Lutz.
1317 Words
Calliope's P.O.V
Sammy and I didn't always get along in the beginning. He teased me and I hated him for it. Unlike me, he wasn't born on these streets. They moved here when he was around two years old, a little snot-nosed, blonde-haired, brown-eyed boy. His father was an alcoholic who wasted all his money on alcohol and never bothered to pay his rent.
Forcing them to move out of their lovely home because his father had too much debt. I think we were around seven when he told me that he would rather have an alcoholic as a dad then a woman who slept around as a mother... we started fighting, and I ended up sitting on his chest pounding my little fist against his face...
"Take it back, you snot-nosed bastard, at least my mother puts food on the table. Your father is a drunk who cannot hold a job. He couldn't even keep the house his family lived in."
I yelled...
Even if my mother did as he said, I felt he needed to know that he couldn't compare someone that was looking after her family to someone who couldn't... The next day, he came to apologize. I took some comfort in the fact that I left my mark on him. He had a busted lip and a blue eye.
It wasn't long after that when his mother started disappearing at night as well, doing the very same thing my mother did. She could depend on her husband. In fact, when she came back home without money, Sammy's father would be so pissed that neither Sammy's mother nor he was allowed to sleep in the tent...
Then mum would invite them into ours, and I'd have to share my sleeping bag with the little t**t. That's why mum always told me to never point a finger at someone else...
"Always remember you're pointing one finger at them but don't ever forget that four fingers are facing back at you."
See, I told you she was wise...
As I lay on my back looking up at the stars, I'm reminded of my mother. She'd been gone for more than six years now. She left one night and never came back. I waited for the better part of almost a full year before I stopped sitting on the corner where I had always seen her coming from... Mum was gone and there was no way for me to find her.
I asked around and looked at the spots. People told me she might be at but no one had seen her or even heard of her and even if they did, people didn't talk unless you gave them a reason to. There would be no use if I reported her missing. They would just end up taking me and my siblings even further away from her. Besides, they never took the disappearances of street workers seriously...
Most of the people I've asked told me she grew tired of feeding so many mouths, so she left. Some even told me that my mother was pregnant, and the father took her to live with him. He told her that she wasn't allowed to bring the rest of her kids because he wasn't their father... but I refused to believe that my mother would never leave us, not for anything or anyone, something must have happened to her.
"You're up"
Sammy says as he nudges me on my side with his foot... I stare up at him. He grew into such a fine handsome guy. The only problem is that Sammy drinks as much as his father, maybe even more.
"You're done already?"
I asked.
"Nah, Lutz said he wanted you. Better get going his waiting."
I got up with a sigh. Lutz is a good guy when you're good to him. He looks out for so many people around here, but everything comes at a cost... He has many people working for him doing all kinds of things. I work for him, too, he is feared around here, but I know something most of them don't. Lutz has a boss and Lutz is scared shitless of him.
I make my way over to his car, and he hands me an envelope, my next assignment, if that's even what you can call it, but Lutz likes to be professional. I call it pick-pocketing. The first week after mum disappeared, I was left to fend for myself and my younger siblings, so since then, I like to say that I have mastered the art of stealing from you without you even knowing about it.
Begging on street corners just wasn't cutting it anymore and, honestly, I hated how people looked at me. I knew I was poor. I didn't need to see on their faces how much I disgusted them and I sure as hell didn't need their pitying looks, just their money... At first, I wanted to explain. No, I felt like I needed to explain my situation.
I wanted them to know my story without all the s**t they assumed, but who was I kidding? People assumed whatever the f**k they wanted to, but now I couldn't care less about what they think or say about me... I thought I had all the experience I needed when it came to pick pocketing. I thought I was the best, as if I invented the term pick pocketing...
Until I tried to pick pocket Lutz... Well, I did. I got his wallet from his pocket and was well on my way to spoiling my siblings when he pulled up next to me while I was talking and put his hand out of the window of this car. I stepped back, pushing the little ones behind me when he stepped out.
I've loved the way he dressed ever since that night. I guess a man in a suit always tickles my fancy... Lutz and his driver guided me and my siblings to his car and took us to something to eat... after we were done, he asked his driver to take my siblings to the play area in McDonald's so he could have a private conversation with me.
He told me how good I was, but that he was much better... He told me that to become the man he is today he had to do the very same thing I did to survive. He knew about my mother that I was raising my siblings. He told me that he could help me get better at truly mastering the art of being a professional thief and I accepted.
The next day, Lutz bought a brand-new tent big enough for the six of us...
"Your payment is inside and remember you'll get the rest when the job is done... I threw in something extra, get yourself a shiny dress and some heels. Max will be picking you up in the morning. Say around 10, that should give you enough time to get your hair done too. Oh? And don't forget, do not remove the tags from the dress and use see-through tape for the bottom of your heels."
Then he was off.
Everything I ever bought always had to be returned to the shops after my assignment was over, hence the reason why I had to keep on the tags and apply tape to the bottom of my heels... I opened the envelope Lutz handed to me and looked at the picture of the man I was to rob... I have come a long way from pick pocketing now...
I could steal the TV from your wall, and you'll only realize it's missing when I am long gone... Lutz needed me to retrieve a briefcase from this man. There was a picture of the briefcase as well, but I was never allowed to know what most of the things I stole were...
- Writer
