Eleven - Theo

The worst of the rain was over, it lay in great puddles that covered the tarmac and reflected the bleak sky. I was sat on a bench at the edge of a large park, the leaves above me dripping water into the puddles with soft ‘plink’ sounds. I was soaking, my hair plastered to my face, my t-shirt clinging to my skin beneath my saturated coat. I shivered, it was freezing and my wet clothes were doing nothing to warm me up.

I didn’t know what I was doing here. I had no plan, no purpose. I’d turned my phone off but I knew my parents would notice my absence eventually, and when they couldn’t contact me they’d be furious. I grinned as this occurred to me; guess I had a purpose now after all.

Just then I heard splashing, and looked up to see a short, skinny boy wading through the puddles towards me. I didn’t think he’d seen me and as he raised his head, his eyes caught mine and I could tell I’d been right. He faltered for a minute, suddenly unsure. I felt bad, like it was my fault for being there, and tried to smile at him. He hesitated and then approached.

As he got nearer I realised I’d assumed he was just a little kid, when, in fact, despite his small build, his face made him look to be at least as old as me. He reached the bench where I sat, and I moved over to give him space, feeling acutely awkward. He smiled slightly, and sat down silently.

I fidgeted, uncomfortable sitting this close to a stranger, unsure whether to talk, or walk away, or just ignore him. I glanced sideways at him; he was staring down at the puddles, eyes distant. Relieved, I took the opportunity to study his appearance.

He was barely five foot tall, black and very skinny. His cheekbones stood out starkly from his thin face, his dark eyes seeming sunken into the hollows of his eye sockets. Despite this he was good-looking, his face open and easy. There was a slightly guarded hunch to his shoulders, and as I looked at his clothes I suddenly realised how worn they looked, they were stained and faded, fraying.

He looked up and saw me staring, he didn’t smile and his eyes bore into mine.

‘Social services took us away. My parents were broke, we were managing but...’ He looked away. ‘I ran away, didn’t really have a plan, I just... had to get out of there.’

He started to get up, ‘sorry, you didn’t need to hear that. I just haven’t had anyone to talk to in a while...’ he smiled embarrassedly.

‘No worries...’ I didn’t know what else to say.

He just nodded and made his way back through the puddles.