Chapter 2

The fifth file appeared to be the thickest. There must have been some interesting stories in this person’s life. With this thought Sarah opened the file.

Name: Tina

Age: 20

Day and Place of Birth: 1990/06/14, Canada

Parents: Yu and Wei

Current Occupation: unemployed

<~*~>

“…happy birthday to you…” people finished the song and clapped.

Tina smiled but nobody noticed how sad the smile was.  Over three years she has mastered all types of fake smiles. For more than three years she never really smiled. The smile her friends and parents used to love was gone. As well as her voice.

One thing people always remembered about Tina wasn’t the way she dressed or dyed her hair. It was the fact that the girl didn’t talk at all. She was capable, she was perfectly healthy but she simply didn’t talk.

At first people she knew questioned her. Then they tried to make her speak. Later they gave up and accepted the fact that maybe they would never hear her beautiful voice that made her the star of her school’s glee club again. So called ‘friends’ didn’t know how to communicate with her and one by one they left.

New people in her life looked curiously at her. She never explained to anyone what had happened so people assumed she just couldn’t speak. However, the fact that Tina didn’t even know the sign language made them suspicious; can’t the girl talk or doesn’t she want to?

It was the latter of course. At first she didn’t want to talk to anyone, later she didn’t feel the need.

So for three long years she didn’t say a word. When she was alone at home she sometimes hummed to herself but that was it.

“Make a wish, darling,” Wei said pushing the cake a bit closer, “and blow out the candles.”

“Yes, but don’t say it out loud because then it won’t come true,” Tina’s younger brother Min teased her and she smiled at the boy.

The girl looked around.

She was with her family in a cosy little restaurant they used to go to quite often. So the only thing which made the particular evening special was a birthday cake on the table.

The girl looked at her parents and brother, who eyed her expectantly.

I want to go on a trip, she thought and blew the candles out. Everyone clapped again and Tina smiled.

After eating the cake everyone stood up and left. Tina’s family went to where their car was but the girl didn’t move.

“You want to go home on foot?” her mother asked. The girl nodded.

“Fine, but be careful,” Yu warned her and turned around.

Tina smiled the ‘I’ll see you later’ smile and went the opposite direction. It was quite late but she was never afraid of the dark. Recently she was afraid of people though but the girl had spent most of her free time in various self-defence classes and was sure she could defend herself.

It’s probably naïve of me to think that way, she thought and turned to a narrow street.

Half way through it she heard some strange noise behind. Tina didn’t even look around blaming it on that weird ginger cat that was always there.

Still thinking about the trip of her dreams the girl kept going.

Yes, Tina wanted to go on a trip. And yes, she would. But not where she wanted to.

<~*~>

“How did you like that one?” Tom asked, having watched the woman blankly through the whole time she spent reading first five files. He liked the fifth one a lot.

“Interesting, to be honest. And from what I see, you didn’t exaggerate saying it’s ‘an interesting bunch of young people’. But let me finish,” the woman smiled and reached the next file.

Name: Sebastian

Age: 21

Day and Place of Birth: 1989/12/07, Los Angeles

Parents: Greg and Monica

Current Occupation: student, drug dealer

<~*~>

“Hey, Seb, c’mon man…” a teenager pleaded.

“No money, no high,” Sebastian growled silently and turned to walk away but the boy grabbed his hand.

“Fuck, I need it!”

“Find another fool; you already owe me fifty bucks.”

“Fuck you!” the boy shouted and ran away before Sebastian could react. However, he didn’t.

The boy sighed sadly and walked where he had planned to.

This whole secret life was a mess. An exemplary medicine student from dawn till dusk, and a drug dealer at night. But coming from a poor family he needed to get money to pay the steep tuition, rent, support himself and his drinking parents. Of course he had tried to get a decent job but no part-time job paid that well. That was when his neighbour Jed offered a ‘better’ option.

Sebastian appeared to be a fast learner and soon he got a handle on the new job. In no time he had a clientele as well.

He saw his building and lit the cigarette walking towards it. It was the only drug he allowed himself.

“Hey, man, do you have a lighter?” a voice behind him asked and Sebastian turned around.

A neatly dressed man stood in front of him. The boy took a good look at him, and nodded.

“Here,” he said and threw his lighter way above man’s head. Without looking up the man caught it and lit his own cigarette.

Sebastian didn’t know why but he didn’t move, just watched the man slowly exhaling fumes. After a few moments of silence the man spoke again.

“I heard you had some better stuff,” he said looking at the cigarette.

“Maybe you hear too much,” the boy said suspiciously, threw his cigarette away and turned around. This man didn’t look trustworthy.

“So, you’re not Sebastian, Jed told me about?” the boy turned around.

“Who is asking?”

“You don’t need my name, all you need is my money and I need what you have,” the man said and moved forward.

Sebastian nodded. He did need money and he wanted to sell as much as he could.

Yes, Sebastian wanted to get rid of drugs he had in his possession. And yes, he would. But not the way he wanted to.