Cara skidded around the corner, her tattered converse finding it hard to find a good grip on the slippery surface. She could hear her pursuers gaining on her, their feet pounding the floor, faster than she was. She leapt over a homeless man, huddled in the alleyway she was sprinting down. Some of kids running after her weren't so lucky as she heard bodies hit the floor. Cara dared a quick look back, dismayed to find there were still three of them racing after her. She hurtled around another corner, then immediately regretted it. Looming at the end of the alleyway; blocking her exit; was a tall fence. She considered climbing it but the chain links were too tightly packed for a good foothold. She came to a halt, and turned, planning to take another route. But the boys who'd been racing after her and caught up and were blocking the entrance. The one in front grinned, showing off his unpleasant yellow teeth.
"Go nowhere to run now 'av yer," he sneered.
"I haven't stolen nothing from you," Cara tried, but he was having none of it and signalled his friends to advance on her. Cara shrugged inwardly; it had been worth a try. Turning, she sent a quick prayer up to whomever or whatever was listening then began charging towards the fence. The boys hadn't expected her to do something so ridiculous and so for a moment they paused, confused. It gave Cara a head start and she was at the fence with plenty of distance put between herself and them. Then, she jumped. She was too short and the fence was definitely too tall, but somehow her hands managed to grab onto the top of the fence.
Once again, the boy's stopped running. "No way…" one muttered. She wasn't quite sure how she did it, but somehow, Cara managed to spin herself over the fence and landed safely on the other side. The boy's ran to the fence, the oldest one's face looked supremely pissed off. Cara couldn't help herself, she dug her hands into her coat pocket and pulled out the pile out the three iPhone's she'd stolen from them and laughed as she waved them in front of their faces.
"Looking for these?" she grinned, then turned tail and ran. The oldest boy shoved one of his friends out of the way and kicked angrily at the fence. It hurt his toe, which only served to make him even more annoyed.
"'Ow the 'ell did she jump this?" he muttered, to no one in particular.
Ten minutes away, Cara had let herself into the abandoned house she was squatting in. She searched around for the 17 year old whose name she didn't know, but who she knew would pay good money for the stolen phones. The teenager wasn't there though, so Cara made her way past a bunch of other children and teens to her spot in the corner of the living room, underneath the bookshelves, beside the broken sofa. She made sure no one was looking her way, then furtively slipped the phones into a broken part of the wall behind the sofa, then moved the wallpaper back in place. She couldn't let anyone steal them; they were going to pay for her food for the night.
The people who were currently living here kept themselves to themselves and Cara had nothing better to do whilst she waited to get her money, so once she was sorted her area out, she made her way back outside and sat on a low wall beside the run down park. Some kids from the local estate were already there, playing on the slide, which was the only thing not yet broken. It was early August and the weather was far too warm for the heavy coat Cara had on. But it was one of her most valuable pieces of clothing, and also the only thing she currently wore that she had actually paid for. She didn't want to leave it unattended for fear someone would take it. She pulled it off now though, folding it carefully then tucked it underneath her, fanning herself with her hand. Her t-shirt was sticking to her; the run from the gang of pre-teen boys she'd stolen from had made her all hot and sweaty. Cara made a mental note to hit the local gym showers once she had funds. The house she was staying in had a shower too but the residents didn't really like to clean after themselves and Cara found it too gross to use. She'd been staring off into the distance so hadn't noticed the old man walking towards her until he was right beside her.
She narrowed her eyes at him, but he looked harmless, his eyes were warm and smiling. He looked like he could be any old grandfather, except that his choice of dress was downright weird. He must've been a homeless, because normal people didn't match up clothing the way he had. On his feet were walking boots, his trousers were normal enough but then he had on what looked like a striped pyjama top and above that, a suit blazer. Cara was even more confused when she took a closer look and recognised the label on the jacket. The blazer was designer. More than that, she knew how much it cost, more money than she could envisage.
"Is it alright if I have a quick word with you?" the strange man asked, smiling. Cara didn't really want to, but she decided to humour. Maybe if she got him distracted, she could see whether he had anything good tucked away in his expensive pockets and run.
"Sure," she answered, and gave him a half smile back.
"You're name is Cara Brock?" he asked and Cara immediately threw up her guard, tensing up, eyes narrowed.
"How do you know my name?" she asked forcefully, "are you from social?" she added.
The man's eye's crinkled and he shook his head. "I'm a teacher. I'm here to tell you about coming to my school."