Day 1
It was early in the morning when Charlie jogged along the beach and spotted a woman sleeping on the sand.
Day 2
It was early in the morning when Charlie jogged along the beach and spotted a woman sleeping on the sand.
Day 3
It was early in the morning when Charlie jogged along the beach and spotted a woman sleeping on the sand.
Day 4
It was early in the morning when Charlie jogged along the beach and spotted a woman sleeping on the sand.
Day 5
It was early in the morning when Charlie jogged along the beach and spotted a woman sleeping on the sand.
Day 6
It was early in the morning when Charlie jogged along the beach and spotted a woman sleeping on the sand.
Day 7
It was early in the morning when Charlie jogged along the beach and noticed that the woman was awake. She walked over to her.
"Hi," she said as she got her breath back. "I see you here every morning and you're usually asleep and I didn't want to wake you, but now you are awake, so I was just wondering why you're always here?"
The woman was surprised to see someone talking to her. She had been in town about a week now and had not had a conversation with anyone. "Well I haven't got enough money to get a place to stay yet, so for now the beach is my house."
"Oh well that's not very good is it now?" said Charlie. "You can't live on the beach forever." On a sudden inspiration she said, "If you've really no where else to go, you can come and stay with me for a while, until you've found your feet. I live up there," Charlie pointed in the direction of her house, "with my little sister and my house mate and her son."
"Well that sounds quite a houseful already, are you sure there would be room for me too?"
"Sure."
"OK," the woman stood up. "Thank you very much."
Later on Day 7
Charlie took her new friend Joey to her house where she found Ruby and VJ eating breakfast and talking about a football game they were going to have together.
"You promise that after school you'll come and meet me and we'll go play football on the beach?" VJ asked the girl who was like his older sister.
"Yes I promise," Ruby ruffled her 'little brother's' hair. She stood up and without looking where she was going, she bumped into Joey and split the glass of water she was holding over her. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" she explained before throwing her a towel and running off to pack her school bag.
Joey caught it and dabbed it over her.
Charlie sighed. "That was my sister."
Joey nodded acceptingly.
"VJ where's your mum?" said Charlie as he also left the table.
"She's here," said Leah, sliding a couple of boxes onto the kitchen table and causing VJ's half full bowl of cereal and milk to crash to the floor.
"Let me get that," said Joey and she bent down next to Leah to clean up the mess.
Again Charlie sighed. Typical chaos.
"Thanks," said Leah, standing up. She looked down at Joey. "Who are you?"
"Oh," Charlie realised she hadn't made any introductions and made them. "Joey's got no where to live at the moment so I said she could stay with us for a while until she can find somewhere to go. But this is your house so if it's not OK, she will have to go some place else, but..."
Leah was initially a bit surprised, but she generously said, "Well of course you must stay with us if you've no where to go. You can't be living on the streets now can you? Now I'm not sure where I'm going to put you, but I can find somewhere. Now..." she babbled on into a stream of practicalities which Joey listened to as she followed her round the house. She had a feeling her life was going to be more interesting from now on.