Happy Birthday to you,

One year today since she had run away.

Happy Birthday to you,

One whole year with no security, no home, and limited hygiene.

Happy Birthday dear Ver-deeeey, Happy Birthday to you.

Singing the song silently in her head she blew out an imaginary candle on the half-eaten muffin with a smile. It was truly a happy day when someone walked away from their café table without finishing their muffin. The chances of it happening on her birthday were just absurd. Still, she was grateful.

This muffin was chocolate, with big chocolate chips, and when it had been whole it was wider than her fist. It lacked most of one half now, and the paper wrapping drooped sadly away from the base, but still, anything tastes good when hunger gnaws at your insides, birthday was just a bonus.

She looked around the park happily, it was a warm day, the buds on the trees were starting to open, and the chill from winter seemed to have finally left her bones. Her cold had gone, and hayfever hadn’t yet started. She was healthy, had a muffin, and it was her birthday. Re-arranging the bandanna on her head, just the tiniest amount of green visible from under the black material she wriggled back on the bench and began to nibble the muffin, savouring it against her tongue.

Her stomach growled as the first crumbly mouthful made its way down into the emptiness. Seventeen and hungry. She was thankful she had seemingly stopped growing, trying to feed herself was bad enough, without the ravenousness prompted by growth spurts. With a thankful sigh she leant back against the warm wood and closed her eyes. Today, she had much to be thankful for. The world would still be there tomorrow, all the issues, the hunger, the pain, but for now it was her birthday and she was happy.

Hip-hip, Hooray, Hi-hip, Hooray.

“Come on, baby!” A masculine, yet whiny voice pleaded. “Don’t make me beg now.”

“I told you! I’m not a hooker!”

“Doesn’t matter. You have the time, don’t you?”

Silence

“Alright, gorgeous. Close your eyes now…”

“Awwwww-yeeeeeah…”

The unmistakable sound of a knee being thrust forward and slamming between a pair of men’s legs followed the conversation. That action was followed by that of a man, squeaking like a mouse who was begging for food. There was no scream, no cries of agony, nothing save for that squeak that fell from his mouth. That was probably because the knee strike had been done so fiercely and so perfectly centered that there was absolutely no breath or masculinity left in his body.

Job well done.

Agnes Nicholas grumbled as she stormed out of a wall of bushes in the park. The whimpered cries from behind her were lost in the warm breeze that picked up. The runaway sighed as she once more began to walk down the concrete path that wound its way through the park. She still could not believe that she was stupid enough to fall for that. The guy had only walked up and asked her if she had seen his kid brother disappear behind those bushes. The second she had gone to help him look (stupid move to begin with) he had propositioned her. It was only fair that she corrected him and as harshly as she could.

“Stupid college guys,” she sighed as she stormed on.

Her clothes were raggedy beyond all belief. Her jeans had every worn patches and holes in them, but that did not stop them from being wearable or even fashionable! Agnes marveled at the amount of girls that wandered around the city dressed like that! Made her believe that there was some influx of runaway teens. Over her top, though, she was wore a threadbare, gray sweater that hid the thinner Hello Kitty shirt underneath. It was her latest acquisition from the Salvation Army. Was not the most impression but at least it kept her from running around without clothes.

The day was warm, the air smelled good, but all Agnes could focus on was the emptiness in her stomach. It was so bad now. Every step seemed to echoed throughout her body and caused her stomach to churn and seek sustenance. Normally this would have served as a problem. The park was not the best of places to pick through the trashcans. She knew that abundantly well. But…

She smirked a little to herself as she plucked out a pair of ten dollar bills from her pocket. That was what the stupid college kid had offered her. As if she was really worth twenty bucks! Only thing on her that cheap was her knee! Which was exactly what she gave him. Eyeing the money, Agnes considered how she would go about spending it. Should she save it? Risk getting it stolen? Or spend it all on something she desperately needed? Maybe she should just spend part and save the rest? The options were endless!

As she adjusted her dufflebag across her shoulder which contained all her worldly possessions, Agnes mindlessly slipped into a bench and sighed as she decided to take a load off. Her mind raced as she figured what to do with her newfound fortune. But, as she thought about it, a movement caught her attention off to the side. Glancing over, she spied another young woman, nibbling on a muffin. Not just that…a CHOCOLATE muffin…

God that sounded good. But…seeing as she was close to staring at her, Agnes turned away out of embarrassment. The last thing she was sure the girl wanted was to be interrupted during her snack.

The muffiny goodness against her tongue was perfect. It would have been a good muffin anyway, although overpriced, but the fact that she got it for free and she was so hungry just made it better. Savouring every movement of the baked goodness across her tongue, the way the body crumbled, while the chocolate chips held firm before slowly melting away. Opening her eyes as someone drew near she gave them a perfunctory glance before they sat down. The girl looked younger than her, maybe fourteen or fifteen, and her clothes were in worse shape than Verdy’s own.

The bulging backpack the girl slung from off her shoulder had the same straining seams as the one tucked under the bench already, all the miscellaneous objects she had found through her mutation, some hopefully of worth when traded in to the pawnbroker who didn’t ask questions. Judging the girl through glances and stolen looks Verdy pondered her as she nibbled more on her muffin. Part of her wanted to simply look the other way, ignore the girl and scoff the muffin down before she lost even a single crumb. The other part encouraged generosity and reminded her of all the times people had turned their backs on her on park benches, or outside cafes or even in diners when she had to seek refuge from the cold indoors.

She had felt that same look of jealousy and longing that the girl was trying to hide dance across her own features, and she turned to look at the younger girl. As much as the smaller selfish part screamed at her not to, she held up the muffin and tilted her head. Her voice was still heavily accented, as well as raspy from ill-use, but it served her well enough to ask her question.

“Would you like some?”

Because contrary to birthday rules, sometimes it was better to give than to receive.

Agnes felt embarrassed for having stared at the young woman while she was enjoying her treat. She really should not do that. After all, it was not that girl’s fault that Agnes was hungry. She was simply sitting and enjoying a snack. Why should she be bothered by a 16 year old, homeless runaway who was hungry? Most people didn’t care anyways so why should Agnes attempt to tug at this woman’s heartstrings? She was better than that. Better than a common beggar who didn’t try. At least she thought so. That was why she survived as long as she did.

Resolute that she did not want to bother her, Agnes stood to leave when…

>> “Would you like some?”

Quickly she paused and turned back to face the bandana wearing woman. She…was really offering her a piece? Why?

“Umm…” she mumbled as she gnawed on her bottom lip a little.

She wanted to say “no!” She wanted to keep her resolve that she was not going to eat out of other people’s hands. She was not an animal, after all. But….it was chocolate! She sighed a bit as she continued to gnaw on her lip, and watched the young lady for any signs of trickery. But her pride got the best of her.

Mutely she shook her head, though still looking very apologetic to the kind woman who offered her a nibble. “N-No…No thank you…”

Silently she patted the money she had shoved into her pocket. She could get something for herself later and appear just as normal as anyone else. That was what she wanted most in life, to just be normal right now, to not stand out and to be forgotten. It was easier that way.

Another inspecting glance and Agnes saw something extremely familiar in the girl. The clothes she wore, the bag that was situated underneath her part of the bench, even that gentle and not overpowering scent had grabbed her attention. All of it was so familiar to her because that was exactly what she saw in herself. She saw a young lady who did not have a home, who knew the harsh realities of life, who sought to make it from one day to the next and not succumb to the world. She had found her equal, only slightly older.

Agnes was then extremely touched. She offered her part of her chocolate muffin? The girl was probably starving and she still offered her some? That took a lot of charity and goodwill. It was enough to make the younger runaway smile.

“Thank you,” she whispered as she dried her eyes. “For offering. But…I couldn’t. I wouldn’t feel right.” Bringing her duffle bag onto her lap, Agnes unzipped the old, beat up thing, and began to rummage through it. It was not until she was about half down to the bottom that she found what she was looking for. It was a pair of soda cans…unopened! Biting her lip, she turned and smiled to the lady before offering her one. They were warm, but they were better than nothing. “You can have one, if you like.”

((OOC: Sorry about the age mixup, I went for birthdates in the profiles, if Verdy was born in May 1990 and she is turning 17, and Agnes was born in October 1993, then she would be not yet 14? I can edit it to be a later birthday if that suits better ))

~~“Umm,”

The girl hesitated, Verdy watched the battle between pride and hunger, with a large amount of suspicion mixed in as well. She would have hesitated too. Probably would have shied away from the stranger speaking to her. The girl refused, then looked at her again and drew the same conclusion about her as Verdy had when she noticed the girl’s appearance.

The girl thanked her and wiped her eyes, Verdy felt a little embarrassed (she didn’t mean to make her cry!) and almost disappointed the girl didn’t want to share, it would have been nice to make sure someone else was alright on her birthday.

The girl had seemed like she was going to leave, now however she retuned to the bench and began hunting for something in her bag. Verdy glanced away politely and nibbled a little more from her muffin. When the girl held up the soda cans she felt a tingle of anticipation. Still sealed meant there would be bubbles and everything! And bubbles always made an empty stomach seem fuller. She smiled at the friendly young girl. Who’d have thought, muffin, soda and a friend on her birthday, it was starting to look like a real party.

“Alright, but only if you go halfsies with the muffin with me.”

Fair trade off. She broke the muffin carefully down the middle so equal parts were previously nibbled, and smooth crust from the baking. After a second struggling with the paper patty-case it too was torn in half and she held one out to the younger girl in exchange for the soda.

“My name is Verdigris. What’s yours?”

Agnes was not sure why she did it. Soda could be a real help sometimes. If you needed to stay up late for whatever reason, or you needed a burst of sugar induced energy, it could indeed be great lifesaver! That was why she counted her lucky stars one day when, while poking through a garbage can, she spied two unopened cans. They must have been thrown away accidentally and best part was that they were not even close to expired! It was like striking gold that day so she stashed them in case she needed them later.

But for some reason, today, Agnes felt it would have been rude to not return such a generous gesture. The other young homeless girl had offered her food. FOOD for god’s sake. That was much harder to come by and she still offered it to her. It was a gesture that really did touch Agnes, which was why she offered the soda.

She really hoped she’d take it.

>> “Alright, but only if you go halfsies with the muffin with me.”

Agnes’ eyes lit up. Chocolate baked goods AND a soda. Could there be any better day? It was…It was almost like it was her birthday. This was the best treat she had ever gotten. Pretending to think about it for a second, the runaway nodded with a wide smile. She watched eagerly as the girl began to break the precious muffin in half. She was so careful not to waste a crumb and even spent extra time trying to split it equally in half. She was liking this girl more and more as the seconds passed.

>> “My name is Verdigris. What’s yours?”

Gently, almost as if she were touching something precious, Agnes reached out and carefully took the half of the chocolate muffin. How long had it been? She couldn’t outright remember. Baked goods were harder to find intact or even unspoiled in the trash. Breads never lasted long. Gently she pushed over the unopened can of generic cola and smiled with a mixture of encouragement and thanks.

“Agnes,” she replied with a meek smile. “It’s very nice to meet you Verdigris. You’re very kind.”

With a wary glance to make sure it was okay, Agnes gently brought the edge of the muffin to her mouth and slowly, oh so slowly bit into it. The second the chocolate hit her tongue, the taste sent her into a near euphoria. The crumbs, the crispy edge, that melting chip, it all was such a precious gift to her. People take things like muffins for granted all the time. She’s seen people throw away perfectly good ones into the middle of some stinking goo in the garbage! They don’t know what it’s like to see something like this as rare as gold.

And to Agnes it was gold. Only very reluctantly she set it down between she cracked open the soda can. The hiss of escaping breath and the smell just made her giggle. She glanced at Verdigris and sighed.

“Sorry…I…I just feel so fancy now,” she smirked, referring to their elegant meal. “Almost like I’m at a party.”

The girl took half the muffin, and traded back the can of drink. Verdy was reminded of the days in the school quadrangle where she and James would trade parts of their packed lunches for each other, her processed, pre-packaged food for left-over home cooking or cut sandwiches. The thought of all that food, coupled with the nibbles of muffin hitting her stomach made it gurgle loudly, and she grinned. Today was going to be her best birthday yet. The saying about absence making the heart grow fonder stood true for food, as well as people, and she smiled widely as the fizz of cola tingled across her tongue.

The happiness in the girl’s eyes would have been thanks enough, but she made the effort to press the word ‘kind’ onto Verdy, who accepted it with a smile. On an average day she mightn’t have been so generous, but today was a special day, and the tingles of good-will and kindness outweighed the tingles of hunger. Hunger was everyday, but birthdays only come once a year.

“Thankyou, today is too beautiful a day to be a grouch.”

She grinned as she watched the longing, tenderness then pure bliss on the younger girl’s face as she took the first bite of her half of the muffin. There was something almost like a reflection in the girl, and Verdy felt a moment’s tenderness for her. Who knew if she would ever see this girl again, but as it was, for this moment, they were allies, drawn together by a mutual need. A need for both sharing and caring.

Her musings were broken as the younger girl giggled, and she glanced up surprised. The girl explained and she nodded. There was something fancy about what most others would see as normal to them, those who didn’t have much valued that little that they had far more than those who could spend at will. She took another nibble of her muffin thoughtfully as she surveyed their surroundings. It was like a party, and many people would love to have an outdoor party on such a day as this.

“Well, that’s fitting then, since it’s my birthday. Gah, nineteen already. Happy un-birthday to you, friend.”

Gilded invitations and catered food paled in comparison to random kindness and a second-hand muffin. Their party was better by far.

>> “Thank you, today is too beautiful a day to be a grouch.”

Agnes had smiled but said nothing in response. She had to admit that the random bit of kindness really did go a long way for her. For too long Agnes was used to simply surviving. What did she have to celebrate in being alive? After all, she was filled with insects, she was living on the streets, and the last thing she really wanted was to have any sort of celebration. Besides, her birthday was not going to be for another few months and she was not entirely sure she wanted to celebrate it at all. When living in the alleys, the happier you are, the more inclined you are to be a victim.

At least that’s how Agnes saw the world. It was cold, bitter and allowed you few chances to be happy. Kind of bleak but it is what kept her alive so far.

A glance over though and she saw the happiness on the other girl’s face. She really seemed content right now. Just happy to have a soda and her half of a muffin. It was quite inspiring in a way. Agnes wanted to achieve that type of contentment in her life, but how? Maybe she could learn a thing or two from this young lady.

But as she giggled about the idea that this was like some private party, the idea was not lost on Verdigris either. Apparently she had nearly the same thing in mind…

>> “Well, that’s fitting then, since it’s my birthday. Gah, nineteen already. Happy un-birthday to you, friend.”

“It’s your birthday?!” Agnes exclaimed a little more happily than she meant it to sound. It was the fault of the soda and cupcake running through her body that did it. “Congratulations!”

She smiled a bit as she turned her attention back to her muffin and the soda in her hand. Verdigris was so nice to her, especially being a fellow street rat. Food was hard to come by so sharing it obviously meant a lot. Even on ones birthday a person should watch out for themselves first and foremost. But this girl, it seemed as if she wanted to spread the happiness of the day of her birth. She was so willing to share it with a complete and utter stranger like herself. The thought caused a smile to creep over her face.

Shyly she glanced over again to Verdigris and smiled. “I-If you don’t mind me asking, or….my presumptuousness…h-how long?” she asked, referring to how long Verdigris had been on the streets. But she could never be sure with some people. Sometimes it was just the hip trend to go out looking like you were homeless, so Agnes did not want to make the mistake. But Verdigris had all the telltale signs of being one of the street rats.

She hoped she was not wrong and just embarrassed herself.

The younger girl almost bounced in the seat at the news. Verdy smiled, sugar rush. The same rush was tingling in her fingers, the fizzy cola and the chocolate was being quickly absorbed by their empty stomach walls, the energy being sent out to all those things neglected when hungry. Her eyes had that twinkle in them instead of a dull lifelessness, and had someone brushed against her skin they would have felt warmth, rather than the characteristic chill of a body conserving energy for life over heat.

Agnes phrased her next question very openly, but Verdy had a fair guess as to what she was talking about. She sighed and took another sip of the cola. All the months, weeks, days, hours on the streets lined up before her. Some of the time good, some of the time so awful her mind cringed away from the memories and refused to think on them at all. The girl seemed so pleasant though, for a street rat, and so young. As young as she had been when she had fled her home what seemed like forever ago. Realising she was staring rudely off into the distance she blinked away the thoughts and wriggled back to lounge against the back of the bench.

“Three years, almost exactly, give it a day or so.”

The cross-over between Hawaii and New York had confused her, and while she wandered bewildered at first she lost track of the date. It didn’t bother her too much though, when she watched the news she sometimes caught the date, and on the newspapers, so good at providing that extra insulation against the chill wind. Most of her time was focused on survival though, rather than on how long she had been doing so. When the belly was empty the main priority was filling it, not pondering how long it had been empty for.

“And for you?”

The girl gave off the wary vibe that suggested she had spent more than a day away from her parents and met more than one creeper in a dark alleyway. This one was tough and wiry, and would be fine as long as she could manage to keep her head above the water. Briefly the thought of all she could teach this young one flitted through her mind, followed closely by the knowledge that she could figure it out herself. Besides, one homeless girl was far less likely to be watched with distrust than a pair. Get any more than two together and it was almost certain that at least one person would mistake the group for prostitutes, no matter how recent from goodwill the clothes were.

“How are you finding it, getting by?”

She wondered if the girl had visited the youth homeless centre, she wondered if she knew about the soup kitchen, or the asian take-out place that neatly boxed their left-overs at the end of the night and left them on the bench outside for the streeties to share between themselves. She wondered how much of it was her business, and if there was a way for Agnes to be offended by the sharing of information.

“It should be easier, now that the weather is warmer.”

It was always nicer to be able to sleep without being crouched on a folded down box, hugging knees to chest and back against a wall in an effort to keep some body-warmth in. Towel became blanket, and all clothes were worn at once, when winter’s bite roamed, and the shelter line seemed too daunting.

Agnes immediately felt bad for her question to Verdigris. It did sound awful nosey and really she did not know that much about the young woman. Maybe she really was just one of those people who though looking homeless was the trend right now and she could have greatly embarrassed her. The runaway was working off the assumption that she “looked” like a street rat, not really that she had any hard proof of it. She quite frankly could have really embarrassed the young lady with her comment.

But as she sat there, watching her companion disappear into her mind, Agnes could not help but drift into her own. Was it obvious that she herself looked like she was homeless? Yes her clothes were tattered and yes she always carried around this beat up duffle bag, but was it easily noticeable? Agnes never really thought so but she was started to second guess now.

It was only the sound of Verdigris voice that pulled her out of her own thoughts.

>> “Three years, almost exactly, give it a day or so…And for you?”

“Oh, um,” Agnes turned to the side as she began to try to recount the last time she saw a newspaper and what the date was one it. Counting down on her fingers she nodded as she turned back to her party friend. “Been…couple months at least.”

>> “How are you finding it, getting by? It should be easier, now that the weather is warmer.”

She sighed a bit as she thought back to her first week after she ran away from that hell hole that was her home. It was confusing, lonely, and most of all it was just plain scary. She remembered the second night she slept in an alley, how she had nearly been trampled by a pair of guys attempting to run away after they had snatched some woman’s purse. If it hadn’t had been for her own quick feet she probably would have been caught by them and who knows what would have happened then.

Then there was Shirley, another runaway she ran into her third week out. Shirley was great and they attempted to keep a friendship going, at least that was until the teen had attempted to steal and sell her violin. Agnes fought tooth and claw to get it back, it was the only real thing she had from her old life that she wanted to keep.

After that she learned to be alone, that it simply was not feasible to spend her time with other people. Other people backstab you, take your stuff in the middle of the night, abandon you when you need them most. It was a cold way to look at the world, but that was how Agnes had survived.

This though, this meeting with the other girl was beginning to change that.

“You learn,” she said with a small, sad shrug and took another small bite of the muffin half she was given. “If I wasn’t a quick learner, I probably wouldn’t be sitting here with you.” Agnes smiled sadly at this comment but it could not have been truer. Quick learners survive…

Fighting a tear that wanted to fall, Agnes sighed as she sipped her soda and then glanced again to Verdigris. This was a birthday! She was kind enough to share food with her, she should do something even nicer in return. A glance at her own beat up bag and an idea finally came to her. With a genuine smile she set aside the remains of her muffin and soda can, opened her bag and proceeded to pull out her violin case.

“You know, it is your birthday, you should get a present. Everyone should get a present on their birthday.” she moved things around in her bag until she made room to pull out the black, beat-up leather case of her violin.

Standing from her seat, she unclasped the lid, pushed it open and proceeded to carefully pull out her sleek, violin. The bow itself, the hairs were a little frayed and could do with replacing, but, heh, that cost money. Instead, Agnes compensated and still would play on. She set the open case on the ground, beamed a smile at Verdigris as a happy birthday, and slowly set the violin under her chin. Closing her eyes, exhaling one breath, Agnes began to play.

The normal repertoire of the young runaway consisted of sad, classical pieces. That was the majority of her teachings when she was growing up, but this one, this one she had heard and simply had to learn. Before her fellow homeless teen, Agnes began to play a song which she hoped was energetic and happy enough. Eyes closed, breath mixing in with the soft cries of her violin’s song, Agnes sighed heavenly as she played. Her fingers worked fast, manipulating the strings while her hand pulled the bow across them with ease and genius. Agnes herself was lost in the music, which is how she tended to get when she played. It was not until she was done that she opened her eyes again.

When she did, she glanced down to see that a few passerby’s were clapping and had even dropped some loose change into her violin case. Eyebrow arched, she turned back to Verdigris, a small, shy smile on her face and a blush on her cheeks. She never cared much for applause, but she hoped that the other homeless girl at least liked the music. It was her birthday after all…