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“You ok, tenderfoot?”
Scamp glanced behind him. Angel was standing on a broken train track, holding his jacket. He’d left it at the junkyard and knew that he did. But he’d only noticed its absence once he was already at the tracks, and he’d been too lazy to walk back and grab it.
He didn’t quite know how to answer Angel’s query, so he just took the jacket from her and mumbled a short “thanks”. Angel nodded in response.
There was a pause, then Scamp promptly turned to continue his stroll.
“What are you doing out here?” Angel asked finally. Her tone sounded tired, Scamp noted. “Don’t you have a nice loving family back home?”
“What difference does it make?” Scamp muttered. “They don’t want me anyway. I’m the problem kid.”
He slowed his pace so Angel could catch up. Then he kicked at a pebble, and it made a loud clang against a trash can. Angel winced.
“Don’t go waking the whole neighborhood. The people who live in that building are actually pretty nice,” she said, a little teasingly.
Scamp put up his hands in mock surrender. They went back into his pockets immediately after; it was a chilly night.
“Do you know this area well, then?”
“Somewhat.” Angel shrugged. “I’ve been out here for a while.”
“Lucky.”
“Lucky? Really?”
“Yeah, well,” Scamp sighed. “Better than being stuck with some family that doesn’t care.”
“Were they really that bad?”
“Let’s just say my dad is a major hypocrite.”
Angel raised an eyebrow at this, but said nothing. He didn’t seem to want to talk about it. She stepped over some other broken tracks, overgrown with grass and weeds now. They looked old-fashioned. Probably for those 19th century trains, with steam coming out of the tops. She'd never actually walked around here before. It was a calming environment. Everything appeared kind of blue under the moonlight.
“Sooo…”
“So.”
“I lived in a group home until I was 10. That was fun.”
“Was it?”
“Nope,” Angel said shortly. “That was sarcasm. I ran off, and met the gang some time later.”
“Heyy. Runaway crew!” Scamp held up a palm, and Angel high-fived him. His hand is freezing, she thought. So was hers, probably. She rubbed them together to warm up a little. Her jacket wasn’t as nice or thick as Scamp’s. She’d grabbed it from a dumpster and just made sure she washed it really, really thoroughly at the lake.
“Not that the gang’s much of a family, honestly,” she added. “I mean, they’re nice and all. But I don’t know. It just feels like they’re all Buster’s followers or something.”
“Why wouldn’t you wanna be Buster’s follower? He’s awesome.” Scamp kicked another pebble. This time it didn’t hit a trash can, only landed in some dead grass. They were nearing a barbed wire fence with a rusty NO ENTRY sign barely hanging on. Scamp glanced at it with interest.
Angel caught his look. “Don’t bother. There’s nothing there, just a boring ass field with grass that’s more gray than green.”
“What’s the sign for, then?”
“Dude. That sign looks over a thousand years old. They probably finished whatever they put it up for, and forgot to remove it.”
“You didn’t answer me earlier,” Scamp pointed out. “About Buster. Don’t you like him? He’s so swag.”
“You’ve known him for a day, buddy,” Angel said with a laugh. “He’s okay, I guess. Not much of a father figure. And Ruby, I feel like she used to try to be a big sister to me. But now she’s just—”
“Fathers and sisters are overrated,” Scamp interrupted with a scoff. Angel looked at him.
“You have sisters too?” she asked, her voice tinged with longing. Scamp rolled his eyes. Not directly at Angel, just to himself.
“Three of them. They’re little, though.”
“That’s—that’s very nice.”
“Um, we can talk about something else,” Scamp added hurriedly. Angel’s expression was very noticeably downcast, and it was pretty much his fault. He hadn’t fully grasped how bad Angel’s desire for a family was.
“Ugh, I’m sorry,” Angel said, annoyed at herself. “I didn’t mean to sound all wistful and sad and whatnot.”
“Wistful. Annette would like that word,” Scamp said, chuckling. “She’s my oldest-youngest sister,” he added. “She likes big fancy words and reading all these nerd books. Weirdo.”
“How old are your sisters?”
“They’re all nine. They’re triplets.”
“Oh wow!” Angel said, sounding excited. “I’ve never met triplets in real life. Are they identical?”
“Yes… and no. It’s pretty easy to—”
A flicker interrupted his sentence. It was orange, and faint at first. Scamp and Angel saw it at the same time and turned in sync.
The low rumbling of a car engine was getting closer. Angel craned her head a little, squinting to see the intruders. All of a sudden, Scamp watched her go pale.
“It’s a cop car!” she hissed. “Scamp! We have to hide now!”
Scamp didn’t need to be told twice. He ducked behind some foliage nearby while Angel ran in the opposite direction, crouching between a tree and a utility poll. Scamp saw a bit of her blonde hair at first, then it disappeared completely in the hedges. He waited.
The car was not in a hurry. It looked as if the police officer was also here for a night stroll. Scamp watched as the car’s headlights gradually lit up the tracks in an almost sickly yellow shade. He wanted to crane his head a little to get a look at who was driving, but that might cause the leaves to rustle. A risk not worth taking, he decided. The cop would probably finish the patrol or whatever, and leave.
The car drove around the area in a circle, and sure enough, Scamp heard the engine noise dying down. Which, unfortunately, he took to mean that the car was driving away. Not his proudest moment. He popped his head out of the bush only to be met with a flashlight, and a burly figure holding it.
“Hey, hey you!”
The rickety gate with the fraying no entry sign proved to be his only way out. Scamp turned, pushed it open and bolted into the field. The wind hit his face like a slap. He could hear the cop at his heels, trying to reason with him.
“Hey kid! Wait! There’s no need to—”
Oh, but there was need to, Scamp thought. He couldn’t go back home. He just couldn’t. The thought made him run extra fast. He only stopped when he reached the familiar park lake, which you were not supposed to swim in. Not that that mattered right now. He was quite ready to plunge into his only way across the water.
The flashlight beam swept across the grass, catching the back of Scamp’s jacket.
“Kid, come on,” the cop called out, his voice less aggressive now. He sounded tired. “I’m not trying to arrest you. I just want to make sure you’re okay. It’s late. You shouldn’t be out here alone.”
Scamp’s hands balled into fists. That was the thing everyone kept saying. You shouldn’t be alone. You shouldn’t wander off. You should stay where we can see you. Like he was some little kid who couldn’t take care of himself.
An ear-splitting siren screeched into the air, interrupting the little face-off. The police officer nearly dropped his flashlight in surprise. It was coming from beyond the gate, around the tracks Scamp had just left. The officer’s flashlight jerked away from Scamp as he spun around.
“What the—”
The noise pierced through the night, loud and insistent. Someone had infiltrated the patrol car. Scamp could see the lights flashing in the distance, painting the distant trees red and blue. It was immediately followed by the car engine roaring to life.
The cop swore under his breath and started jogging back toward his car, speaking urgently into his radio. “This is Unit 34, I’ve got a situation at the old rail yard. Someone’s messing with my vehicle—”
Scamp stood frozen at the edge of the lake, his heart hammering. He watched the cop’s silhouette get smaller and smaller, until it disappeared. So did the flashing lights. He put a hand to his forehead, thinking that Angel might just be the craziest kid he’d ever met in his life.
Scamp found himself running again, except this time he made his way back to the tracks, keeping low and quiet. When he finally reached the area where they’d been hiding, pretty much everything was gone. No cop, no cop car and no Angel.
He looked around, his earlier relief curdling into something else. Something heavier. The tracks were empty, stretching out in both directions like they went on forever. The hedges were still and quiet.
“Angel?” he called, not too loud. Just enough that she’d hear if she was nearby.
Only the wind responded, rattling the old NO ENTRY sign. It made a hollow, lonely sound.
Scamp walked a little further, checking behind the tree where she’d been crouched. Nothing there either. Just some flattened grass and a crushed soda can.
He pulled out his phone instinctively, realizing too late that Angel didn’t have a phone. Back it went into his pocket. Scamp didn’t know how prison for minors worked but he was sure it wasn’t good. And tampering with a police vehicle doesn’t look great on your report. So he followed the tracks in the direction he’d seen the lights disappear in, calling for Angel in frantic whispers. If she wasn’t here, she would be back at the junkyard. Angel has been out here for years. She wouldn’t let herself get caught that easily. She wouldn’t, Scamp insisted. Mainly to himself.
He shouldn’t even care so much. The whole point of being out here is that you didn’t care, right? You made your own rules. You didn’t answer to anyone, and you certainly didn’t risk your life to help someone else’s. The motto from the junkyard gang was looping in his head like a broken recorder. Buster’s trouble is Buster's trouble.
Living on the streets was starting to feel more complicated than he’d thought it would be.
---------------
It would be another 15 minutes or so before Scamp found Angel again. He had been wandering the perimeter of the town’s biggest park and had just reached the edge of a pond. His reflection stared at him almost questioningly. What are you even doing, Scamp?
“Hey.”
Scamp jumped. Angel’s reflection joined his one in the still water, looking calm as ever.
“Angel! I thought- I thought that guy arrested you!” Scamp cried, relief washing over him. Angel shook her head and grinned.
“Nah. I’m pretty good at evading cops,” she said airily. “Also, congrats! You had your first encounter with the police. A staple for street kids.”
The tone was sarcastic, but Angel flashed a genuine grin. Scamp let out a short laugh that came out more awkward than he intended..
“Yeahhh, I need some practice on that. If it weren’t for you I’d be on the way to my house right now.”
“And that would be really bad?”
“Yes,” Scamp said shortly, offering no further explanation. They had wandered to the park bridge, and stopped at the railing, watching a pair of swans swim beneath them. One suddenly flapped its wings, spraying water droplets everywhere. Its feathers stuck up in a ruffled mess. Scamp found himself smiling.
“Looks like Danielle’s hair.”
“Danielle?”
“She’s one of my sisters.”
Angel studied his face for a moment, catching a hint of wistfulness. Then she looked at the swan. It was swimming closer to them gracefully.
Scamp stared at the swans, his expression distant. Angel leaned closer to him, resting her arms on the side of the bridge.
“Tell me more. About Danielle, and your family.”
Scamp’s shoulders tensed, and he scratched his head. “Oh. Um, perhaps another time.”
He began walking again, and Angel narrowed her eyes. “You’re missing them, aren’t you?”
“No,” Scamp said hastily. “I just don’t wanna talk about it.”
“Because you’re afraid you’ll miss them more.”
“Look, I know what’s best for me,” Scamp insisted. “These are just temporary feelings. I’ll probably get over it. And they’ll get over it too. It’s what’s best for all of us, me and my family.”
He sighed. “I wasn’t meant for that kind of life. I’m meant to be with the gang, free of expectations and rules.”
“Buster has rules,” Angel pointed out. Scamp shook his head.
“Not the kind my parents have,” he muttered. “In the gang, I’m not responsible for anything or anyone except myself. It’s not like that in a family, especially when you’re the oldest sibling.”
Angel didn’t know what he was talking about, and she didn’t pretend to. Her expression was noticeably blank so Scamp continued talking.
“When you’re in a family like that, things your younger sisters do are your fault,” he mumbled. “Sometimes they do things that put them in danger, and then the blame lands on you. Doesn’t that sound sucky?”
“I guess, yes.”
“I was being a hazard to them by just being myself. Why would you want that kind of pressure on you? It’s stupid.”
“I-I see. I dunno, I’ve never really been in a proper family.”
“They don’t want me there,” Scamp said firmly. “I was ruining my parents lives and my sisters’ lives. But I shouldn’t have to change myself to make them happy. This is the best option.”
Angel couldn’t really argue. It’s not like she had the right to, she didn’t live with Scamp’s family. She didn’t understand the whole oldest sibling thing either. The closest thing she’d had to siblings were the two other kids at her group home. They never formed much of a relationship with her anyway.
Still, something about what Scamp said didn’t sit right. The way he kept insisting they didn’t want him, like he was trying to convince himself as much as her.
“Okay,” she said finally. “If you say so.”
Scamp glanced at her, maybe expecting more of an argument. There was none. He looked at his reflection in the water one more time. It still seemed to be asking him that question. What are you doing? He didn’t have an answer, yet.
“Come on,” Angel said, tugging his sleeve. “Race you back to the junkyard.”
She took off running before he could respond, and Scamp found himself chasing after her, laughing despite everything.