Chapter 10: A Warm Dinner and a New Opportunity
The walk back to the suburbs felt shorter than usual. Even though his legs were tired from a long day of running errands at the tech shop, the weight of the warm meat-filled buns in his bag gave him a surge of energy.
When Sadd pushed open the creaky door of the abandoned house, he found Doah and Tersa sitting on their pile of clothes. They were talking in low voices, their faces looking tired and a bit pale from a long day at school without food.
"I'm back!" Sadd called out.
The girls jumped up, their eyes widening. "Sadd! You're still here!" Tersa cried out, a look of pure relief on her face. "We were afraid you might have found a better place to stay."
"I told you I wasn't leaving," Sadd said with a wide smile. He reached into his bag and pulled out the wrapped buns. The savory smell of cooked meat and fresh bread immediately filled the dusty room.
The girls froze. They stared at the food as if it were a heap of gold.
"Is that... for us?" Doah whispered, her voice trembling slightly.
"It's for all of us," Sadd said, handing a bun to each of them. "I got a job today at a tech shop. The Boss is a good man. He paid me enough to buy these and still have some left for tomorrow."
Tersa took a bite and almost closed her eyes in joy. "Oh, it's so warm! I haven't eaten something this good in months."
"Sadd, you really did it," Doah said, looking at him with newfound respect. "We usually have to search the market bins for hours just to find scraps."
Sadd felt a deep emotion swell in his chest. Back home, he was just the "Anomaly" who couldn't help anyone. Here, he was the provider. He was the protector. "Eat up," he encouraged them. "Starting tomorrow, we won't be hungry ever again. I promise."
The Next Morning
The sun rose early, and Sadd was already awake. Before the girls left, he handed them both some coins.
"Here, take this 50 creds for your daily expenses," he said firmly.
"Isn't this too much?" Doah asked, shocked. "How do you earn enough to give us 50 creds?"
"Don't worry," Sadd replied with a smile. "No matter what I earn, I won't let you both go hungry ever again."
He saw them off at the entrance of their campus and then hurried back to the tech shop. His mind was heavy with thoughts of his mother. Her illness needed a lot of money, and he knew he had to do more. He needed to attend school to gain connections to the elites, but he didn't want to join the greedy capitalists. He wanted to work with national authorities to benefit the country and its citizens.
When he arrived, the shop was in total chaos.
"What is happening here?" Sadd wondered aloud.
New goods had arrived, and the workers were frantically reshuffling the old stock to make room. Old machines were being tossed aside like trash. Sadd saw his chance.
"Boss!" he called out over the noise. "Can I take some of the thrown-away laptops and the broken equipment?"
The Boss was stressed, looking at his watch. "Yes, you can take as many as you can! But hurry up and help us unload the truck. There's an inspection from the head office coming. Don't be lazy, guys! Move it!"
Sadd grinned. To everyone else, this was junk. To him, it was the beginning of his empire.