As I walked outside I was surrounded by cool fresh air. I inhale the scent of pine trees and exhale deeply and watch leaves flutter around below my feet. The shoes will finally get dirty. I sigh, staring at the scenery and breathing the fresh air. I could get used to this.

I look up to see a man waiting for me, standing next to a car. As he meets my gaze he opens the door and I slide inside slowly, not wanting to leave the fresh air outside.

The man starts up the engine to the car, and heads off down a dirt road, leading to the real world.

Trees pass by and I stare outside in awe. "It's so beautiful." I mumble to myself, forgetting about the car driver. My cheeks heat up and I look in the review mirror, relieved to see that he isn't looking at me.

Eventually, we pull up at an old looking apartment complex. The rooms all looked huge compared to my tiny cot, and I was shocked to see some familiar faces from the orphanage.

I hop out of the car and follow the man to what seemed like the lobby. A man at a desk spoke with him for a bit, and I looked into a beautiful fish tank with tons of fish. It reminded me of the orphanage, and how we were all locked away from reality.

I was so drowned in my thoughts that I hardly noticed when the man came back to me with an envelope and keys to my room. I took them and put the keys in my pants pocket. I held onto the envelope tightly, knowing that it contained all of the money to keep me alive this month.

"Good luck." the man said dryly. "Your apartment is 217." he finished, before walking away. I didn't even have time to thank him, but lets be honest. I wouldn't have thanked him anyway, he was rude.

~~~~~~

I pressed the key into the lock on the door labeled 217 and turned it slowly. The door opened with a creek and I peered inside. A cot was in one corner, and in the other there was a door that probably went to the bathroom. I knew I had limited running water, so I needed to stick to 5 minute showers and not flushing the toilet every time I go.

I put my bag down onto the cot and took out all of my belongings. My baby blanket, small nightlight, and my favorite book The Fault In Our Stars. Okay? Okay.

I plugged in my lamp and tried to turn it on. Just as I suspected, it stayed perfectly dark. A little light bulb in each room was all that I had, and even those could only be used one at a time. All of the electricity shut off at 10pm though, so no midnight bathroom breaks.

I laid down on the bed and fell asleep, just then I realized that it was currently Sunday, and tomorrow was Monday. Which meant the first day of school. Oh dear lord, help me.