dear alice.

VI. CHANGED

Alice and Castor were very much alike. They were both outcasts, thrown away because of what was thought to be true rather than what actually was. Nobody stopped to ask. Sometimes simply acknowledging the truth can change a person.

Society always put Alice into a mood. It made her think about the misconceptions people have and how unwilling most are to change that. That girl is dumb because she's blonde. That boy is a teacher's pet because he does well in school. That girl is smart because she's Asian. That Castor Phillips is bad because he's black.

From a young age Castor was defined by his skin colour, so much so he began to believe what was said. He began to accept the remarks on TV. He skipped school, even smoked. Castor rejected his parent's help and grades therefore fell. He hung out with terrible people who did terrible things. Castor Phillips started down a path to do what his colour was 'known' for.

And it's not that he wanted to do this. No, if he had it his own way they wouldn't be doing this at all. It was stupid. So stupid.

"Castor! Hand over the cutters," Benjie hissed. It was stupid. So stupid. Castor obliged, passing the hedge trimmers into Benjie's hand.

"Stupid," Castor muttered under breath.

"What was that Phillips?" Benjie growled, letting the chain clatter to the floor.

"Nothing Hallows. Lets get this over with," he bit pushing past Steggs and entering the gate with about as much caution as Benjie had when cutting the chain.

Benjamin Hallows has been planning this since the day he was born. It was a known fact throughout all of Southford that the Dundeen's held more cash then they needed and this knowledge with a bunch of teens short for cash was bound to bring trouble. Rumours supposedly say that the abandoned car yard, that was due to be knocked down, had a stash of money. Fletcher Dundeen even said it himself although he was always one to lead people on.

"Yeah, my Grand-pappy hid it back in the 80s. His house was getting robbed so he decided to hide his millions somewhere else. He never told me where but the most logical place would be the car yard, nobodies been in it for years. I'd watch out for the guard dog, though. Fifi's a bitch."

Those simple words brought the three boys here tonight. Black jeans, jacket and beanie, if anyone had passed them that night it was clear something was going on. Something suspicious. It wasn't unusual for these boys to cause havoc. One time in the eighth grade they stole spray paint from the CAPA rooms and decorated the school in bright yellow (although Steggs thought of the great idea of tagging his name on the side of the building and you can guess what happened next). So three boys, a dark night and a false promise brought them here tonight and it's those things that would ultimately mean the end of a habit.

They made their way into the car yard, blinking flashlights on and staring at what lay ahead. Old rusted cars and a collapsed building seemed like something out of a zombie novel with cracked concrete spurting new life. Mother nature had taken over man's work.

"Okay if we split up we'll cover more ground," Benjamin spoke.

"What about Fifi?" Steggs swallowed.

"The dog?"

"Yeah..."

"It's a dog Marcel throw it a goddamned bone," Castor grinned at the scared boy. Marcel Steggalo or 'Steggs' really didn't cut it when it came to the little gang Benjie formed. He was scared of dogs, the dark, loud noises and anything that involved danger. All things that he somehow got dragged into. He could drive, though. Bad boys needed a get away car.

"But-"

"Shut up Steggs. What's a little puppy dog gonna do to you? Gnaw your leg off? Yeah, bullshit. Dundeen is a lying piece of shit anyway he was probably trying to scare us," Benjie took one look at the boy and turned to walk away. "I'm going this way, nobody better follow."