Chapter 3: Messages and dollar menus


Afer reading the first seven chapters the boy looked up and rubbed his eyes.
The was another man sitting on the couch across from him, a business man, he was tyeing at 80 words a minute with one hand and doing something on his smart phone with the other, he seemed all jittery from drinking far too much of the coffee sitting next to the laptop.
Realizing that they must have wi-fi Internet here, he took out his Nintendo DS and popped in the web browser pack.
After connecting to the network the boy signed into myspace. Under "inbox" it read "new massages"
"Oh Great. This should be good" He thought touching the link.
The message was from the Twins, it was your basic "WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU??? WTF???" letter
The boy smiled, and said "Sry, thats classified. But I am alive, don't worry your pretty little heads about me"
Only a few moments later he got a message back, "hunh, they must be online." he thought
It read, "STFU! What do you mean don't worry? You disapear in the middle of the night with all your gear and expect everything to be alright? You mother is freaking out! "
"I did not expect everything to be alright. You know me. I always expect the worst. Seriously, Dont worry! I'm fine. Ive got all my money with me, and I don't plan on staying for much more than a month. Which reminds me, I want some breakfast."
"Dude this is NOT cool. Why did you leave? Where are you??"
"I already told you, I'm not saying."
"WHY??????"
"Because If I did, within an hour I would be jumping fences and dogeing tazers from the cops, You know what I mean"
"Alright, but can you at least tell us why you left?"
"Yes. Its simple really. You know how Me and my parents don't really like each other? Well then you also know how they never bring me anywhere, while all the other kids in school go where ever they want and dont stop talking about it, well I don't want 2 B spoiled but traveling to the city Is the only that makes me content. I you already know how bad Ive been feeling lately, I just need to get away for a while."
"Ok, we get it now. But why don't you ever say 'happy'? Its easyer than "content"."
"Ive told you before, because then I would be lieing. But like I said in my letter, Which I'm assuming you read, Its not like I'm gonna find what i want here. I just needed to get away for a while. Hey I'm gonna go now. See if I cant find a place where they sell EXTRA early breakfast. My stomach Is screaming at me and the guy in front of me with the latte in NOT helping."
"McRonalds. lol. Alwright, write to us latter man, Is that clear solider?."
"heh, Cristal sir. Seeya"
It felt good to see that his friends cared about him so much. He just wished that there was someone out there who cared about him even deeper.
He slipped his DS into his pocket and started downstairs. When he did he heard someone behind him ask "Oh my god, Is that number 13?"
The boy turned around to see a girl about his height with pale skin and medium length, dark colored hair pointing at the manga in his hand.
"What? Oh yeah is its. I guess it just came out."
"Really? Where is it?" she asked excitedly
He pointed at the rack (without looking) where he had gotten his and said "Third shelf down, 6 books to the right"
She ran over to rack and grabbed the book off the shelf and immediately started flipping through the pages. The Boy looked at her again, She was around his age, but a somewhat  shorter. She had hazel eyes and her hair was pulled back and tied. She was wearing a white hoddie-jacket thing with a paw print in the front and jeans. The boy suddenly felt the blood rush to his face. "Wow, shes...beautiful" he thought. He then called himself a perv and wiped the thought from his mind.
"Wow, Thanks!" said the girl walking back to him. She closed the book and held out her hand. "I'm May."
He shook her hand, "I'm...uh," He first considered the dangers of using his real name, then decided that there was know danger this far from home."...I'm Trace"
She laughed, "You had to think about it?"
"Heh yeah well, your named after a month?"
"Its my birthday month, be quiet"
"Ah okay, so why are you out so late? Or should I say so early?" He asked her as they walked out of the store.
"I could ask you the same thing."
"I'm uh, traveling, You?"
"Insomnia"
"Sorry to hear that. Wait, you cant sleep, so you just get up and walk around town?"
"Yup"
"And Your parents don't mind?"
"Nope"
Trace wondered why this girl was following him. Why did she have any interest in him? What did he have that she wanted? Or is this what people in this town are normally like? Back home, He was put onto a list of guys who the popular kids went allowed to talk to. Its not like he could blame them, Trace was smart, liked technology, history, gaming, anime and photography artwork, and worst of all he was a snowboarder. Who in their right mind would want to be friends with that?
"So where are you going anyways?" He asked after a moment.
She shrugged and shook her head. "I don't know, I was following you. I mean...If you don't mind."
Trace laughed,"I don't mind at all. I'm just going to a McRonalds I saw around here earlier. Even its gross, Its the only place I can think of that would be open this early. I'm starveling"
"Hm, true, me too. I'll come with you."
He caught himself in mid-breath and kept himself from asking "Why?!?." Why the hell did she want to come with him?? He did not understand. Trace smiled and looked at his feet as he felt the blood rush to his face again. He did not know why this kept happening to him. He just hoped he wasent coming down with something, but he reassured himself that whatever it was would go away, eventually... hopefully.


***************************************************

Nobody Looked up as the pair walked into the McRonalds, they were all either too tired or just dident care. And by all, I meant just the one customer and the employees who all looked bored out their skulls. A few employees were even playing hacky sack outside.
The two teenagers walked up to the front counter, ordered their meals and sat down.
"Your bag, is huge."
Trace looked up.
"What?"
"Your backpack. Its enormous." Said May pointing at it with a French fry.
Trace looked down at his backpack. He was obvouisly not a man who had never heard the phrase, "Travel light." The red and black back pack looked like a hippo with a gland problem. It had taken Trace a lot of work (and duct-tape) get everything into the bag, and yet still not everything did fit. There were many small pouches and bags attached to the outside of the bag each of which looked about ready to explode.
"Yeah, that was way more work than it was worth."
"What are you doing with all that stuff anyway?" She said eyeing the overstuffed sleeping bag duck-taped to the top of the bag.
"I told you already, I'm traveling."
"To where? The rain forest?? You cant really go camping in the city either."
"Enh, You'll be surprised." He said remembering being woken up by skateboarders under a tree in the park.
"Your alone aren't you?"
"What do you mean?
"You came here alone didn't you?"
He hesitated.
"uh, yeah."
"Why? How?"
Thats it. This wasent good, she was asking far too many questions. He can't give away that he was a runaway. He had do something, and fast. thought But he did not known what, he had not thought about a cover story yet, he was kinda making this up as he went along.
"Well, I came here by the Amtrak, and I'm here on uh...buissnis."
"Buissnis? Your what? Seventeen?"
"Yes."
"Well, What are you doing here?"
"Ermmm...I'm a computer technician."
"But what are you doing here?"
He decided to recite one of his past jobs, he worked with computers a lot back in Maine.
"A small bisnuss wanted me to install a new wireless network in their building. Wireless "N", its 10 times faster than wireless G."
"So where do you come from"
"DAMNIT! I don't know any other city's names in this state!" He thought. He couldent think of anything else this fast!
"Winslow, Maine."
"WHAT?? That far!?!"
"Heh, anything for money right?" He said trying act like a other kids he knew science one of the few things anybody seems to care about is money.
May just stared at Trace, shook her head and went back to her sandwich. Trace was relived, "No more questions, finally!" He thought.
"So where are staying then?" she asked.
"CRAP!!! Wait, I could use this to my advantage! Actually, thats the problem, I don't know yet. You know any where I could stay?"
"Hmmm...I don't know. Sorry."
"Hm, well she doesn't know any place. Its okay, I'll find something."
"Me and my dad work with computers all the time too. He owns a computer repair shop downtown."
"Really? Cool! Whats the most powerful computer you have ever worked with?"
"Hmm I'd have to say a Dell optiplex sever, you know, those ones with the 8ghz possessor and 16GB of Ram?"
"Yeah, I've seen those one on the dell website, their like, $359,000!!!...."
The two talked computer for another hour before leaving the restaurant, unaware of the time. After leaving May showed Trace around the city. They saw, stores, hotels, a casino, a highway construction project called the big dig. Trace felt very, well, content, to say the most. He mind was not reeling with thoughts of planing how to side-step his whatever his dad throws at him next, constantly having to look over his shoulder to make sure a baseball bat wasent flying at his head at mach2. That constant paranoid feeling nagging nagging at his very soul, But right now he felt, content.
May eventually led him back to her fathers store, where she said, he built and sold computers and parts. She unlocked the door and led him in. Trace looked around, the store was a haven for anyone who was interested in computers, there were parts and accessories of all kinds. The store was neat, clean and inviting.
"Wow, this place looks like my room. Only everything's packaging is not stomped into the rug."
May laghued."My Dads going to LOVE you."
Trace heard a noise of something being dropped upstairs and someone desperately trying not to swear. May laughed, "Looks like my dads awake...HEY DAD IM HOME!" There was moan in acknowledgment.
"You live here too?" Trace asked.
"Yeah! All the upstairs looks just like a normal house." said May.
"And its a wide store so its about the same size as one too." said a voice from the stairs, Trace looked up. There sat on the bottom step of the stair case May's Father, masaging his foot. He was a man of average height and wight, and he had light brown hair that was cut short.
"Hi Dad! What did you do now?"
"Heh. I dropped a power core on my foot." he said.
"Ouch," said Trace,"I've done that before."
"So, who's this?" He asked.
"Dad, this is Trace, Trace, Dad." Trace merely waved two fingers.
"So where're you from Trace?"
"Winslow Maine." He quickly answered.
"That far? What are you out here for?" He asked.
"I'm uh, setting up a wireless network for someone. Please don't ask who, PLEASE don't ask who!"
"Oh, well I hope your getting paid good for all your traveling. Well if you need anything just ask me." He said. Without a word Trace started down one of the alses. Ironically it was full of wireless networking products, routers, assess points, USB Wifi emitters, PCIMA Wifi cards, Trace stopped, there was a larger than normal box with what appeared to be a soda can sitting on a small tripod next to a laptop that it was wired to. The box was labeled "WIFI CANTENNA! Connect to your wireless network from far away! Just point and connect." "Hey, thats perfect!" thought Trace, but before he could take the item from the shelf, Trace heard the sound of May's Father's voice.
"He has nowhere to stay?"
"Yeah, do you know any where?"
"Well he could stay here."
"Are you serious? You don't even know this kid!"
"Yeah but you do."
"Not really..."
Her father paused
"May does he seem like a nice guy?"
"Well, yeah."
"And I trust your judgment. So its agreed. Besides, have you ever heard of a "BAD" computer nerd?"
"Hey!"
"Hahaha, well, no. I guess not"
"Plus if he sleeps outside he'll end up someone's bich in Tailand!" May laughed.
Trace heard May's steps coming towards him and a busied him self with the Wifi cantenna.
"70 bucks," Said Trace, "I'll take it."
"Hm? Oh, the cantenna, cool. Well I may have even better news for you."
"Okay, what?"
"I've found you a place to stay...right here!"
Of course Trace already new this but he was still surprised. "Really?" He asked.
"Yeah! Come on!" She took him by hand and lead him back to the counter where her father was waiting.
"It'll be fine." He said."We have a spare bedroom, thats where her mom sleeps when shes here." Said May's father
"Wait, why are you doing this for me-wah?" Before he could even finsh his sentence May yanked him up the stairs by the arm.

May was right, so right it was scary. The instant you got to the to of the stairs you felt like you were'nt even in the same neiborhood. The upstairs looked drasticly diffrent from the downstairs. It looked as if the top floor to a avrage suburb home was torn off and carefuly placed on top of the store.
"Freaky hunh?" Said May as she walked down the hall.
"Freaky works, but I can think of some better words for it." Answered Trace.
May stopped at Last door on the right of the hall. "This is where my mom and other people sleep when they sleep over, but for right now its all yours! Come on, take a look!"

The room was very plain. The bed had white and blue beddings. There was a Small brown dresser and a night stand with an alarm clock, other than that, there wasent much. "I'm going to use the bathroom, ok?" Said May, Trace nodded and she walk off down the hall. Trace closed his eyes on litsened, she had soft footsteps, one...two...three.........ten...eleven...twelve, they stoped, a door opened, there was the sound of fabric slideing against carpet, "Shes turning on her right heel.." he thought, another step, this time on a hard stone-like suface, then the door closed.

Trace Opened his eyes and bought himself back to reality, "Right so the bathroom is the first door on the right, probably a good idea to remember that" he thought. He closed the door and sat down on the bed and took out some pajamas. He started to think about why these people were being so nice. It was odd, like May's father said, he did not know him, he didi noy know what kind of person Trace was, he could a druggie or thief. But Trace was not, though Trace did not think very highly of himself, he's a good guy. Honest, Responsible, hes not all that popular, (not that he wants to be) he has friends and get all "A"s in school, he's a good guy, just always...sad. The Twins and thier parents alone knew the two reasons why...

Trace sat down on the bed and though about sleeping but looked out the window.
"Oh, right...its morning."
"Yeah, heh I was thinking the same thing! Haha!" Came May's Voice from the Doorway. Trace looked, May had changed into a pair of light blue silk pajamas, wich made Trace's face turn bright red. "Not that I would have been able to sleep anyway, She said sitting down next to him on the bed. "Lets just have a lazy Sunday afternoon? Kay?" She asked smileing.
"Oh...okay what do you wanna do?" Trace asked.
"Umm...do you play XboX 360? Ive got Halo3." She asked.
A evil grin spread across Trace's face. "Are you ready to lose?" He asked