Melina walked downstairs to see her mother holding a piece of paper. Melina's book bag was open on the table. She gasped. "Melina, how could you get such a horrible grade?" she demanded, slapping her hand on the kitchen table in anger. "I don't know…" Melina lied, weakly. Melina's mother shook her head. "You're doing all of the chores this week!" She shouted. Melina could see her little brother peeking over the stair railing, she knew he heard everything. She was going to run. But this time, she wasn't coming back.

That night, Melina tucked her brother in and kissed him on the forehead, struggling to hold back tears. She cautiously walked down the narrow hallway and walked out the door. She ran, tears streaming down her face. She already missed her brother. She pictured his face when she was wasn't at breakfast the next morning. Melina ducked into an empty brick building, forcing herself to sleep on the concrete floor.

Melina was awakened by the sound of some boys talking and laughing. "Hey, I dare you to go in there." one of they boys said. "Why not?" another boy said. Melina froze. She heard footsteps echoing in the room. The lights clicked on. "Woah!" she heard a crashing sound and then saw a boy about her age on the ground on top of a bunch of 2x4s. "That hurt." he said awkwardly when he saw Melina staring at him. "Hey, wait a second… what are you doing in here?" he asked, getting up. "I ran away." she said without thinking, immediately regretting that she told him. "You're joking me." he said with a crooked smile. "No… I really ran away from home" Melina admitted, her eyes watery. He frowned, walking over and holding her hand. Melina blushed. "Come with me, I'll get you breakfast." he offered. She nodded shyly, smiling.