CHAPTER THREE

Do not protect yourself by a fence, but rather by your friends.
- Czech Proverb

"Mmph…"

Blaze rolled over, evading the inevitable for a few more moments. Her body was telling her to wake up and she knew that if she didn't, she'd be faced with finding a way out of the lodging house while the boys were awake and Kloppman was roaming his domain.

Letting out a long, overdue sigh, Blaze's eyes monitored the small room, wanting to take in everything as the silent morning crept up on the two girls. Several broken down bunks were resting against the corner wall, dust-covered sheets lay tangled around the wood. There was one lone chair sitting in the opposite corner, two of its legs mysteriously missing, probably broken off after years of use. The same corner housed a drawer set, its brilliant mahogany wood now tarnished and dull. There was one window in the room which provided just enough light to further weather the scarce items in the room.

Autumn brushed a few wayward strands of brown hair out of her face and slowly sat up. "Me back aches," she mumbled, her mouth stretching the last word into a yawn.

"When doesn't it ache?" Blaze gave back, smirking.

"When you ain't around," Autumn replied and moved just in time as Blaze sent a pillow sailing her way.

"C'mon. If we're lucky, we can make it down to the washroom before da boys get up. Ya know how long it's been before I've had a nice, hot bath?" Blaze asked.

Holding her nose, Autumn scoffed, "Too long."

Ignoring her last insult, Blaze untangled herself from the musty sheet and began gathering her things.

"You don't actually think we can make it downstairs, strip ourselves of our lovely clothin', take a bath, an' get out before dose boys wake up, do ya?" Autumn questioned.

Blaze shrugged her tired shoulders. "What's there to lose?"

Autumn glared. "Oh, I don't know… boys walking in on us naked, Kloppman finding us, bein' thrown out on the streets by a very angry old man…" she trailed off, hoping Blaze got the picture.

Pouting, Blaze didn't feel up to arguing over the question of a bath. All she wanted was to feel the hot water against her skin, and to be rid of the dirt plaguing her body. But Autumn had a point. They'd never successfully made it to the washroom before the boys awoke, and this morning probably wouldn't be any different.

Autumn rolled her eyes at Blaze's pout and gathered her own things. The sun would soon be rising and they needed to find a place to freshen up before working for the day. "Let's go. If we're lucky, we can make it to dat park down da street before da bulls are out on mornin' patrol. Dat fountain always has da cleanest water dis side a' town."

Grumbling, Blaze acquiesced and surveyed the room once more before following Autumn to the window. They'd get to wash their hair, face, limbs, and nothing more, just as always. She hated those fountains, but she had no choice. It was going to be another long day of scrounging for enough money to pay for food, and neither girl was looking forward to it.

~~

To be continued...