Makeshift Homes and Alcohol

No where near the end yet, :P

  Marisa and Jamie knew that they couldn't just walk out the front door, or even take the creaky steps down to the front door, or they would be caught right away. The problem was trying to figure out what would be the best way to escape the top floor. They'd gotten rid of a few options. Options like jumping from the widow of the third floor, or taking the rusty fire escape that went down around Ms. Krepton's window.

     Ms. Krepton, now that was a name that both girls would never like to hear again. Ms. Krepton was overly cruel to all but one of the orphans. They only one she was ever nice to, was the girl that reminded everyone of a Barbie doll. Ashley-Jane, or Ashe, was very twiggy and ditsy. She had long blonde hair that fell down to her knees, the brightest blue eyes, and one hell of a bright smile. The only flaw she had was that tiny scar on her right cheek. Nobody knew how she got it... and she didn't ever care to tell the tale. Still, she was the favorite. Janie got anything she wanted. She was allowed to come and go as she pleased, she got fifty bucks a week, rather than ten, to go spend on clothes, and she even had a kitten. For a 12 year old, she had it made.

     Ms. Krepton treated the rest of them like dirt. She'd wake them up at nine AM to go clean the kitchens, stairwells, and various other rooms. That would be perfectly fine . . . if she gave them actual cleaning supplies. Ashe got actual supplies, but the rest of them got a tooth-brush and some dish soap. She'd give each child a pair of winter clothes, summer clothes, shoes, and a coat. That, too, would be fine . . . if they were real clothes. Ashe always got nice clothes, but the rest of them got clothes made out of dish rags and ripped up pieces of various fabrics. Punishments varied depending on how much she liked you, and how bad the thing you did was. But they were always outrageous things, like the time she made Joshua re-shingle the roof when he was seven. Everyone wondered how she avoided fines and such things, but then they thought of Ashley-Jane. It seemed that every time there was a complaint, Janie was called on to tell, whoever showed up, all about how she was treated.

     Marisa looked out the window; she noticed something very . . . odd. The two floors below theirs had bars on every window, and theirs didn't. 

     "Jamie, I think we have our way out."

     "Really, what's that?"

     "Well, we crawl out the window and-"

     Jamie interrupted her tone in a slightly harsh whisper . . . but still a whisper.

     "Are you kidding me?!"

     "No. Now, listen. We hang onto this windowsill and use the holes in the walls as footholds. Then, we get to the next windowsill and use the bars as support."

     "Alright," Jamie began slowly,” but you're going first."

     Marisa laughed lightly and shook her head. She was careful to open the window as quietly as she could, and once it was fully open . . . she crawled out backwards. She moved slowly and precisely, allowing her feet to get a good feel of the areas before she would lower herself. It was chilly outside, but not cold enough to have much of a toll on her grip. Her hands would cling to holes and window bars until she was safely down to the ground. Once down, she looked up and gestured for Jamie to come down.

     Jamie took a deep breath as she tossed her inhaler down to her friend. Once she saw that Marisa had caught it, she began to climb out the window. She was only half way down when she heard Ms. Krepton's voice at the door. 

     "Everyone better be in bed!"

     Oh god, Jamie thought it's the five o'clock head check!

     The door started to crack open, and Jamie rushed out the window. She'd made it halfway to the next window, when Ms. Krepton's flashlight hit the open window above. Marisa knew there wasn't much time to wait around. She also knew that they were about to be caught anyway, so she yelled to Jamie.

     "Jamie! You have to jump from there!"

     "What do you mean?!" 

     "You have to! I'll catch you, I promise!"

     Just as Jamie, reluctantly, flung herself off of the wall. . . Ms. Krepton popped her wrinkled face out of the escape window.

     "Don't even think about running off!" She barked in a rough voice. "I'm 

coming out there!"

     Unlike the girls, Ms. Krepton was much too fat to fit through a window. This gave Marisa and Jamie plenty of time to run off, before she would make it down all the stairs. 

     Marisa was, just barely, able to catch Jamie. This left them both rather shaken for a few moments, but Marisa quickly handed Jamie her inhaler and started to run. Jamie clenched that inhaler as she ran after Marisa. She'd be okay for about a block or so, and the main portion of the city was only a block and a half away from the direction they were running. 

     When the girls finally got into the main portion of Namior, they could sense the fact that they had lost Ms. Krepton. The two friends hugged each other and laughed for a little bit while they caught their breath, and Jamie used her inhaler again. They needed a place to stay, and jobs, if they wanted to make it out here on their own. They knew the search teams would be out by morning, so they'd also have to change up their appearances if they wanted to lay low for a while. 

     As they wandered, they came across an abandon home. It wasn't much to look at, but at least it would give them shelter. After they took a good nap, they would go to a bar that was up the road some and fill out applications to work as bar-maids. Neither one of them had much of an interest in Alcohol, but at least they would be able to get food and survival priorities out of the way with the paychecks.

_________________________________________________________________________

     They both woke up around noon and planned over to Morgan's Bar. The house was pretty drafty, but they weren't looking for perfection at this point. The old furniture was just enough to give them a kick start in living on their own. There was a, rusted, double bed up stairs, a table and four chairs, a bathroom, and a kitchen. Their was a broken couch in the living room, but nothing else was there. The floor boards were looking pretty faded and withered, and the windows had, with no doubt, been destroyed by rocks and base balls. There was a strong, musty, smell in the house and it shot you from every little spot. There were spiderwebs, cobwebs, and mothballs in just about every room, and there was one stair missing from the stair case.  Lucky for the girls, it was just the bottom step.

     Jamie looked out one of the shattered windows. She was simply checking out the surroundings, looking for the usual black suited search-men, and seeing how badly they'd stick out compared to the rest of the people. She looked over to Marisa, who was ready to go flying out the door, and nodded.

     "Seems safe enough."

     "Well, good!"

     Before Jamie could even think of something else to say, she found herself being tugged out the door by her best friend. The city seemed to be more alive than the people that lived in it. Cars, mostly bright Taxis, infested busy streets, people swarmed on small sidewalks, and everything was fast. Noises never seemed to stop, not at night and not ever. Namoir just never slept, it seemed.

     When the girls arrived at Morgan's Bar, they waltzed up to the counter and looked at the bar-tender as he darted around the small counter space. He took an order, poured a drink, served, and repeated the process until all the customers were either content, or wanting a refill. The bar smelled strongly of alcohol and cigarettes, and the lighting was dim. There were, at least, eight tables, and each table had four to eight chairs. The counter was U shaped, and seemed like it trapped the bartender inside. . . if it weren't for a door that was on the back wall, near the shelf that held countless ales, beers, whiskeys,  champagnes, and wines.  About 20 stools were placed at the counter, and all but three were filled.

     Marisa had gotten a glimpse at the bartender's name tag. His name was Johnny, and he had to be younger than 30. He had brown hair that seemed to kick out in little curls here and there. His eyes were a cold, ice-blue color that stood from his pale skin. His hands look as though they'd taken a beating though. Four fingers on his right hand were covered in bandages and the left hand had a scar that ran across his palm. He also had a five o'clock shadow.

As soon as it became clear that he had a moment to spare, Marisa spoke up.

     "Excuse me, um . . . Johnny?"

     Johnny turned to face her.

     "How can I help y-"

     He paused. No doubt he had noticed the tattered clothing the girls were wearing, and the, slightly, knotted hair. He probably just assumed that they were orphans coming to beg for food, or sneak a drink, or something else of that like.

     "Do you two need something?"

     "Yes." Jamie began. "Jobs would be a big help."

     Johnny looked slightly surprised, but he nodded anyways.

     "I'll go get the owner."

     The two girls waited as Johnny vanished behind his door. They were left to hear various conversations from the customers. Things like "Shut up, Earl," and "I want another beer!" But there were also more. . . intelligent things being talked about as well. Some people were talking about the city's history, others were giving warnings about the drug dealers that stop at nothing to get money and goods. 

     Johnny came back with a woman who was dressed rather nicely. She had on a black dress that ended at the knees, a silver necklace, and heels. Her curly, black hair went down to her back, and she had a hair-tie on her wrist. Johnny spoke again.

     "This is Morgan. . . "

     Morgan pulled her hair up in a pony-tail and let her green eyes take in the sight of the two orphans. 

     "So, you want a job?"

     The girls nodded, and Johnny went back to his routine.

     "Judging by the looks of things, you both need one."

     "We may not have much experience with this type of thing," Marisa said slowly. "but we do work hard."

     "When can you start?"

     Jamie's big, green, eyes grew wide with excitement. She jumped up and down a few times, and then quickly gained control of her self. This caused Johnny to chuckle a little as he worked.

     "We can start right away!" Jamie answered. "We just need uniforms and those shiny name tags!"

     Jamie had answered before Marisa had a chance to even process that information. Perhaps this would be a good thing after all.  Morgan had given them uniforms that she had in the back room, sent them to change, and showed them what they would need to focus on. Jamie was to work in the Kitchen and cook, and Marisa was the new waitress. Johnny seemed relieved at his shortened amount of work, and he welcomed the help greatly. It seemed like things would be picking up nicely for the girls. Jamie had already started a count down for the day the name tags would come in, and Marisa had already started a list of things they would do with the paychecks. Number one on that list was to get new clothes, and the second priority was to fix up that house they had.