"Ray! What're you doing? It's time for lunch--"
Ray turned to her and smiled right as she froze. "Hey, Gus! I was talking with Eddie."
Behind him stood a young boy in dirty clothes. His blue eyes narrowed as he stared up at her through knotted strands of hair bleached blond by the sun. She guessed he could be anywhere from 10 to 12 years old to Ray's 11 years. It was hard to tell with as scrawny as he was.
"Can he come in?" Ray asked.
Augustine didn't want to say no, but their mother had warned her not to be stupid. She said that kids out here could be dangerous, likely hanging out with older people who used them as bait. So of course Ray would be the one to find him.
"Uhm, well…" The boy looked like he needed some care. He seemed much too young to be on the street by himself, so she worried that her mother could be right. Maybe there was someone else lurking around the corner, waiting for them to invite him in and find out where they lived. She glanced around, but things were quiet.
"C'mon, Gus! Let him go in."
The boy's eyes on her so steadily made her feel uncomfortable as she said, "Ray, we can't let him into the house. It's not me; it's Mom's rule. I'll get in trouble if you let someone into the house."
She hated that things were that way. Her dad wouldn't have left this kid on the street to suffer. But now he was gone and it was just them. Her mom needed help, and with Augustine being older, it was her job to watch out for Ray.
The boy watched her as if he wasn't surprised, and he resented her for it. She pressed her lips together while thinking. Their mom had been clear that they had to ration the food they had. Now that they were on one income, their budget was even tighter.
But the boy looked like he was starving. She couldn't just take Ray away from him.
"Oh, I know," she said. "We can't let you in, but I'll bring the food to you two, okay?"
Ray hooted in happiness. "I don't gotta go inside? Sweet!"
The strange boy's eyes rounded ever so slightly, but he still looked wary. Augustine smiled at him. "Eddie, right? Are you alone? Where are your parents?"
He shrugged, clearly not wanting to tell a perfect stranger his business.
She looked around again, but she was beginning to believe that he was on his own. Part of her worried about leaving them alone though Ray had already been out here for an hour before lunch. If anything was going to happen, wouldn't it already have?
"Okay, well, you've gotta be hungry, right? Promise you'll stay and I'll bring you some food too, okay?"
He eyed her without saying anything in agreement.
"I'm gonna take that as a yes. Ray, don't let him get away, okay?"
Ray shrugged. "How'm I gonna stop him?"
"Just do what you always do and talk his ear off." She bolted off to their apartment to grab the sandwiches she'd left on the counter. When she got back, Ray was telling Eddie all about everything.
"Yeah, she's my sister. I guess she's my half sister? Our dads are different, but Dad said it didn't matter and he didn't want to hear me call her that. He'd have adopted her if he had the money, but money was always tight. And then he disappeared. I don't know."
The two of them were sitting on the curb in front of the building. It was a poorer area, so not a lot of cars passed through. Augustine handed them each a sandwich in a paper napkin with the carefully portioned out food for the day. Eddie looked at her with clear surprise. She wasn't sure if he'd expected her to honestly come back or maybe he was shocked at the amount of food she gave him.
As they both bit into the sandwiches, Ray asked her, "Hey, where's yours?"
She glanced at Ed who watched her as he slowly chewed. "I already ate. It's fine."
Neither boy seemed worried about her fib. The both of them dug into their sandwiches, and she wished that she had more to give to their scrawny new friend. He looked so hungry, but after finishing the sandwich, there seemed to be a softening to him. He didn't eye her as if she were a danger anymore. Meanwhile, Ray had barely stopped talking while they ate.
"Yeah, our dad disappeared and our mom couldn't afford to stay where we were at. So now we're here. But we don't know anything about it. Mom says it's dangerous. Is that true?" He paused for a breath, and Eddie looked like he might answer, but then Ray carried on. "We're supposed to do the shopping every week. Gus has to stick to the budget. Is there a good way to get to the grocery store from here?"
Ray paused again, and Augustine laughed at him. "Ray, let the boy talk! Is this how you two have been hanging out this afternoon?"
Ray shrugged. "What? I'm the entertainment. He didn't feel like talking."
Eddie eyed her, the napkin in his hand. He looked like he wanted to ask a question, but he was clearly hesitant.
"Eddie? Did you want to ask something?" She tried to encourage him.
He wiped his mouth with the napkin, glancing at the ground before he looked back at her. "Why do you have a boy's name?"
Ray started roaring at that, falling backwards on the ground. Eddie glared at him. "What? She's a girl!"
Augustine chuckled at that. "Well, my full name is sort of long, and no one wants to use it unless I'm in trouble. Dad was the one who started calling me Gus. Mom calls me Tina, but that never stuck with anyone but her."
Ray sat back up. "Be honest-- does she look like a Tina?"
Eddie glanced from Ray to her then shook his head. "What's your real name?"
"Augustine. I prefer Gus though, so feel free. We'll see you around again, won't we?"
He shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe."
"Well, we'll be back tomorrow and we'll eat outside again. Same time. So if you're hungry, come see us again, okay?"
"'Kay."
Next Chapter: The Opening reworked
