Danielle had been working 2 jobs after school, along trying to deal with soccer practice. Time with her friends and Gabe had been cut down to practically none, this weekend was the grand opening of the Golden Dragon, and there had been not one vacant seat while customers came by to check the new oriental restaurant. That weekend she had decided not to go to the super market where she worked at. Instead she had asked if she could now work only afternoons, work a couple of hours and weekends at the restaurant. Why was she straining herself so much on working two jobs? Because this was the only way she could actually get her way through college. She needed the money, her mother and her weren’t speaking anymore, the air filled with tension had grown between, and filling up the silence that now existed. Both women were stubborn and unwilling to comprise. Danielle’s mother didn’t want her daughter to leave Meridian to study, although she had allowed Danielle’s brother to do so. But it was because he was older and men had it easier she said and she had gotten a full scholarship on playing soccer while she lived in San Francisco. Her mother didn’t have income and her father wasn’t helping. Again he had disappeared, to god knows where. Her grandmother had always stated that Danielle’s father was a wanderer and could never settle in one place.
Working as a waitress at The Golden Dragon was much more rewarding then working at the supermarket, along with getting a good minimal wage pay check she got good tips, especially from the Asian customers that favored the Asian waitresses. Normally in other situations Danielle would have complained that it wasn’t fair because it was being kind of racist in some matter but she didn’t because she needed the money and because she did work had for her money. She had gotten use to quickly that weekend to the constant mix of Japanese and Chinese yelling between the cooks. She understood Japanese from her grandmother, but it didn’t mean that Danielle spoke it well, she didn’t have an accent just that she couldn’t speak it so fluently, though now she had more opportunity to speak it now and to get use to it. Today, she had soccer practice and it wasn’t pretty, especially since she was captain she had worked the team harder then usual even if the season was over one could say but they couldn’t be slacking. Besides the team’s little princess were trying to take it easy in the last games so the coach wanted Danielle to make them work it off in the muddy field. Danielle didn’t bother with them on the social statues, because it wasn’t worth it. She didn’t speak to them unless spoken to. She didn’t bother with them and their little ‘smart’ comments it wasn’t worth it. They didn’t know what it was to work for what you got. She paid for her car, her clothes and practically everything else except things doing with the house. The practice was rough, they had to run around the field and then kicks 5 soccer balls to the net and then run more, running through the tires and working on their kicks and blocking. She had gotten to work all bruised up and sore. Her muscles ached with such great pain, she didn’t know how she managed her shift in the super market and then working at the restaurant until closing. She had ignored it, and tried to keep up in fast pace.
She got to her car and it wouldn’t start. The rain was starting to pour down all over Meridian again and the battery of her cell phone was dead. This seemed all so fucking ironic. She grabbed her stuff and placed on her jacket, everyone from work was long gone and she walked towards the next bus stop under the rain, the rain pouring down on her. She stood at the bus stop for a good 20 minutes, soaking wet from the rain and shivering cold. One bus hadn’t pass and it was late. Maybe they stopped running by this bus stop after certain hours. She shivered and looked to her watch. 12:30. Fuck, she thought to herself. It was late in downtown in this wasn’t a good thing. The rain fell down like needles and then dissolved following down like a river on the pavement. She crossed the street running no cars were passing. Until there was fast speeding car passing by, the headlights blurred by the distance from the heavy rain pouring down, she had stepped back and slipped falling back, the car had stopped almost skidding. It didn’t hit her, but it almost had. She fell down bumping her head, causing a cut and a bruise. There had been a police car following it. The people inside the car had ran out, into the near by alleyway. The last person to come out of the car had been Thomas Rein. He had run out but stopped to check on the girl until he notice the police car’s headlights hovering over him. He then looked to Danielle who was unconscious in the moment from the hit on the head and ran off. Thinking maybe they did hit her. He was trying to run as fast as he could. He thought he had seen her before. He was running trying to find Steve and Manuel who had ran before him, the cop was coming on to him.
One of the cops stayed, checking on the girl who was on the floor unconscious. He checked her pulse and took a notice she was alive and called for an ambulance for incase and back up. His partner went running after the guys. Caught stealing the car they were in. Thomas was running throwing the trashcans behind him to slow down the cop who was running after him. He had finally caught up with the other two. “Run!” Steve yelled and Thomas had slipped and managed to get up while Manuel helped him up. The other two managed to run off, but then Thomas heard the police shooting. None the bullets got him but he stopped. Being arrested, even through he had only been a witness to the car stealing, not having done it himself. The question was why did he have so much money in his pockets. The police took him. He wasn’t going to give out any names. He did it for one reason, Lisa… lord knows he could go to juvenile correction center for this if his foster parents didn’t decide to do something if they found out. They decided to hold him in for a couple of nights until he was bailed out.
Danielle for all was taken to the hospital to stitch up the cut on her forehead. Her mother picked her up at the hospital, who later was yelling at her for being downtown and those hours of the night greeted her and she yelled back that she had been working. The argument continued in the drive home… next morning Danielle didn’t go to school from the throbbing pain in her head and her muscles still aching.
That night, both of them heard something from muttering adults. Saying 'Poison hearts will never change'.