He passed her again. She was standing on a corner with the rest of them. Fucking leaches. She was different, however.

Kale didn't see her at first because he never paid any attention to the filth on the street, but she caught his eye somehow. A small petite young thing, she must be all of 18 years old. She had on short button fly jean shorts and a tight white midriff shirt that showed a pierced belly button. She also had a pierced eyebrow, tongue and her ears had many earrings in them. He hated piercings, but he felt something for the girl. Maybe it was pity.

Whatever it was, it made him stop this time. He had passed by her every day for a week, on his way home from work, and this time he had to stop. Immediately, women swarmed his vehicle and the smell of cheap perfume wafted into his car. He tried to see the girl past the small mob of dirty women, but it was no use, she was timid and stayed back. Kale reached into his pocket, removed the money clip from a wad of cash and threw half of it out the window at the women. They flooded over the bills and fought for every one. He moved his car up a bit and finally she came to him.

She looked him up and down with a stone expression. He leaned over and opened the door for her to get in and she did without hesitation. He wondered how many times she had done that and got in with the wrong man. She shut the door and left the other women behind as he drove off.

They were quiet for a while, and then he looked at her and smiled the best he could without looking as if he pitied her,

"My name is Kale."

She snickered,

"Like that crap they put on your plate when you eat out."

He nodded and lightly laughed,

"Yes, like that crap. It is short for Kayleb."

He figured she wasn't going to offer so he added,

"And who might you be?"

She looked at him like he was dumb and wrinkled her nose,

"What does it matter? A fuck is a fuck, you can call me whatever you want."

She must have thought it was rude because she lowered her tone and looked out the window,

"My name is Shay."

They rode on in silence once more until they got to the amusement park. He got out and she sat in the car for a moment not sure of what to do. Finally, she got out and shut the door, looking around at all the rides that peeked over the tall wooden fence a ways off. She wanted to ask what was going on, but Kale put a hand on her shoulder and escorted her to the main gates.

Kale knew she was just acting hard because that is what she learned to do to keep herself safe. He knew under that stone wall, there was a beautiful girl waiting to get out. Her cheeks were naturally rosy, but she wore a hint of pink blush and her eye shadow was a silvery blue color that was barely visible. Her lips had a hint of the same silvery color. Her eyebrows were plucked in high arches and made a surprised look on her young looking face. Her nails were a nice medium length and painted light silvery purple; he thought they were fake, but they really weren't.

He paid for two and they went inside. He stopped and they looked around. Kale turned to Shay and smiled at her,

"So, what should we ride first?"

She looked quite taken, and it wasn't just her eyebrows, as she put a hand to her chest with her fingers splayed out,

"Me? You want to ride rides? I don't understand, but it is your dime so I guess we should ride something. That one looks good."

She pointed and they went to a smaller ride and took their turn on it. She started to loosen up a bit and laughed once while they were on it. She picked more rides and laughed even more. She must have forgotten everything that was troubling her in her life because for the first time Shay was having fun. They rode all the rest of the day and half the night. Shay especially liked the roller coasters and they rode them several times. They talked a bit about trivial things and Kale discovered that she was very smart for an 18-year-old girl who never finished school. He stopped feeling sorry for her and started feeling something new, not lust, what was the word? Love, perhaps? Maybe a deep friendship? Whatever it was, it was strong and he needed this girl.

After the amusement park, they went out to eat, and she was still laughing about all the things they did throughout the day. She was alive and awake; her green eyes were wide as she recapped every ride to him like a six-year-old child would. They ate and talked even more, and as they left, he held her hand.

He didn't know quite where to take her; he wasn't about to leave her on the street, so he took her home. He took out some blankets and made her a wonderful bed on the couch and she lay down, covering herself up. He told her he would just be right upstairs.

Shay was becoming confused again and she called after him as he started climbing the stairs,

"Aren't we going to... you know?"

He looked at her and smiled wearily.

"I don't want to make you do it, I do not want to pay you for it and I only want you to if you truly want me."

Shay was quiet so he went on to his own bedroom. She lay down and thought about the day's events. It was a weird day indeed. Nobody had ever acted like this before, Kale was weird, she thought.