It was lucky that at least some of his things had been salvaged from the apartment. He thought this as he closed the door to the storage unit that contained it all. His parents had paid for it, and he had intended to move back in with them, but they were on vacation and he didn’t have keys for the new place, though he had access to one of their credit cards. He didn’t want to stay in a hotel if he could help it though. If he had to, he’d stay in a cheap one.
He walked through the streets of downtown, hands in his pocket. He’d paused at one point, attempting to hide his ankle monitor, but as that didn’t work the first few times he tried, he gave up. He thought about going to the mall, but as that wasn’t a feasible option he looked through downtown instead, stopping just outside a salon to look at his reflection in the glass. Time for a change, he thought, opening the door and stepping inside.
When it was his turn for the chair, he told the stylist that he wanted his hair cut. He would go from the near waist length he had to brushing his shoulders. Then, he asked for a dye job to take him from black to a darker shade of red, verging on auburn. After a couple hours, he paid and tipped the stylist before heading to the local Target, avoiding people as much as possible while he shopped for new clothes, going from his preferred taste to a more average student style, in an effort to blend in better.
His next stop was the park, simply for a place to relax. the bridge was typically the least crowded area, so he sat on the railing and looked over the creek for a while in a kind of meditation. The noise of a blaring car horn in the distance broke the serenity, so he sighed and pulled out his phone, scrolling though it to look for a place to stay – that’s when he came across the page for the outreach center.
It’s worth a shot to see if they’ll let me stay until my parents get back he thought, and hopped off the railing, following the directions his phone gave him. Upon arrival he stood, staring up at the building for a minute. Resolve renewed, he headed inside and was greeted by a volunteer.
“Are you new?” she asked.
“Yea. Actually, I wanted to make sure it was okay to be here.”
“You’ll want to head to the office – Chance is in charge right now, though Charles runs the place.”
“Thank you.” he said, and walked in the direction she pointed, pausing at the door to knock. A voice beckoned him in and he entered, closing the door behind him. He was surprised to see someone so young manning the desk, but he sat down anyway. “You Chance?” he asked.
The other man nodded. “How can I help you?” Chance asked.
“I’m looking for a place to stay for a bit. I’m supposed to move back in with my parents, but they’re on vacation, I don’t have a key, and limited funds.” he admitted.
“We’re open to all who need help. You’re welcome to stay.”
“I don’t really socialize, so I’ll keep to myself. I might not even be here, except to sleep and shower.”
“That’s fine. But should you need to talk, there’s always someone available.”
“Well….thanks.”
Chance stood, and held out a hand. “What’s your name?”
“Drew.” he replied.
“Well Drew, let me show you to a room.” he said, leading ‘Drew’ out of the office and gave him a small tour of the facility. When he was alone, Drew sat on the edge of the bed and reached down, scratching at an itch his monitor usually caused. In a while, he would head down for dinner – later then everyone else, but still within reason. He meant to keep to himself so as to stay on good terms with his parole officer.