog playing with the two girls. Constance told her it was beautiful, and not just to make her smile, but because it was a really beautiful drawing, Jane was very good at it. The shaved head began to yawn, so Constance decided to go to bed. The two girls lied down on the mattress, under the old blanket, and both joined their dreams.