Post by dustyn james harrison on Sept 14, 2010 15:11:20 GMT -5
Dusty spend most of his afternoons palling around in the school library until closing. It was a good place for him to stay where he wouldn't be looked at as a loiterer, and the books provided endless entertainment. Most importantly, however, was the fact that the library had a computer lab. It was his only access to the computer.
This year was proving to be a hard one for him scholastically. He felt like he had a paper due every week, and he felt like he was constantly staying after school to type and retype his papers. Especially annoying was the fact that computer hard drives erased themselves each night. In order to keep his work, he either needed a USB drive--which he couldn't afford--or he needed to email it to himself. It was a bit of a pain.
Today, however, was not a day for writing papers. It was a Wednesday. Wednesdays were the days that he checked his "parent's" email for notifications from his teachers. He also needed to shoot Hailey an email.
He booked it into the computer lab as soon as the bell rang, claiming his favorite seat by the heater. Dusty loved being warm, a luxury he didn't often have outside of school. He set his books on the computer desk and signed on, pulling his email screen up immediately.
What he saw sent him into shock.
He had an email from Hailey. She'd run away again, she said, from wherever the hell she had been staying. He still didn't know where that was. But the point was, she had run away. She was living, like him, on the streets. He felt like crying. Hailey was just a kid! How was she going to survive by herself?
He closed the email immediately, not wanting anyone else to see it, and tucked his head into the crux of his arm. It was a rare show of emotion, and the closest that he ever came to crying. What was she thinking?
This year was proving to be a hard one for him scholastically. He felt like he had a paper due every week, and he felt like he was constantly staying after school to type and retype his papers. Especially annoying was the fact that computer hard drives erased themselves each night. In order to keep his work, he either needed a USB drive--which he couldn't afford--or he needed to email it to himself. It was a bit of a pain.
Today, however, was not a day for writing papers. It was a Wednesday. Wednesdays were the days that he checked his "parent's" email for notifications from his teachers. He also needed to shoot Hailey an email.
He booked it into the computer lab as soon as the bell rang, claiming his favorite seat by the heater. Dusty loved being warm, a luxury he didn't often have outside of school. He set his books on the computer desk and signed on, pulling his email screen up immediately.
What he saw sent him into shock.
He had an email from Hailey. She'd run away again, she said, from wherever the hell she had been staying. He still didn't know where that was. But the point was, she had run away. She was living, like him, on the streets. He felt like crying. Hailey was just a kid! How was she going to survive by herself?
He closed the email immediately, not wanting anyone else to see it, and tucked his head into the crux of his arm. It was a rare show of emotion, and the closest that he ever came to crying. What was she thinking?
