Heavyweight

Her last two quid have gone on this buss ticket and she doesn’t even know where it’s going. It’s either a stupid plan or a brilliant one. Probably stupid, let’s face it, because her brain isn’t really in a great place at the minute and even if it was strategy has never been her strong point-she always lost at chess. The only real plan she has is to get as far away as she can as quickly as possible. After that...well, she’ll work it out then. God. God. The deep cut on her cheek is still painful and with it comes the memory of her father’s face, his voice. Her eyes burn and tears make an unwelcome appearance, again. As she goes to wipe them away, furious with herself, two things happen: 1) she’s a little over enthusiastic in her movement 2) Buses are small and she’s forgotten someone is sitting next to her. The result is the large blond man getting an elbow in his ribs. She pales slightly, but after the other disasters of the last couple of days, what’s really the worst that can happen? 

“Hey, are you alright love?” 

A stupid question, really, because the kid clearly isn’t alright at all. Alright kids don’t sit crouched in alleyways crying. Something that Ally knows for a fact (she’s not alright either). Cautiously she takes a step towards the girl, well aware that she walks a fine line between comfort and scaring. Slowly she crouches until she too is sat on the dirty ground, but leaving a gap between her and the kid; she doesn’t want to scare her further. Silence sits between them, heavy, awkward and Ally plays with it for a moment while she tries to find some words that might be useful.  

                     “Are you lost? Are your parents round her or-”

Or don’t you have any? A month ago the idea of a kid living here on the streets would have been unimaginable, that in its self is now laughable. And judging by the girls appearance there hasn’t been looking after her for a while. A runaway? Maybe, but now isn’t the time to ask. Instead she rummages around in her pockets until she finds the half full packet of chewits. When in doubt: sweets. She unwraps one for herself before offering the packet over to the girl.