offense taken.”
“I just thought you had to be more glamorous if they were gonna put your face on t.v.”
“I clean up nice. Listen, could you just forget about me being a reporter? I’m not interested in turning your story into some kind of career boost for me. I just think—for whatever reason—we fell into each other’s lives and you need some help. I’m asking you to take a risk with me. You can walk away at any time.”
Crystal sighed. “My best friend’s gone missing. When you told me about that girl in the hospital and the way you described her and all, I thought it might be Star. She’d never just take off without telling me. I think something really bad’s happened to her.”
“Could she maybe have gone home?”
“What the fuck’s with you and home? Some people don’t have a home to go to.
Get it?”
I got it. I just didn’t fully understand it.
“When was the last time you saw Star?”
“One night about two weeks ago. We were at our squat and she was heading out to work.”
“Star has a job? Where does she work?”
Crystal rolled her eyes at me. “Are you for real?”
“
Ohhh
. You mean—jeez, sorry. Go on.”
“Anyway, I told her I didn’t think she should go. Kids who hook are always getting the shit beat out of them. Some even get killed. Not that anyone on the outside would notice. Nobody gives a fuck about street kids.”
“Are you worried that that’s what happened to Star?”
“I don’t know,” Crystal told me. “Star’s smart. She knows how to take care of herself.” She stopped for a minute, thinking. “We really hit it off, y’know? Star’s a little older than me and she’s been out on the streets longer, so she kinda looked out for me.”
“In what way?”
“Well, sometimes the newbies get hassled by the old school kids, ‘cause they’ve been out there longer and know the ropes, so they kinda run the show. There’s this one girl-she just won’t leave me alone. I don’t know, she’s a real sick bitch and she thinks she owns me or something. Anyway, when Star was around, I didn’t have to worry.”
“Is that why you were hanging around the gym? So that you could learn to protect yourself?”
“Yeah,” Crystal admitted. “But it didn’t do me any fucking good. I wasn’t gonna join those lame-ass weirdos.”
“Um, Crystal, out of family loyalty, I need to point out that one of those lame-ass weirdos is my uncle.”
“Oh,” she blushed. “I didn’t mean—”
“That’s okay, don’t worry about it. Listen, who have you talked to about Star being gone? Maybe somebody saw something.”
“I talked to Little Red—her pimp—but he says he hasn’t seen her. He’s always trying to get me to be one of his girls but I wouldn’t work for that piece of shit. I’d rather starve. Star was talking about quitting him. Too bad she didn’t do it sooner. That guy you saw me with today,” she added, “was one of Star’s regulars… y’know, a john? He was pissed off that he couldn’t find her and he’d seen us together, so he thought he’d take the next best thing. I’m not into that scene but he didn’t believe me.”
I took in all this information, as if I were watching a movie. If I thought about it in any real sense, I would throw up.
“Okay, you said you last saw your friend about a week ago. What day was it?”
Crystal shrugged. “I dunno. Last week sometime.”
“Could you be a little more specific?”
“Wait, I’ll check my calendar.”
“Sarcasm, right?”
Crystal laughed, breaking some of the tension. “Look, I know you’re trying to be helpful and all, but things don’t work the same way out on the streets as they do in your world.”
“Okay, so educate me.”
“Why do you care so much?” she asked suddenly. “What’s in it for you?”
“Does everybody have to have an ulterior motive for helping someone else?”
“Lesson number one. In my world, yes.”
If something bad really did happen to
“I just thought you had to be more glamorous if they were gonna put your face on t.v.”
“I clean up nice. Listen, could you just forget about me being a reporter? I’m not interested in turning your story into some kind of career boost for me. I just think—for whatever reason—we fell into each other’s lives and you need some help. I’m asking you to take a risk with me. You can walk away at any time.”
Crystal sighed. “My best friend’s gone missing. When you told me about that girl in the hospital and the way you described her and all, I thought it might be Star. She’d never just take off without telling me. I think something really bad’s happened to her.”
“Could she maybe have gone home?”
“What the fuck’s with you and home? Some people don’t have a home to go to.
Get it?”
I got it. I just didn’t fully understand it.
“When was the last time you saw Star?”
“One night about two weeks ago. We were at our squat and she was heading out to work.”
“Star has a job? Where does she work?”
Crystal rolled her eyes at me. “Are you for real?”
“
Ohhh
. You mean—jeez, sorry. Go on.”
“Anyway, I told her I didn’t think she should go. Kids who hook are always getting the shit beat out of them. Some even get killed. Not that anyone on the outside would notice. Nobody gives a fuck about street kids.”
“Are you worried that that’s what happened to Star?”
“I don’t know,” Crystal told me. “Star’s smart. She knows how to take care of herself.” She stopped for a minute, thinking. “We really hit it off, y’know? Star’s a little older than me and she’s been out on the streets longer, so she kinda looked out for me.”
“In what way?”
“Well, sometimes the newbies get hassled by the old school kids, ‘cause they’ve been out there longer and know the ropes, so they kinda run the show. There’s this one girl-she just won’t leave me alone. I don’t know, she’s a real sick bitch and she thinks she owns me or something. Anyway, when Star was around, I didn’t have to worry.”
“Is that why you were hanging around the gym? So that you could learn to protect yourself?”
“Yeah,” Crystal admitted. “But it didn’t do me any fucking good. I wasn’t gonna join those lame-ass weirdos.”
“Um, Crystal, out of family loyalty, I need to point out that one of those lame-ass weirdos is my uncle.”
“Oh,” she blushed. “I didn’t mean—”
“That’s okay, don’t worry about it. Listen, who have you talked to about Star being gone? Maybe somebody saw something.”
“I talked to Little Red—her pimp—but he says he hasn’t seen her. He’s always trying to get me to be one of his girls but I wouldn’t work for that piece of shit. I’d rather starve. Star was talking about quitting him. Too bad she didn’t do it sooner. That guy you saw me with today,” she added, “was one of Star’s regulars… y’know, a john? He was pissed off that he couldn’t find her and he’d seen us together, so he thought he’d take the next best thing. I’m not into that scene but he didn’t believe me.”
I took in all this information, as if I were watching a movie. If I thought about it in any real sense, I would throw up.
“Okay, you said you last saw your friend about a week ago. What day was it?”
Crystal shrugged. “I dunno. Last week sometime.”
“Could you be a little more specific?”
“Wait, I’ll check my calendar.”
“Sarcasm, right?”
Crystal laughed, breaking some of the tension. “Look, I know you’re trying to be helpful and all, but things don’t work the same way out on the streets as they do in your world.”
“Okay, so educate me.”
“Why do you care so much?” she asked suddenly. “What’s in it for you?”
“Does everybody have to have an ulterior motive for helping someone else?”
“Lesson number one. In my world, yes.”
If something bad really did happen to
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