"It's a what?!"

Jasmine looked at Celeste, "SSSH! Keep your volume down!"

Celeste sat back down on the sofa and looked at Jasmine before looking away, unsure of what to say at the moment.

She looked back at Jasmine, "Is Bryan crazy? He knows what will happen if the makers catches them."

"He knows… But, he has too much to lose to not be in it." Jasmine said
"What do you mean?" Celeste asked
"His girlfriend used to be a maker…" Jasmine replied
"Are you serious? Please do not tell me it's that pretty one on TV that they presume is missing or dead." Celeste said

Jasmine was about to reply but hearing Celeste say that, she closed her mouth.

Celeste stood up, "Are you kidding me?! Jasmine, you have to forget all that you saw. What was he thinking bringing you to see that?!"

"He just thought I'd be interested. Don't blame him… I'm sure you wanted to go against the makers too…" Jasmine said
"I have but I do that in my heart. I don't blatantly do it for everyone to see!" Celeste said
"Relax, Celeste. I already told them that I am not interested. So, I won't be going back there anytime soon." Jasmine said
"Good." Celeste said

She sat back down, next to Jasmine, "Your brother would go crazy if he knew where you went last night."

"Please don't tell Randy. You know how bad tempered he is. I don't want him going over there to beat someone up." Jasmine said
"I know. Your secret's safe with me." Celeste said

Jasmine smiled and gave her friend a quick hug before turning to the magazines that John had brought over for them.

Two days passed and Jasmine's life went back to normal. Sure, she still sees Bryan around in the soup kitchen but he respects her decision and the two of them talked like she hadn't gone for the rally.

"Jas, you wanna go to the supermarket?" Big Paul asked

She turned around from the counter and said, "Are you offering me a trip there?"

Big Paul smiled, "Yes. And, while you're there, you could get yourself a little treat."

Jasmine smiled as she took the money and shopping list from Big Paul's hand.

"Just all that's here?" Jasmine asked
"Yup. And your own little treat." Big Paul replied
"You spoil me, Big Paul." Jasmine said
"What can I say? Told you that smiley face of yours gets to me." Big Paul said

Jasmine laughed as she took off her apron to hang up by the side.

"Oh, but hurry back. I don't want you to get harassed by any of the makers." Big Paul said

Jasmine nodded, "I'll be in and out of there in a jiffy."

Big Paul nodded and Jasmine hurriedly made her way out of the soup kitchen towards the supermarket that was 3 blocks away.

Despite everyone in the neighborhood not having enough money to even visit the supermarket, the makers left that supermarket untouched so that their own people could look at how the miserables were doing. Sometimes, it acts as a place to recruit girls for The Getaway.

Jasmine entered the supermarket and immediately felt eyes on her. She gripped the handle of her satchel tightly as she made her way over to the fruits and vegetables section. Seeing a familiar face in front of her made her let out a sigh of relief.

"Hey, Jas." He said softly as he transferred the fresh apples into the box.

Jasmine gave him a small smile, "Hi Colby."

Colby was a senior at Jasmine's college and he was like Bryan. A middle. His parents owned a dry-cleaning shop and since that wasn't going to bring in enough money, Colby decided to work at the supermarket to help with the family's finance. When food poses to be a problem, he would always visit the soup kitchen. And, that's where the two of them met.

"Don't let them make you nervous. They are always doing this to intimidate us." Colby said
"I know…" Jasmine said

She put the corn she picked out into the basket she took by the door earlier. Colby looked around before slipping an apple into her satchel.

"On the house." Colby said, with a wink.
"Thanks Colby." Jasmine said

He smiled and went back to work as Jasmine continued on her errand. Once she paid for the things, she picked up the paper bags and gave Colby a smile before leaving the supermarket. As she walked down the path towards the soup kitchen, she felt a little uneasy. But seeing that she would reach the place soon, she shook it off.

After crossing the road, 2 men stopped her from walking further. Seeing their built and height, Jasmine knew that they were definitely miserables that became makers.

"Whatcha doin' with so many bags from the supermarket?"
"It's pretty obvious, Jon. She went shopping."

Jasmine swallowed her fear as she said, "I have to get these back."

"Oh, do you now?" Said the blonde one known as Jon

As Jasmine made a move to walk the other way, the tall, Samoan looking guy blocked her path.

"We didn't say you could go." He said

He looked at her and smiled, "You know… Although you aren't as pretty as some of the girls from The Getaway, I would still do you. You'd be a whole new breath of fresh air."

He leaned down to take a whiff of her hair just as she stepped back, disgusted by what he just said. She thought of bolting down the street, back to the supermarket but the blonde one stood behind her, stopping her from doing so.

"And I wouldn't mind joining in." He said

Freaked out and determined to get away unharmed, Jasmine stepped on the feet of the one in front of her and shoved him as hard as she can so that he was out of her way. Tightening her grip on the bags, she ran for it.

"That fucking bitch!" He said, holding his hurting foot, "Go get her!"

The blonde one nodded and ran after her. With his long legs, it didn't take much for him to be right behind her as she continued running. Jasmine looked back and saw him just inches away from her.

"You're not getting away, little missy! We're going to rough you up so bad, you're going to wish you had just kept still!" He shouted

Not seeing where she was running, Jasmine collided into a person, making her groceries fly out from their bags and onto the pavement.

Worried as she knew he was closing in on her, Jasmine tried to run but the person held onto her.

"Where have you been? I thought I told you to wait at the supermarket for me."

Recognizing the voice, Jasmine looked up to see the guy who spoke at the rally. He looked at her with warm eyes and she stood up with his aid.

"I thought I'd head back first…" Jasmine said, playing along.
"Well, that's silly. Look at the groceries now." He said

He looked at the blonde guy who had been chasing her and said, "Is there a problem here? Why were you chasing my girlfriend?"

Seeing the tattoos running along both of his hands, the blonde one stepped back a little, not wanting any problems.

"No… I was chasing the wrong girl." The blonde said

Without another look, he bolted down the street back to his partner. Jasmine looked at the guy who saved her and let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you." Jasmine said
"Don't mention it." He said

She gave him a small smile before bending down to pick up the groceries that were on the ground. He too joined in and began picking up the vegetables before putting them back in the bag. Once they were done, he picked up the paper bag and handed it to Jasmine.

"Thanks again." Jasmine said

He smiled, "Don't mention it. You're Jasmine, right?"

"You know my name?" Jasmine said
"Yup. Bryan told me about you." He said

He put his hand out, "I'm Phil."

"Yeah… I know." Jasmine said, "Nice to meet you."

"I'll walk you back to the soup kitchen." Phil said

Jasmine was about to object but he stopped her and said, "They might come back."

Knowing that Phil might be right, Jasmine nodded and he took the paper bag from her as they both made their way back to the soup kitchen.

When they arrived, Jasmine took the paper bag back from Phil.

She looked at him, "Thanks for saving me today… But… This doesn't mean I'll join your revolution."

Phil smiled and said, "I didn't expect you to."

"Don't get me wrong… What you're doing is good but…" Jasmine said, "You know what will happen if the makers catch you."

"I understand your concerns but we've been building this up for a year. If we were at risk of getting caught, I would have stopped the entire operation." Phil said

She stepped into the soup kitchen and said, "Just be careful. You're a good guy, Phil. But, in this world, not all good guys get good endings."

"But the good guys could try, right?" Phil said

Jasmine gave him a small smile, "Yeah… They could."