Lucy glared out of her bedroom window, angry at the world for something only a few of its occupants had done. She saw the sixteen-year-old neighbor throwing a bunch of random stuff into an RV, as his mother stood in the doorway with hair curlers in, screaming bloody murder at him. Lucy watched as the mother gave up, stomping inside in her socks.
Then she decided to do something a bit reckless. She climbed out of her second story window, and scaled down the drainpipe her dad had oh-so-conveniently placed on her side of the roof. Jumping off, she walked quickly to the other side of the street.
"Where are you going?" She asked her neighbor, who's name she had forgotten.
He glanced at her, not saying anything. He threw the last few objects into the back, and turned back to face her. "What do you care?"
Suddenly, her mouth was dry. "I was wondering..." She began, and found that she couldn't look into his eyes when she asked him. "Could I go with you?"
He blinked; he obviously hadn't expected her to say that. His eyes rolled over her, taking in her scuffed leather boots, light skinny jeans, and tank top before grinning. "Come on kid. Just go home." He dismissed her, waving a hand towards her cookie-cutter house. "You don't want to go where I'm going."
She felt herself get irritated. "You don't know that. Anywhere's better than here." She growled, sounding way less menacing than she had hoped.
"What happened? Did Daddy take away your cell phone for a week?" He inquired with a loathing that surprised her. "Just let a few tears slip while begging for it back, Babydoll. There are worse problems to have."
Her fist clenched; she was already on edge, and she was not planning on taking this from him, of all people. "I have some money." She stated. "I'll pay for food or gas or whatever. Just take me with you. Please."
He still looked perplexed, but he leaned on the front of the RV to stare at her. Finally, he relented. "Fine. You have five minutes to get your things, then meet me back out here. Take longer than five minutes, and I'm leaving without you."
Lucy nodded, and fled to the drainpipe, climbing it with some difficulty. She flew around her room, grabbing her backpack and shoving a few outfits in, along with some makeup, her wallet, and her cell phone. Throwing on her boots, she dug under her bed and pulled out her stash of money, a few hundred dollars that she had been hoping to use on a bus ticket out, and finally snatched her toiletries. Once again she slid out of her window and down the pipe, and sprinted across to the RV.
He was still leaning on the hood, a superior look on his face. "Get in." he motioned to the door. "I'll drive first." She shuffled into the surprisingly clean room, sitting on the stretched-out couch.
"What's your name again?" He asked as he climbed into the driver's seat. "In case you've forgotten, I'm Noah."
Finally! A name to go with the face. "Lucy."
