Miracle

Chapter 1: Rain

“What’s your name?” the police officer repeated with an irritated look on his face. He was middle aged and not getting paid enough. Typical unhappy human. I nonchalantly dangled from the fence and ignored him.

“Look kid, I need your name and address so I can report you for trespassing on private property.” He said crossing his arms over his potbelly. I could smell his greasy breakfast even from a yard away.

“Stinks,” I mumbled and he leaned in.

“Huh?”

“Your breath stinks!” I shouted and jumped off the fence, running towards the main road.

“Come back here you little punk!” he shouted, struggling to climb the iron fence.

You’re way past your prime, I laughed under my breath, which happened to smell like peppermint from my constant stash that I had in my checkered backpack. I stopped for a moment to grab another from inside the ratty old backpack.

When I reached the intersection I ran straight across it without pausing. I heard a screech of tires. “Dude, what’s your problem!” a guy shouted from his motorcycle. Rich tourist, I thought, looking at the sparkling new ride.

“Not a dude!” I shouted back and kept running. I pulled my hoodie down and lowered my eyes when I passed a group of police officers conversing at the street corner. There was much more of them than last week. Not that it lowered the crime rate at all. This was a poor urban neighborhood; no one expected anything else besides crime from them. Us, I reminded myself, I had to act like I belonged which meant I had to think it too.

I adjusted my mask and strolled into a grey building that declared itself as John Hopkins Home for Wards. Ever since I became an orphan I had kept a mask on, my first mask was sparkly pink, my second: green, my third, and current mask was ebony black and now worn at the edges.

“Miracle!” the receptionist said loudly and started stomping towards me. I winced at my full name.

“Hey Miss Clair,” I said weakly and she growled in response. She drew her petite frame rigidly straight and stabbed a finger at me.

“You were out all last night and didn’t even tell us when you’d be back!” she reached out a hand to my cheek.

“What’s this?” she frowned, poking at a cut on my cheek. Her warm fingers lingered on the edges of my mask.

“Ow,” I drew back and turned my wound away from her “just from a tree branch.” I replied.

“So?” she tilted her head at me, expectantly.

“What?” I said innocently.

“Where were you last night!” she bellowed and I marveled at the large sound that such a small woman could produce.

“It was a full moon,” I said, crossing the room to look at the files on her desk “nice night for star gazing.”

“Star gazing!” she exclaimed, peering out the window at the smog muddled sky.

“Yep, then I drifted off into the merry land of dreams,” I picked up a file that said New Ward. “There’s going to be a new kid?” I asked, flipping open the file.

“Yes,” she replied, staring at me like she was trying to figure me out.

“Looks nice,” I remarked, the headshot showed a little blonde boy with bright blue eyes. Looks weak, I thought to myself, he won’t last a week here and probably end up being sent to an orphanage in the countryside.

Swyncrest was a dangerous city, formerly known as the City of Angels. Ha! This was where all the criminals were dumped when they committed crimes in the greater colonized space. Earth used to flourish as a center of life and culture, now it was a dumping ground for more advanced planets such as Kuiper and Cygnus.

The ancient computer beeped and Clair rushed over to see the message. I started to walk towards the stairs that went up to the bedrooms “Wait,” she gasped, clutching her hands to her chest.

“What?” I came over to look at her screen.

“You’re being adopted,” she said with an awed look on her face.

“What?” I repeated but in an angry tone. I was seventeen! I had stopped longing for parents many years ago, and I only had one year to go till I was free.

“You and Rain,”

“Rain?” I echoed bewildered, “Why would anyone want Rain?”

“The question is… who would ever want you?” a male voice said behind me and I rolled my eyes.

“Oh shut up Rain, you know I’m the prettier one,”

“I’m the prettier one,” imitated Rain in a high voice.

“Children!” Clair shouted over us and we shut up. “You’re both perfectly attractive,” she stated, glancing at both of us “However, both of you have rotten personalities,” she grinned, jokingly. “Oh, and Rain?” He glanced over to her just as she swung a right hook into his chin. “You came in late again.”

“You didn’t punch Mer!” Rain complained rubbing his jaw. Clair patted my head. A gesture that would look ridiculous to the random passerby since I was a full head taller than her.

“She had a better reason,”

“What about my reason?”

Clair looked at his rumpled clothes and sniffed his open collared shirt. “Fusia, latest product from Praka, a womans perfume.” She gave him a pointed stare “Either last night you turned gay or you were with another woman.”

He laughed care freely, “You know they can’t resist me.” Unfortunately, it was true, he had the golden boy look, with luscious gold hair that curled at his neck and a face that would put Apollo to shame. He was taller than me at 6 foot and had a lean mean body to go with his gorgeous face, not that I would ever admit it to his face.

“I’m going to go pack!” I declared and marched up the stairs, determined to make my new parents’ lives a living hell.