The Pariah

"Control your anger, it's only one letter away from danger." ---Unknown

Nick looked across the street with a sigh as he began to prepare to cross. There were only two lanes but it still was dangerous, the people who had cars drove like idiots. He didn't want to get hit by a car even though only the government and the wealthy had them now. Nick knew a couple of kids his age who were wealthy and they drove their cars down the road like mad men. He didn't have the money to pay for medical bills. So he, of course, looked very carefully across the street before beginning to walk at a brisk pace. His old, patched sneakers were hitting the pavement as quickly as possible and he was breathing the warm air in and out.

Nick's feet hit the across the street sidewalk and he stood in front of the Bakery. The Bakery was a rustic looking building with glass window panes that showed right into the building. The inside of the Bakery was painted with blue walls that needed a new paint job, but it was too expensive to do so. Half of the Bakery had white little tables and chairs and the other half had the counter that had cakes on display as well as many types of breads. There was also the massive bread oven, that Nick would have to crawl into and clean at the end of the day. It was cool to look at but a pain in the butt to crawl into it.

Nick opened the door and walked in where the Baker was there to greet him from behind the counter. He was a tall, jolly man that reminded Nick of the Santa Claus Book he read in the fourth grade. He had a round belly with a white hair and a white beard that was the color of snow. He wore black spectacles that hid his blue, twinkling eyes that were always a light with playfulness. His hands were big and calloused with a few scars gifted to him by the bread oven. Nick had his own scars from the bread oven. Sometimes, he would get burned from taking out the bread and Mia would have to patch him up after work.

"Hello Nick," he greeted him in a deep voice. His voice came out worn but still deep. The Baker always treated Nick like he was an upstanding citizen. Not many other people could say that in this junk town.

"Morning," Nick greeted him with a grin. He was always happy to see the Baker because he showed kindness to a street rat.

"How's your sister?" The Baker asked him. Every morning the Baker would always ask how Mia was doing because he knew how important Mia was in his life. Mia was the one person in his family and the Baker knew that.

"She's good, if I come home with any injuries she might shave my head while I'm asleep, but she's good." Nick informed with a soft smile. "Thanks for asking," he said as he grabbed a rag so he could start wiping down the counters before opening time.

"I remember the first time she came here, it was the day after your first day working here." The Baker's eyes twinkled with amusement as he walked through the memory. "She read me the riot act for letting you get burned. I have never met such a spitfire. You're lucky to have her." The Baker said with a small smile as he picked up a jar and placed it onto the counter. He was going to fill it with his famous chocolate chip cookie.

"Don't I know it. She keeps me out of trouble." Nick said as he began to think about that day he came home and how enraged his sister had gotten.

Nick remembered his first day after working at the Bakery. He was fourteen and Mia was eleven at that time, and he came through the front door in exhaustion. His hands were trembling through the pain, he had gotten very badly burned by the oven. He had wrapped his hands in cloth before he left work, he didn't want Mia to see. She was ten, and she didn't need to see the ugliness of the reality of working in this community.

Mia perked up when he walked in the door. The 10 year old was sitting on her bed with a book on her lap and a butterfly pencil in her hand. She had taken her brown hair down from the braid Nick had done for her that day, and her green eyes although seemed tired were still full of playfulness. She seemed happy and Nick took that as Mia had a good day. That was what really made Nick fight through the pain, because his little sister was happy and that's all he ever wanted for her. He just wanted her to be happy.