I decide I need a haircut as I stand beneath the awning of a fruit cart. The owners watching me, I smile and lift my finger to my lips chewing at the nail.

I know my hands are dirty, but its a habit I cant break. When I'm nervous or upset I bite at them... I don't know which one I am right now. Nervous or upset- not biting them or not. I'm a little nervous because this guys watching me so closely.

I'm not like my friends, Pinch or Snitch, or even Dodge or Bolt... I cant do this as well as them. Not that Bolt does it anymore, I'm pretty sure she has it covered. Pinch said she was living the high life.. I suspect that means you don't have to steal to eat anymore, right? I guess thats the reason I'm a little upset. Bolt leaving isn't the easiest thing in the world. The Van Wyck girls are taking it harder than most of us, but that doesn't mean I'm not affected. I miss her an' all, specially the way she laughed. Don't get me wrong, I don't like her or anything, at least not like-like.… I mean sure I like her, but like-like her is a different story. She just had a great laugh is all. Yeah.
I think back over the last things I said to her, or rather the things I should have said to her. Its useless because I'll probably never see her again but if I'd only had the guts to talk to her... She wouldn't care or anything, she barely knew me. We had the same friends, we always ate together, spent time together, we got along… We just never connected on a close friendship. We never had a whole conversation, but its not my fault. I tried! Honestly, I tried to talk to her. I made the biggest effort to get to know her.
I'm lying, I never said two words unless she spoke first. I'm a coward and she knew it. She knew it more than any of them, she could tell by just looking into my eyes. She told me they were really nice once, I turned about as red as my skin would turn. Yeah, but it doesn't matter now because I'll never get to thank her.

I should have talked to her, I should have told her how great she was and how much I admired her. This apple in my hand is getting moist. Oh, im sweating, thats why. Is he still looking at me? Does Bolt think this before she pinches stuff? No, she had guts, she probably just strolled off with her head high. Yeah, here I am with my eyes on my feet and my fingers trembling. RUN! I can almost hear her voice in my head as i race through the crowd. " You'd be real slick if you didn't stop and wait so much! Your quiet, they'd never even notice you were there!"

What if I wanted someone to notice me?