As the vendor is distracted by a child, I silently slip behind the stand and snatch a sack of hydroponic potatoes. A black shadow flashes out of the corner of my eye and I spin around reflexively.
    "Potatoes? Really, mate?" A girl with short black hair streaked with white and wearing a white kerchief around her neck dressed in a black jumpsuit questions.
    "Hey, I know you!" I exclaim.
    "Well, whaddya know, it's you, hotshot!" She exclaims in her thick Australian accent. "But seriously, why potatoes?"
    "It's not the potatoes I want, mate, it's the bag." I say with a hint of a smile.
    "And why do you want the bag?" She asks as I slip out from behind the stand.
    "Quiet, or you'll blow my cover!" I whisper-shout.
    "Oh, the hotshot is suddenly very secretive!" She states with mock-intrigue. I glare at her. "People call me Athena, by the way." I pause near an alleyway.
    "Athena? Like, Greek-war-goddess Athena? That Athena?"
    "It's just a nickname, hotshot. Got a problem with it?" She asks, hands on her hips. I smile inwardly at how serious she looks. To be honest, it's kind of adorable when she tries to be serious.
    "Oh, no, no problem at all." I say with a polite smile. "I was just curious."
    "Well, see ya later, alligator," she says with a wink as she glides back into the market casually. I make my way towards home.

    After dumping the potatoes into a crate, I grab the bag and head towards the front door. I stop by the full-length mirror in the hallway and look at myself. I have an orange T-shirt on and some jeans. My orange-frosted brown hair is short and below it you can see my brown eyes, which have sunken deep into my face from hunger and depression. Why would someone like Athena ever want to associate herself with me? She's beautiful, with that black hair framing her tan face and deep, blue eyes. She's probably about three inches shorter than me, leaving her at 5'7". She walks with an air of someone who's blood is filled with royalty. Her voice sounds like a dark song and I could never hear enough of it. Once again, why would someone like Athena ever associate herself with me?
    I stride out the door and turn into a dry arroyo. About 12 meters away lies a small, abandoned shack. Inside, though, it is full of criminals.
    "What's the password?" Comes a gruff voice through the door.
    "I've got some hydroponic potatoes that need delivering, hombre. Can I come in or what?" I say in my slight Spanish accent. The door slides open and I glance around. "CJ, I've got your potatoes!" I shout over the noise of chatting criminals.
    "Oi, hermano, I see you've brought me what I've asked for! Gracias!" CJ exclaims, embracing me.
    "Si, si, CJ. Now, where's the money?" I ask.
    "Ah, mijo, always want the money, eh? Nada mas!" He chuckles.
    "Just give me the money, CJ. I went through quite a bit of trouble to get that bag."
    "Yeah, right, chico. Follow me, I'll get you the money." CJ says with a shake of his head. I follow, agitated. In the back room, CJ opens a safe and hands me five gold coins, three coppers, and one silver. "It's hard to get this fabric these days, eh, hermano? Especially for us Orange. May you feast tonight, hermano!" He calls as I leave the shack.
    "I wish! Muchas gracias, CJ! See you when the sun meets the moon!"
    "Si! When the sun meets the moon!" I close the door, closing CJ's outburst of laughter with it. I turn back into the arroyo, fingering the money.

    Minutes later, I arrive at my small run down house and step trough the door.

    "Whatcha doin', mate?" A voice asks from behind.
    "Oi! Are you a stalker or something?!" I exclaim in utter surprise.
    "Or something." Athena says with a smile. "So, you're Hispanic? Maybe Latino? Puerto Rico I'm guessing?"
    "I will never understand you. But si, Puerto Rico." I say. I look her over. "Why are you a criminal if you're a White?" I ask suddenly. "Don't you already get whatever you want?"
    Athena's smile thins. "We don't get freedom, mate. And we don't get adventure." Says she, her devious smile returning. Athena plops onto my shabby gray couch. "So," she says mischievously, "when do you wanna have some fun, hotshot?"
    A loud thud sounds near the shed in my backyard. "How 'bout now?"
    We leap off the couch in unison and dart out of the back door. Athena slides a sleek black gun out of her belt and pulls a knife out of her left boot. "Your pick."
    "Where'd you get a gun?!"
    "That's not exactly important right now, hotshot. So pick, or I'll take both." I look at the knife and she hands it to me as if nothing were wrong. Which, in a sense, nothing really was. You're overreacting, I tell myself. Grasping the knife, Athena and I slide past the shed to the unknown visitor.
    "Do you guys have anything interesting in this place? Must be a farming city or something. Heh." A voice says casually behind us. I nearly jump out of my shoes.
    "Holy crap!" I say, turning around. "What in el mundo are you doing here, Nate?"
    "You know this guy, hotshot?" Athena asks, looking from me to Nate.
    "Yeah. He's my... My brother." I say, astonished.
    "You brother? I'm gonna be honest with ya, mate, you two don't look alike." She states, looking Nate up and down in a bored gesture. Nate is tan, muscular, and about two inches taller than me with flawless dirty blonde hair.
    "I mean, he's my step brother."
    "Who's the babe, bro?" Nate asks, looking her up and down.
    "Some Australian stalker."
    "Oh, is that what ya think of me, hotshot?" Athena inquires, giving me a sideways glance.
    "Hotshot? I can see where she got that." He says with a smirk.
    "Shut up. What are you here for, Nate?"
    "Hold up, bro. Aren't you gonna let the pretty little White introduce herself?"
    "People call me Athena, mate, and don't speak about me like that or I could get you killed." She says casually. I stifle a laugh.

    "Feisty." Nate says, casting his eyes over her body once more.

    "Go away, Nate. No one's here to buy drugs, and no one wants to wrestle you. So you have no reason to be here." I admonish.

    "Except I do. Papa's back." My face instantly pales.

    "Athena, stay here. Nate... Follow me." I lead Nate around the house and immediately we start to bicker, and I hope Athena can't hear it. "What do you mean Pop's back? How could that be possible?!"

    "I don't know, bro. It just is. I was... Doing some things when he just showed up at my apartment out of the blue. Something weird is going on, man." Nate says, drawing a hand through his hair.

    "If he's back... Oh crap." I run around the house, and find Athena cornered by three men, one holding a gun up to her head.