Hmph.

Finn you jerk.

But you finally let me in, I'm glad!

I whistled as I rode my bicycle, heading towards Theresa's store. She had instruments and music equipment, a pair of headphones would be no problem, ofcourse not.

I frowned, thinking of what Finn possibly could have done to his headphones, and why he wanted a cheaper one than what he usually had.

Well I do think cheaper ones work better, for some reason. I don't know why, ofcourse not.

I leant my bike again the wall to the store, and adjusted my knapsack. I had Finn's money in there, I have to be careful with it.

And don't forget the marbles! My precious marbles!

I pushed the glass door open, listening to the music playing. There was always some music playing in Theresa's store.

I glanced around. There weren't many people, ofcourse not.

Guitars were set on display, starting at cheap acoustic ones and leading up to expensive electric ones, and custom made ones were set in the back of the large room I had just got in, behind the doors.

I wondered who had asked for them, they sure were expensive though.

I walked upstairs to the first floor, where there were things like headphones and mics.

I saw Robbie's familiar dirty blonde hair, and grinned.

"Well well, look who it is!" I exclaimed, making Robbie turn around and give me a smile.

"Darwin! What brings you here, champ? I still remember your performances." Robbie chuckled, making me embarrassed.

"Hey, don't remind me... I'm trying to forget, ya know!" I put up a smile despite me feeling warm and my feet ready to run.

"Man oh man is it hot in here." Robbie looked uncomfortable. "I wonder if the air conditioning is off for the day."

I tilted my head, and frowned. It didn't feel any different to me, it was exactly the same.

"Huh, seems to have returned." Robbie scratched his hair. "Well never mind that! So what you want, Darwin?"

"Oh! Well Finn sent me to buy headphones!" I grinned at him, making him smile back.

"You even got to talk with that Finn, how lucky can you keep getting, champ?"

"The grey ones by Xerokeria, he asked specifically."

"Oh! Those are good ones, I'll fetch them for you right away!"

I wait for him to get back, as the lights suddenly started flickering. It was like the universe wanted me to see that he was doing something suspicious.

I peered around the corner, and watched him speak to his phone, a frustrated look on his face. He was scratching his hair again, ofcourse.

After the phone call, he came with the headphones.

"And here they are, Darwin! This is ittt!" he said in an exaggerated cheerful manner, and making me shake my head internally.

You have to do more than that to deceive me, Robbie. I am Darwin, after all, I'm the master of deceiving expressions.

I decided not to bother him about it, and smiled. He and I walked downstairs, and I paid up. We exchanged our smiles and I walked out, his eyes tinged with pity and mine tinged with rage.

He didn't notice though, ofcourse not.

My knapsack was pretty big, it could even fit the box with the headphones, surprising Robbie and a few customers.

"I'll be off!" I opened the glass door and went out to my bike, feeling great.

Darwin The Great!

I only hoped that I did well during my previous test, I used to be so good and somewhere along the way I lost myself.

Lost myself? Ofcourse it was all my fault, or maybe it's it's fault...

I whistled as I rode my bicycle, thinking about why I skipped school again. With the mayor paying for my education and all, I should be more grateful, shouldn't I?

Well, let the Mayor waste his money, where was he when they disappeared? When was he when... when she needed him? Where was he when anyone needed him?

He was a selfish man, I could see the glint of greed in his eyes each time I saw him. I must either be terribly wrong or terribly right.

I didn't want to assume anything about anyone, ofcourse not, because I know how different a person can be inside. But the mayor was something else.

I had some change left from buying headphones, which was supposed to be my payment for buying it for Finn.

Candy! Wait no, marbles! Wait, no, both? Both! Wait no, I wanted some strawberries. Strawberries! I can feed some to Brownie, Cherry and Cupcake as well.

The ones in Silas' garden had been rotten and strange, and that was too bad because he loved his garden a lot. It was where he could be without people bothering him. I used to tease him, saying he was Newton, when he sat under the apple tree to read.

Sil-ly, heh.

I decided to go to the grocery store, but I had to get my list from Theodore first; he had asked me to go grocery shopping whenever I was able to.

Today's your lucky day, Theo.

I wheeled past all the people who waved at me, smiling at them. There weren't many people out today. I also had work, so I had to go there after this. Ma'am Kira probably won't forgive me this time, I had to be careful.

I knocked on the door to Theo's house, impatiently walking back and forth. He always seemed to be busy with stuff that I don't know, and he honestly creeped out his neighbors, but he was a fun and jolly guy.

He was gruff, tough, and was a cop. And everyone in Carsden hates cops. To us, they represented the mayor, not the government. The twisted agreements and bribes were very well known by all, despite them trying to keep it all under covers.

Theodore was one of the good guys, he is a good person. Maybe it's because of his family.

I was quickly approaching Theodore's house, and saw that he was already getting out.

"Hold up, Theo!" I called out to him. He looked around with a blank expression till he spotted me.

A flash of pity, then a happy smile... It's better than just pity, yes it is.

H o w p a t h e t i c

I gave my usual smile, bright and warm. "I'm going to buy groceries! Anything I can get for you?"

Theodore shook his head. "I got it covered, Darwin, no worries!"

I smiled and nodded. "Alright, I'll take my leave then!"

"Wait, Darwin!" a voice came from the house. Mercy came running out, holding her baby. I squealed happily, looking at the cute baby. She had rosy cheeks and pretty brown eyes!

"Carlieeeee!" I remembered her name, Mercy had told me before. Carlie giggled along with me as I took her hands and moved them up and down. Such a happy baby!

I wondered if this was people felt about me, maybe they saw me as a baby. Maybe I was there for them to adore and worry about, a baby that's bright and innocent, unmarred by the ways of the world.

Darwin the innocent infant.

"I just thought you'd like to say hi!" Mercy said, panting because of how fast she walked with Carlie.

I smiled softly; there really were people who wanted more than to give me pity. I wondered what Silas would think. He wouldn't believe there are such people in Carsden unless he sees for himself, I should convince him to come along with me sometime, ofcourse.

I waved bye to Mercy and Theo, and I saw them beaming at Carlie as she giggled at me and lifted her hand.

Turning my head, I started pedaling again.

Pedal

Pedalpedal

Pedal

I keep thinking about pedaling, I had to focus. Had to pedal to the grocery store. Had to go fast. To get there fast I have to pedal fast.

Pedallll

I saw a single orange leaf floating towards me and I held it up and examined it carefully. It had the aura of autumn. Intricate patterns wove in the middle, getting fainter as they stretched outwards. It was a very pretty leaf, ofcourse.

I put it in my knapsack, wanting to make a leaf collection. Yes, I shall do that before I leave Carsden, I shall remember all the trees that have seen and been through each and every vice of the humans around them.

Before I knew it, I was at the grocery store, frowning. Some of fruits had decayed, making the owner of the grocery store puzzled and shocked.

"I sweer, me bhey, they were pet theer only thees meerneeng!" he looked serious, and I was trying not to scoff at his ridiculous accent.

Phil really was a funny guy, I loved listening to him talk.

He was definitely not born in Carsden, I was sure of that, even though he has been here for a long time.

I was looking at the strawberries sadly. I touched one of them, and my finger sank right in, leaving red juice.

It was terrible, but I checked and took the strawberries that weren't overripe. I was feeling bad, I was thinking that my hamsters would get a special treaty treat today, and they would, but what about others who needed them?

I sorted all the bad and good rations in the grocery store, making sure only good ones stayed. I hummed along happily, glad that I was being of use to the people who worked here and came here.

It was done quicker than I expected, but it did take a while. I didn't regret it though, seeing Phil's overdramatic thankfulness and gratitude was more than enough.

He gave me the strawberries for free! Phil you're truly amazing, ofcourse! I had to be careful though. These strawberries would rot very quickly near my house...

Ofcourse they would, even the garden was dying.

Y o u r f a u l t

Shut up

I rode out, humming to myself, thinking about all the different people in Carsden. It was a somber and dull place, but the people could change that.

A lot of these people were amazing, they have the potential to make everything brighter, to increase the saturation.

I had to get ready, I have work to do. And ma'am Kira was strict about my uniform and my cleanliness, ofcourse.

After thinking of pedaling for quite a while, I managed to reach my house. And I dreaded thinking about my silly uniform. It did look good on me, but I felt weird.

I spent some time with my hamsters. Brownie and Cherry were competitive as always, they listened but Cupcake paid the most attention. They were excited to see the strawberries, and I sighed as they nibbled away.

I know it sounds corny, but I'm not ashamed to show my love for those I love, the thoughts of others don't matter.

I put them back in their cage.

"Now, be good boys, okay? Okay!"

I went and put the strawberries in the almost empty refrigerator, after putting some in a bowl for me to eat.

I walked back upstairs slowly, sighing. It was time to go to work.

I went to my wardrobe. It was small and arranged neatly, but in a messy way. The clothes were wrinkled and smelled musty because of being there, and they smelled like home so I loved them.

I placed my uniform outside, and stood in front of the mirror.

I looked at my fingernails and they looked dirty. Ofcourse they were. I was sweaty and dirty, why did people still smile at me?

It did make me wonder why they were being nice and why they tolerated me when I looked dirty and was just an annoyance.

T h e y
p i t y
y o u

For once, I agree...

H a h a h a h a

Laughing, seeing me say that?

I kept looking in the mirror as my blue eyes glowed bright.

Stop.

There was silence but a whisper was heard before it faded to the darkness.

N o t
f o r
l o n g

Ignoring that, I took a quick shower and put on my uniform. My dirt brown hair stuck to my neck but all the water dried up fast, and I shook my head to get the hair out of my eyes.

I rushed downstairs, and eat the strawberries fast as I think of a few lines of a song, it was called The Sound Of Spring.

After eating them, I put the bowl away and put on the pair of clean shoes I had to wear to work.

Before I knew it, I was on my bicycle, pedaling again. The road to work was almost empty so I decided to sing that one song that caught my heart, like the one girl who did the same.

My voice shaky and my hands trembling, I rode quicker than before as I sang, like I was running from my unavoidable feelings.

"And now, dear, all I can do is sing

Try in vain to sing away the pain

Your voice was the sound of spring

Till it drowned in a summer rain..."