Upset with myself for being so naive, I ran my hand through my hair, almost pulling some out. The pain was nothing compared to the pain I felt at the bottom of my stomach, pain, and misery.

 I made a frustrated noise, and stood up. I'm not going home like this, I thought fiercely. I trudged through the store, not caring what kind of a mess I made. My eyes scanned the area for the employee who had taken my money.

 I was about to turn around and head to the meat section when a voice interrupted my thoughts and a hand grabbed my shoulder. 

"What do you think you're doing, kid?" 

Startled, I turned to see who I was talking to. He was a broad shouldered man, with dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. His hand felt warm on my shoulder, and for a second, I wondered if this was what the hand of a loving father felt like. It had been such a long time since I had felt that sensation, I didn't know. 

"I-I'm looking for someone," I replied. "Have you seen a girl employee with brown hair and—"

Before I could finish, the man was already nodding. "Ah, yes. Allison. She's my daughter." 

That felt like a blow to the stomach. I knew he would never believe she stole from me, much less help me confront her. I fidgeted while the man gave me an inquiring glance. 

"Now what business could you have with my daughter?" I shook my head. "I... guess it could wait. Why did you stop me?" 

The man's eyes lit up, as if he was finally remembering something he had forgotten. "I was going to ask you to leave, actually. Since I'm the manager here, I can't have you dirtying my floors. You need to leave." 

My eyes widened, and I was about to protest, but I thought better of it. If I did refuse, he would just ask security to throw me out. I decided to preserve whatever dignity I had left, and leave on my own accord. My heart ached as I thought of the handful of money I had held in my hand when I first came. But what I dreaded the most wasn't the next two days I would spend, starving, but my father's rage when I came home empty handed. 

I stumbled to the doorway, and the doors opened for me again. I racked my brain, trying to think of ways to get money, but came up with nothing. I couldn't get a job yet, and what little money I had been able to make was in the female employees clutches. This isn't fair! I thought miserably. I didn't do anything to deserve this!

Then, I remembered. The little bit of money I had saved up before under the bundle of spare clothes I had back at the little shack I called home. I was originally going to save it as a little pocket money for me. I know, call me selfish, but never in my life had I ever had money I could use solely for my pleasure. 

The money I managed to collect was always for my dad, or rationed for food. I was overjoyed when I realized I had made a little extra so that I could spend it on something for me. The money wasn't much, but I thought maybe I could a cheap game with it or something. Maybe then, I could attract some friends. I used the wall for support and shambled back the familiar dusty road back to my home, to greet my fathers rage when a low voice made me jump. 

"Hey." Instantly, I located the the sound of the voice and saw a fifteen year old girl with a black rain jacket, hood pulled over her head. A boy about the same age was next to her. Their eyes were both trained on me. 

I was already frustrated, hungry and tired and I wasn't about to deal with whatever I had to say. "What? What do you want? Am I gonna get kicked out of the street now for being dirty?"

 They didn't say anything back, and it took a second for me to regain my composure. I took a deep breath and said, "I'm sorry. What can I do?" 

The girl nodded approval, and looked over at the guy. "We know what just happened," he said. 

"And we know who you are, and what you're going through, Lucas." I was taken aback. How did they know my name?

 "We've been watching you, and we want to help you," the girl added. "W-who are you?" I stammered. "We're part of an organization, and organization that finds and recruits people like you and me, so we can have the life we deserve, the opportunity. And we want you to come and join us, Lucas." The girl locked eyes with me, and I could tell that she was dead serious.