Ash to Ashes

Still staring into my eyes, the boy repeated, "What do you think you're doing in my secret hideaway?"

"I u-uh... wh—at..." I fumbled, hating that my stutter made me sound feeble.

"I u-uh," he mocked scornfully, "wha—at are you doing in my territory?" His mismatched eyes narrowed and he stepped closer. Out of habit I flinched and covered my face.

"Whoa, calm down, Freckles!" the boy laughed. This boy was mean. I watched him warily, not moving from my place on the floor. "You don't seem dangerous, but what are you doing so far away from the orphanage?" he asked suspiciously. Crap. Her must have noticed my gray jumper…

The boy was wearing an indigo jumpsuit, like the rest of the population. What if he turned me in to the CopperBots? Wanda would be furious. The other orphans would mock me for my failed escape, and then my life would be even more miserable. "Don't t..ell anyone, p-please," I begged.

The boy flipped his sleek black hair out of his eyes and noticed something on my face. He reached a hand towards my jaw. I flinched, but he persistently gripped my chin and turned it at an angle. I closed my eyes and waited for impact.

There was a pause. My heart hammered in my chest and my lip trembled against his fingertips. I squeezed my eyes shut, dreading the suspension. But instead of hitting me, he said: "There's a really raunchy looking bruise. It's recent. Are you okay...?" A flash of concern crossed his face. Concern was foreign to me. I grimaced and jerked my chin from his grip.

The wind whipped my hair about me in a sudden gust, making me remember our precarious placement on the roof. We were at least four stories up. The city lights were like florescent neon smears across the dark night sky. A chill breezed through me, sweeping my bones. I shivered. "I..I can't g-go back there," I whispered. "C-CopperBot..."

The boy seemed distracted as he peered into the shadows behind him. There was a strange bizarre shadow, shaped oddly, almost like a person… The shadow I was staring at ducked out of view and behind the fire escape. "H-hey...! There’s a-a person..."

The boy stepped in front of my gaze. He groaned and ran an angry hand through his hair. "You're trouble, you know that? I... I guess I could help you, but only because I'm on the lamb, too. You're going to have to change your appearance..." He narrowed his eyes at me again. "You are going to be so high maintenance."

I blinked, the gears working in my head. A goofy smile stretched across my face. "You—'re going to help-p me? Can I t-trust you?"

The boy rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Yes, Speech Impediment. But you owe me. Follow me, let's get you dressed in blue."

* * *

"Ouch!" I cried for the umpteenth time. "Y-you're hurting me..." I paused, unsure what to call the unusual boy.

"Ace," he supplied as he rewrapped the measuring tape around my waist. He groaned and tossed the tape to the floor. "You're too tall for small clothes and too skinny for medium... How raunchy."

"You keep saying t-that," I frowned. "Raunchy. I-it doesn't even-n... sound nice."
"Sorry, Speech Impediment, but 'raunchy' is trending in the Pop Roster." he smirked. I studied him in the dim light. He had led me from the roof and into the fire escape, and then into a small room that could easily be mistaken for a broom closet. Ace had sleek black hair. I hadn’t noticed it upon first impression, but he had a cleft in his chin and a dimple that appeared when he flashed that irritating smirk. It occurred to me that Ace could be considered as handsome, but I was more interested in how he was planning to aid me. "Jump on the bandwagon or feel the icy sting of rejection. That's the Pop Roster's motto."

"Wow..." I frowned. "W...e don't have a ... Pop Rooster at the orphanage... And my n-name is Ash."

"Pop Roster, not rooster, imbis." Ace rolled his eyes. "And I like 'Speech Impediment' better than Ash. I'll call you Impedi for short. Or, better yet, Speech."

I tangled my fingers into a nervous knot on my lap and scowled. "Y-you're really cruel... What's an... 'imbis'?"

"Man, you don't know anything! 'Imbis' is short for 'imbecile', Speech. 'Imbis' is trending on the insult phylum of the Pop Roster." Ace snorted, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I decided that Ace could be described as irksome.

"That's... nice," I frowned. Ace cared far too much about the Pop Roster and what bizarre things were listed on it.

"No! It's not fine!" he shouted, making me flinch. "You have to fit in. You have to absolutely blend in to the crowd! The CopperBots can't suspect a thing, or we're going to be recycled! Get it? We need to come up with a new name for you..."

The thought of the CopperBot sent chills down my spine and my thoughts into a flurry. "New.. n-name?"

"Yes." Ace sighed. "To put on your fake Info Card. As an orphan, you didn't get one. You need a name, and a haircut and new clothes... You're such a hassle!" he groaned and ran a hand through his hair in frustration. Seeing how upset he was made me feel like a burden. Was I burdening Ace?

"Why-y are you h-elping me?" I asked quietly. I looked down to my hands in my lap, not wanting to see him reject me. My hair swept in front of my face like a curtain.

Ace looked like he wanted to punch something. "Because my other half insists on it," he growled.

What a strange answer, I thought. "Well... T-tell your other half I s..aid thanks."

"Oh, he'll just love that!" Ace exclaimed while throwing his arms into the air. Startled, I wondered if he was schizophrenic. "Never mind," Ace grumbled. "Your name will be Data. That's a common name for someone your age. We're going to get you a haircut, bob cuts are trending." I yelped when I thought of cutting off all of my long hair. "You have to fit in," Ace growled, and I nodded warily.

A frown was etched onto my face. I didn’t expect to be forced into the latest trends when I left the orphanage. I had a feeling that it was going to be a lot of hard work. "I... have to fit i-in..." I repeated half-heartedly.

But what does it mean to 'fit in'? Ace seemed to know the answer, and I needed to find out.