Selfless acts were uncommon in her universe... all human contact she'd gotten the last few months were Japanese tourists that wanted to capture the bad side of the city on their nice little holiday, by means of escaping the shopping malls, crowded museums and crammed amusement parks that were drowning in bliss and manic happiness.
Yeah, she was the bad side of the city... she was the part that was better left unseen and little people actually saw it. Some of them actually asked for her permission! Why? What would she do? Sue them? She was a stain on the face of society, something like a pimple you're desperate to cover up... close ups wouldn't help her. Lawrence would, though. Lawrence with the soft sheets, family portraits and Baseball cards stuck to the wall. He was nice.
D looked at him as he entered the room, a tray full of food balancing on his hand:
'You hungry?'
'Yeah.' A shy smile graced her face.
Lawrence put down the tray and sat on a chair that stood next to his bed.
D picked up a fork and eyed the elaborate lasagna he had prepared... how not to start stuffing the whole thing in her mouth without warning?
'I... ummm...'
'Just eat. I don't care. Eat.' He dipped his fork in as to give her the right example and then waited to see if she'd follow. She did.
'It's... good!' Her eyes brightened, a full blown grin now visible on her face.
Lawrence laughed. 'I cook a lot... actually... I have no life at all.'
'Well...' D started, her face falling ever so slightly: 'I'm not the one to laugh at that, am I?'
Lawrence sighed: 'You're not... I guess. Still think you've been through a lot more than I have?'
'You could say that... also means you're a wuss next to me, doesn't it?'
'It does. I admit defeat. Should I bow down now?' He already stood up, seemingly serious about his offer.
'Would you? Seriously?' A rather devious smirk crept across D's face... this sounded like fun.
'I might, if you wanted me to?'
'I'm not sure... are you going to kiss my hand or anything? 'Cause chances are you're going to contract something nasty if you do.'
Lawrence laughed again... normally, laughing people earned a scowl from D, but it seemed to be different now.
'Speaking of nasty...' Lawrence's voice turned serious again: 'How are you?'
Tomato sauce dripped of D's chin and she gestured to her mouth before swallowing and responding with the familiar and highly predictable: 'I'm fine.'
Lawrence felt her forehead again, sighing sadly: 'You're not fine. You're actually less not fine than the last time I checked... look at me.'
D did. Lawrence could see her that her eyes were slightly glazed over. He also fully noticed their beauty for the first time, leaving a weird mixture of sadness and awe visible on his face.
'Yeah I know.' D smiled at him. 'Mom always said I was special.'
'Maybe you are.' Lawrence lamely offered.
'In a bad way, right? I mean... I like this, okay? I do... but could you like... stop, being nice to me? I just got accustomed to the fact that I'm scum, okay? I'm scum, no one really wants me here and when I leave here again people are going to ignore me and... shun me, so stop it.'
'No.' Lawrence said, simply. 'I'm going to treat you like a person, talk to you and make sure that me and my neighbors won't have to live with the fact that they let a girl die right in front of them, knowing that they could've done something. I'm doing something.' He explained.
'That what happened to your niece?' D asked, out of innocence, really.
'No. No one did something. She's dead.' Lawrence bit at her.
'Sorry...' D's shoulders and face both fell, leaving an uncomfortable look on her face.
'It's... my fault, really. Relax, okay? Just relax. And sleep some more. Can I get you anything?'
D coughed... it sounded rather unhealthy and actually required Lawrence's interference. 'No.' Her voice sounded hoarse.
'Are you cold?'
She nodded.
Lawrence left briefly to return with pillows and blankets alike.
'There... You run away or something?' He asked, casually.
'Yeah.'
'Why?'
'I don't know...' She shrugged, tensed: she was closing up.
She did know why. Because her parents divorced and her mother remarried a fat guy with a Harley that had midlife crisis written all over it and a disgustingly greasy coupe on his scarlet red head. There was also his completely inappropriate use of slang, the pants he could never pull up high enough to cover up his umm... backwards cleavage?
Back then, she already was an insignificance to him. Her name had been Danielle and the fat guy made it Danni... as he would holler that as he and D's mother passed the school on that disgusting midlife machine of his and she didn't like it at all so it became D. Just D.
And on a chilly autumn night, she had left home and went to the bus stop on the other side of town and waited for the right kind of bus driver: Not the "Never missed-a-day-of-work-in-twenty-years-in-first-out-last" type of guy, but the "Lives-on-RedBull-and-coffee-can't-take-his-eyes-off-the-road-'cause-he'd-crash" Type that wouldn't remember a face and made you wonder if he'd go into a full blown panic attack if you removed his beloved thermos can out of his line of sight. She went to her dad's first... but found reason to leave there too...
'What does D stand for, anyway?' Lawrence felt the need to save her from what seemed to be painful thoughts.
'Danielle... How do you shorten Lawrence?'
'Renzo.' He smiled: the nickname was apparently linked to a good memory.
'Like a clown?' She chuckled.
'Care to disagree?' He challenged.
She shrugged: no, not really.
Wanted to show their basic personalities here... Lawrence is something of a caring grandfather and D is just a scared, hardened teenager.
Yeah, she was the bad side of the city... she was the part that was better left unseen and little people actually saw it. Some of them actually asked for her permission! Why? What would she do? Sue them? She was a stain on the face of society, something like a pimple you're desperate to cover up... close ups wouldn't help her. Lawrence would, though. Lawrence with the soft sheets, family portraits and Baseball cards stuck to the wall. He was nice.
D looked at him as he entered the room, a tray full of food balancing on his hand:
'You hungry?'
'Yeah.' A shy smile graced her face.
Lawrence put down the tray and sat on a chair that stood next to his bed.
D picked up a fork and eyed the elaborate lasagna he had prepared... how not to start stuffing the whole thing in her mouth without warning?
'I... ummm...'
'Just eat. I don't care. Eat.' He dipped his fork in as to give her the right example and then waited to see if she'd follow. She did.
'It's... good!' Her eyes brightened, a full blown grin now visible on her face.
Lawrence laughed. 'I cook a lot... actually... I have no life at all.'
'Well...' D started, her face falling ever so slightly: 'I'm not the one to laugh at that, am I?'
Lawrence sighed: 'You're not... I guess. Still think you've been through a lot more than I have?'
'You could say that... also means you're a wuss next to me, doesn't it?'
'It does. I admit defeat. Should I bow down now?' He already stood up, seemingly serious about his offer.
'Would you? Seriously?' A rather devious smirk crept across D's face... this sounded like fun.
'I might, if you wanted me to?'
'I'm not sure... are you going to kiss my hand or anything? 'Cause chances are you're going to contract something nasty if you do.'
Lawrence laughed again... normally, laughing people earned a scowl from D, but it seemed to be different now.
'Speaking of nasty...' Lawrence's voice turned serious again: 'How are you?'
Tomato sauce dripped of D's chin and she gestured to her mouth before swallowing and responding with the familiar and highly predictable: 'I'm fine.'
Lawrence felt her forehead again, sighing sadly: 'You're not fine. You're actually less not fine than the last time I checked... look at me.'
D did. Lawrence could see her that her eyes were slightly glazed over. He also fully noticed their beauty for the first time, leaving a weird mixture of sadness and awe visible on his face.
'Yeah I know.' D smiled at him. 'Mom always said I was special.'
'Maybe you are.' Lawrence lamely offered.
'In a bad way, right? I mean... I like this, okay? I do... but could you like... stop, being nice to me? I just got accustomed to the fact that I'm scum, okay? I'm scum, no one really wants me here and when I leave here again people are going to ignore me and... shun me, so stop it.'
'No.' Lawrence said, simply. 'I'm going to treat you like a person, talk to you and make sure that me and my neighbors won't have to live with the fact that they let a girl die right in front of them, knowing that they could've done something. I'm doing something.' He explained.
'That what happened to your niece?' D asked, out of innocence, really.
'No. No one did something. She's dead.' Lawrence bit at her.
'Sorry...' D's shoulders and face both fell, leaving an uncomfortable look on her face.
'It's... my fault, really. Relax, okay? Just relax. And sleep some more. Can I get you anything?'
D coughed... it sounded rather unhealthy and actually required Lawrence's interference. 'No.' Her voice sounded hoarse.
'Are you cold?'
She nodded.
Lawrence left briefly to return with pillows and blankets alike.
'There... You run away or something?' He asked, casually.
'Yeah.'
'Why?'
'I don't know...' She shrugged, tensed: she was closing up.
She did know why. Because her parents divorced and her mother remarried a fat guy with a Harley that had midlife crisis written all over it and a disgustingly greasy coupe on his scarlet red head. There was also his completely inappropriate use of slang, the pants he could never pull up high enough to cover up his umm... backwards cleavage?
Back then, she already was an insignificance to him. Her name had been Danielle and the fat guy made it Danni... as he would holler that as he and D's mother passed the school on that disgusting midlife machine of his and she didn't like it at all so it became D. Just D.
And on a chilly autumn night, she had left home and went to the bus stop on the other side of town and waited for the right kind of bus driver: Not the "Never missed-a-day-of-work-in-twenty-years-in-first-out-last" type of guy, but the "Lives-on-RedBull-and-coffee-can't-take-his-eyes-off-the-road-'cause-he'd-crash" Type that wouldn't remember a face and made you wonder if he'd go into a full blown panic attack if you removed his beloved thermos can out of his line of sight. She went to her dad's first... but found reason to leave there too...
'What does D stand for, anyway?' Lawrence felt the need to save her from what seemed to be painful thoughts.
'Danielle... How do you shorten Lawrence?'
'Renzo.' He smiled: the nickname was apparently linked to a good memory.
'Like a clown?' She chuckled.
'Care to disagree?' He challenged.
She shrugged: no, not really.
Wanted to show their basic personalities here... Lawrence is something of a caring grandfather and D is just a scared, hardened teenager.
People down every turn
Pain inside their hearts
A girl with scars on her wrists
A boy with a knife in his chest
She hides in the dark
Wondering when the pain with end
He stands up to fight in defense
Only to get knocked back down again
She fights with her parents
They don't wanna support the child
She's left to fend for herself in the cold
Alone with the child
Do we see what we are doing when we say the things we say?
Do we see who we are hurting with the actions that we're taking?
What we need
Are broken families reconciled
We need hearts to mend, scars to heal and battles to end
We. Need. Love
To stand up for the broken
We. Need. Hope
To give a hand to the hopeless
We need the world to care.
What are we doing with the words we are saying?
Who are we changing
And what effects are they having?
Lets be the change.
Pain inside their hearts
A girl with scars on her wrists
A boy with a knife in his chest
She hides in the dark
Wondering when the pain with end
He stands up to fight in defense
Only to get knocked back down again
She fights with her parents
They don't wanna support the child
She's left to fend for herself in the cold
Alone with the child
Do we see what we are doing when we say the things we say?
Do we see who we are hurting with the actions that we're taking?
What we need
Are broken families reconciled
We need hearts to mend, scars to heal and battles to end
We. Need. Love
To stand up for the broken
We. Need. Hope
To give a hand to the hopeless
We need the world to care.
What are we doing with the words we are saying?
Who are we changing
And what effects are they having?
Lets be the change.
When will this end?
Mass shootings
Terrorist attacks
Police brutality
They say it's just a gun control problem
They say it cannot be fixed
I say the problem is deeper
I say there is hope
When will this end?
Income inequality
Veterans living on the streets, penniless,
Dying by their own hands everyday.
They say this world can change for the better
But nothing has changed...
And I truly do fear
Nothing ever will
When will love start?
The day we offer a hand to the fallen
Instead of cringing back in shock
And running away
When will our world change?
The day we love too much to kill
The day others' pain is our pain
The day we act instead of just talking about it
"It's impossible"
"We're too broken to be mended"
"It's a hopeless battle"
I say, let us try.
Mass shootings
Terrorist attacks
Police brutality
They say it's just a gun control problem
They say it cannot be fixed
I say the problem is deeper
I say there is hope
When will this end?
Income inequality
Veterans living on the streets, penniless,
Dying by their own hands everyday.
They say this world can change for the better
But nothing has changed...
And I truly do fear
Nothing ever will
When will love start?
The day we offer a hand to the fallen
Instead of cringing back in shock
And running away
When will our world change?
The day we love too much to kill
The day others' pain is our pain
The day we act instead of just talking about it
"It's impossible"
"We're too broken to be mended"
"It's a hopeless battle"
I say, let us try.