Throwaway People

Addicts

Green Acres, Haverhill Road: 11:34 AM

Little C. had searched the entire lot. He couldn't find a way into the foliage on the lot. He walked all the way down the lot. Coming to Jackson Avenue where he turned to see no entrance in the front of the lot either. Little C. walked past the houses on the other side of the empty lot. He went to the end of Jackson and crossed back over to Haverhill. There he searched the old fence for gaps. C. waited until he saw no cars near and tried to scale the old fence. He stepped into a red ant hill. The ants crawled up his pants legs. They didn't start biting until there were thirty or so ants in his pants.

Little C. then made a mistake of running over to the canal and diving into the stagnant water.

This made the ants bite down more firmly. Little C. did eventually brush away and drown the ants. Not without hundreds of bites on his legs, genitals, and hands. The bites were agitated by the stale water in the canal. They itched from the poison and infection.

As a homeless drug addict Little C. had wandered the streets for a while until some Sheriff Deputy found him laying in a park. Someone had called 911 after Little C. had wandered into a small park on Haverhill. People had thought he was just passed out from alcohol or drugs. After the Sheriff had tried to wake Little C. up his injuries were discovered. The paramedics were called and Little C. was taken to JFK Hospital.

Green Acres, Camp: 5:00 PM

"I wanted a hit of crack so bad today." At the kitchen table Patty had told Jim and Kitty what had happened to at the Lost Tea Shop. "If I had run into a dealer before I took a bus home I would have came back high today."

"If the temptation is so strong, maybe you should just stay here for a couple of days. I'm sure Keyote would enjoy the company." Jim suggested.

"It was just that moment. I'll be okay. Besides the plan is to get Kitty---sorry---Key out into the real world. I can't hide in this place either. I have to be out there earning money, just like you do Jim. Like Key may do eventually."

"If I go and sing with you. Play the guitar at the Lost Tea Shop with you. I can keep an eye on you and keep you out of trouble." Key said between mouthfuls of a canned beef stew.

"Right." Patty smiled at Key. "Well, we'll have to consider how to hide that Latina accent of yours. You sound a little like that Spanish woman who sells furniture on the 'Rooms to Go' commercials."

"I think we can fix that. Your West Virginia accent is no secret, Patty. I think I can help with that by teaching Key to talk in a Southern accent similar to yours." Jim said. "It might take a few days, but Keyote is a quick learner."

"If we are going to do this, I guess it's time I got some hair dye, make-up, and other stuff to cut and style Key's hair. Your hair is beautiful, but someone might recognize it so I'm going to change it up a little."

"You aren't going to make me look goofy are you?" Key asked. "The Guardia sometimes cut hair on us kids, but it ends up looking funky."

"Punky, not funky, kiddo." Patty put on that silly smile again.

"Whatever, just so no one laughs at me." Key concentrated on the beef stew.

"Chances are if they don't laugh at you about your hair, they will laugh at you about something else." Jim said.

"What does that mean?" Key suddenly demanded. "Are you talking about my---"