The Real Me

Chapter 1

I woke up to a familiar screeching noise: a police siren. I sighed at the thought of what it could be. Another murder, a kidnapping, a robbery. Honestly the possibilities are endless where I live.

I looked around my room. It had plain cream walls with chipping paint, creaky hardwood floors, and the only furniture was a bed and a dresser. Money was tight.

My gaze finally made its way over to my alarm clock to see that it was 7:55, five minutes until it went off. This prompted a sigh. I had to start school at 9:00 and it took fifteen minutes to get there, so I had to get up now if I wanted to be ready on time. I shut my alarm off and practically rolled out of bed awaiting the day to come. It was even worse that it was a Monday and the first day of senior year.

I took a quick shower and put on some clothes. I wore an oversized grey sweatshirt, black leggings, and a pair of beaten-up, old grey converse. I left my long, brunette hair down and left my face natural (it's way too expensive to own makeup and we can't risk unnecessary purchases). Instead I just washed my face with cold water to look more awake and refreshed. I left my room and went down the short hallway.

"Dustin!" I called knocking on the door to the room next to, and identical to, mine.

Me and my little brother live in a small apartment in a very unsafe area, that was, for lack of a better word, sketchy af. Ever since our parents had died two years ago in a car accident, we had been on our own. I was 15 at the time and he was 8 so we weren't supposed to be living in our own. We scraped by with whatever we had just so we wouldn't be put into others' care and possibly separated. Losing Dustin would be the worst thing imaginable. He's all I have left. Even now, two years later, while he is 10 and I'm 17, I still take care of him and love him more than anything.

A sleepy boy came out of the room yawning, with disheveled hair and droopy eyes.

"Come on sleeping beauty, get ready for school. Fifth grade, wooh!" I said with mock enthusiasm and a laugh.

He replied with a sleepy smile and walked into the bathroom to get ready without complaint.

We had a mutual respect for each other, so he obeyed me and I took care of him. It made everything work easier.

I walked into the kitchen and looked for something to eat.

The kitchen was a small space with two connected rows of cabinets; a small fridge; a microwave oven(no full oven); and a connected dining room with a small, four-person table.

All I found foodwise was a can of soup, an apple, and half a sleeve of crackers. I sighed and made a mental note to myself to remember to go shopping.

Since we have limited resources, we only buy what we need and use it sparingly.

Dustin walked out of his room and into the kitchen. He had changed into a cuffed pair of jeans and a simple red t-shirt with some dirty red converse. I threw him the apple, keeping to myself that I wouldn't be having breakfast. If I told him, he would get upset about me 'forfeiting my supplies to him'(his words, not mine) and I would get a lecture from a 10 year old boy about my own personal health. All I really cared about was his health, though.

I walked back in my room and to my dresser. In the very bottom, I kept a small safe with all of our money in it. I opened it up and looked inside.

"Shit," I exclaimed under my breath when I saw what was inside.

We were down to five dollars. I took out the crisp bill and placed it in my sock alongside the pocket knife that I always had on me for security reasons. I made a second mental note: go to work.

"Come on, kiddo," I called to him as I walked to the door. "We're gonna be late."

I grabbed both of our bags from by the door. He followed me out and I locked the door.