East 12th Street
Abandonment
I leant my ear close to the door, curious as to what hid inside. A faint scratching noise could be heard - presumably a pencil on paper. The person inside remained completely silent.
Scratch scratch scratch...
I tapped the door gently. "Hello?"
There was a rustling noise from inside. A few moments later the door unclicked, revealing a small, skinny framed girl who looked to be about twelve or thirteen in front of me. She had long straight medium brown hair with a fringe covering half her face. Her eyes were a dark shade of blue with her skin fairly pale.
"Uh - hi!" I said, trying to break the awkward silence. "I'm Billie - "
"Yeah, I know," she said shortly. "I was downstairs."
"Um...of course." I gave an awkward sort of smile. We stood there for a few moments.
"You can come in," she said quietly, standing aside and letting me walk past. I entered her small room - three walls were a shade of beige, with one wall a dark steel blue. She stood quietly by her door while I looked around.
I noticed elaborate patterns sketched onto bits of paper posted up on the blue wall with sticky tape.
"Wow - you're a fucking awesome drawer," I said in awe. I stopped abruptly. "Excuse the - "
"No, its OK," she said, looking down at the ground. "So, are you drunk now? Or do you wanna sell me some drugs?"
"What?"
"Well, there'd be no other reason for you to do community service if you didn't commit a crime," she said. Wow. She had a nice attitude too.
I chose not to answer, and instead change the subject. "How old are you?"
"Fifteen," she replied. Holy fuck. And I thought she was twelve. Now that she said it, I could see a fifteen year old in her. "Name's Natalie."
"Thats a pretty name," I said, smiling.
"Not really. I didn't choose it, and I don't like it." She shrugged her shoulders casually. I wondered why she was in an orphanage...
"Aah..." my voice trailed off as I slowly nodded. "You into music?"
"Haven't heard much," she said shortly.
This was going to be harder than I thought. I could see a nice girl deep inside of her - beneath her torn jeans, oversized t-shirt and jacket and faded Converses.
"Nice shoes," I added, comparing her faded shoes to my relatively new-looking ones. "What are your hobbies?"
"Um - drawing, doing stuff. Don't play sport. I'm getting out of this hellhole as soon as I'm sixteen...only seven more months. You're in a band, aren't you?"
At least she knew that. "Um - yeah. Green Day...have you ever heard of them?" I wondered if she'd ever heard any form of music in her life. Anything. Britney Spears. The Backstreet Boys. Anything.
"Yeah, my friend from school likes lots of music...I think she's mentioned you a couple of times. She said that you haven't made a new album for a while, though." She fiddled with the hem of her shirt, briefly glancing at my face. At least she wasn't afraid to tell the truth...we hadn't released an album in a while. Nor did I know whether we would release another one.
I heard the bell from downstairs ring. "So, Natalie, I look forward to getting to know you better. I can talk anytime. I'm here everyday for a month and a half, anyway." She nodded. I could tell she was trying hard not to show any form of emotion whatsoever.
I left the room and closed the door again behind me. As I headed down the hallway I heard the lock click again. I smiled to myself and headed downstairs to help with lunch.
Scratch scratch scratch...
I tapped the door gently. "Hello?"
There was a rustling noise from inside. A few moments later the door unclicked, revealing a small, skinny framed girl who looked to be about twelve or thirteen in front of me. She had long straight medium brown hair with a fringe covering half her face. Her eyes were a dark shade of blue with her skin fairly pale.
"Uh - hi!" I said, trying to break the awkward silence. "I'm Billie - "
"Yeah, I know," she said shortly. "I was downstairs."
"Um...of course." I gave an awkward sort of smile. We stood there for a few moments.
"You can come in," she said quietly, standing aside and letting me walk past. I entered her small room - three walls were a shade of beige, with one wall a dark steel blue. She stood quietly by her door while I looked around.
I noticed elaborate patterns sketched onto bits of paper posted up on the blue wall with sticky tape.
"Wow - you're a fucking awesome drawer," I said in awe. I stopped abruptly. "Excuse the - "
"No, its OK," she said, looking down at the ground. "So, are you drunk now? Or do you wanna sell me some drugs?"
"What?"
"Well, there'd be no other reason for you to do community service if you didn't commit a crime," she said. Wow. She had a nice attitude too.
I chose not to answer, and instead change the subject. "How old are you?"
"Fifteen," she replied. Holy fuck. And I thought she was twelve. Now that she said it, I could see a fifteen year old in her. "Name's Natalie."
"Thats a pretty name," I said, smiling.
"Not really. I didn't choose it, and I don't like it." She shrugged her shoulders casually. I wondered why she was in an orphanage...
"Aah..." my voice trailed off as I slowly nodded. "You into music?"
"Haven't heard much," she said shortly.
This was going to be harder than I thought. I could see a nice girl deep inside of her - beneath her torn jeans, oversized t-shirt and jacket and faded Converses.
"Nice shoes," I added, comparing her faded shoes to my relatively new-looking ones. "What are your hobbies?"
"Um - drawing, doing stuff. Don't play sport. I'm getting out of this hellhole as soon as I'm sixteen...only seven more months. You're in a band, aren't you?"
At least she knew that. "Um - yeah. Green Day...have you ever heard of them?" I wondered if she'd ever heard any form of music in her life. Anything. Britney Spears. The Backstreet Boys. Anything.
"Yeah, my friend from school likes lots of music...I think she's mentioned you a couple of times. She said that you haven't made a new album for a while, though." She fiddled with the hem of her shirt, briefly glancing at my face. At least she wasn't afraid to tell the truth...we hadn't released an album in a while. Nor did I know whether we would release another one.
I heard the bell from downstairs ring. "So, Natalie, I look forward to getting to know you better. I can talk anytime. I'm here everyday for a month and a half, anyway." She nodded. I could tell she was trying hard not to show any form of emotion whatsoever.
I left the room and closed the door again behind me. As I headed down the hallway I heard the lock click again. I smiled to myself and headed downstairs to help with lunch.