𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙤𝙣 【discontinued】

Chapter 1: Shoplifting

Run! Clara Woods told herself. If you get caught it's game over. No one money, no home. Just jail. You'll be dead. Clara ran down Isle 5 of Groceries and Stuff. Behind her came screams of anger and the sounds of stomping feet.

*Earlier That Morning*

Clara sat up. She heard a crack as pain shot up through her back. She quickly lied back down and felt her back crack again. The floor was hard. No amount of blankets could change that.

Clara was poor. It started when she was about ten. Her parents abandoned her with no money, no place to stay, no life. She finally worked up enough money to buy a very small house for herself. She lived in that small house. She went to the store and bought food. How she got the money? She wrote books. She sold them at the library for fifteen dollars each.

She used to make really good money with them but recently she had gone on a losing streak. Each of her newest books would not sell and she couldn't figure out why. But because of it she was at an all time low for money. Maybe people just didn't have an interest for books written by sixteen-year-olds anymore...

Clara stood up from her pile of blankets and walked past the mirror. She tried to avoid it but couldn't help gazing into it quickly and seeing the same girl she always saw.

She saw that the little girl who's parents had left her was gone. In her place she saw a hardened girl. Hard like stone. She saw that girl in the blue sweatshirt and black pants that she'd gotten on sale that was the only outfit she owned that fit her, and the sleeves on the shirt were still too big. She saw that girl with the dark brown hair and the neon purple streak that she'd gotten when she was ten. It was permanent. But most importantly she saw a girl without friends, family, or anyone who cared about her.

Clara grabbed her wallet, which was very light, and ran out the door. She sprinted down the sidewalk to the nearest store: Groceries and Stuff. She walked in through the door and walked calmly down to the isle of food. Her stomach grumbled at the thought of it. So much food, but why did it have to be so expensive???

She grabbed down a few Lunchables and a handful of cans of soda. She threw them into the cart and walked slowly to the check-out. She hoped she had enough to pay for the food.

"That'll be eighteen dollars." The grumpy person at the checkout said, the annoyed look on her face said she probably didn't care.

"Yeah yeah yeah." Clara reached into her pocket and pulled out her wallet. She opened it and pulled out five dollar bill. She frowned and reached back in. "This is all I have." She sighed.

"Nope." The lady started to pull some of the food out of the cart and put it behind the counter. As she did this Clara snuck a two Lunchables and three cans of soda into her large pocket. She started to run.

Run! Clara Woods told herself. If you get caught it's game over. No one money, no home. Just jail. You'll be dead. Clara ran down Isle 5. Behind her came screams of anger and the sounds of stomping feet.

Clara dodged a wall and a cart full of clothes before sprinting out the back door. She made sure to close it quietly so no one would suspect she came through there. She snuck around the back of the building before opening her can of soda and strolling down the road back to her house. She smiled.

"Life might be bad but at least I got this." She sipped as she entered the door of her house but then frowned again as she looked at the calendar hanging on the back of her door.

Oh yeah. School starts tomorrow. What am I going to do?

Clara had escaped everything, police, owners of stores, foster homes, but now she met her match. School.

A/N: I got this idea for a book in my head when my friend alywrittingbooks was helping me make a music video about three girls who were alone in the world and needed Someone To Lean On. (You can probably guess what the video was called ;D) We had a lot of fun with it and we made my little sister be in it. No, Ashley, Amber, and Clara aren't our real names. I played Clara in the video and Clara was just the first thing I could think of. :)

Anyways I helped her make the video but I wrote down the idea for a book. I really like the idea and decided to write it here on Wattpad. :D I don't have the plot line completely figured out yet but I have an idea of what it will be. I hope you like it. :)

I hope you like the cover. I just searched Lean On on google images and I found a photo I liked. I don't own it. But everything else: characters, plotline, other stuff, is mine :D

I hope you like the story, thanks to aly, and enjoy!

~BentOvrBckwrds1