F I N

50. FIN

*Unedited*

She was walking back to the school when someone accidentally bumped into her. It was a male. He apologized with his head down before trying to walk away. The keyword being 'trying'.

If Josephine wasn't as diligent as she was, she wouldn't have felt him swiftly reach into her pocket and pull out her wallet.

Just as he was about to leave, she stuck her foot out, tripping him.

"Interesting," Fin commented as she looked down at him. He was wearing a red sweater and black joggers.

"Hey!" He shouted at her and pushed himself up from the ground.

Josephine held her hand out, but he slapped it away and stood up.

"I don't need your help," He growled as he dusted himself off.

She shook her head. "I wasn't helping you. Can I get my stuff back, please," She asked.

The male cleared his throat. "I don't know what you are talking about," He said, not looking her in the eyes. It was a clear indication that he was lying.

"Sure," Fin trailed sarcastically. "I believe you."

He sighed, defeated. He knew that he was caught red-handed and there was no escape. It was too crowded to run.

He groaned as he took out her wallet from the bag he had over his shoulder. He handed it to her and looked down in shame.

"Why?" Fin questioned curiously. She eyed the stickers on his bag. It looked like a child stuck them there. 

"I need the money," He stated in a tone that said, 'Duh.'

"Obviously," She said blandly. "I mean why steal instead of working and what about your parents? You look like you should be in school."

He scoffed. "Me? What about you? Why aren't you in school right now?" He asked in disbelief at her question.

"I was going back to school when someone decided it was a good idea to try to steal from me," She explained, stressing the word 'someone'.

"I know it is none of my business but I want to know, maybe I can help you," She tried to convince him. 

"My name is Josephine but some people call me Fin, by the way." She introduced herself.

His eyes widened in shock. "Fin? As in the Fin Rosio?" He asked exaggeratedly.

She nodded in confirmation.

"You're a girl," He stated slowly, still processing the information.

"Last time I checked, yes," She rolled her eyes.

Just like almost everyone else, he was a huge fan of Fin Rosio and to actually meet Fin was unbelievably amazing.

"I just stole from Fin Rosio," He mumbled to himself, still in shock. He stood there, frozen.

Josephine lead him to a bench to sit down.

He kept muttering to himself and held his face in his hands.

Josephine stood next to him, rocking on her feet awkwardly. 

"Can we get back to the conversation, please?" She asked politely. "I need to get back to school soon."

He looked up at her and nodded slightly.

Fin smiled. "Now, tell me why have you resorted to stealing?"

He sighed sadly. "My mother passed away almost six years ago, giving birth to my little brother," He started. His voice cracked a little at the end of his sentence.

He continued, "After she... passed," He choked out, "My father drowned himself in his sorrows and became abusive towards me because I wouldn't let him hit my brother. I had to drop out of high school to take care of him and to protect him, so I didn't have any certificates to prove that I graduated. That's why I couldn't get a job. Who would hire a dropout? Even if I had no choice. We needed money to survive, so I had to steal to provide."

Josephine felt empathy towards him and his brother.

"I understand," She said as she sat beside him. "I had to provide for myself when I was younger because my mother was abusive towards me too. I managed to leave her and build myself up with the help of my friends," She explained.

"Would you like an honest way of making money?" She asked, turning to face him.

His face held an expression of hope as he said yes.

She smiled and opened her wallet. She pulled out a few hundred dollars and a card. She gave it to him.

He tried to refuse but she insisted that he took it.

"Call that number on the card to get a job to make a pretty decent amount of money. Also, what do you think about going back to school?" She asked.

"I would love to, but I am nineteen years old. What school would take me?" He told her sadly.

"Trust me," Josephine spoke, patting his shoulder reassuringly. "Also, your father won't be a problem anymore."

"One more thing," She said, "What's your name?" She giggled. They had a whole conversation and she still doesn't know his name.

"Leviathan Augustine at your service," He bowed, jokingly. 

She smiled. "Okay, I need to leave now. Call the number in half an hour," She instructed.

As she left Leviathan, she texted one of her managers and told her to ensure that Leviathan Augustine got a job, ensure that his father is taken to prison immediately and to contact her school about him joining soon.

Within a few minutes, her manager, Stephanie replied, informing her that all will be taken care of.

After that, Josephine continued her walk back to the school, knowing that she was going to be bombarded with questions from Thorne about her departure.