There she was. All alone in London. The 18-year-old girl ran away from home, saying she would be fine in London. She didn’t need anyone, she just needed a job. She looked at her reflection in a store. She weakly smiled as she put a streak of brown hair behind her ear. She hasn’t eaten today, so she was starving. She couldn’t spend too much money, only in case of emergencies. She carried one black, big bag full of clothes and food. Okay, where to start. Where to sleep. She entered a bakery and bought a croissant.

‘It is really good!’ she happily said. She really needed to eat something. ‘Wow, I have never seen anyone this happy with a croissant,’ the guy from the shop laughed. The girl smiled. He had these eyes of enjoyment, she became happier by talking to him and tried to read his name tag. ‘That’s probably true, Charles’ she laughed. ‘Hey, not fair. What’s your name?’ Charles asked. ‘I am Kathy,’ the girl answered. ‘So, what are you doing here? Why are you carrying this big bag?’ Kathy tried to stop her tears. ‘I am looking for a job, I just ran away from home’- she didn’t know why she told this to a stranger. ‘I see,’ he said. He went through his blonde hair with one hand. ‘Why?’ he asked. ‘They were only fighting at home. My father hit my mother and I couldn’t be there anymore. I just had to go away,’ she said. ‘I see.. Well, we are looking for full-time employees. Do you think you can bake some bread?’ – tears filled Kathy’s brown eyes. ‘Yeah!’ she said. ‘Good, fill this in and I will call you tomorrow,’ Charles said as he was handing Kathy the form. Kathy nodded and realized she brought her phone with her. She wondered if her parents tried to call her already, but they probably haven’t even noticed she’s gone. It hurt.

She went to the shop again in the morning to buy another croissant and saw an older man this time. Probably the owner. ‘Good morning!’ she said as cheerful as possible. ‘Good morning,’ the man had a friendly smile. She bought another croissant. ‘How are you doing?’ she continued. She needed the job. She needed money to rent a room.

‘I have applied for the full time job yesterday,’ Kathy smiled. ‘Oh, is it you? You look quite young for a full-timer’ the man said. Kathy couldn’t do anything else but agree. ‘I know, but I want to. I love to interact with other people. Please, let me try ..’ She never begged for a job. But she needed this one. ‘Okay, you can try for two weeks’ Kathy almost hugged the man. ‘Seriously?!’ she asked. The man smiled as he nodded.

‘I will come back later,’ Charles said on her first day while he was grabbing his coat. ‘Where are you going?’ Kathy asked, a little scared. She has never been alone this late. ‘Just doing some grocery shopping. Do you need something?’ Kathy shook her head. Okay, what could happen. Most customers are these cat ladies buying some doughnuts. No big deal. Still, she was scared.

A group of guy teenagers passed by. ‘Wow, look at her!’ one said, pointing at Kathy. ‘Yeah, she’s cute!’ they entered the shop. Kathy saw them coming closer. The guys frightened her. Don’t worry, she kept telling herself. Breathe. Charles will be back any second. One guy came incredibly close with his head and Kathy just froze. She thought of her dad. She remembered her parents not calling her anymore. She has been gone for a while and they still haven’t called her. This guy scared her, just like her dad.

‘Can I help you?’ Charles asked, standing in the door opening. The guys left, upset that their girl appeared to be taken already. ‘Kathy, are you okay? Did they do something?’ he asked. Kathy was frozen and couldn’t move. ‘It will be okay, don’t worry,’ Charles hugged her. Kathy was shaking and started to cry. ‘Ssht, you’re scaring our customers’ he laughed. Kathy grinned. Yeah, this is her new home.