The following days proved otherwise. Chloe’s routine of begging for attention may have landed her the occasional coin, but she could see plainly that passers-by avoided street urchins like her. Fortunately in begging she managed to find a job. A local news stand let her spread flyers and sell newspapers. In exchange she received enough money to eat. Though the stand owner would not offer a place to stay, the job at least gave her a stable routine. There were also other children of various ages doing the same or similar jobs. They all gathered around the corner of the same street each day to chat or play ball. Chloe didn’t trust them too much at first, but spending the day working alongside them she fell in with these dirty wandering faces just the same.

Some were homeless, others were not. A couple were smaller than Chloe while others looked like giants to her. What they all had in common, however, was poverty. Like her, they should have been in school. For most of them that was not an option. They wandered the streets both to beg and to look for things to do. While she worked alongside them and slept in the same back alleys, she kept her distance for the most part.

Then one day her job was gone. The stand owner simply decided to leave. Chloe showed up to the familiar spot between two run-down buildings only to find nobody there. Within the span of one morning, Chloe’s remaining semblance of order, as well as her meal ticket, disappeared. Oh no, she thought. I’m going to have to beg again.

“Hey don’t worry. They leave all the time.”

The voice behind her jolted her back to reality. She spun around to see a lanky boy in an old sports shirt and ripped jeans. He seemed quite a bit older than her, towering over her and speaking with a squeak in his voice. The dirt in his frizzy dark hair and gaunt face blended with that of his clothes. Chloe only wondered if she looked that way too.

“These small jobs come and go all the time. You’ll find one soon. Trust me.” He reached out his hand to her. From his pose and demeanor he carried a knowing air about him, as if he had always belonged on the street. He continued. “If it’s money you want I can show you how to get it.” He strutted into the street, unafraid of the vehicles and pedestrians. “There’s places all around where you can get it.” he said spreading his arms wide. “You just gotta know where to look.”

Chloe stepped back, not quite trusting him. “What do you want?” she said.

The boy smirked and walked towards her. “I’m just tryin’ to help. I’ve seen you around and you have no idea what you’re doing.”

Chloe took exception to this, but the boy continued.

“I know what to do, so just follow me.” He waved, wanting her to follow. They walked for a little while ands stopped two blocks away, where the boy stood pointing down the street. “See that?” he said.

Chloe shook her head. “It looks just like the other place. It’s just a bunch of shops and stuff.”

“Exactly!” said the boy. “Lots of opportunities.” He turned his head and immediately started running into the crowd, urging her to come with him. Chloe followed, but her short stature kept her from keeping up. By the time she caught up to him, the boy was standing next to a moped with a box of apples strapped to it, chatting with the owner.

The owner, a large man with a white apron, grunted something and tossed him a box from the moped. The boy thanked the man and turned to Chloe, smiling. “You see?” he said. “I just got us a job for the day. Ten dari and hour.” He plunked the box down in Chloe’s arms. “You’re welcome.”

As Chloe tried to find a grip on the box the moped owner called out to her. “Come on! Hurry up!” She struggled with the large heavy cardboard box, stumbling as she followed the owner and almost dropping it a few times. All the while the owner yelled at her to go faster. She did this a few more times before the moped was empty, wondering how anyone could carry so many heavy boxes. As she sat down on the curb the boy walked up to her and sat down beside her. Chloe wished he would go away.

“See, what’d I tell ya’?” He walked up to the owner, who thanked him and gave him some money. Then the owner opened up one of his boxes and handed him a loaf of bread. The boy sauntered up to Chloe and tore off a chunk of bread for her. “Thank you.” she said. “But how did you know?”

The boy gave a knowing smile and explained. “You see, the thing is to never just look for one opportunity. Ya’ gotta look for as many of them as you can. That’s why you gotta keep moving around. You never stay in one place. Got that?”

Chloe nodded. Suddenly it seems as though this boy knew what he was talking about. After they finished the bread, the two of them spent the rest of the day wandering all over the shanty town, finding various tasks to complete for money.

After a few days of this Chloe felt like she could actually find a place to live. More and more she felt comfortable among the streets, and came to see them as a sort of family. The boy, while not necessarily the ringleader, was definitely one of the older and more respected of the children who roamed the streets, and even the adults seemed to trust him. While wandering the streets in search of their daily bread, he explained everything to her.

“I’ve lived in this part of town my whole life. It was always hard, but when the fighting started… I lost my dad. My mom’s been trying to find work, but it’s been hard.” he told her. Immediately Chloe felt sympathy for him. He was someone who went through the same hardships as her. Any mistrust she may have held was replaced by a bond. This boy could be her mentor, her big brother.

The boy swiped a couple of apples for them from the market and sat down on the curb. Chloe wondered why he didn’t need to pay for them, but she trusted that there must be some special rule she didn’t know about. As they ate he pointed toward some men in business suits scattered about the streets. “See them?” he said. “Those guys in the suits. I’ve seen them around. And the guys with them,” he motioned toward others in hard hats, “They’re the guys who were supposed to fix this place. They only came here recently, but they don’t really do anything. I mean, this place was messed up before, but the fighting really messed it up. They’re from the nicer parts of the country, though. They don’t care about us poor outlanders. As long as they get their money… they’re good.”

The boy set down his apple and pulled Chloe along with him. “Go talk to them.” He said, shoving her in front of a suited man walking . The man gave a shout of surprise, then yelled at her to watch where she was going. Chloe felt both sorry and confused and tried to apologize. The man muttered something perplexing about why she was out here and how this whole pace should have been fixed by now.

Some of his compatriots rushed over to him, asking him what happened. “Nothing,” the man said. “Just a run-in with the locals.” They started walking again. “Man I swear amount of homeless in this town has gone through the roof.” one of them said. Another one put his hands on his hips and looked around, shaking his head. “Yeah, that’s the problem with this town. This whole place is just….” he sighed. “Come on, let’s get out of here.” another said. Then they went on their way.

Chloe stood there wondering what that whole affair was about. A hand on her shoulder brought her back to the present. It was the boy, standing next to her grinning. “Come with me.” he said. “I’ve got a little surprise for you.” He took her to the back of the nearest alley. Grinning wider, he took something out of his pocket. It was a wallet. “Got this off one of those bums in suits. But shh… Don’t tell anyone.” He held his finger to his lips, took out the money, then threw the rest aside. Then he held a few of the bills to her. “Here. Go get some candy or something.”

Chloe gasped. How could he do such a thing? “You stole that?” she asked.

“Duh.” said the boy rolling his eyes.

“But you can’t do tha…” Chloe yelled, only for the boy to clasp his hand to her mouth. “Look,” he said firmly, looking her directly in the eye. “If you want to live, the first rule is to take what you need from those who have it. Those guys who work for the government, they don’t care about us. All they do is collect a paycheck and walk around. Oh sure, they’ll rebuild the rich side of town, but for us we’re a lost cause. Surely you know what it’s like.”

Chloe almost nodded in agreement, but remembered that she came from the nicer side of town, so she just sat there silently.

“When half my house was blown up,” the boy continued, “nobody came to help. Like I said, they only decided to show up a few weeks ago. We’ve been searching for a home this whole time. Folks like us don’t matter to the rich.”

Chloe stared at the boy. There was earnestness in his face where she expected mischief.

“Ya gotta know that.” You look out for your own kind, ‘cuz nobody’s gonna help you.” He thrust the cash in her face once more. “Take it. Get something to eat.”

Chloe shook her head. How could she take stolen money? It went against everything her parents taught her. Why, if her mother caught her…

“Take it!!!” the boy demanded, shoving it in her hands. Chloe held on to the money, not knowing what else to do. Under the boy’s glare she slowly put it in her pocket. The boy smiled. “You’re welcome.”

Nevertheless, Chloe felt tainted with that money in her pocket.

~

As the days progressed, the boy taught Chloe everything he knew. He showed her how to gauge people by their stance, how to know who was from where, and most importantly, when opportunities presented themselves, both legitimate and otherwise.

“See that guy over there?” he would say, pointing to a man in trashy clothes loitering on the street corner. “I bet he’s selling drugs. Stay clear of him!” Chloe didn’t know what “drugs” were, but she agreed to stay clear of him.

“And those people there in the nice clothes. They’re not from here.”

“How do you know that?” Chloe asked.

The boy scoffed. “Are you kidding me? Nobody who dresses that nice would be here. They’re just travelers. You know what that means.”

Chloe shook her head.

“It means he doesn’t know his way around here. Look how he’s standing.” the boy said, drawing her closer.

A middle aged man with a polo shirt and thinning hair repeatedly wiped his brow and took tentative steps in one direction before stopping, shifting his weight, and muttering something to himself.

The boy smirked, and Chloe grew butterflies in her stomach. She knew now that it meant the boy was up to no good. The boy turned to her and his smirk turned to a wide grin. “Let’s go help him out.” he said.

They both went up to the man, who eyed them suspiciously. “What do you want?” he said, shifting his right hand to his rear.

“Hey sir, are you lost?” said the boy, putting on what was obviously a false formality to Chloe. “Because if you are, I can show you where to find some maps.”

The middle aged man took one step back. “Oh, that won’t be necessary. I just need to find a payphone. Now leave me alone.” And with that he walked briskly past them both, almost knocking Chloe over.

“Man!” The boy snapped his fingers. “Almost had him. I guess he was a little smarter than I thought. Ya gotta be prepared for that.”

Eventually Chloe picked up on this art, whether willing or unwillingly. Soon the boy had her try to identify people. “What about that one over there?” he would ask.

Chloe strained her eyes to see. There was a woman in a faded blouse and denim shirt at a market stand yelling at the owner. She pointed to her.

The boy rolled his eyes. “Does she look rich?”

“No, I guess not.” Chloe said, feeling a bit silly. “Plus she wouldn’t be arguing like that if she had enough money to buy stuff.”

“Exactly!” said the boy. “Now look around and see who might have something for us.”Chloe stepped out in the crowd to look more thoroughly. At first it was frustrating trying to find affluence among a sea of poverty. There were so many faded shirts and no business suits.

The boy must have sensed her frustration, because he called out to her. “Don’t look for the obvious!”

But how do I do that? Chloe wondered as she looked out among the houses and shops.

The shops! Storeowners must have had money, since they could buy all their wares, right? She’d been looking at everything completely backwards.

The boy commended her for this observation.