Chpt. 4: Ana's POV
Flashback
I'm walking home from school excited to tell my parents about plans for next week at school. It's the last week of school and the teachers have planned parties to celebrate. We are even having a picnic with a movie on the school lawn! Just as I am reaching our block I see a police car in front of our house. That's weird, I think to myself but head to the house assuming the police car is for a neighbor or something.
"Mom I'm home!" I call walking into our house.
My mom comes out of the dinning room wiping her eyes and quickly comes over to hug me. She hugs me tight and for what feels like a long time she doesn't let go. I can tell she's been crying and I immediately start to worry why.
"Where's Daddy? Is he home from work yet? I can't wait to tell you about next week at school!" I say finally breaking away from Mom. I run to the living room and the kitchen but don't find my dad. I do see a police officer sitting at our dining room table; maybe he is a friend of my parents?
"Ma'am if you don't need anything else I will be on my way. Please call if you need anything," the officer tells my mom.
"Of course, thank you" Mom says.
"I am so sorry," he responds and quickly leaves.
"Mom? Where's Dad? He said he wouldn't be working late tonight because we were going out to dinner. Is on his way home?" I ask. My dad promised to take us out to dinner because he was going to be out of town for my last day of school next week so we were celebrating early. This was my last week of elementary school; next year I move on to the middle school! I was excited but nervous and dad thought we should celebrate the change in schools.
"Honey sit down, we need to talk," Mom says patting a spot on the couch.
"What's up Mom?" I ask still looking around the house for Dad.
"Your dad left work early like he promised so he could be here when you came home from school. On his way home he was in a very bad car accident and he died," she states with no emotion in her voice.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! That's not true! You're lying! He hasn't left work yet! I'm going to call him!" I yell running to my room.
End flashback
I am still a few houses away from the boarding home when I sit on the curb of the sidewalk for a moment. I haven't thought about the day my father died in years. I put my head between my knees and try to calm my breathing before I end up in a complete panic attack. Slowly my breathing begins to return to normal and I lift my head to check my surroundings. This really is not the type of neighborhood where you should not be aware of your surroundings I think to myself. I am somewhat comforted by the presence of the police cars which are only a few feet away from where I am sitting. I decide to get up and see what is going on.
"Excuse me officer?" I ask a young woman who is shutting the door on her police car.
"Can I help you?" she responds.
"I am rent a room here and was wondering what was going on?" I ask. I glance inside the police car window and see someone I recognize who also rented a room in the home.
"What's your name?" She asks
"Anastasia Steele," I answer.
She glances at her notepad before responding "Ms. Steele, we have raided this boarding house which was known for illegal drug use and for the selling of illegal drugs. Several residents have been arrested and will be charged with drug related crimes. The entire premise has been searched and all illegal drugs have been ceased. The owner of the house has not yet been located; would you happen to know his whereabouts?"
"Ummmm….no. He only shows up on the first of the month to collect rent and then he doesn't come around again. What is going to happen to the house now?" I ask, afraid I already know the answer.
"Until we reach the owner and determine his involvement in this situation the boarding home license is being suspended. No one will be permitted to reside here until the criminal charges are settled and the owner reapplies for a license," she responds.
"Can I go inside and gather my things?" I ask.
"I will need to accompany you inside and supervise you while you gather your items. According to our notes there was nothing found in your room therefore you are not being charged with a crime" the officer informs me.
"Thank you," I respond as we walk towards the house.
I make my way to the room I rented glancing around seeing the place is even more of a mess than usual. There were holes in the walls, the sofa was over turned and cushions were thrown everywhere and all the cabinets in the kitchen were open. My room is torn apart and the officer gives me an apologetic look but I understand it's their job and they needed to be sure there were no drugs in my room. I shove what I can in my overnight bag and my book bag. I throw the last few items in a garbage bag and take a look around one last time. I can't take the microwave but I have my hot plate which will be enough until I land on my feet again and buy a new one. I have all my school books and supplies plus clothing for work so my job won't be in jeopardy.
"Is there anyone I can call for you?" The officer asks.
"No, thank you. I will be fine," I sigh. Who would I call? What would I say? Hi Kate, can I stay with you as the house I rented a room in was just busted for drugs. That would just raise more questions that I want to deal with right now.
"Here's a list of local shelters in the area that could assist you until you find another room to rent," the officer says handing me a printed list of a few shelters most of which I am familiar with. "The second one on this list if very close to here and has beds available tonight."
"Thank you" I respond and begin walking a few blocks to the shelter.
I arrive at the shelter and see not much has changed since I was last there. The same staff are still working there and the setup is pretty much the same. It's a large room with several dozen military style cots in it. Off to the side there are bathrooms and locker rooms. I squeeze what I can into the small locker and find a cot to sleep on. When I left the shelter I vowed to never need to return again. Just another way that life has disappointed me I think to myself as I drift off to sleep.
I wake the next morning at 5am, gather my belongings and leave to head to campus. I have a locker at school that is larger than the one at the shelter where I plan to store some of my belongings. When I first stayed at a shelter I left the items in the locker mistakenly thinking they would be safe when I went to school. I came back to the shelter after school to find the locker broken into and most of my clothing was gone. After that I never left anything at the shelter, but carrying everything you own everyday can be exhausting. Arriving on campus I cram everything but my overnight bag and book bag into my locker. I head to the school's gym and take a shower. It's not ideal but the showers in the shelter have no privacy and you constantly need to worry that someone is going to steal your stuff while you are in there. At 6:30 in the morning there is not much to worry about on a college campus since most students are either sleeping or getting ready for their first class.
As I let the shower water cascade over my body I start to think of my plans now that I am homeless once again. It's likely I will never see my security deposit from the room I rented since I doubt I will ever hear form the owner of the house. I have a few hundred dollars saved up but it's not enough for a security deposit and first month's rent that most landlords will require. I had just paid November's rent so I'm pretty short on cash right now. I figure I can stay at various shelters for a few weeks and hope to have enough money saved for a new place by December or January depending on how many extra shifts I can pick up at the restaurant.
Once the offices open at the school I stop by the commuting student's office and request a second locker. I don't have much of a choice as I can't very well carry around my overnight bag to all my classes without raising concerns. I pay the small deposit and extra fee before splitting my stuff between the two lockers. I have one locker holding my clothes while the second locker is for school stuff and toiletries. I'm lucky that there was a second locker available at the school or I'm not sure how I would have explained the overnight bag to Kate.
The next couple of weeks pass by quickly and I spend nights at different shelters depending on where there are beds available. I start to worry about winter approaching as the shelters tend to fill up faster when the temperatures drop since the people who live on the streets during other times of the year don't want to be outside when it's cold. I remind myself to take it day by day and review the detailed budget I have developed to save for a new security deposit. The last few days at the restaurant have been very good to me; business is picking up with the holidays approaching and customers are more generous with their tips. All of which will help me reach my goal of getting out of the shelters and back into a place of my own.
"Ana are we still on for Saturday night?" Kate asks after class.
"I'm sorry Kate, I can't," I say disappointed. "Antonio has asked me to work this Saturday."
"What? I thought you were off on Saturday? Can't you tell him you already have plans?" Kate begged giving me puppy dog eyes.
"I'm sorry Kate, but I committed to working on Saturday," I explain. "Antonio called me last night begging me to work. Someone has reserved the banquet hall for a holiday party on Saturday and one of the waitresses who was assigned to work the event quit with no notice last night. How about we go to the club in two weeks?"
"Sounds good," Kate answers clearly disappointed. I feel bad cancelling on her but I really need the money if I'm going to rent a place again. Unfortunately I wasn't able to save up enough money for December 1st which I knew was a stretch but with this holiday party I should have enough money to start looking for a new room to rent. Depending on availability I could be in a place for Christmas or at the very latest New Years. Antonio pays very well for private events and the people hosting the party tend to tip very well at the end of the night.
"I promise Kate, even if Antonio calls again I will tell him I can't work that Saturday. We can celebrate the holidays a little early before the semester ends and you go home for winter break," I explain.
"Yeah, I suppose that would work. You're lucky you're my best friend Ana!" Kate exclaims hugging me goodbye.