Everything was always similar on this block. The houses were similar: all mansion-like behemoths that reeked of money. You could walk up and down the street and see the same well manicured lawns, the same children that all went to the same private schools, and the same types of cars with tinted windows and exteriors that were only rivaled by their plush interiors.
There was only one thing on the street that created a stark contrast when compared to the perfect atmosphere that he was intruding upon.
His red hair was greasy and hung over his face as he shuffled down the street. A youth no older than 13 wandered down the street looking very misplaced in the suburban setting. He could feel the soles of his shoes separating from his foot with every step he took. His jeans hung loosely from his skinny hips and he had to pull them up every few steps to make sure they didn't fall.
He had clearly seen a great deal of pain and hunger in his short years on this earth.
His name was Matt.
There has to be something to eat around here. A garbage can to dig through or...anything really
He heard his stomach growl and clutched at his bony frame. It had been a long time since he could remember finding something decent to eat. The garbage cans here were bound to be full of food, wasted food that rich people didn't know the true value of.
His eyes lit up when he found a garbage can sitting in front of a cream colored house.
This will be PARADISE he thought as he threw the metal lid down to the ground and began digging through the used paper towels and rotten fruit until he found..
"Oh thank god" he muttered under his breath as he pulled out a couple pizza crusts and half a sandwich. He started eating them before he'd even completely removed them from the can. Below that he found other scraps that he devoured, happy to finally have a chance to fill his empty stomach with anything...
even if it was the trash of more fortunate people than he.
He was finally feeling satisfied when he felt a hand clamp down on where his shoulder met his neck. Suddenly his veins were full of ice water and he froze, swallowing his last bite before he was pulled forcefully out of the garbage can.
"What. Are. You doing?" the voice asked firmly, coldly, the only thing that kept anger out of it was a sick sense of curiosity lurking behind the words
.
"I," his voice sounded high and nervous. He swallowed before continuing with his explanation
"I was digging through your trash. I'm hungry...starving really."
"That's disgusting," the hand released Matt's shoulders and he turned around to see who had caught him devouring trash. The boy was wiping his hand on his shirt as if Matt had transferred some kind of disease to him that could be rubbed off his hand.
"Why would you even do that? Do you know how unsanitary how...just...DISGUSTING that is?"
Matt didn't have anything to say to that. He had been called disgusting, been given the "unsanitary" talk, he knew that to these people he was nothing but a homeless pig
a HUNGRY homeless pig.
He glanced back longingly at the garbage can behind him, still open and mostly full. The boy noticed the glance and scoffed.
"You really are hungry...aren't you?"
Matt nodded shamelessly. If it was the obvious truth then where was the point in denying it?
The boy turned his back to Matt and began to walk up his driveway. He made it half way before turning around,
"Well? Aren't you coming?" He said with impatience.
Matt turned his head as if to confirm that he was the one that the boy was referring to before following cautiously behind. He wasn't entirely sure if he should trust this manic youth leading him into his house but he heard his stomach moan and knew that whatever he would meet through the arch of the doorway would be less painful then the emptiness he felt in the pit of his stomach.