CHAPTER 6CHARLIE
March 13, 2090
Wedged between a shed and a wooden fence, I held my breath, hoping I had eluded the guy following me.
“You’re not in trouble, kid.” The voice was rough but not accusing. “What you did back there was pretty clever.”
Three months after running from the home for children, I found myself on the streets of Kansas City. Hungry to the point of starvation, I posed as a paperboy selling subscriptions to one of the local newspapers and pestered homeowners, exhausted from work or arms full of groceries, as they walked from their cars to their houses. I continued my sales pitch all the way to the door. Although I didn’t sell one fake paper, I did memorize a dozen key codes, so when a new workday started, I let myself in to raid the refrigerator and enjoy a warm show
