Shadow Kids

Chapter 3- Teyo

Chapter 3

Jack struggled to carry the last bag of decorations up the stairs. She and Roxy planned to start decorating the second floor, seeing as Halloween was just one week away. A few of the older kids had agreed to help decorate while the others would be downstairs keeping the little kids occupied; stopping them from going to the second floor and ruining the surprise. There weren't many kids there right then since it was the middle of the day on a Saturday. In a few hours though, about 100 more kids would be there. 

Jack had told her parents that she was sleeping over "Jane's" house again. "Jane" was one of the ways that Jack could get to the Corner Store without having to sneak out in the middle of the night. Her parents just thought that "Jane" was a friend from school that Jack went over to study with some weekends. It was a perfect excuse. Jack got out of the house and her parents thought that she actually studied. She would just tell them that she was hanging out with Roxy but she knew just by her name her parents wouldn't approve. 

By the time Jack finally made it to the second floor the others were already there. Roxy looked up and smirked at a winded Jack. "Took you long enough." 

Jack narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to respond, but Roxy interrupted her. "Kids Jack." She snapped her mouth shut. 

"They're going to hear it at some point." She muttered. "Let's just start." 

A few minutes later a knock came at the door of the room that Jack and a few other kids were decorating. One of the older kids who usually stayed at the Cornerstore all day poked their head in. 

"Hey Jack, do you know if we have anymore Advil?" Jack jumped off of the ladder she was standing on and went to the door. 

"It's in the tall cupboard in the kitchen." 

"I checked there." 

"Then we probably don't have any. Roxy!" Jack yelled. Roxy came in from the hallway. 

"What's up?" 

"We are out of Advil." 

"We are also low on peanut butter and crayons." The older kid added. 

"Crayons? We just bought those a month ago!" He just shrugged. 

"Stupid kids and their strange addiction to coloring." Jack mumbled. Roxy smacked her shoulder. 

"Don't say that." 

"You know I don't mean it." 

"We can probably go out to get stuff today." 

"Well you know what that means." Jack smirked and raised her voice into a high falsetto. "We get to go see lover-boy!" 

"Jack shut up." Roxy blushed. "You know that I don't like him like that. And he definitely doesn't like me." 

"Yes. And I don't like post-hardcore and screamo." Jack said rolling her eyes. "You two have obviously liked each other from the first day we met." 

Jack and Roxy both smiled at the thought of the day they met Teyo. He had helped them get out of a tight spot and had continued helping them since. He and Roxy had also become close friends. 

They had met Teyo about four years ago. More and More kids were seeking refuge at the Cornerstore and Jack's parents were getting suspicious about the amount of money Jack was using out of her savings accounts. 

"Jack we shouldn't do this." The 14 year old Roxy had said. 

"We have to Roxy." Jack said as she continued pulling Roxy down the quiet street. "We can't let all of those kids down."