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PART ONE

It was an unusually chilly summer day as the girl walked down the cracked sidewalk, kicking along an empty can of soda. The repeated clink as it bounced just slightly ahead of her started to become a nuisance, and the girl quickly abandoned it after only a few steps. A rather unpleasant growl emanated from the young girl's stomach. Breakfast. She should have at least grabbed breakfast before... The girl did her best to shrug the feeling off. She wanted - no, she had to do this. She wasn't a child anymore - she was fourteen. She had to be assertive. She had to do this on her own. Of course, it helped that her parents were at her Uncle's, and trusted her enough on her own. The girl was prepared though: she brought house keys and twenty whole dollars. Putting the hood over her head, the girl attempted to cover her rather... unique short hair cut. It was essentially a bowl cut, and not worth anyone's eyes burning out from the horror.

The girl stopped briefly to pause her mp3 player and neatly wrap her earphones around it. Today was going to be a long day - she had to conserve power. Looking up, the girl noticed that she was nearing the edge of familiar territory. Just beyond that busy crosswalk was an area that she only really went through in her parent's car. It was essentially uncharted territory.

Approaching the cross walk, the girl confidently pressed on the crosswalk button. Cars zoomed past in a flurry. The intersection was one of the busiest in her area, as the perpendicular road was a rather major thruway. It wasn't long before the crosswalk beeping went off in its calculated and rhythmic fashion. The girl slightly moved her head from side to side at the same beat.

Taking her first step on the other side, a new sense of independence filled her to the brim. It was both scary and exciting. Just down the street was a fast food place - a perfectly frugal way to celebrate her new found freedom.

With a confident grin, the girl entered the fast food place. Immediately she was met with the sights and sounds of any relatively busy fast food place - the layering of people chattering away, orders being announced, and the frequent beeps and alarms of the various orders being completed. It was technically no different from the numerous times she had gone here with friends or family, but this time, she was independent. Pulling down her hood (in spite of her hair), the girl confidently walked up to the counter.

"Hello how may I--" Before the cashier could complete her rehearsed greeting, the girl began - with a bit of a faltering - her reply.

"H-hi, I'd like a uhm.. chicken sandwich and a medium drink to go. For here." She was prepared. She knew what the cashier would ask, and decided to let her know ahead of time.

"Would you like to upgrade to a meal?"

"No thanks, I'm good."

"Okay, that will be $5.45." The girl smirked. She had paid before, at least in part, but that was with friends in a group order. Now she was doing this all on her own. Reaching into her pocket, the girl dug for the twenty dollar bill.

If only it was there.

The girl's face quickly went pale. She then checked her other pocket. Then her back pockets. Then her sweater pockets. Nothing. Did she drop it? Did she forget it? What was she going to do now? Looking up, the girl made eye contact with the cashier, who, in the girl's eyes, was clearly losing patience.

"Sorry I must've..." The girl looked around. There was no one to her. Not her friends, not her family.

"Here, save the kid further embarrassment." A man - an older teen perhaps - from behind her set a twenty dollar bill on the counter. Without much hesitation, the cashier took the money from the dark-haired man, "As for my order... I'll get the same actually." Factoring in the man's order alongside the girl's, the cashier handed the man his change. With a rather relaxed look, the man glanced over at the girl, who in turn shuffled off to the side, letting the people behind them order.

"I'm sorry sir I... lost my money and... I hope I can--" The girl's nervous words were quickly cut off by the man. "Spare yourself the awkwardness kid. And don't call me sir, I'm like... early 20s. I'm not some old fart anything -- then again I did just say 'old fart'. That in itself is problematic."

The girl couldn't help but grin a little at what the man said. "Well don't get any ideas, I'm way too young for you." The man gave the girl a perplexed look. "Yeah uhm... That's not messed up at all. A guy pays for a meal and he's automatically hitting on someone? Seriously, aren't you kids supposed to think the opposite gender has cooties or something?"

"There you go again with the old man talk."

"Shush you."

"And us kids are already being taught about things in health class, like how--"

"Please spare me the details. Someone's already probably looking at me funny. Speaking of funny though... Your hair certainly is..." The man's eyes shifted up to the top of the girl's head. A smirk formed across the lower half of his face. "Shut. Up."

"Respect your elders kid."

"It was a bad haircut day okay?"

"Your orders." Simultaneously, both the man and the girl looked up, but the man was the first to reach for the order.


"Thanks." He then turned to the girl. "So, which is yours - the chicken, or the chicken?" The girl looked up at the man with a stonefaced reaction. It was a lame joke really, and both of them knew it. Reaching for one of the empty cups along with one of the chicken sandwiches, the girl licked her lips in excitement for the food, before reminding herself of proper etiquette.

"Thank you again sir-- er, thanks"

"No worries, I was never an air-head like you, but I do know what it was like to feel awkward. Just don't forget to fill up your drink." The man nodded his head towards the drink machine. The girl almost did forget.

The two approached the drink machine. The man quickly went for the root beer, while the girl hesitated over what to choose. "Get something fruity, fits you." The man mentioned in a rather matter-of-fact fashion. The girl countered with yet another unamused stare. Then again, she did want juice. Hesitantly, she approached the juice dispenser, much to the man's snickering. It was strange, just how quickly the girl felt comfortable around the man. Was this something that she was supposed to be wary of? She was always told to not talk to strangers, but then again, she was supposed to be independent. She was in public, at least.

After the two filled their drinks, the man bee-lined to the nearest seat, with the girl following behind. The two seated next to a window. "So, any reason why you're sitting with me?" The man was quick to call her out on her blunder, and almost as quickly, the girl got up again. "Sorry, I--" "... You are an airhead. It's okay. The place is packed anyway." Looking around, the girl couldn't help but agree. It was unusually packed - and at the very least, she was safe here, and not quite so lonely. "Are you sure you're okay with a minor sitting with you? With a bit of sass, the girl emphasized on 'minor'. "Do you want to sit alone kid? With a triumphant grin, the girl sat back down.

Facing one another, the two began to unwrap their burgers from their covering. For a moment, an awkward silence came between the two. "So... What's a sarcastic male-in-his-twenties doing at a uhh... "Public... establishment? Well, I grew up near one of these places in my hometown - as did a lot of people... since it kind of has hundreds of locations across the country. And I was hungry.

"So you're from out of town or?" "Yeah. In town for the week. College stuff that you wouldn't understand." That was more of a lie than a truth. "College boy? High school girls like that. The man nearly choked on his burger. "Let's try and not get me arrested okay?" The girl giggled. It was a strange situation for her, to be so casual around a stranger.

"So what are you studying?" The girl took a sip of her drink. She was starting to regret not having ordered fries. The meal felt incomplete. Then again, it wasn't likely that she could just go ahead and ask the man to get fries. "Education. You know, going to be everyone's favorite teacher." The man paired a wink with an a-okay hand gesture.

"Yeah... I don't think anyone would want a creeper like you as a teacher. But hey, it's your parent's money that you're spending on this degree, who am I to judge?"

"You think you're quite the witty one, don't you? Probably run your mouth to your teachers too. And no, I worked for... at least half of that money for college." The man was nearly finished his burger, while the girl was only about half-way done. She was certainly taking her time.

"I... am actually quiet, believe it or not, and I receive very good grades." It was at this moment that the man finished his burger, crumpling up the wrapper. "Right. We both know grades at your age are just pity marks." The man then got up, immediately taking with him his cup and the wrapper. "Take care kid." Turning around, the man proceeded to head towards the garbage receptacle.

The girl, without hesitation, called out to the man, "Wait, you're just--" The man turned around, "Going to leave? Yeah. I have places to go. What, you think I'm going to stick around?" The man's bluntness - while apparent throughout their whole meeting, mildly hurt the girl. Perhaps she was being unreasonable for expecting him to stay.

"You're right, sorry... Take care. By the way, my name's A--"

"You really shouldn't be talking to strangers, let alone telling them your name. Later kid." Once again, the man's interjection left the girl speechless. Why was he suddenly so cold? Or was she just being unreasonable? After the man threw away his trash, he made no gesture towards the girl, and headed for the exit. Once again, the girl was alone - independent, but feeling much lonelier.

PART THREE

The girl watched as the man walked over to the exit. She sat back down only after he had gone through the door. Dejectedly, the girl sighed. It seemed awfully rude of him to leave like that, even if he was technically right. He was interesting to say the least, and she felt quite relaxed talking to him - as though he was more of a friend rather than a stranger within the little moment of time he spent with her.

Pulling out her phone, the girl checked the time. It was 5 in the afternoon. It wasn't late, but she was typically relaxing at home during summer days like these, if she wasn't hanging out with what friends she had. Her eyes then shifted from the phone's screen, to the almost completely devoured burger in front of her - and the empty spot that was now in front of her. Even with the bustle of the fast food place, it still felt silent to her now.

Stop overreacting, she thought to herself. With yet another sigh, the girl set down her phone on the table, exchanging it with the burger, which she promptly took a bite out of. Looking up, the girl peered through a distant window, just barely making out the figure of the man as he walked down the sidewalk. It was apparent that he was wasting no time to get to where he needed to go, and that slightly upset her. Swallowing her previous bite of the burger, the girl took another bite, repeating the process. She took her time, perhaps at an even slower rate than when the man was there. She was unsure of what to do now, other than to possibly go home. She looked out the window once more - the man was long gone at this point, and it was apparent that she would probably never see him again. The girl then consumed the remainder of what was left in the yellowed wrapper. Whilst chewing, the girl then reached for her cup with her left hand, and her phone with her right. Her left felt the light condensation of the cup, but her right felt only the cold hard surface of the table. Where was her phone?

Instantly, the girl was filled with the realization that her phone was no longer there anymore. Instinctively, she checked beside herself on the seat, as well as in her pockets and under the table. Frantically, she got up to make sure she wasn't sitting on it, and it was only when she had briefly looked up that she had realized what had happened. A teenage male, just about to exit the building, had gotten a hold of her phone. The distinctive blue panda keychain that she had attached to her phone's equally blue skin was very much apparent, even from across the fast food place. Clenching her right hand into a fist, the girl bolted for the door, leaving behind her drink at the table. Onlookers looked over their shoulders to see the girl run across the fast food place towards the door.

As she burst open the glass door leading to the outside, the teenage boy was already making his way down the stone path. The girl called out to the thief with a loud, "Hey! That's my phone!" And at that moment, the thief broke out into a run himself. Swearing under her breath, the teenage girl chased after him. She was no runner - and to make matters worse, her condition didn't exactly allow her to run a lot in the first place. She knew all of this of course, but it didn't stop her from giving chase. Already she was feeling bummed out for having been left alone, she wasn't about to make this day worse by losing her phone and facing the consequences of it from her parents.

The girl was only just barely keeping up with the guy. Luckily, there was nobody on the sidewalk to get in her way - at least until they had neared a set of buildings along the sidewalk. A man was near one of the stairs to the entrance one of these buildings, and the thief shoved him aside as he ran through, causing the man to fall forward, but was luckily holding onto the rail and managed to catch himself. It was at this point that the girl was absolutely exhausted, and she couldn't go on. Feebly, she made one last bargain for help, just barely making out the words to say that her phone was stolen. Severe exhaustion was getting to her, and given her condition...

The girl's eyes then focused on the identity of the man that was shoved. As if by fate, it was the very man that left her alone. He, too, seemed to realize who she was, and within an instant, he bolted after the thief. The girl wanted to cry out to the man - to say anything, whether it was a thank you or another plea for help - simply anything, but the world started to become a blur, and her body started to give out. Staggering, the girl felt herself about to fall forward onto the pavement. This was not going to end well. The girl attempted to catch the railing of the stairs that were near her, similar to the man, but she caught only air. With a loss of consciousness, the girl began to fall.

The next thing the girl knew, she found herself staring downward at the pavement - not on the pavement, but rather, looking down at it from about a couple feet above it. Her outstretched arm that had failed to catch the railing was now wrapped in the metal railing itself, as though it were an iron snake weaving itself around her arm and suspending her upper body up at the chest. She felt the railing press against her body, which certainly was not pleasurable, but leagues better than the full force of the concrete. Her eyes widened with astonishment. It had happened again. The metal - it was her. She knew that it was all her own doing. She didn't know how or why, but it had happened again. A small smile formed across her mouth as she attempted to stand back up again.

Looking around, she sighed with relief in knowing that no one was particularly nearby to see what had just happened - maybe someone in one of the buildings, but her body mostly hid from view the magically extending railing. Slowly, the iron snake released her arm, returning to its normal state as an everyday railing. The girl then faced forward. The thief and the man were nowhere to be seen - they could have turned the corner at some point.

With a hastened walk, the girl made her way down the sidewalk, constantly looking around for any sight of the two. She eventually approached a turn into an alleyway. Peering into it, the girl noticed two figures laying on the ground - it was them.

The girl rushed to the man first. They had seemingly gotten into a fight, and both were laying face down. She was lucky to have avoided such a fate, but these two weren't.

"Hey... You okay?" The girl crouched down to examine the man. He groaned as he attempted to flip himself over. "Take it easy. Looks like you guys face planted hard." Rolling onto his back, the man slowly opened his eyes. "... Phone..." Right. That was what she was after. Looking up, the girl had noticed that the thief made a silent recovery as he began to pick himself up. The girl wanted to go after him, but she still felt absolutely exhausted. Her eyes then focused on the appearance of a blue object just a few feet away from them. Reaching out for it, the girl held it in her hand. It was her phone - the screen was cracked.

"Ah crud," turning on the screen however, displayed a relatively normal screen, and pressing on random apps seemed to work as normal, "I guess it's still useable." She muttered to herself. It was something at least.

"Injured guy here..." Harley weakly called out, causing the girl to look over her shoulder. "You said phone so I went for my phone," the girl turned around, and once more crouched over Harley, "are you okay?"

"Believe it or not, I was in quite a few fights back in my day."

"Again with the old people talk." The girl said soothingly.

"I'm guessing your phone's messed up now?" Harley could now move his head ever so slightly, as he looked up towards the girl. "Cracked, but still works. Kind of adds character."

Harley groaned before attempting to sit up. "Good, because I'm not paying for it." Harley rubbed his cheek. He had some abrasion across his cheek, but nothing serious.

"Aw, and I had a payment plan all set out for you. And geez, that looks bad." The girl leaned forward, hovering her hand over the man's cheek.

"Personal space kid," Harley instinctively leaned away from her, "and it'll be fine. Shame about my model-level face though." The girl scoffed, "Faceless mannequins have better faces than you." Harley leered at the girl, "Do you just normally forget the age of the people you talk to or what?" The girl raised an eyebrow, "No, you're just... different." Harley furrowed his eyebrows, "And you're different too, if you know what I mean. Now c'mon, I look like a hobo sitting here." Getting up, Harley towered over the crouching girl, who then proceeded to get up herself.

A brief silence fell between the two of them as they stood in front of each other. The girl just reached up to about Harley's chest. Harley himself gently rubbed his own cheek, a marking of red ran across it. Swearing under his breath, Harley returned his attention to the girl. "Did he mug you? Are you okay?" The girl looked up at Harley with a look of concern and shook her head, "No, I just left it on the table and he took it. I'm okay I just... I'm fine." The girl somewhat lied. Harley's questions reminded her of her own exhaustion, but she's fought through it before. She could handle herself. "I... Probably should get back though." Without hesitation, the girl made her way to the end of the alleyway that she came from, with Harley following behind her.

"Alright well, I'll walk you a bit of the way - you know, in case another kid tries to take your phone again." The girl nodded. Perhaps deep down, she actually liked that he wasn't going to leave her so abruptly again.

The two made their way down the sidewalk silently. Both were clearly not as energetic as before. Harley repeatedly touched his cheek, wincing a little bit each time, while the girl did her best to hide just how exactly exhausted she was. She was already enough of a burden to him.

"So what kind of teacher are you going to be? Maybe you can tutor me or something." The girl was the first to break the silence. "For one, I am not tutoring you. And two, I'm not telling you." Harley replied rather plainly. "Why-" "Because I said so." Harley interrupted. The girl frowned.

As the two passed the fast food place, the girl once more piped up with yet another question. "You don't seem too fond of kids you know, why even be a teacher?" Harley sighed. "You sound just like every other person that has talked to me about me and teaching. You don't think I realize how I apparently sound like to other people? I like teaching kids, I like helping kids, it's just..." Harley's voice trailed off, and the girl spoke up once more to complete his sentence, "You're scared that when you're too honest about who you are you end up being more like friends rather than a teacher, don't you?" Harley remained silent. "... I may be an airhead, but I figured it out - why ... I can talk to you like this. A part of you is very much a kid at heart, which is why I kind of see you like a friend, but then you started noticing just how much you were letting your guard down, and you were scared that I wasn't seeing you as an adult anymore, so you went all cold and blunt and walked away from it all. Thing is, I was actually having a lot of fun, and I just couldn't figure out how or why, and I think that you were having fun too." The girl slowed down her pace, eventually coming to a stop right before the busy crosswalk. Turning around, she faced Harley, who was avoiding eye contact with her.

"Geez, where the hell did that come from?" Harley scoffed, as he scratched the back of his neck. "Do you think that you, some kid, can just play therapist and claim that I'm some sort of manchild who just wants to hang out with kids?" Harley's tone started becoming slightly hostile, but only ever so slightly, "I'm going to head back to my apartment now. Don't get kidnapped or whatever." Before the girl could say a thing, Harley turned around, and headed in the opposite direction. The girl wanted to say something, but she was at a loss for words. Reluctantly, she turned around and pressed the crosswalk button. Harley yet again left her alone, and this time, she truly felt as though she would not see him again. As the beeping went off and the lights indicated that it was safe for her to cross, the girl wearily made her way across the busy road, each step becoming progressively harder and harder to take. Slowly, each beep become less and less distinct as it eventually faded into silence. The girl began to stagger as she approached the other end. Her body could no longer take it anymore. It wasn't long before everything went black.

"... oney... Honey. It's Mommy." The girl opened her eyes slowly. She was met with a predominantly white blur, with pinkish blobs on either side. "She's waking up, she's waking up!" The right, female blob exclaimed. "Alright, give her some time. Can you hear us?" A male voice called out from the left blob. The girl nodded. "Can you tell us your name?" The girl opened her mouth ever so slightly before responding, "... A-angela."

As Angela regained more clarity, she realized that she was sitting on the front lawn of the house just closest to the intersection that she had just attempted to cross. Her mom was there, as was a paramedic. Some people crowded around, but now that she was conscious, many dispersed.

"Oh thank goodness dear, I was just on my way home when I got the call that you fell unconscious." Angela looked at her mother rather puzzled, "How did the paramedics know your number?"

"Actually," the paramedic interjected, "it wasn't us, it was the man that called 911 - he told us when we got here that he called your mother using your phone." Angela was even more puzzled, "Some passerby, he said he got you just in time before you fell. You're really lucky you know, this is a busy intersection for cars, but not for pedestrians. Who knows what would have happened." It then hit Angela - surely it must have been the man, there was no one else nearby them that was walking. "Where is he? What did he look like?" Angela looked around, there weren't too many people around them now, yet none of them was the man.

"Oh I think he left already. Kind of tall guy, dark hair? Probably just a good Samaritan. You were out for quite a bit and he stayed until we got here. Oh, but here's your phone though. Looks like it has a crack from maybe when you fell, but the guy told me it still worked, sorry about that." The paramedic then handed Angela her phone.

<>

Holding it in her hand, Angela ran her thumb across the cracks in the screen. 'He really didn't bother to stay did he?'

"Everything okay sweetie?" Angela's mother asked, rather concerned. Angela nodded, but felt a deep sadness swelling up inside her. It was hard to keep it in, but she did her best. "That man really was selfless. I wish he was still here so I could thank him." Angela nodded again. It was getting harder to hold it in.

Turning the screen on her phone, the screen was illuminated with the soft blue of her screen background. Her handed shook a little. Flipping to her recently called numbers, Angela hoped to find some sliver of hope - all that was listed was 911 and her mother's phone. Angela sighed dejectedly. Upon returning to her homescreen however, Angela was met with something unusual.

Instead of the usual digital clock that appeared, it was a giant box of text, shaped like a sticky note. It was one of her apps. On it, were but a few words:

Couldn't even make it across the street? Airhead. Be safe. Bye.

- Harley (don't ever give out names to older strangers)

Angela stared at the words, her hand shaking more than ever. She couldn't contain it anymore. First it was one drop, and then two, and then the rest. Angela burst out crying.

"What's wrong sweetie? What's wrong?" Angela's mother jumped to her aid, but the teenager merely shook her head repeatedly. Her mother then wrapped her arms around her daughter, and Angela buried her face into her mother's embrace.

END

Note: Made some changes to all the parts in the form of a few details, especially part 1.