𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗘𝗗𝗘𝗡 - 𝘁𝘄𝗱

𝟬𝟬𝟮: 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗢𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗨𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗧

AEI: in case you hadn't noticed, tiger is a very sweary child!! and, whilst some of that is just her natural hostility, there is a reason for it and i promise it gets explained!!! it does not go away though. tiger is outrageously behaved for eternity. she does not develop manners, despite endless attempts to instil them in her. the alexandrians are not ready. neither is shane.

Sitting on the floor of a very dirty RV; with a box of dry cereal in front of her and Boots lying across her lap, Tiger has already made a pretty lengthy mental list of all the new people she does and doesn't like.

The 'dislike' list is the longest. She's filled it with Asshole Redneck at the very top, then Cowboy Rick, then Cowboy Rick's weird friend who looks like he's in the army. In her head, she's calling him G.I. Shane, like G.I. Joe, but even she's smart enough to know not to say that to his face.

Then there's Cowboy Rick's son Carl, the one with the stupid name. Tiger doesn't like him because he's a boy, but also because he whispered to his mom that she looked 'creepy', and then he tried to pet Boots. Currently, he's sitting on the other side of the RV, and she's glaring at the back of his seat.

She doesn't like the guy with the bandaged arm either, or the blonde lady with the frown, or the guy who was sitting on top of the RV. Or the guy with the baseball cap, even if she does like that he looks scared of her. It's not that they've actually done anything wrong. They're just there and they're looking at her funny.

The only people Tiger doesn't mind are Cowboy Rick's wife, who is called something beginning with an 'L', and the sad lady with the missing daughter. Tiger likes her best, actually.

She looks kinda like her old teacher. Not the one who used to shout at her and smacked the back of her wrist with a ruler – her dad made a real big fuss about that – but the patient one who didn't get mad when Tiger didn't wanna read at story time. Miss Lisa.

This lady's called Carol, and she doesn't like Tiger one bit. She can see it in her eyes. That's the bit Tiger likes the most, actually. This lady isn't gonna try and be her friend and trick her. Anyway, she doesn't even properly hate her. She just doesn't like her 'cause she isn't her daughter, and that's fine by Tiger, because she hates all these people 'cause they aren't Jackie. So.

It works out fine, if you actually think about it.

Shovelling another handful of cereal into her mouth, Tiger flops back onto the floor of the RV and listens to Cowboy Rick and his wife argue outside.

"... you need to ask her questions, Rick. You don't just pick her up and bring her with you."

"Didn't have time for questions. You really wanted me to just leave her out there, by herself? She'd starve, Lori, she–"

Lori. That's her name.

"Don't put words in my mouth. I'm not asking you to leave her to die, I'm asking you to think things through! What, you find a little girl in a forest, she bites the hell out of you and that's all there is to it? No family, nothing? She's been out there for two months by herself? D'you even know how old she is?"

"I already told you what I know, and it's enough. Kid's called Romy, says everyone calls her Tiger, and she had a sister who picked up and ran in the middle of the night. 'S probably dead. She hasn't got no one, Lori, and she's scared. Doesn't wanna admit it, sure as shit isn't gonna get all emotional on us, but she needs lookin' after."

Cowboy Lori – as Tiger has so creatively named her – scoffs, and if Tiger stretches herself out to see into the dark, she can see her shaking her head.