I was in the middle of Abbottville, I was told to get two first aid kits, one for our house, and the other for Emily; she had her own, but she told me that an extra wouldn't hurt. It was then I saw a girl my age with an injured hand, and with someone chasing her. I then noticed a donut shop with a broken window, and I put two and two together. I suddenly got the impulse to help her, and I step in front of the shopkeeper.
"Sir, I don't think you need to chase after her, she was just hungry." I said, in front of her.
"Hungry or not, that doesn't mean she has to steal, she has to pay like everyone else." The shopkeeper explained.
He was right, but I wasn't going to back down that easily, she needed a doctor not a jail. I turned around and I asked her, "Do you have any money?" I asked.
She nodded.
I turned around to the shopkeeper, and I gave him whatever change I had left. "This should be enough, to buy her a donut, right?" I asked.
"Yes, but she broke the window, she has to pay for that as well." The shopkeeper stated.
"I'll come and cover it up next Saturday." I said, willing to work it off.
"Okay, I'll let her off the hook, but if she does it again, I'm going to call the police, do you understand?"
"Yes sir." I answered.
The shopkeeper gave me the donut I paid for, and I took her to a nearby bench.
"How's your hand?" I asked.
"It hurts like hell." She answered.
"Let me take a look." I grabbed her wrist, and her hand was cut from breaking the glass; although, I had little knowledge of patching a wound, I grabbed the first aid kit I bought, and I put some disinfectant on a cotton ball, and I padded it a little, I then grabbed a bandage wrap, and I wrapped it up as best as I could.
Once I was done patching her up, I gave her the donut I bought, and she gobbled it down faster than I could blink. "Thank you…"
"No problem…" I responded.
"Why'd you help me?" She asked.
"Because it looked to me that you need help, you had no intention of stealing, you just had to." I answered.
"Don't pretend to understand me." She said, angrily.
"I don't understand you, but I can understand your reasoning…" I explained.
"Oh… My name is Julie." She introduced herself, and gave her hand that wasn't injured.
"Jeremy Finch, but you can call me Jem."
"Thanks for patching me up, Jem." Julie said, smiling.
"Do you live here, Julie?" I asked.
"No, I just arrived her a couple days ago." She answered.
"Then maybe you should go lie down and recuperate, you need some rest." I suggested.
"I don't feel like lying down, a little jumpy from the trip riding all night." Julie said, stretching.
"Good trip?" I asked.
"Lousy."
"Where did you come from?" I asked.
"Scooted out of Frisk over South 101, bummed a ride as far San Jose, rode aboard a Greyhound till I hit Monterrey, and I used the rest to take for the train fare, but I've seen a lot of things along the way, and I did a lot of thinking along the way." Julie answered.
"What did you see?" I asked, curious.
"I rode by a house, with the windows lighted up, looking pretty as Christmas tree, and I rode by another house where the moon was on the porch, and a girl was on her fella's knees, and I said to myself as I rode by myself, 'Everybody's got a home but me'…" Julie answered looking down.
I didn't have to ask what she meant; I knew she was saying that she didn't have a home.
"You live in house around here?" Julie asked.
"Down in Maycomb." I answered.
"You mean the place that is boring as hell!?"
"The same place, although it isn't as boring as people say it is, if you can handle uneducated bigots, it's actually hard for me personally, but I live there with my family." I answered.
"Sure, you hardly ever meet somebody who doesn't live somewhere." Julie stated.
I couldn't really understand why she was homeless, she seemed like a fun person to be around with.
"Well, see ya."
"Where are you gonna go?" I asked.
"Don't know…" She answered.
"I guess you'll land on your feet somewhere." I stated, sadly.
"I am on my feet!" Julie stated. "I am free and I'm happy to be free, to be free in the way I want to be, but once in awhile, when I'm talking to myself, and there's no one there to disagree, I look up and I cry, to the big empty sky, won't there ever be home for me somewhere?!"
She may have seemed tough, but I could tell that she longed for a friend, and I wasn't about to leave her alone. "You still hungry?" I asked.
"Yeah…" Julie answered, confused.
"I'm taking you back to Maycomb, you can't wander for the rest of your life." I answered.
"Thank you, Jem, but…" Julie began to so. I wasn't taking no for an answer, so I grabbed her hand, and I called for a taxi.

When we got to the town, I took her to my house, and she was being quiet; I hadn't realized that I was still holding her hand.
"Jem, you can let go of my hand. I'm not going to run away." Julie said, blushing.
I looked down at our hands, and I started blushing. I let go, and said I was sorry.
"You're kind of cute when you're blushing." She stated.
I was blushing harder, but I quickly regained my composure, and I opened the door.
"Afternoon Cal, I got the stuff we need, and I met someone who needed something eat, and she doesn't have any money, can you make another plate?" I saw Calpurnia cooking the food, and I could tell that Julie was having a hard time controlling herself.
"What's her name?" Calpurnia asked.
"I just met her today, her name is Julie, and she really needs help, Cal." I answered, honestly.
"Alright, bring her in… Dinner will be ready, in a few minutes." Calpurnia said, smiling.
I brought her in, and she was very cautious around Calpurnia, and I asked her, "You don't hate Negroes, do you?"
"No, it's just I'm still trying to comprehend what's going on." Julie answered.
"I see…"
"Jem, I'll just wait here, you go and explain who I am to everyone in the house." Julie sat down in a chair, and started chatting with Calpurnia.
I had no reason to worry, so I brought everyone to the living room, and I explained to them what happened.
"Jem, you aren't doing this to woo her, are you?" Scout asked.
"Scout, you know I would never play someone like that." I answered.
"Sorry…"
"It's fine…"
"She must have a reason to be homeless." Dill stated.
"If she does, it's none of our business, if she wants to tell us later that's her choice, but what's important right now is that she needs a place to stay, and I was thinking of having Miss Maudie look after, she is already looking after Emily." I wanted her to have a home, she was clearly in need of a friend, and I couldn't just leave her like that.
"I'll go give her a call." Sam said, heading for the telephone.
"Connect me to Ms. Atkinson," Sam demanded, on the phone. "Is that you, Emily? Okay, can you relay a message to Maudie? Tell her that we have someone in need of a place to stay…" Sam didn't hear the phone hang up, so he kept phone on, and waited for their response. "What did she say? She's going to allow her to stay? Good, thanks for helping out, Em'…" Sam hanged up, and came back to us.
"That was very brave of you, Jem." Atticus said, gently.
"She needed help, Atticus, and I felt like I couldn't turn my back on her." I answered.
"Do you like her?" Dill asked, smirking.
I carefully thought about this, and answered, "It's still too early to say, let's just leave it at that."
"That's fine with me, but what's her name?" Dill asked, curious.
"Julie." I answered.
"Well Jem, it looks like you're going to have to be this girl moral compass." Sam stated.
"I'll do what I can to help her."