The sunlight of dawn hits my face as I wipe the sweat from my forehead, the heat is miserable but I don't have enough to afford AC.

I go straight to my window, a habit that never seems to die away, I just can't catch a break. Sure enough, just like every morning there is some kid trying to break into my store downstairs.

"Hey!" I yell out the opening, which I'm assuming must be a window. The people who lived here before me probably couldn't afford glass, and I don't blame them.

The kid rushes off, probably in fear I would call the cops. This place I call home is bad, but a Malison jail is worst.

I put on some jeans and a shirt along with a patched up hat over my greasy hair. I walk down stairs to my shop and wipe the dust off the counter, then open the blinds and unlock the door.

"Hey Paul," I yawn to my neighbor, a farmer who sells his harvest next door to my cafe. "Good morning." He waves to me.

Paul is the only person I know who could be happy living in a condition like this.

"Fresh fruit from the farm!" Paul calls out to passing strangers. "I got lettuce, strawberry and a special harvest of blueberries!"

"Bonjour Paul." I smile at my neighbor as I put out the chairs in the little patio.

"Como estas Francisco." Paul waves at me before running off to try and sell his strawberries to another wandering stranger.

My name is Francisco-Zavier Langlois Raynaud. I know, it's a big name for a strange person like me. Nobody really knows me, I'm not famous or anything, not like the Zodiac family. Whew, those guys are rich!

My name is large and has a lot of syllables because I am in immigrant from Francium, one of the largest planets out among the stars. People would travel from miles around to swim in our crystal clear water and eat our delegate meals. The Zodiac's often visit there for vacation.

I loved it there, but I have to go to school and find a job and a wife, I can't really get a well paying job on Francium, I'm not better off on Malison, but you never know what might happen.

I walk back inside and walk over to my smoothie machine. I open the fridge to get some milk, fruit and vegetables. I grab the carton and pour it into my blender it, it comes out all chunky and hard, the smell stings my ear as I throw the nasty milk out.

"Hey Paul!" I call out my glass-less window. "My power shut off again, everything has gone bad, could I ask for a favor?"

"Here." Paul hands me a box of strawberries, pineapples and coconuts. "On me."

"I couldn't." I took out my wallet, it was more empty then my fridge was of fresh product.

"I insist." Paul hands me the box and walks out. "I want to try some smoothie though."

"I'll send you some after the rush hour." I yell back. "Je vous remercie."

That means thank you in French, which is my first language, it was hard adjusting to English. But after about three years I have finally gotten the hang of it. Well mostly. I still use some French words, like Paul still uses some Spanish words.

People come from all around, from northern Malison, down to temple avenue. They travel down 48th street to my little cafe. The subway station is right outside my window, it's a nice location. Everyone always stops in for a drink or a biscuit or two.

Times are getting tough to continue staying here, two months ago the rent jumped up five dollars. Mike and Luke Zodiac issued a proclamation to tax every living resident here, to fund their stupid DNA testing, now everyone can barely afford to live.

At that same time my neighbors moved out, they owned a little rental service. If you needed a radio, TV, movie, DVD, or car, they would rent it to you. It was nice to exchange between smoothies and DVDs with them back then. Now I got nobody but Paul. My new neighbors aren't very friendly and don't come out of their store. I know they have a daughter, she is sadly too young for me to consider, but all I know is that her boyfriend runs in every morning asking me for medication. You see, he has mono and if she gets it, her father will make him dead meat.

Across the street is a little mechanic store, the owner is quite popular if you can see through the grease and fake ID. Vestry Zodiac owns that store, he has fixed up my blender a few times, I owe him a lot of cash... I gotta get on that. I haven't seen him in a few years, perhaps he might of forgotten?

Right next door to him on the corner is an apartment building. The people there are the strangest I have ever seen, and I come from Francium, so that's saying some things. Everyone has their struggle, usually with collage and schooling. It's hard to afford an education when your being taxed like it's a new hobby. Everyone there is mad cheep.

"Ciao Zavier." An old man walks in, he always beats the crowd that comes right after him.

I turn off my blender and turn to him. "Another bet on the lottery?" I shake my head. "You know nobody actually wins this stuff?"

"Well then I will be the first." He laughs.

That's Matthew. He comes in every day, whatever coins he finds in the street he puts into the pool of cash. I give him another ticket with a number on it.

"Bonne chance" I call out to him, pausing before repeating my phrase in English so he understand. "Good luck!"

I don't mind Matthew, he is just excited, he wants some cash so he can help himself get back to collage, he was an old drop out and can barely support his family. I wish I could help him out, but I am having problems with just myself.

"Dude!" The girl next door's boyfriend runs into my shop, almost hitting Matthew. "I need some more medication!"

"Fifteen dollars." I hold out my hand.

"No!" He gives me a dirty look. "It was twelve yesterday."

"Rent jumped up again this morning." I grab the paper and show him the front page. "It's up another five dollars, I can't afford to find you medication if I don't have a place to live."

"Fine!" He rolls his eyes and tosses a few bills up. I hand him his pill and he races out the door.

If that kid were smart, he would know those things only cost me two dollars at the store.

"Maslow." I smile as my partner walks in.

We split this store half and half, he lives in a nicer apartment up a couple of blocks. He is always late. That stinker.

"Relax." He hugs my shoulder. "You know you love me."

Maslow is my third cousin twice removed. He has lived on Malison all his life. He knows how to not get a law suit on this business I run. He shows up each morning to help with rush hour, I pay him his share of the cash, then he leave to go with his girlfriend to work.

I pull at my collar, it's getting hot this summer. I need to get some cash and get a fan or AC or something! Soon I will turn into a puddle.

I hear the subway drive under the road, here comes the rush hour. Everybody stops by for a water or a smoothie, some even get biscuits. As they all head to work the subway stops here for an hour to refuel, everyone is forced to get off and the first place they see as they walk up those stairs is my little cafe.

The door opens and a floor of people come inside to try and escape the heat, they ask for ice and waters. Maslow pulls out some glasses and scoops the ice inside. Thank goodness my freezer didn't die! I take a sip of my own water before I start to ring up the customers on the cashiers.

When I say cashier, I mean this little shoe box I put the cash in. We had to sell the cashier a while back when the rent went up, ever since then I had calculated the tax in my mind.

"One fifty-nine." I tell the women as Maslow places her smoothie on the counter. She hands me the cash and I tuck it inside the box.

I listen to some girls gossip about the Zodiac family. Mike and Luke Zodiac had successfully created a Zodiac Gene to inject into public volunteers for a good amount of cash. I would totally volunteer, if I didn't think my life was at stake. Everybody who was anybody must of saw it last night on a TV. I don't got anything but the newspaper that's delivered to me each morning. With my luck I can read all about it in the times tomorrow.

"Two dollars and twenty seven cents." I hand a man a donut and a water.

Maslow takes an order from the next costumer another up. "I got it." He says before racing to the back room. "What size?... two pints."

He returns with two pints of water. That customer must be thirsty.

"Four dollars." I smile as he hands me the cash.

The next girl orders an insane amount of things. From a smoothie to a dozen cookies.

"Twelve dollars, including tax." I look at the items. "Do you want a bag for that?"

Once you get the hang of how taxes work you could probably do it in your head just like me. I always did amazing in school when it came to mathematics. That's how I got a scholarship here, two years full ride. I am mighty proud I was able to achieve that, I just wish I could go back and finish my basic decree.

Now I just sell drinks and write check after check and wonder what will come next and hope the rent doesn't jump again. I can barely keep up with this crazy life.

The subway leaves any moment now. The last of my customers leave my shop and walk down the stairs to catch their ride to work. Paul sells his veggies to a couple right before they head underground.

"Here is your cut." I pull out half the cash from the shoe box and hand it to him. "About fifty bucks."

"Ha." Maslow laughed. "That's enough for me to buy groceries for this week."

"Money is tight." I chuckle to myself. "But we are doing okay."

"Now let's test your skill." Maslow sits at the stood by the counter. "I want a-"

"Let me guess." I smile. "A milkshake."

"And?"

"The news paper, since I'm already finished with it. And I won't forget your cherry on your shake."

"Did the milk go bad again?" Maslow sniffs the air.

"Yep." I grab a coconut and use the milk inside to pour into the blender. "Luckily the freezer didn't."

"Whew." Maslow grabbed a chink of ice and put it in the back of his neck. "Did Aspen show up yet?"

"Shut up." I snap. "It was a one time thing."

"With Aspen Zodiac?" Maslow laughed. "Then why does she come here every day?"

"Hey." I hear her voice as the door opens. She is wearing an elegant navy sundress, it complements her black hair, pale face, and ruby red lips. "My usual please."

"One cold coco, five creams and no sugar." I quickly make up her drink and hand it to her. "Three dollars."

She smiles as her fingers brush against mine as I take the cash and hand her the cup. Our eyes meet. Our history is full of lies and lost. What we had is over, she has a boyfriend, Luke Zodiac. I just can't compete with that.

"Rents due." The landlord walked into the shop.

"I got most of it here." I hand him a wad of chase from my pocket, only forty-seven dollars. Everything I earned today. I still owe the guy three months rent, over two hundred dollars in debt. I can't afford to mess up now.

"Hmmm." The landlord looks at the cash. "This will cover a bit, but if you don't have the cash in full by next time I will be forced to kick you out."

He turned and left without another word. Aspen looked at her drink, then at me. "If you need some cash," she stared at me. "I can help provide some."

"I don't need your money." I smile at her. "I'm doing just fine here."

"Can I have a cookie?" She asks.

I hand a snickerdoodle to her. "It's on the house."

"Dude, ask her out." Maslow whispers to me in French, so Aspen doesn't understand.

"No way." I snap.

Aspen smiles as she takes a bit of her snack and leaves the cafe. Outside her boyfriend waits beside his car. That's right, he can afford to have a car. I can never treat her like he treats her, yet she somehow persuades him to driver her over here every morning.

The heat gets to me and the world spins around for a moment before I grasp the counter for support. Maslow hands me a water before he waves goodbye.

"Au Revoir." We both say to each other as he exits.

I am nothing, I'm just a poor boy living on Watcher street in a world of Zodiac's driving their Ferraris down the road.

I may be poor, but at least I have this store. One day the Zodiac will be the ones writing the checks to me as I relax on a warm beach somewhere west.

I stare at Paul as he tries to sell more fruit to passer byes. Like him, I am from a far away planet, I can win nobody, I didn't even know the language.

I throw the dishes into the soapy water as run my hands through the cold wet water as I wash my blender. Until next rush hour, I won't see anybody come in here.

I have set aside a glass of smoothie for Paul. The water drops start to form around the outside of the glass. It looks so refreshing.

I ponder in my mind how I ended up here, living like this. I remember my life on Francium, back when I was fourteen years old and just graduated from high school.

My mind races back to the very beginning.

Or as I say it back home: I want to start at the début.