I inhaled deeply, feeling the smoke enter my body. I inhaled the cigarette to the pit of my stomach, and then slowly exhaled. My head was instantly light. The feeling was dizzying, but relaxing at the same time. I took another drag, inhaling just a little slower this time, and leaned back against the dusty wall in the alley. I giggled to myself; I had already had four cigarettes and was higher than the clouds in the sky. I finished the cig and threw it to the ground. I then reached into my jacket and pulled out a small silver canister filled with alcohol.

On this planet, it's not too hard to find some teens doing drugs or drinking under age. I used to see them everyday at my first boarding school, before I was dismissed. Even now, if you look in the right places, you'll see one or two sixteen year-olds smoking behind houses. Of course, that's not the only problem on this planet. I've seen kids as young as seven shoot a gun. Personally I have never held or shot a gun, but I always figured I would sooner or later. All I had to do was wait till Mom and Greg sent me to a boarding school in a big city, like December or May.

But honestly, I'm not a teenager. My name is Tessa Blackthorn, and I'm twelve years old. My mom and dad are divorced. Mom went and remarried Greg, and I haven't seen Dad since I was four. Greg's okay, when you first meet him that is. He's unbelievably rich (probably why Mom married him) and lives in this huge mansion just off a town known as the Crow's Nest. He owns most of it, but I think he just bought it all to show off. That's what he does. He'll buy something just to show he's got money, and then ignore it as he buys something even more expensive. Hell, if it weren't for his money nobody would even talk to him. He's downright nasty. A complete control freak, Greg says what we (Mom and I and whoever else has the misfortune to be on his land) can and can't do. So far he's sent me to four different boarding schools (every time I was dismissed for bad behavior) and has taken my once lively and self-confident mom and turned her into a quiet, reserved woman who does as her husband tells her to.

Greg's the main reason my life sucks, but there are other things that led to my Hell-whole life as well. For one thing, when my Dad left he took everything that was important to me: my home, my books, and my adorable blind thomas, Shiner. That thomas meant the world to me, and he took it away. I loved that thomas, and all the other thomases that I grew up with. I have always thought thomases were remarkable creatures (Hey, you got to respect something that can live in a desert for ten days and not die, right?). Oddly, though, Greg didn't share this same view and I was soon left in a cold lonely world with no friends, a stupid mother, and a step-dad who would put the devil to shame. And Mom wonders why I'm such a delinquent.

Well, that's my life. Twelve: smoking, drinking, and horrible parents. I guess it was inevitable, judging by how my delinquency was going and my mom's issues, but when that damned social worker arrived I knew what was going to happen. We all did. Mom freaked, Greg celebrated (in secret of course, but I knew), and I let all the anger settle deep inside me. I looked at the social worker. She was a short old woman with no sense of her own, with graying hair, shadowy eyes, and that foreboding look. Then, after carefully watching the mansion for three weeks, she said those dreadful (yet hopeful) words:

"I'm taking the child to a foster home."

Those words took me away from everything. Away from Greg, from Mom, and everything that had made my life Hell. I left Crow's Nest to start a new life of Hell, this time in some random little out-of-the-way town whose name I never bothered to recall. Here, a couple had volunteered to adopt me (probably since they didn't have any damned kids of their own) and treat me like family. Great.

I stood in front of the door next to the old lady. She knocked six times. I looked behind me thinking to myself, 'This is my last chance. Run Tessa, run.' I decided against it though. There were far too many people around; it would be hard to get away. I sighed as a voice said the door was unlocked, and the old lady pulled me in.

The old lady pulled me into the house ( I didn't bother fighting; I was half asleep from the four hour car drive) and the air conditioning hit me harder than a gunshot. It felt great after being outside in the summer heat for twenty minutes. A tall woman with blue eyes walked into the room wearing an apron.

"Hello," She was the cheerful sort, one who was oblivious to the real world. She smiled at me and I just kept a straight face. I hated cheerful types. "You must be little Tessa. I'm Milly Thompson." I shrugged. She was so cheerful that it made me want to die. Was there no hatred in this house!? I'm running away tonight.

"Meryl and Vash are running a little late, but they'll be here soon. Would you like some lunch?" I gave her a disgusted look; I don't think she noticed.

"Yes. Wouldn't it be nice to have lunch, Tessa?" The old lady talked to me sternly and with a forced cheerfulness, her voice just daring me to make a comment. I sneered.

"Lunch would be nice." I said, with just as much forced cheerfulness.

We went to the kitchen and I sat down at the table. I threw my bag on the ground with a loud thump and leaned back. Milly went to the counter and picked up a plate of sandwiches. She brought them to the table along with extra plates and set one in front of me. Naturally, after the car drive, I was starving. Still, I didn't take any more than a few small bites. Fortunately I had been able to perfect this trick during my school experiences. Milly smiled at me. Inside, I felt anger begin to pile up again.

I took a few more nibbles while Milly and the old lady talked about the weather and other meaningless things. Just when I was dancing off the edge of insanity, I heard the door open and two people walked into the kitchen. One was a short woman with dark hair and gray eyes. She wore a white skirt and shirt over dark tights. The other was a tall man. He wore a white dress shirt loosely buttoned. His aqua eyes shined and his spiky blonde hair fell into his smiling face. Sigh, and I thought Greg and Mom were bad.

"Hi, you're Tessa, right? I'm Vash, and this is my wife Meryl." He made a gesture towards the short woman. I held in a scoff.

"Hello Tessa." Meryl seemed nice... And cheerful... Isn't life grand?

They sat down and helped themselves to some sandwiches. They talked with the old lady a bit. I tuned them out and finished my own sandwich. I was lost in my own little world when I felt a light jab at my side.

"Tessa, I have to leave now," Yippee! No more smelly old lady! "I want you to behave when I leave and be good to Mr. And Mrs. Styfe." I'll be good alright... She got up and left. Milly excused herself and went upstairs with some extra sandwiches.

Then it was just us three. It was silent a moment, but Meryl cleared her throat.

"So, Tessa, how old are you?" Yes, just trying to make me believe you're on my side, that you actually like me already. Typical adult.

"Twelve. I'll be thirteen in September." Act innocent. That's the key. Act innocent, then drive them crazy later. It was quiet for a few more moments.

"Do you like it here?" I looked around the room. What a dump.

"Don't know. I've only just gotten here." They nodded. Another period of silence.

"Tomorrow we're going out to take you shopping. Is that okay?" Meryl looked at me with happy gray eyes. I nodded.

"M'kay. Whatever." Act innocent. Act innocent. Act innocent. They finished their sandwiches.

"Let's go to the living room. It's much more comfortable there.

The room was plain. Four walls, a ceiling, a floor, and a few pieces of furniture scattered about. I settled on to the couch.

"So, do you have any questions for us, Tessa?" Vash asked me. I looked up at him.

"Maybe." I said. Actually, I did have a few.

"Ask us anything."

"Why don't you guys have any kids?" They both looked shocked and quickly glanced at each other.

"Well," Meryl began. She seemed to be having difficulty finding the right words. "When I was younger, I got sick, and well... I hurt something on the inside." Translation: she thought she was fat and made herself starve and puke so many times as a teen that her body was damaged to the point were she couldn't have children. Next question.

"Wow. Vash, what's your job?" This seemed to be a more natural question that he didn't even hesitate to answer.

"I'm the town sheriff. I take care of bandits and stuff." Translation: I took a job that didn't require any work since this town if 200 iles from anything important so I could drink and eat donuts all day and still get paid.

"You're the sheriff? Cool! One more: Why did you guys offer to take me in as your own child?" A question that ranked up with the first. They were silent, and then Vash answered.

"Well, we really wanted to have a son or daughter, ever since we got married. But since Meryl got sick... Well, we just heard about you and decided it might be better that way." Translation: ...Um, well, we just did. Gawd, I think I just stepped into the next pit of Hell.

I opened my window and pulled out a cigarette. I lit it and inhaled deeply. God it felt great to have a nic fix. I hadn't smoked or drank in two weeks, and I felt withdrawel begin to overtake my system. It was all okay now, though. Three of the five moons were out, and stars brightened the night sky. The whole town seemed to be asleep (few people here drank, and they only seemed to drink during the afternoon), so I didn't feel the need to hide while smoking. From the hallway I heard footsteps and a knock on my door. Quickly I put out my cigarette and threw it out the window.

"Come in." I called. Vash walked into the room.

"Hey. I just wanted to see how you were getting along." I looked over at him, putting on my best grateful look.

"Thanks. I'm doing fine, Vash." His aqua eyes shined as he walked across the room and sat down on the windowsill with me.

"It's a nice night. It's different back at Crow's Nest, you know. The stars don't shine as brightly as they do here." That's not a whole lie, but it's not the exact truth either. But, Vash seemed to buy the innocence well enough.

"It's because of where we are. There's no plant here, so everything here is either imported from another town or created naturally. With no plant to light up the whole city at night, the stars shine brighter." I looked across the town. True, there was no plant. I blinked.

"So the well here is natural..." My voice faded. Vash laughed.

"Yeah. Listen, if I know Meryl she'll want to get up before the suns to go shopping, so you might want to go to bed soon."

"Ok." I nodded. Vash got up and left the room.

I waited until the footsteps were faded and I heard him close his door. I pulled out another cigarette and lit it. So this is how my life would be from now on. Be still my beating heart. As I smoked, I heard soft footsteps from a room several doors down. I finished another smoke and fell on to my bed. I was asleep in minutes.

----------

"Tessa. Oh, Tessa. It's time to wake up." I blinked and stretched. Sunlight peeked into my room from the open window.

"Wha-?" I yawned and stretched again. I sat up and stretched again. Meryl smiled at me.

"It's time to wake up Tessa. Breakfast is down on the table." She left and I rubbed my eyes. Damn, it was morning already. I was having such a good dream, too. Oh well.

I pulled on an extra pair of clothes I had brought with me (a loose t-shirt and cargo pants; I love cargo pants, they have so many big pockets you can put things in) and slipped downstairs. I was still trying to wake up when I sat down at the table and Milly asked me a question.

"Do you like scrambled eggs and bacon, Tessa?" I looked at Milly.

"Hm? Yea, scrambled's good." I yawned again. Vash came down and entered the kitchen.

"Good morning Tessa! Have a nice sleep?" I nodded. Milly walked over and put a plate of food in front of me.

The rest of breakfast passed with them talking about local news. It was all boring, actually. Nothing really happened in this town worth noting. I ate my food quietly. When I finished I took the plate to the sink and placed it in the dishwasher.

"Tessa, if it's okay, I would like to go out right after I finish breakfast, okay?" I looked over my shoulder at Meryl. I nodded.

"Ok, just call me when you're ready." I walked up to my room.