Taylor was noticeably distraught. He had slipped out before first light and bummed change off of people at the closest bus station until he had enough to buy a fare. He had taken several buses to the studio whose flyer he had been carrying around in his backpack, thinking it would be his promised land. But when he got there, he had been told that all the work/study positions were currently filled. They asked for his number so they could call him if one opened up, but he didn’t have a cell phone. Instead of admitting to his current situation, he simply told them he would check back every week.

The studio was nowhere near the offices that Luke had referred him to for temp work. On top of that, he made the mistake of taking a wrong transfer on the bus system and found his efforts opposed by the masses of people visiting Universal Studios. So he only had time to visit one temp office before they had all shut down for the day, and that office had nothing for him. He was too proud to mow lawns for a landscaper. He felt humiliated at the idea of being a janitor at a manufacturing plant. He couldn’t lifeguard because he couldn’t swim.

Taylor could not accept the reality of where he was in life. He had imagined himself being instantaneously scouted once he came to LA. He had come here to be an actor. Compared to that, every job that was available felt beneath him. The day had been just one more exercise in disappointment in his life. His stomach throbbed with emptiness, both emotionally and physically. So much so that it was hard to fall asleep. But eventually, he did.

CHAPTER 14

CHAPTER 14

In the morning, their sleep was shattered by the sound of tapping on the window. At first, they quailed, expecting to see a police officer or some other person who posed an equal amount of threat standing above them. Instead, two blue eyes peered over the lip of the car door.

“Aston, get away from there!” Mike yelled at the boy who was staring through the window. The boy took the stick he was holding and ran back toward him as if the trouble he had created for himself had not fazed him. The kid was stocky, oversized for the five years he had accumulated on earth. Though the tragedy of his life was obvious by virtue of him being there, his demeanor defied it. Instead of collapsing, he had turned into a brave little warrior, already at war with life. But, that warrior nature made him either a little hero or a bully, depending on the day.

When Aria and Taylor emerged from the vehicle they now called home, Mike motioned to them to join him by his army-green ridge tent. They made their way across the lot apprehensively.