L.A promptly sat down on the stool. She tied the napkin around her neck and began to chop down on the tray before her. She ate so aggressively I am sure I have heard her choking on a few bits of food.

"Girl, the food is not going anywhere!" Sandra laughed.

L.A then proceeded to wipe her mouth with the napkin and looked in my direction.

"Are you going to eat that?" she pointed at my burger. All this time I was staring at her and forgot about my own fo "M-me, I well um." Why I was struggling to get the words out L.A began to come over to my side of the table.

"Why do you have so many bags?" she poked my gym causing it to swing side to side on the stool she began to move closer to it.

"Eww it stinks"

"Hey! My shoes are in there!"

"I can tell! "she smiled, showing her pearly white teeth, perfectly aligned.

I went back to eating my burger while she integrated me. Sandra later came to collect our dishes leaving us each with complimentary biscuits.

"Awesome! Thanks again Sandra"

She placed a five-dollar bill on the table. It was ragged, a dark green indicating that it was wet and old. Then she hopped off the stool and left.

'Only FIVE dollars?!" I shouted at Sandra. "How could you only accept a five-dollar tip as payment?!"

She began to shake her head 'mind your own business" she placed my bill on the table and left it behind the counter. I groaned, looking at the bottom of my bill, my payment came out to be fifteen dollars.

This is robbery.

I unzipped my backpack and left my pay on the table, leaving no tip. Quickly I packed my things and left, if she won't confront her then I will. However, I didn't have to go very far, as she was right next to my bike. She was leaning up next to it as her hair swayed in the wind.

"Get off my bike!!"

She smirked, "it doesn't have your name on it."

She held its handles ''hmm might give it a test run.' "Oh no you don't," I began to hold the handles as well, trying my best to get it out of her grasp. "You might have robbed Sandra but you're not doing that to me." Her head bolted up and looked me in my eyes, they were brown with a small shimmer inside, but that shimmer could have just been anger. "I am not a thief, you don't even know me!'

"Then why are you trying to take my bike?'' I yelled back. I'm tired of always getting the short end of the stick now I am doing something about it.

"I wasn't trying to STEAL your bike'' she huffed and then took a deep breath.''I was just trying to start a conversation her face turning slightly red afterward.

I slowly let go of the handles, "Okay fine if you want to talk let's talk." L.A looked around, then she focused her attention on me," You ran away didn't you." My eyebrows jumped," is it that obvious?" She laughed," in my experience yes" she hopped off my bike," Come on you can stay with me for the night."

L.A began to walk off but something just didn't feel right. "How do I know you won't hurt me."She stopped and looked in my direction "What do you have to lose?''. She didn't stop and kept walking,l followed her. We walked for a while, some cars would stop and ask us if we wanted a ride, we would decline. By now my legs were hurting from the day's journey. My ankles have visibility turned red by now and were hard to the touch.

She started to talk first.

"So, what's your name?''

"It's not thief, I will tell you that."

"My dad owns that diner first of all!'' she stomped her feet "Look, obviously you need some sort of help but if you are going to be like this." I sighed " my name is Ora." "Ora what?" "Ora Whiteman."

'Wow what a coincidence, if it was white woman then it would be even funnier." Rubbing my eyes I shook my head. She can't be serious, can she. "Well as you know my name is L.A, but my last name is Hernadez." We came to a stop, across the street was a dense entrance of bush and shrubs leading into the woods. "It's just over the other side of the bush" she looked both ways and began to cross the road. "Come on let's go, it's getting dark!" she shouted. Here goes nothing, I followed her into the bush.

The path was set into the ground, people travel through here. I began to hear all sorts of creeks and chirps throughout the leaves and branches. L.A would stop and pick up sticks, she would look at each twig, even smelling some, tossing those who did not fit the criteria. She held her arm in front of me, "where we're" There was a makeshift fire palace in the middle of the area and a red tent on the right side of the fireplace. Placing my bike on a nearby tree, L.A began to gather water jugs from a bush "I am going to the river nearby, start settling in." She continued on the path leaving me by myself, nothing new.

I grabbed my bags as I went to open the tent. Its flooring was covered with blankets and pillows. In the left corner, there was a small brown bag and two sleeping bags in the middle of the floor leaning my bags up against the right corner of the tent, I then plummeted myself into the second sleeping bag. Laying there with my aching ankles, my full stomach, and being at least forty-five miles from home I just started to cry. The tears just broke past the gates of my anger and disappointment. My chest huffed as I gasped for air. My vision began to become blurry as the tears poured down my face. The entrance of the tent began to shake side to side as the flap zipped down to the face of L.A. She stepped over my body and reached for her backpack in the corner. She then proceeded to zip up back the tent. Using my hands I wiped the tears to the best of my ability and went after her. She was stooped down in front of the fireplace and had the sticks in a tepe formation. Twigs, pine needles, and bits of paper were inside of it. Digging in the bag she pulled out a box of matches and tossed them to me.

"Light it".

I looked at the matches and then back at her.

"Go ahead Ora, before the mosquitoes come"

I took a match out of the box and tried to light it. Putting the red tip to the side of the matchbox I began to go toward the left.

"Stop!" She came over and moved my fingers so that they would go to the right, "you would burn yourself if you did it that way." I lit the match and tossed it to the twigs, instantly it set ablaze its orange and red flames were bright and contrasted against the dark atmosphere. L.A sat down on the ground and I soon followed, it was just us the and cracking of the fire.

"Do you feel better now?" L.A asked while she feed more sticks to the fire. "When I came out here I cried on my first night as well. Very therapeutic if you ask me."

I grabbed a stick and began drawing in the dirt "Why did you come out here?" She laughed. "Well that's a long story for another day, all that matters right now is that you have a place to stay for the night." She began to get up "but you know if you want I can show you around." ''What do you mean" I replied, looking up at her. "When I first came out here I had to learn everything I knew and well" she looked down at me "it would be easier if you got a head start." "What would I learn first? Other than how to use matches."

''Tomorrow I can show you the railroad" she headed over to the bushes to get more sticks. "What's so special about a railroad?" "The railroad I am talking about has been abandoned for years and now is taken up by runaways like us." She put sticks near the tent and went for a water jug. "I will tell you more in the morning but now it is time to rest." Pouring the water on the fire caught a wave of steam followed by the hushed cries of the fire's defeat.

Zipping up the tent, we both crawled into our sleeping bags and our backs turned against each other. "You don't snore do you?" her sleeping bag shuffled with each word she spoke.

"No, I don't snore," I mumbled back.

"Alright, then good night Ora. "

"Night." 

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