“Hey watch where you’re going!”

 

A tall fat man shouted when he bumped against Jamie’s shoulders.

 

Jamie was pushed to the brick wall in pain. His umbrella fell on the ground two meters away from him.

 

He grimaced as he rubbed his painful shoulder.

 

After stumbling on the cold hard cement a couple of times and obtaining many bruises on his knees, he decided to walk along the side of the walls and buildings. At least, when he did that, he could lean against the wall when he got tired and not make a fool of himself falling on the dirty ground.

 

But people bumped against his shoulders just like the tall fat man, when his direction went against the flow of the crowd. 

 

Jamie stopped at the side walk and leaned against the brick wall. His head was bowed as he stared down at the ground.

 

He was so tired and hungry. His feet were aching and he could vaguely feel the onslaught of another crippling pain on his thighs.

 

“Are you alright?”

 

Jamie looked up when he heard a high-pitched nasal voice.

 

An umbrella was brought to him by the silver haired young man. His skin was fair and his face was covered with make-up. Red, orange, and yellow colors blended beautifully in his eyeshadow. His eye lashes looked impossibly long and thick. His button nose was high. His high cheekbones looked bright and shiny. His lips were covered with dark red lipstick.

 

“Is there something with my face because if you-“

 

Jamie could sense disappointment and anger in the young man’s voice.

 

“No. Face look colorful… beautiful… very nice.” Jamie was quick to respond in a soft voice.

 

“Oh. Thank you.”

 

The young man, who was taller than Jamie by three or four inches, leaned back and smiled. He was about to say something else when he heard his name being called.

 

“Charles! Let’s go.”

 

“Well I better get going. Bye, sister!”

 

Jamie was puzzled as he watched the young man walk towards the sedan. Another man was there, holding the car door open.

 

Looking at the sky that was still bright, Jamie walked around a few more minutes.

 

He had spent the week roaming outside to look for that person. From the moment his class was dismissed until evening, he would roam around the streets observing and looking at people’s faces.

 

He suffered smelling the foul odors as he looked into dirty dumpsters. He looked through shelters and peeked at make shift tents. It got him to trouble a couple of times. Fortunately, it wasn’t something physical, just some derogative words here and there. Nonetheless, it still hurt and he was scared.

 

Every few meters he would almost stumble, if it weren’t for the black umbrella which he used as a walking stick.

 

Beep! Beep!

 

Jamie was frozen on his place when a car suddenly rushed by. He could feel the goosebumps on his arms. His heart was pounding so hard in his chest. If he stepped for a few inches his body would have been slammed by the car.

 

Unfortunately for him, trouble liked to follow.

 

It was already 10 o’clock in the evening and there were fewer people along the streets. Many had already gone home after the evening rush hour. Just as he was about to pass by a pub, he was stopped by three men who were smoking on the street.

 

“Ooooh. What do we got here?” The man wearing a black leather jacket whistled.

 

“Bet ‘ya twink is waiting for a good dick huh? I got a nice dick for yo’ ass pussy.” Another man leered. He was visibly more drunk than the other two. His denim jacket had a suspicious wet patch on it.

 

“Whatever, let’s play with ‘em sissy. Tonight, we feast on a nice tight hole.” The brown-haired man expelled smoke from his nose. He was sporting snake bites on his thick lips.

 

Jamie was backed into a corner by the three men. They smelled of alcohol, cigarettes, and a bad mix of perfume. It made Jamie’s stomach churn that he couldn’t help but cover his sensitive nose.

 

Jamie looked around for help, but they were in an alley that was away from the main street. His fingers wrapped around the handle of his umbrella, ready to strike them if they made any move.

 

“Get off! Leave a-alone!”

 

He mustered all his voice to sound as gruff and threatening as possible. But all he received were jeering laughs from the men.

 

“He’s so cute. I wanna fuck ‘em and make ‘em cry.” The denim clad man spoke.

 

“Ain’t gonna stop us bitch. I know ‘ya thirsty.” The man with snake bites licked his lips lecherously.

 

The men moved closer and closer.

 

Jamie looked left and right for an escape. He felt trapped. The tension he felt now was even worse than when he was almost ran off by the car.

 

Fingers clenched and muscles taught, his body prepared to defend itself. Just as the men’s dirty hands were about to touch him, he heard a shout. Jamie’s head was slammed into the brick wall.

 

The next few minutes became a blur.

 

The three men challenged the person who interrupted them. But they were no match for the man who was a martial arts expert.

 

With quick and precise moves the martial arts expert rendered the three men writhing on the cold dirty ground.

 

“Let’s go.”

 

Jamie felt the man’s large hands clasp his arms. He was still reeling from the pain on his head. He couldn’t see clearly in the dark night.

 

The black umbrella was left forgotten on the ground.

 

Jamie stumbled as he was pulled. It was difficult to keep up with the man’s long strides. They entered a building and got into the lift. Eventually he found himself in a room that looked like an office.

 

The man removed his jacket and placed it on the black leather couch. He entered a room and eventually came out with a wash cloth and a first aid box.

 

“Sit.” His deep masculine voice gave no room for protest.

 

Jamie sat gingerly on the couch. He felt his bum sink on the plush black leather.

 

Eventually he was joined by the man.

 

Now that they were sitting under the bright light in the office, Jamie could finally check the man’s features.