Chapter 5

I called Bill, telling him I was ready for another. He told me it wouldn't take long. There were plenty of kids on the streets. You just had to know where to look and what to look for.

A week later, Joann entered the program. She didn't last long. One morning I got up, went out to the kitchen and found a note saying that she was leaving; school was not for her. I checked the kitchen draw; the envelope with money, that I told her would be there if she ever decided to leave, was gone. It was a safety net, for times when things got too tough and the girl had to get away to think things out. I told each girl that; about the envelope containing the money and my business card that they could call me anytime day or night and that if they ever wanted to return to the program. She never called.

Over the years I had more successes than failures. The education fund still had plenty of money and I hadn't even made a dent in my personal funds. Shortly after my latest success, I received a call from Bill. It seemed that he had a girl in mind for the program, but was a little reluctant to bring her in.

"She's not your typical young runaway, he said, I'm not sure you can handle her."

"Just bring her over and let me make that determination."

The next morning the door bell rang. I went out through the courtyard and opened the outside door. There was Bill. Next to him was the largest girl I had ever seen. She had to be at least six and a half feet tall with broad shoulders, narrow hips and a scowl on her face.

"Jack, this is Maria, she's the girl I was telling you about."

"I'm pleased to meet you, Maria, come in." She ignored my hand and began walking past me into the house.

There goes the Miss Congeniality award.

We, followed her in, and all sat down at the breakfast counter in the kitchen. I explained the program to her; she just nodded her head. When I had completed my outline; I asked if she would like to tell me a little bit about herself.

"Sure, she said, I'm seventeen years old; my dad abandoned us when I was ten. I left high school last month. I came home one night after work, and found my mother dead on the floor, shot to death. They figure it was a robbery gone bad. The state wanted to put me in a foster home, so I ran. I'm old enough and strong enough to take care of myself. I tried to get a job here in Phoenix, but no one would take a chance on me. I've been staying where ever I can. I was going to the train station last night when Ranger Rick here picked me up."

"Would you consider going back and finishing high school if you had the chance?"

"Why are you doing this? No one does anything for nothing." What's in it for you?"

"It's an obligation I've taken upon myself; what I get is the satisfaction of seeing you succeed in life."

She pondered that for a few moments, then laughed and said,

"Ok, you have yourself a new project."

"Alright then, leave your spare clothes by the door; I'll wash them while you go in to shower."

Bill left and I went down the hall to get her clothes, the door was ajar, I could hear the water running, as I bent over to pick up her clothes, she opened the door and dropped the clothes she had been wearing on the pile.

"Sorry," I said, and turned my head while I picked up the clothes.

"Don't worry about it, I'm not ashamed of my body I put a lot of hard work into it."

I walked quickly back down the hall trying to comprehend what I had just seen. Not only was she the tallest girl I'd ever seen, she was also the most muscular. If I hadn't seen that she was a girl, I'd have sworn she was man.

When she got out of the shower, she walked back through the kitchen into the laundry room, where I was just taking her jeans and a shirt, bra and panties out of the dryer. I left the other clothes in the dryer to tumble a bit more. I handed her clothes to her. She was wrapped in two towels; neither of which reached completely around her. The upper towel was having an exceptionally hard time of it.

"Thank you," she said taking her clothes from me.

She turned and walked back to the bedroom to change. I was shaking at this point; such was the sexuality and raw power that she conveyed. I had glanced at her bra as I put it in the wash, a forty C. I knew that the forty was just as much a product of her muscles as it was her breasts. I calmed myself down.

"Get a hold of yourself, Jack, She's a seventeen year old girl whose life you have to help turn around."

After a few more minutes I came out of the laundry as she came, fully dressed, out of her room.

"Jack, thank you again for your kindness, I'm sorry I doubted your sincerity. I can see you're a really nice guy. I guess in my life I've only met the other kind, who either wanted to control what I did or tried to take from me what they could. I want to be perfectly honest with you. I didn't actually leave school; it was more like I was asked to leave. I got caught fighting once too many times I guess for the school principal to take. It wasn't my fault; I was running down the hall trying to get to class, when I accidently knocked over one of the football players. When I offered my hand to help him up, he told me to "fuck off freak." I turned and started to walk away; but he kept on calling me names. I turned grabbed him by the shirt and threw him against the lockers; I kept hitting him until he slumped to the ground. The principal didn't want to hear my side of the story. I was expelled for fighting. I got a job as a bouncer at a strip club in Tuscan, that's where I'm from. I lied about my age; and they didn't check, they liked the idea of a woman bouncer. One night the club was raided, I guess the cops thought I was a customer because when I ran, no one followed. I made my way up to Phoenix and tried to get a job, but no club would hire me. So here I am."