Dumpster Diving (open)

[Deleted]

Jeff knew he was probably living a stereotype, but sometimes you had to.

It was almost pathetic how much food people actually threw away. And what was sad was when he was younger he was like them - food was no object to them. But for Jeff, sometimes he’d have to ration his food-buying money and look for what exactly it was the good people of this city threw away that day.

Today it was some classy joint - Jeff hadn’t really paid attention to the name. He just figured they probably had a lot of food to spare, and probably big portions too that meant that they’d probably wasted some of it. But he’d have to be fast, he did know that - resteraunt managers notoriously had eagle eyes for this crap.

So far, moving through the trash there really wasn’t much. A stale roll, was really all he found that wasn’t inedible, filled with mold, and/or covered in something questionable. He supposed if wasn’t much good for him - but instead of whining he simply said “Bone Apetite.” Before taking a bite of it - tasted like crap, big surprise.

So he continued his pilfering through - god there had to be something in there.

[Alexis Wheeler]

All day, Alex had been chomping at the bit to get on her way, but work was work, and it wasn't until her shift was over that she was finally free to get about the chore she'd been wanting to do all day.

Early in the morning a woman had brought a stray kitten into the clinic, the poor little thing was skinny and infested with fleas, its little eyes gooey with infection. As Alex had helped the vet care for the tiny thing, she'd heard the woman say that she'd found it behind a nice restaurant uptown, and it occurred to Alex that there might be more...kitties were part of a litter, and they had a mama, so she really, really wanted to go look.

Now, free for the day, she hopped on her bike and peddled toward the restaurant, kind of hoping that she didn't find anything...her dad would roll his eyes if she brought hone more strays, and they would likely be in bad shape. But then, if they were there, they needed to be helped.

To her surprise, there was a stray there when she pulled into the alley behind the restaurant, but not what she was expecting.

"Hey!" she called, smiling at the kid as she hopped off her bike, "um...have you seen any kittens around here?"

@yugioh,

[Deleted]

Jeff nearly fell out of the dumpster at the voice.

Smooth, very smooth Jeff. The teen brushed himself off quietly, turning to see the... Oh god, a girl, a cute girl this was awkward. Of course, Jeff noticed girls by now, even if he hadn’t had much time between being in juvie and then on the streets to really do anything. But he was at least smart enough to put a smile on back at her and try not to look too creepy. Which was hard to do when said girl had just found you scrounging around in the trash like a rodent. God, he must have looked so damn weird.

Alright, breathe Jeff. What was she asking about? Oh yeah, something about a kitten? Wait, there was a kitten around here? A dark alley at night was the last place a kitten should be, or a young girl for that matter. But Jeff admittedly felt a fair bit worried for the kitten. Scared and alone, probably a stray - he hoped it had a Mom somewhere looking out for it at least. “Oh, uh, sup?” He tried to act smooth, despite the kitten worrying and situation. “Nah I can’t say I’ve seen a kitten anywhere. If I had I’d probably be looking like a dork here. Love cats, and dogs..”.

God Jeff. Shut up. He sounded so weird.

[Alexis Wheeler]

"It's hard not to, huh?" Alex shrugged and grinned, hoping not to make the boy feel too awkward. After all, there was pretty much only one reason that he'd be scrounging in a dumpster, and really, there was no shame in it. She knew, from listening to her dad talk about work, that sometimes you had to do what you had to do.

"I'm Alex, I work at a vet office and I think there might be some kittens around here." Well, if he'd been here for a time, he would have seen them. "I'm just going to look around a little...you can help me if you want to."

@yugioh

[Deleted]

Jefff gave a nervous chuckle, trying to keep his cool. So she worked for a vet office? That was pretty cool, but something he could never do, that was for sure. All he’d imagine is having to put any animal down and quite frankly he’d loose his mind at that. He hated when animals... Ok, he really need to focus before he did keep looking like an idiot.

Clearing his throat and realizing he hadn’t introduced himself, Jeff gave a small grin. “I’m... Uh, I’m Jeff,” he explained, he never used his last name, too many cops in the city, too many with kids. His dad had been a damn good cop and he was sure someone out there was looking for him, and he wasn’t going back to a damn foster home. “Yeah, I should probably go with you. I mean, it’s kinda dangerous going into random alleys alone at night.”

Smooth. Then why was he doing it?

He decided to change directions on that one. “I mean unless you do that a lot. I mean you can probably take care of yourself. I just mean safety in numbers and all.”

[Alexis Wheeler]

"Hi, Jeff, good to meet you." Smiling brightly, as was her way, Alex nodded. "Yeah, I'd think I'd feel better having someone with me, and more eyes means a better chance to spot anything, right?"

So, now her little mission here had doubled -- find any stray kittens, and offer Jeff any help she could.

"Besides, if I have someone with me my dad won't freak out so bad if he finds out I was here." Of course, it was a fairly decent neighborhood and as long as she stayed aware, what was the harm, and her chore here was important, right?

Picking up her bike, she started to walk slowly along the alley. "So, you haven't seen any cats or kittens? I was kind of hoping...but then, I guess if there's no more here, they aren't in trouble, huh?"

She looked at him with a grin. "Or, like, puppies or anything?" While she didn't want there to be any injured or hurting critters, she'd hate to miss anything that might be out here...well, besides the one she'd already found!

@yugioh,

[Deleted]

Jeff nodded. She definitely had a point about having a better chance of seeing something at least. At the mention of her dad he gave a small smile. He was thankful that her father at least cared - it reminded him of his own father, and also reminded him that not all people out there were so bad. He just had a bad habit of running into them.

"So is your dad a vet? Or did you get into that some other way?" It was an honest question - but he still felt like maybe he was prying too much. So he decided to offer up something in return. "My dad... He was a cop. A damn good one too. Not that I'm looking to do that myself, y'know? I got more of a music thing going for me."

He thought about the kittens or puppies. He saw stray animals a lot, of course. Roaming the streets you saw just about every kind of "critter" you could imagine. It always sickened him too, knowing people so easily threw out living creatures. He tried to help where he could, sharing what food he could scrounge up if he did come across a stray. Mostly because he would have felt just as bad if he didn't help.

With a deep sigh, he shook his head. "I mean I know a few places some hang out. I try to feed what ones I do find. Feel bad for them, y'know? They should have someone looking out for them," he explained - probably in an ironic way. "People treat animals like they can just be thrown away when they're done with them. It bothers me, so I help where I can."

Lightbulb.

"I bet I know where they might be hanging out actually. Not here, an alley a couple of blocks down," he explained thoughtfully. "There's an old lady who owns a little shop down there. Leaves out milk for the cats and treats for the dogs. I bet you we at least have a good shot finding them there."

[Alexis Wheeler]

His dad was a cop? So why was he out on the streets, digging in dumpsters? Or did was mean he was dead and not just moved on like hers had? And even if Jeff's dad was dead, why hadn't someone stepped up? CPD was like a big family and they looked out for 'their own'.

Well, she wouldn't push him on that right now, she didn't want to scare him off because maybe she could help him.

"No, Dad's a paramedic," Alex explained as they walked slowly through the dark alley, "I just like animals, I'm going to be a vet, but that's after a ton of college, right?" She grinned. "In the mean time, I just work in a vet office. He's pretty tolerant of me fostering critters, but we live in an apartment and I have to smuggle most of them in. I'm going to have a ranch one day, so I can rescue them all."

She laughed, then nodded when he suggested a place where there might be some strays. "Lead on! You know, I'll be that little old lady one day! Cats, dogs, guinea pigs, horses, hedgehogs..." Whatever needed a home!

@yugioh

[Deleted]

Jeff noticed the look as Alexis tried to appraise him.

He didn’t really like talking about his dad. It was hard really working the fact that he’d been killed in the line of duty. His dad had been such a good guy, gone out of his way to help everyone. And all it had taken was a bullet... He shook it off.

That said he did listen as she talked about how her dad was a medic and her own desire to be a vet. “I sometimes think of being a vet too. Or a cop. Or a singer,” he then added. “I mean, the singings mostly a hobby but most of the time I don’t think college is an option for me. So I think of things that don’t imply I need to go.”

After all. He did go to school under an assumed name and fake paperwork - and he had good grades too. But who would pay tuition? Help him figure out his path in life? At the end of the day he’d need a scholarship at this point and they didn’t just hand those out.

He nodded forward, beginning to lead her down the street in the direction of said alley. “I think it’s really cool though, what you want to do I mean. Not a lot of people are that noble,” he explained honestly. “More people need to start thinking that way. And maybe it’d be a less crappy place.”

[Alexis Wheeler]

"Never really thought of it as being noble," Alex commented with a shy shrug, "more like...selfish...I just like animals and want an excuse to own a bunch!"

Of course, those who did 'noble' deeds rarely actually thought of them as noble but just doing what they had to and what was right, and she reckoned it really was a good thing she was doing to rescue helpless critters.

"It's worth the trouble, though, when they are warm and fed and they look at you..." To know you had made an impact on a living being...

But while she could probably sweet-talk her dad into letting her have a menagerie, there was no hope for it as long as they were living in an apartment building that had restrictions, and more, no yard of her own, a patch of land where she had more room for her strays. As it was, the manager really was pretty tolerant of the comings and goings of fosters.

"Man, I can't sing to save my life! Or play any kind of instrument. I do some juggling, but that's about it...well, I ride horses, too, but that's not too easy in Chicago."

@yugioh,

[Deleted]

Jeff laughed, understanding that feeling.

When his dad had been alive they had several animals. Two dogs and a cat to be exact. But unfortunately once he'd entered care they had to be placed in different homes. He always wanted to recreate that - one day at least. But who knew if he'd ever get the chance. "I mean I get that. If I could have pets I'd have a ton of them." He admitted. "But that's hardly the first thing I'm concerned with, y'know?"

Juggling eh? That was different. Jeff didn't think he'd ever be able to do juggling. He hardly could play guitar - at least to his knowledge. But then again, everyone was their own worst critic. "I mean, I'm OK. I'm nothing special, probably very garden variety," he explained in response. "It does help me a lot though. Gives me an escape that I sometimes need."

As they reached the alley, Jeff poked his head inside. "Well, this is it. I'm sure if there are any kittens they'd be here," he explained. "If not - at least it'll be a good start."

[Alexis Wheeler]

"Sure, right..." Alex grinned. "I bet you're a lot better than you give yourself credit for. Maybe you can play for me sometime?"

As he stepped into the alley, she peered past him, hoping that if there were any domestic-type creatures there, they were relatively safe and healthy.

"It's good to have escapes," she commented, "I think that's what the animals help with." Although as she said it, it occurred to her that she most certainly didn't have a need to escape compared to what he probably did. Sure, homework sucked, and sometimes her dad could be annoying, but she had a roof over her head, and meals, a soft, warm bed, and that was just the beginning. Heck, she had a dad to annoy her!

"I hope it's not too early," she murmured softly, "they might hide until it's later and quieter." Cats, especially, shied away from noise and activity, and likely would wait until the small hours of the morning, after all the people had wandered on.

That's why, when she noticed a small furry ginger body curled against a wall, she was a little alarmed.

"There!" Rushing forward, she trotted to the cat, half-expecting it to be cold and stiff...dead...but when she reached for it, it raised its head and let out a little hiss, but that was all that it had the energy for.

"Jeff!" Excitedly, she scooped up the limp body, cradling it gently as she looked at her companion. "Can you help me? Bring my bike?" She needed to get the cat home, but doing that along with her bike would be a challenge and take time she might not have.

@yugioh

[Deleted]

Jeff smiled a little - ah so there was a next time.

Shaking it off though - Jeff knew he had to focus. Sure the girl was pretty but she had enlisted him for a reason. Namely to help animals, which he reminded himself again was more important than flirting. Heck the health and safety of others, especially the defenseless came pretty much before anything else. He gave a cheeky grin as she added the part about escapes though.

He was sure she had her own reasons to need to escape. Probably because parents could drive one nuts sometimes. And while he often did miss his dad being there to nag him to finish his homework, or clean his room he understood the basic issues. “Yeah I can imagine. I mean it was just me and my dad before he passed and he drove me nuts sometimes,” he explained. “Animals are a good escape too.”

He didn’t have much time to respond to the last statement before she found the cat. Quickly he rushed to grab her bike, taking hold of it and bringing it right over to her without so much as blinking an eyelash. “Is it ok? Hurt? Do I need to call the vet clinic for you or anything?” He asked rather hurriedly, mind immediately on the animal.

[Alexis Wheeler]

"All the clinics are closed this late," Alex commented as she looked the kitty over, holding its nearly limp body gently but securely. "It's hard to tell in the dark, but he looks a little pale...I can tell better if I get him home."

She started walking quickly, thinking over what she had and what she needed. "I think I can help him until I can get him to the vet in the morning...food, cleaning him up...and I have what I need to give him fluids."

Glancing at Jeff, she smiled. "I just live a couple of blocks, I can see what I can do, but if he needs more we'll get him to the emergency vet." A very expensive prospect, even with her ties to a local clinic.

Then she realized that she was just assuming he'd want to come along, so she glanced at him and asked, "You don't mind, do you?"

@yugioh,

[Deleted]

Jeff wasn’t sure about going with her for that.

Like he wanted to help - he really did. But what if her dad came home? What would he think of seeing a sixteen year old street kid in his house? Or if he was already there? Would he flip? Call the cops? Call CPS? He thought hard on all of it. Looking down at the poor kitten, then back up at Alexis. Sure, he could be selfish like that, high tail it and book it at the first sign of danger. But at the same time what kind of person would he be

He’d been hurt on the streets before. So many people had turned a blind eye to him - not even giving a crap when he cried out in pain. Or shivered on the street corner trying to keep warm during the winter. He put this logic in as he looked at the poor cat. It was like him, he just needed someone to help him out and unlike him was too young to be stubborn about accepting it.

“Yeah, let’s go get the little guy to your place.” He finally managed to reply, a smile crossing his face. “I probably shouldn’t stay long though. But I’ll do what I can to help at least.”