Homesick for a Home

How it started

As I stepped onto my street after school, I took a deep breath, expecting to breathe in the fresh air, but all I smelt was...smoke? My eyes shot open immediately, looking for the source of the smell. I suppose it could have been a cookout, if those weren't banned in my neighborhood. Something flickering orange caught my eye, and I soon realized it was a fire. Wait- A FIRE!? I ran to the red-orange light stopping as my eyes widened in horror. No... why was our house... why was our house on fire!? After standing still in shock for a few moments, something horrible came to my realization. My parents. MY PARENTS ARE IN THERE!  THEY STAYED HOME SICK TODAY! THEIR PROBABLY ASLEEP RIGHT NOW! NO! NO NO NO!!! I ran towards the house. "MOM! DAD! NO NO NO!!!  MOM!!!" People started coming out of their house, partly because of the fire, partly because of me, and started calling 911. As I started to run into the house, a hand on my shoulder stopped me. I looked back to see my brother, Yamaki, staring at the fire, tears running down his eyes. "It... it's too late Ami... im sorry..." I was shocked. he was just giving up like that!? Deep down I knew the truth, but I couldn't admit it. I turned back to the house. "MOM"

I sat straight up from my slumber, and at first I thought it was just a dream- or no, a nightmare fits it more, but when I looked around to see the alley I was laying in, and my brother staring at me, I realized it was all real. And that I yelled that last part out loud.

"Hey Ami.." my brother gave me a slight smile. How could he smile at a time like this? I knew though that he was just trying to make me feel better.
"Good morning Maki" i replied. We've been sleeping in this alley for a week now. He was cooking spinach in a battery powered stove we salvaged from our house. Or, what was our house, the fire pretty much burnt it to the ground by the time the firemen got to it. My parents in it...

Luckily, theres a community garden we can get food from, as long as we eat responsibly. We live, or, well, lived pretty far away from the city, so nobody in my school has figured it out. And I plan to let it stay that way. If somebody finds out, I could be put in foster care, and I can't lose my brother too! I'd also be taken out of AIG- which can't happen if I want to go to college. Alright, I know it's a little early to be thinking about that, seeing how im only in 7th grade, but with... with my parents gone... I have nobody to pay for it.

Im truly lucky that nobody in my neighborhood goes to my school. And that my brother lied to firemen, saying that he has an apartment, and that since he's 18, I could live with him. That's a lie, he's doesn't have a apartment, and he's turning 18 in four months.

"Ami? You're spacing out" Yamaki said, worried "you're gonna be late to school!"  Huh? I looked at his phone, and saw the time was 6:12. I had to get to the bus stop in 10 minutes! "SH-!" "LANGUAGE!" Maki stepped interrupted. Usually, I would reply with  a sarcastic remark, like 'English', and roll my eyes, but there wasn't even enough time. Plus, I don't feel like trying to be funny or anything, after the fire and all.

I haven't taken a shower since the fire, and all my clothes burned in the house- along with our money, so we couldn't buy more. At times like, I was really glad we had a uniform. I ran out of the alley, without so much as a goodbye.