From the rooftop of my makeshift prison everyone knew as Sue's Second Chance but I know it as the prison for lost kids. Staring up at the night sky, with police sirens and dog's barking in the distance I watched as the smallest reminiscent of the waning moon slowly sets off in the distance. Being up here was the only time I ever felt at ease as well as being one of the closest connections I felt to my mom. Walking to the edge of the roof I began to trace the snake scale bracelet that she left me with my finger thinking of where she could be and what happened to her. Looking down at my bracelet, I watched as the moonlight reflected off the foggy silver coloration and the image of the key engraved onto its head.

'I'm going to need to polish this' I thought as I shook my head pushing back any sentimental emotions I had earlier. Feeling that I had enough time to clear my head, I turned around and began heading back inside. This place isn't all that appealing on the outside, especially from the street or side walk point of view but the rooftop is probably the only exception in my opinion. Even though half of the roof is closed off as an attic while half of the remaining open space is taken over by ms.Susan's prized greenhouse, no body comes up here due to it being off limits allowing me the freedom to be alone. Arriving to the attics door I hear something fall on the other side as I reached for the doorknob.

Putting my ear against the door, I began to focus on the sounds of what appeared to be multiple voices and rustling. "Crap." I whispered to myself as I tried to look for a place to hide to prevent anyone from finding out that I was up here. Quickly looking around, I looked over at ms.Susan's greenhouse but hiding in there would be bad if they decide to go in or lock the door from the outside. Having no other choice, I ran over to the edge of the roof contemplating on hanging off the edge. Looking down, I saw nothing but 2 stories of free air and the unforgiving concrete ground of the alleyway. Having no other option but to either get caught or hang off the ledge, I quickly began lowering myself over right as the door flew open  allowing me to see four figures come out the door way.
                      ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Waking up, I turned over and turned on the lamp to see that my watch read 1:30am. Stretching, I glanced over at Avery's  bed which was roughly three feet away with the dresser in between the two beds. 'Guess he's off and about again' I thought ' I might as well see if I can get some water'. Ms.Susan has a rule against being out of bed after 9pm and before 6am, so with that in mind I pushed my covers off of me, grabbed my blue rimmed glasses and slowly got out off bed. Slowly making my way to my bedroom door, I eased it open and made my way out to the hall.

Closing the door behind me I stood in the hallway listening for any sounds of movement besides the random creaking and groans of the house. With the flight of stairs leading up to the attic right next to the door, I glanced to see if I can see any sign of movement up their but to my relief there wasn't any. With this floor seemingly clear, I slowly made my way down the hall without trying to make to much noise. With every step I took, the floor board underneath creaked causing me to worry that one of the several bedroom doors will open up and catch me sneaking through the hall. After what felt like an hour, I made it to the top of the staircase leading down to the first floor without even so much of a sound coming from one of the other bedrooms.

With each step I took going down the staircase, I felt more confident of myself being able to get a drink of water without getting caught even though the sound of the floorboards echoed in the staircase. Now on the first floor I stayed quiet and still as I tried to pin down any noise that may reveal anyone being down here. Off to the right of the staircase was a small hallway with the front door at the end of it which had the deadbolt unlocked meaning that either one of the kids forgot to lock the door or Ms. Susan was out. To the right was the huge living room filled which had some worn down couches and a small TV up against the wall. Looking at the TV I could see that the remote that was supposed to be resting on top of the television was missing meaning that ms. Susan must've took it for safe keeping. Creeping past the living room I saw Ms. Susan's room doors, which was a 6ft darkwood twin doors with engravings on the outside of trees and children underneath making it look like she cares for us and the other kids here.

But in actuality she despises children and spends any money she gets from the state on herself. The inside of her room looks like something you'll see on high fashion magazine or something, unfortunately any money she has left she uses to pay bills, and food for us...in that order. Seeing that the light underneath her door was still off means that she's asleep or that she was off on another date doomed to fail which means that everyone would need to keep their head down for awhile. Not knowing whether she was in or not I didn't want to risk it, so as stealthily as possible I crept past her door and turned a corner which brought me into the kitchen​ where I grabbed a cup from the dish drainer and filled it with water from the faucet.

After taking a couple of sips of water I began hearing approaching footsteps causing me to panic as I looked for a place to hide. But with me being 5'11, there weren't any where I could possibly go to hide so I stood there waiting to see who'll come around the corner. Hoping that it wasn't the she-devil herself that came around, I instead got the lesser of the evil being her three Goonies. They were the eldest kids here and usually get special treatment from her for being her eyes and ears basically by bullying everyone else and running the place when she isn't here. All three of them were apart of the schools football team and the star quarter back as well as the leader of this small possy was Nick who was a 6ft tall 18yr old asian guy who's Ms.Susans star child....or at least he believes so.

Nick is of adverage build like me but he tends to be very sneaky and purposely tries to get others in trouble especially me, since I refused to be a follower in his crew. The other two are also star players on the team named Jacob and Adam with the former being a knuckle head as well as a follower while the other use to be a friend of mine before hanging with Nick. With the three of them standing side by side, they effortlessly blocked the only way in or out of the kitchen making it impossible to try to slip out. Looking at Adam, he was a pretty solid wall of Hispanic muscle which made up for his short height of being 5'7 unlike Jacob who was my height was mostly known for his speed and slim frame.

"Look at what we have here." Nick said with a devilish smirk "You know the rules of being out of your room." "Then why are you out here?" I asked as I glanced at Jacob who refused to look my way. "We just came back from minding our business" he said with his devilish smile growing "but as for you, you look like your up to some trouble." As he said this both Adam and Jacob rushed me and vice gripped my arms ensuring I wouldn't go anywhere. "Let go of me." I growled lowly, not wanting to make a lot of noise. It's bad getting caught by these three but getting caught by Ms. Susan with these three goons would make it worst due to the fact that I would have to deal with Nick and the two leeches later on in a much less preferable circumstance after taking in the blunt fury of here anger and punishment.

"They will," Nick said walking off "after we put you in a safe place." As he was walking off, his two minions began pulling/dragging me along with them forcing me to follow them up through the living room towards the stairs. Deciding it would be much more of a strain for them to drag me, I decided to go limp halfway up the stairs giving them no other choice. "Are you serious?" Jacob harshly whispered as he strained to drag me up with Adam. Refusing to answer him, I just laid there as they dragged me up to the second floor and down the hall where Nick was impatiently waiting at the foot of the staircase leading up to the attic by my bedroom door.

As far as I can see, it doesn't seem like Nick noticed the light underneath my bedroom door which is good, but that unfortunately means Avery wasn't in there or else I would be able to get his help. As I was being dragged by both Nick and my room door, I began trying to think of a way to get out of this situation but only one plan came to mind. Deciding to cooperate to avoid my knees hitting the stairs, I allowed them to pull me along up to the attic where they stopped. Looking around I saw old broken and worn down chairs, old books, paintings as well as some boxes and chests that seemed to be locked as well as a small cracked window that was in the ceiling allowing some star light in allowing me to see. Coming up the stairs, Nick shoved his way past Adam allowing him to walk up to the door leading out to the balcony.

With Nick's back towards me and the other two distracted, I slammed my foot down on Adams foot causing him to let go as he flinch in pain allowing my to push Jacob off my arm and run downstairs to my room. But before I could even make it to the stairs Jacob tackled me causing us both to fall to the ground. "Hurry up and grab him!" Nick harshly whispered causing Adam to hurry over and help Jacob. "I don't see how you two could have almost have him get away!" He said still fuming.

Opening the door, Nick practically pushed it out of it's frame with how angry he was as he sternly walked over to the greenhouse and opened the door. "I was planning on leaving you out here for Ms. Susan to scold when she wakes up....but I decided now that us catching you in her greenhouse and locking you in would be much better." As he said that, Jacob and Adam both began dragging me over to the open doorway while I tried yanking my arms out of their grip to no avail.

Knowing that if Ms.Susan ever catches me inside without her say so would be the equivalent of death. The moment I was brought to the open doorway, I was shoved from behind causing me to trip over myself and fall in. Looking back I could see all three of them before Nick slammed the door shut causing the whole structure to rattle before locking the deadbolt. Looking around I can see some of the flowers and fruit that are potted in the greenhouse but outside of that, there was nothing in here that could help me in this situation. Getting up I headed towards the door and tried to yank it open to no result but causing the greenhouse to shutter.

Getting upset I started to yank and bang on the door hoping for one of the kids downstairs to hear me. 'why couldn't I do anything' I thought ' why do I always let this happen to me'. As I began thinking more about the situation and the things I could of done, the worst I began to feel causing me to feel hatred towards Nick and myself. Busy within my own turmoil I didn't realize it started to rain until it began to pour causing the sound to echo and amplify within my glass prison. Looking out through the glass everything was distorted causing the city and buildings outside to take on new shapes. Among those shapes I could see one moving towards the doorway of my glass cell and listening to the deadbolt slide over, the door opened revealing a soaking irritated Avery standing with his braided mohawk drenched and laying to one side while his black pajama pants which he cut into shorts, his black T-shirt and foggy silver bracelet clung to his slim frame.
                     ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Waiting as the three stooges practically drag, push, and locked Archy in the greenhouse before walking off laughing I waited till I felt as though the cost was clear. 'Once again i gotta bail him out of the mess Nick is trying to get him in' I thought as I pulled myself back up. Now back on the roof, I realized how sore the muscles in my arms were causing me to flinch in pain as I stretched my arms towards the horizon where the early colors of dawn starts tipping the sky. Rubbing my arms I started to hear the light patter of rain which didn't really bother me since I had no problem with early morning sun showers. Enjoying the feel of the light rain I stood there and stared up at the sky as the drops fell to my face.

Heading over to Archy I began feeling how heavy the raindrops were getting and before long it began to pour. Feeling my dampen clothes begin to cling to me and my hair getting drenched, I began to feel annoyed as I quickly made my way towards the greenhouse. Looking at the greenhouse​ I could see my roommate beating himself up and feeling down which I'm use to seeing unfortunately which is why he has a friend like me I guess. Upon arriving at the door I undid the lock which kept him confined within this glass box and open the door to see Archy wearing his Navy blue sweat pants and white T-shirt with his blue rimmed glasses with his short dirty blond hair going which ever way.

"You don't look happy." Archy commented. "Neither do you." I replied "Now let's go before they come back." As I ran off to the attic door, I glanced back to see that Archy had closed and lock the greenhouse door before following. Sprinting into the attic, I closed the door after he walked in. "Hurry up and head down to the room." I said as I began rummaging through some of the old trunks and boxes in the attic. "What about you?" "I'm looking for something to dry our watery tracks." I scolded. Hearing him hurriedly make his way down stairs I started to search more frantically until I came across a bundle of silver cloth with a necklace with three torches on it. Grabbing the necklace and stuffing it into my pocket I yanked the cloth causing it to unraveled revealing a thick hard cover book to fall to the floor causing a huge "thump". Panicking, I grabbed the book and quickly dried the trail of water that lead from the attic door down to my bedroom. Arriving outside my room I began hearing footsteps quickly coming up the stairs, with the threat of Ms.Susan possibly coming I quickly ducked into my room and closed the door. Seeing Archy on his bed I signaled for him to turn off the lamp as I chucked the cloth under my bed and jumped on top of it, throwing my blanket over me and the book I found.

Just as I shut my eyes, the door flew open and a pair of heavy footsteps entered our room, turning on the lights in the process."Nickolas!" Ms.Susan practically yelled "what do you see hear!?" She always hated nicknames so demands everyone to be called by the names they were given.  I heard another pair of footsteps, these ones being lighter and more hesitant. "Archeron and Avery are still in bed." He mumbled angrily. "Exactly, so you woke me up just to see this!?" She said with a shrill. With no reply from Nick she continued "I'll deal with you after school and this is your last week? You are in for a ride Awakening" as she said this she turned off our lights and slammed our door shut giving me an eery feeling for what may happen to Nick.

Asking Archy for the time to find out it was 2:50am I decided it was time for me to try to get some rest. It may be a bad way to start a Monday morning but I guess it's a new start to a new week.
                  ------------------------
Waking up, to the sound of Mr.Susans screeching to get the younger kids under control, I quickly realized that I needed to get up for school. Getting up I grabbed my outfit that was hanging behind the bedroom door before heading to the bathroom to hurry and take a shower. Running into the bathroom, I was glad to get in before a line formed or all the hot water was taken. Hanging my outfit, I checked its pockets to see that my ear ring was still in there as well as emptied my pajama pants pocket to fish out the necklace I found. Hanging the necklace on the door handle I turned on the shower and unbraided my hair before jumping in.
                       ~~~~~~~~~~~~

Waking up to the horrible alarm I know as Ms. Susans yelling, i could see Avery quickly jumping out of bed and heading out the door with his clothes in suit out the corner of my blurry vision. 'For a night person, he sure knows how to get moving' I though as I checked my watch. With it reading 6:45am, we only had 15 minute to get out of here and meet up with Ash. Getting out of bed, I opened the dresser and grabbed my outfit for the day and made my way out to the bathroom which was right across the hall. Waiting beside the door, I heard a couple of footsteps coming up from behind me which caused me to turn around and look to see that the footsteps belonged to Nick and his little crew.

With Nick right in front of me, I could clearly see him without my glasses and he looked beyond annoyed which made me happy especially since I heard the scolding he had gotten from Ms. Susan. "What are you looking at?" He growled at me "The boy who has till the end of this week to find out what kind of punishment Ms. Susan is going to give him." I said with a smirk which obviously made Nick that much angrier "wonder if she'll just kick you out?". Shoving me, he stood where I was currently standing "hope you don't mind us taking your spot." He said more as statement then a question. Before I could even reply, the bathroom door opened up and Avery stepped out out with a cloud of steam pouring out through the top of the door frame.

Wearing his black and white Harley Quinn like skinny jeans, black T-shirt, with his grey beanie, silver dimming silver bracelet and dangling silver moon earring hanging from his ear; he glancing at me, he turned towards Nick with a look that could kill. "Got a problem?" Nick asked with a smirk. "My only problem is that box in your bottom drawer" he quickly replied back causing Nick's expression to turn to stone. "Now unless you want Ms. Susan and the whole school to know what  other secrets you have, you should really back off.", Ave said coldly which caused Nick to back up. "Now if you really need a shower, I could of sworn the gym showers were open to the jocks." As he said this, he helped me off the floor and directed his attention to me​. "Hurry up, we don't have long." He said as I was pushed in.

Quickly taking my shower, I jumped out and dried myself off with my towel before dressing myself. Wiping the steam off the mirror, I used my fingers to style my wet hair so that it wouldn't look like a disaster when it dries. Looking at my outfit, I wore a button down blue and green plaid short-sleeve shirt and blue jeans. Grabbing my watch, I watched as the little hands that resembled pitchforks showed that I only had 5 minutes left. Seeing that, I strapped on my watch as I made my way back to my room where I put on my glasses and glanced at Avery who was putting on his black high top Nikes and a new necklace dangling from his neck.

"Where did you get the necklace from?" I asked as I began putting on my white DC sneakers. "I found it with the fabric I used to clean up the water and this book." he replied as he reached under his pillow and pulled out an old book with a bronze lock that seemed to have speckles of silver in it as well as three torches overlaying each other" What are you planning on doing with it" I ask as I grabbed my satchel from under my bed. " I'm taking it with me to read of course." He stated as he shoved the book in his bag and headed downstairs with me following closely behind. On the first floor we quickly headed out the front door before Ms. Susan noticed us and quickly made our way to Fremont Lake Park where Ash was waiting for us.