NOVEL NEXT Chapter 2 – Nothing was going okay.
Caleb huddled under the bridge in the park that had become his home for the last few weeks. His nest of blankets and old carboard was tucked away safely in the little alcove he'd managed to find while poking around the park. Thankfully, it was mostly unnoticeable and no one would recognized that he was living there unless they went out of their way to look for him. Safe from the rain and thunder overhead Caleb thought about how things weren't going as well as he'd hoped they would have been.
That day he'd decided to make the best of his situation and to keep rolling with the punches, no matter how hard or fast they came at him, and at first it seemed he'd be able to move past this.
He'd been glad that he'd decided to break back into the house when he did. His father seemed intent on having a grand bonfire the following day as his clothes, books, shoes, and even his bed had been piled up into a grand heap outside in the backyard. He had been smart enough to bring a shopping cart that he'd grabbed from the grocery store parking lot when no one was looking, which came in handy when moving all the things he'd decided to take with him.
The thought of lighting the house on fire when he left just to see how his old man would like to have his shit torched crossed his mind more than once, but his better judgement stopped him from doing anything stupid.
Life on the streets had been much more challenging for Caleb than he'd though it would have been. It was one thing to roam the streets and another thing entirely to be living on them. Things he'd never really considered before became obstacles to over come, and he'd had to learn the rules of the streets quickly in order not to suffer to much.
He'd traded in his bed and a few other valuables at the pawnshop to get some funds, but he'd underestimated just how dirty the streets could be. When he'd been surrounded by a group of thugs and dragged into an alleyway barely a block away from the pawnshop and robbed of his money, he realized a couple things. He'd have to move smarter and be a little more ruthless to both others and himself if he planned to survive.
He was a quick learner though and it didn't take him long to memorize which gangs had a hold on which blocks, which streets where off limits at certain times, who he could shakedown for a couple bucks in a pinch and most important of all, what spots he could go to to access certain amenities.
Food was secured from the dinner or the dumpster behind it, The pawn shop was a good way to get some quick cash and get rid of some stolen goods all at the same time, the library was a great place to charge his phone and access the internet to apply for jobs, and the community centers locker room showers were pretty much open 24/7.
The hardest part had been finding someplace to stay. It had been surprisingly difficult to find someplace warm and dry that hadn't already been claimed by his fellow homeless brethren, or was a regular night stop for the girls and guys that stalked the streets late at night looking for their next customer, but he'd finally managed to find one. Two weeks in he'd been lucky enough to stumble across the underside of the park bridge while chasing a quarter than had fallen out of his pocket, he really couldn't have afforded to lose a single dime. There he realized that there was a barely noticeable path that led to the underside of the bridge and while exploring he found his home away form home. Thankfully the alcove was spacious enough that everything that he owned could fit in it and it was mostly dry. The only downside, one that he discovered a few days later, was how cold it got at night, especially on nights like this one.
Caleb pulled his jacket tighter around himself as the howling winds raged and the freezing rain continued to fall. He really missed the warm fireplace in the living room. His teeth chattered as he folded in on himself even more tightly, trying his best to stay as warm as possible. He groaned in pain as his movements caused the cuts and scraps all over his body to tug against his clothing and the hint of iron he smelled let him know that the gash on his back had started bleeding again.
This week had been terrible for multiple reason but the one that stood out the most would be because news had spread amongst his old school mates that he was out on the streets. Normally it wouldn't have matter all that much, it wasn't like he every really interacted with other people and he'd avoided being bullied for the most part by keeping his head down his eyes straight. Yet once again he'd underestimated just how low people were willing to stoop too just to feel better about themselves.
It started out when he bumped into some girls who had 'generously' given him some money and offered to get him something to eat. He was overjoyed at first, thankful that there were still some kind people out there. That was at least until he realized they'd spit in the sandwich that he'd already started to eat.
Then he'd had to deal with a couple of guys recoding as he dumpster dived looking for anything that he could salvage for the pawn shop, all while they jeered and threw trash and eggs at him and his belongings. He'd had to spend a night at the laundry mat since most of his clothes had ended up soiled and smelling worse than the dumpsters he frequented.
As if that hadn't been bad enough he'd been cornered by a few guys who either hadn't been able to graduate or had barely managed to. They seemed to have a bone to pick with him in particular. They were happy, thrilled even at the fact that he a respectable graduate was struggling to rise above being a bottom feeder while they, though lacking in credentials, were hard working men making a difference and playing their part as a members of society. Of course once they didn't get the reaction they were looking for, they beat the shit out of Caleb and only stopped after they seemed to realized that the blood on the ground and that had soaked into his clothes from the gash in his back, complements of the metal rood they'd beat him with, was supposed to be inside of his body. He'd spent a few days coughing up blood and bleeding anytime he moved to much thanks to them.
Settling into a some what comfortable position and with nothing else to do he pulled out one of the books he'd managed to grab from the library's disposal book bin earlier that week. It was a stroke of luck that he had happened to be passing by the same day they were throwing out some old tattered books to make space for some new materials. Something had made him take a second look at the box and on a whim he'd pulled out what seemed like an old tattered comic book. Majority of the book was in black and white, the only exceptions being a few pages colored in, maybe by a bored child who mistook it for a coloring book. Either way, he'd sat down at one of the vacant library desk and started reading.
Surprisingly the book he'd grabbed was the first instalment and as the story within unfolded he was surprised at how entertaining it was. The main character was surprisingly likable enough and the overall story was drawing him in. He'd quickly finished it and found the second and the third books in the series before diving in once more. He spent the rest of the day simply reading the series, a feeling of understanding for the main character's drive for recognition resonating with him. He enjoyed it so much he'd asked the librarian if he could have the box with all 72 books in the series with him, to which she was happy to oblige, less work for her to deal with or so she had said.
The dim light that managed to shine into his alcove from under the bridge was just enough for him to make out the works on the page so he opened the book to his last saved page and read on. Losing himself once more in the world of the manga series called Naruto.