Tom McQuaid life mentor?

Tom, my new text buddy

Sitting in art class with my headphone in listening Led Zeppelins album Coda enjoying the space to draw "your really good, what are you listening to?" Lifting my head to meet youngest McQuaid brothers big brown eyes, taking out my one of my earbuds "thank you, oh uh I'm listening to Led Zeppelin" a smile spread across my face as he said "oh I love Zeppelin!" Finally someone who loves good music! "Here" offering him the ear bud as he sat down beside me "thanks, hey Dougy said you agreed to work with us for the science project! What did you wanna do it on? I was thinking Dope you seem to know a bit about that, I though you could talk about the drug itself and the effects and I could do something to do with what would happen if you go caught with it or arrested? And whatever left we could give to Doug?" Wait wait he is going to help me with it? "Yeah that would be really good! Thanks for helping i through you'd two would make me do all the work" when the bell sounded he scribbled down his number he told me to text him tonight.

The day has been long and tiring and the walk home felt so much longer than it always felt last thing I wanted to do when I got home was look after my drunken high on anything he could get his hands on... Father i guess you could him, For the record he's my dealer as well as a pimp sometimes but let's not talk about that. Walking up the driveway I could hear yelling and screaming coming from inside, another junkie fight I'm guessing it always was you see I don't live in the best part of town it's known for gang attacks, drug raids, murders and prostitution... You don't want to end up living in this part of town by any means!

Fighting with the key to open the door had done nothing to improve my mood "where the fuck have you been!" A slurred voice called from the stop of the hall "At school Arie!" My dealer/daddy figure is head of the Chinese gang around this part of town he's almost twice my age so when people see me with him the assume I'm adopted, it's has its pros and cons like being bullied for being adopted...

After a traditional Chinese dinner I said in my room on the floor with my back against the frame of my bed with my phone in my hand internally debating on texting Tom "hey tom it's Charlaine, uh tomorrow morning I'm free to do some research at the library if your up for it?" When I worked up the guts to hit send i swear I felt my heart in my throat this is the first time I have texted a boy, Arie forbids it just like he f- *beep beep* wait that was my phone? The screen read "1 new message form Tom McQuaid" he replied? Opening the text with trembling fingers "yeah I'll be there around 10am? Doug won't be joining us so we may get some something done :) see you tomorrow, Tom" by the point I knew I was grinning like a giddily school girl not even the yelling down the hall could bring me down.