Chapter 1 - Part 3

Howell rang the bell at the library desk as he set the bottle of grape juice on the counter.  Like everything else on the edges, the library was a little run down.  It was probably one of the oldest libraries in Camern City, but no one knew it.  Howell was pretty sure that the government had forgotten about this library as well.  The data books were covered in dust and took forever to load a page, and there were probably only two working computers.  In fact, in the back storage room were some old paper books that had never been recycled.

“Ash Howell,” the middle aged librarian said as she came out from the shelves.  “I haven’t seen you here in a while.  I though you had left since you’ve read every book here.  What can I do?”

“The Tanners want new books,” Howell answered as he held up the data books he was given.

“Of course,” she smiled.  “Romance for her and biography for him.”

“Correct,” Howell said.

“I figured they would be ready for new ones.  I already adjusted these books to display larger print.”

“Thanks.”

“Don’t be a stranger,” the librarian called out as Howell left the building.  “I’ll find some new books just for you.”

He started skimming through the books as he walked through the street and back toward the apartment complex.  The librarian was right; he had already read everything in that library including the sappy romance that he was now glancing at.  New books were obtained by dumpster divers who traded an old data book for a place to spend the night or a chance to use the computers, so Howell had certainly read a wide variety of books.

Occasionally he would read some of the passages out loud.  No one stared as he walked by, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings.  It was rare that he would actually get bothered on these streets anymore.  He was odd in that he was still in high school, but most people seemed to forget that since he looked and acted like everyone else in the decaying sections of the city.

His clothing was an assorted patch job that Mrs. Westler had helped put together.  It was easier and less expensive for him to just find scraps of fabric for Mrs. Westler than it was to actually buy something new.  Few people actually wore anything new in this part of the city.  His hair also matched his eclectic outfit.  His thick hair was a patch job of leftover bleach and any leftover hair dyes he had found.  It was difficult to tell which lock of hair was his natural hair color.

Howell lifted his grey eyes from the book as he jogged across the street and into his apartment building.  The manager hollered something about rent and Howell waved, promising to pay the rent in a few minutes.  He hurried up and dropped off his errands, receive a few glass coins for his services.  It was not the highest paying form of employment, but at least he was had some sort of odd job.

He reached the fourth floor and pushed open the door to apartment forty-two.  The doorknob and deadbolt had fallen out long ago and had never been replaced.  It had never been a problem though, since hardly anyone locked their doors in this area.  It just was not worth it, for the people and the thieves.

“The manager wants rent and school starts tomorrow,” Howell announced as he went in.

There was no answer, and he never expected one.  Most of the time his parents were working, rarely home.  Not to mention his family was not exactly considered normal.  On most days his parents hardly spoke to each other, let alone him.  Howell reached into one of the cupboards and pulled out a small tin that was labeled ‘School Lunch’ and placed it next to the jar that was labeled ‘Rent’.

Howell counted out the coins that had been thrown in the jar.  They were two months behind and he wondered if his parents would remember to pay rent at all if he did not remind them.  He waited until his dad came back home from work and he shook the jar.  His dad grumbled something and dropped a handful of coins into the jar.  His mother was leaving for her latest odd, night job around the same time and did likewise.