Being a girl is bad enough normally when society forces you to stay between the being a girl and living on the streets of London is a whole different crazy. I should know I have been since I was seven.
I know better then go around being a girl thats what I learned first don't correct peoples assumptions. Next lesson on the streets was don't ever start habits you need to change with the streets. I am eleven now I go by Hermes my long frizzy hair is braided and knotted with some rags, I cut off some junk with my pocket knife I filched from some guy my third week on the streets.
I am smarter than your average street kid, I know what power knowledge has. I want to get of the streets bad but, so far I don't know how. There was no way I am going to a childrens home. Those places are traps there is limit on how far you can go in the world when you come from a home. I am doing fine on the streets.
When I first started out after my parents death just before my seventh birthday. I joined a team of children pickpockets that called themselves No Trace we did pretty well sticking to the name. The oldest of us was 14, Matt he watched after us kids good but, three of our five nests were raided by two different older gangs on the street. The ones called themselves Right Way killed Matt and Turtle. Then our fourth nest the cops found and took four kids to a home. Only two others beside myself were left. We agreed splitting up would be the best course of action.
I am an okay picker but I survive on scavenging more often than not. Because people these days don't carry money, they have cards and those thing will get you caught faster than you can say "please". My cloths come from the lost and found at the library and I get most my food from the groceries dumpster. Not a bad picking there but I change stores two sometimes three times a week cause I don't want to attract any more attention to myself than I need to. They gangs in London are pretty well off and don't need to dig the dumpsters but, they don't appreciate homeless kids running around their turf attracting the cops attention.
One day I was walking down Charing Cross when I noticed a copper tailing me. I knew this one he grabbed me when he found me lingering in a park after dark. I gave him the slip pretty quick when he got a call on his radio and he let his grip slip.
I scanned the shops ahead of me and found a pub that looked like it would notice another person hiding in it had funny name the Leaky Caldron. I slipped inside keeping my head down as a bell above the door rang. The people in the room were as odd as the name, their clothing looked like it came from the theater. I moved to the back of the room where there was a door I hoped would lead to an alley running behind the shops. I sat down in at a table next to the door watching to see if the copper followed me in. I had been sitting there for a few minutes when the elderly barkeeper came over.
" Do you need let into the Alley?" he asked smiling at me.
I nodded at him and stood to follow him through the door. This was such a bad idea you never follow strange people through doors especially one that were nice and did not look like a threat. But there was no way I was going to leave through the entrance the cop was still out there.
We enter a small court yard looking up I could see the gray sky. I stayed by the door watching the man curiously as he pull out a light gray stick and tapped around the wall where a few bricks were missing. Suddenly the wall started to part the bricks shifting back to show a bright and bustling ally.
The man watched me laughing at my expression.
"Beautiful isn't it takes my breath away everytime" he said.
I nodded again, shocked at the sight before me.
"You better hurry along and meet your parents it is getting late" the barkeeper said as he turned back to his shop.