Stephanie & Xander

Chapter 13

We're fucking short on everything. I don't know. The last few days weren't bad.

When we get out of that orphanage alive and we waited for our wanted signs on TV, we weren't there. From that we kind of think that we can do anything. Like, nothing can be worse than that. We act like normal teenagers, as if we're invincible, as if we're immortals. But we're not.

First, we don't know how to get to Japan. Second, actually even if we don't know, we can just ride a plane but we don't have Visa or Passport or anything we need to obtain those. All we have is Xander's driver's license and it's fucking counterfeit. Third, gasoline is like rust, it's slowly chipping away our budget and now we're totally broke.

We travel for thirty minutes to the city of Angels Los Angeles right after we leave the orphanage. We're in Downtown. Why? Well, we're trying to find some opportunity we wouldn't find in Sacramento. Plus, Sacramento is too small for us now.

We still have lots of things to worry about and our journey is starting to sound impossible. I don't wanna enumerate them all because it's quite scary. We're already depressed as we are. We can always go home but what's the point? If we're going to suffer for the rest of our lives then we might as well give this journey a shot. We just have to fight with our lives and if it failed then at least we tried.

Actually, we have gotten used sleeping outdoors like beggars staring at the not-so-starry sky, singing 'City of Stars' because yeah... we're in La-la-Land.

But, we're not outdoors we don't have money for lodging, we can still live for a week or so but we don't trust this place's people. Most of the garage we saw is busted. And, everyone here seems to have an eye for the quality of the items. We can't just leave our, I mean her bike in the open.

They don't attack randomly even there are guys looking like thugs, wearing bandanas and skateboarding. There are some bigwigs governing the town anyway. They have patrols and there's a time and laws for random fights.

If you get on the bigwigs' bad side, you might as well pay with your eye or your life. That was quite scary. We behave ourselves. We can't just attack anybody because these dogs have owners, and we're just strays. This isn't our turf.

As for me, I'm not entirely weak. Xander's reaction is priceless when she learned that I can fight. We have to rely on our physical strengths. We're allowed to carry forefingers but not anything else with gunpowder. Firearms aren't allowed here, at least not in the open.

But, I can fight better when it's hand-to-had combat. You see, firearms aren't allowed in school but forefingers are easy to hide and easier to take responsibility so I have trained with them.

Usually, people got pissed of me because I run my mouth without actually thinking what could happen and it gets me in trouble all the time. I have no friends, ouch. Other people do so if I hit one of them, they'll call the rest and then it's a one against a whole load of them. I hate that. I hate how they gather in groups just to destroy one helpless bully victim like me. I don't know. Maybe it's cheerleader effect. I broke my arm the first time in elementary and had it cemented for months so I trained. I focused more in speed more than strength and that gave me an advantage because everyone else are so focused in strength.

Anyway, since my first loss, I've never lost yet again, except with Xander. She's totally strong and just as nimble as me. She's a woman so she can't afford bulky body. For some genetic reason, I can't afford that too so our life choices are almost identical. I hate that fact but I guess rivals are rivals.

So, yesterday because we're broke, I joined a street fight. It's underground, like rhetorically and literally. There's a ring so I can't tell if it's really a 'street fight' maybe underground kick boxing is more appropriate. Yup, they allow kicking. I'm hired by a guy named Beast. He's a toned-down version of Superman and he's got tattoos like him but what's the point? He's as hairy as a beast. He also wears some piercings, like a toned-down version of xander's ear piercing. He's that person that is almost as badass as somebody but toned-down.