Bag Boy

Chapter 1

Hello, my name is Louis Bonheur and this is how my whole life changed after somebody actually noticed me. Also, just so you know my name is pronounced Loo-EE, not Loo-ISS for you Americans.

I am a 14 year old boy and I was born April 8th 2001 and moved to London from Paris at the age of 3. My mother was an only mother because my dad left her before I was even born. She moved to London, so she could leave the bad memories back in Paris and start a new life. On July 7th, 2005 my mother died to one of the 4 explosions set by suicide bombers, this happened around a year after we moved to London. I don't really remember what happened because I was 4 years old. I know that there was a big scuffle of who was going to take care of me. Some people tried to find my dad, but it turns out he died from drug overdose in 2002. I didn't have any family members to go to, so I was sent to the local orphanage called Brenton Orphanage. My years at the orphanage were hell.

Every child was forced to wear a burlap bag over their head for a reason I don't know of. It was tailored to your head size; 3 holes were cut out of that bag, 2 for the eyes and 1 for the mouth. Around 4 years after I arrived there was a big fire at Brenton. It destroyed most of the building. The people who owned the orphanage did not have enough money to rebuild it, so I was deemed to the streets. 

Surprisingly, my life on the streets was actually better than my orphanage life. The only problem is that I could not get that damn burlap sack off my head because at the base of the bag around my neck is a little lock to make sure I don't take it off my head. All the bag keys were burnt in the orphanage fire, so I had no way of getting it off. I had tried to cut it off, but that orphanage had some super burlap or something because the only way I could get that off was that key.

I had that bag on my head for my whole street life. Now enough about my sad past and now on to the best turning point I could have asked for!

The day started out like any other day on the street. Me sitting down on my sad sleeping bag with my best friends, the old wooden fruit crates and Moldy sandwich. About 3 times a week I have to scour for food for me to eat. Sadly that day was not one of those days. Those days are actually fun because I get to run away laughing from the sellers with my nice fresh food while they threaten to beat me with their cricket bats. The only problem is that with my bagged head the sellers recognize me very easily. I have find food farther and farther away from my alleyway every month I feel like.

As I was saying before I started rambling, the day was boring. Sometimes I walk out of my alley to look around London, but that usually does not last that long because people tend to stare at me. I mean who wouldn't. A 14 year old homeless boy walking around with a bag on his head and tattered clothes is not something you would normally see. 

I was sitting on my sleeping bag trying to think of what I could do to entertain myself (it is hard to find entertaining things to do when you have nothing) when I hear a soft voice "Hello?". I turn my head to the sound. I see a beautiful women with a bright blue dress and golden brown hair adorned with a forest green beret standing in the door of my alleyway. I am staring at her trying to figure if she is real or if my mind is playing tricks on me.

 "Hello? What's your name?" She asks.

"Oh, hi. My name is Louis Bonheur."  I respond tentatively. 

"Are you lost or do you not have a home?"

"Uh, I don't have a home. I used to be at Brenton Orphanage before it burnt down. I have been living here ever since"

I don't know why, but I just told this random women everything. I just felt like I should trust her.

"Oh you poor thing! Come with me and I will give you a home for you to sleep in while I look for a new home for you." She responded. "Oh, and my name is Victoria Coldwell and if you want to come with me I can introduce you to my son, Finn!"

You know it might seem strange for someone random to walk up and ask if you want to sleep in their home, but how this women asked made it seem like she really cared about me. I'm homeless, so a place for me to sleep that is not the dirty floor of an alleyway is the best gift somebody could give me.

I nod softly. 

"Do you have anything that you want to bring?" she ask me kindly.

"I don't really own anything apart from my sleeping bag"

"Ok. Well, come along then dear!"

I follow Victoria out of my alleyway. Then I pause and I look at the alley. I realize that this might be the last time I ever see this place. My home was not the best, but it still was the space where I had slept and ate.

Victoria looks back at me and sees the sadness in my eyes. She waits until I have made my decision of leaving or not. I look back at her and give her a small nod to signify that I am ready to leave my little hole. 

She leads me to her small car. I have not been in a car since I left the orphanage, so I was a little scared. After I got over my fears, the ride was actually quite enjoyable even if it was only about 10 minutes. I looked around my city in awe. I saw some of the small businesses I had stolen from in the past and a small smirk appeared on my face. Victoria also asked some questions about my life while she was driving.

"How long have been living on the streets?" She asks.

"Oh, since I was eight. My mum died in the attack of July 7th, 2005. After that I was sent to Brenton."

"I remember those attacks. They were awful. Thankfully I was not effected, but I did have some friends who were."

After that talk the car ride suddenly got a lot quieter. I had a feeling that Victoria was going to become a mother figure to me and I was surprisingly fine with that. 

After a couple of minutes we stopped in front of an average London house. It looked like all the others, but it had more a homey feel to it. I don't know why, it might have been the plants in front.

"Well here we are! Just so you know, my son Finn, might be a little rude to you. He does not like new people around. I have a feeling you will grow on him though." Victoria says.

We walk up to the house and Victoria knocks on the door. I hear some shuffling from inside and someone saying "Who is it?".

"It's me dear!" Victoria responds.

The door opens and in place is a boy my age, who must be Finn. Finn flicked his piercing dark grey eyes at me.

"Who the hell are you, Bag Boy?"

Author note: Well that is the end of chapter 1. I hope you guys liked it! My goal is to write at least 1000 words per chapter. Constructive Criticism is also something you guys can suggest, I would appreciate it. I want to make my stories the best! Also I thought of the idea of this story about a year and a half ago. Took me awhile to execute the idea though... All I can say is the story has changed a lot from the original! I am trying to try to write chapter 2 at the best of my ability. G'Bye!

-Marc