Note: Some of my files were lost in a recent system restore, rendering this episode invalid. My apologies for any inconveniences. I'm looking into ways of backing up my files.
Aja was feeling famished the next morning, so she quickly gobbled down a carrot she had harvested in the area. As she ate, she began to plan what she needed to accomplish. She would have to continue exploring the area to find the resources she needed to survive. She'd have to be wary of accidentally returning to a school she didn't belong to. If she were discovered... Aja shuddered remembering the events of the previous day.
She gathered some sticks together and piled them up in the center of some stones she had piled together in a circle. This would serve nicely as a firepit; so long as someone didn't come along and wreck it, she could eat here as long as she needed to. For the most part, she would have to cook fish. This mornng, she decided to eat a bit of hotdog she had left over from her trip. She lit the fire with a match and blew gently, gently, until the fire caught. She nursed the fire until it jumped to life. When she was satisfied it was not going to blow out, she began fixing her food.
Aja was eating breakfast when the gardener set down at the fire. When he began talking to her, Aja quickly slipped away. He was a danger to her security and she didn't want to talk to him. She quickly gobbled down her hot dog.
She needed to get away from the park for a while and this trip had left her feeling pretty grungy, so she decided to go to the gym and take a shower. Perhaps life would seem a whole lot better after a good, hot shower. Just because she was living in the wilds didn't mean she wanted to smell that way!
Aja wasn't sure where she wanted to go to next, and she didn't have a lot of money for traveling any way. She decided to just go exploring at the park. She would have to hope that gardener didn't catch onto her. She needed to make a little money for expenses so she could travel more. If she wasn't found in the same place twice during school hours, maybe no one would notice she wasn't attending school. For now, she would just have to be careful.
That evening, when she was beginning to feel lonely and bored, Aja decided to play chess with Sofia. She watched her carefully as they played. Sofia had initially flirted with her, but she wasn't doing so now. On the contrary, she seemed to be engrossed in the game. Maybe Sofia wasn't half so bad as Aja had thought. She decided to reserve judgement until she had a better chance to know her. She didn't have many friends; she couldn't afford to be picky.
When Aja curled up that night, she was absolutely exhausted. She was ready for a good night's sleep, even if it was on a hard wooden bench, in the cold desert night air.
However, this time her sleep was disturbed by the sound of someone approaching. She rubbed her eyes and sat up. Who could it be at this hour way back here? She was surprised to discover it was just a teen boy. Curious, Aja initiated a conversation with him. She discovered his name was Zane. They spent the night watching the stars.
She felt absolutely drained the next morning, having gotten only a little before she'd been disturbed. She spent some time at the fire with some other kids before school, cooking a hot dog before lying down to catch a few z's on a nearby log.
She knuckled down to catching some fish for the rest of the day. She needed something to feed on, even if it was nothing more then a minnow from the little pond nearby.
Aja was not surprised, if a little disapointed, that she was only able to catch a single minnow by dinner time. Her stomach grumbled in complaint. Surviving on her own was definitely turning out to be a real challenge. Luckily, she was making friends each day. Several neighborhood kids were beginning to show up around the park; she was beginning to make friends. She'd have to be careful never to let her guard down, but she was grateful for the company.
That evening, Aja shared her camp fire with one more new aquaintence. The girl introduced herself as Cassandra Goth. They shared the warmth of the fire in companionable silence, each girl lost in her own thoughts.
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