Them and Us

five

"Jesus Bob, did you even pass your driving test?" Faye almost shouted as she clung to the seat and onto the handle above her. 

Christoph was doing the same but was holding onto both handles beside him. 

"Maybe I should've mentioned that I haven't touched a car since I got my license." Bob said cautiously. 

 

"And for what reason?!" Faye mused. 

 

"Because the instructor advised me not to?" His voice got higher towards the end.  

Faye's eyes widened at his words but also in realisation. "Wait a minute, Bob? Where are we going?"  

"Good question. I was planning to stop at my place since there was quite a few people there. Just wanna check on them." He suggested. 

"Your place?" Chris and Faye echoed. 

They endured the bumpy ride to the Bob's home, swerving abruptly as he had to dodge some abandoned cars in the road. Bob told them a little bit about himself to fill the silence in the car. He told them how he had worked odd jobs, here and there until he'd found a stable one at their school as the janitor.

 

"My home has a lot of my friends living in there. We met when we moved in." They pulled on to a dirt road that had tall crops either side of the car.

 

"What so you guys we're like room mates?" Chris questioned, looking around the area.

"Not quite, we were all homeless until we found this place, our new home, Hopford's."

 

The more Chris and Faye learned about Bob, the more they secretly admired him. They didn't really feel sorry for him but they did just find it fascinating that he was just getting through life without complaining like everyone else. Bob didn't tell his story expecting sympathy in response. He really was just a normal guy who learned to get through his own problems without making it everybody else's. 

They arrived at the outskirts of the town, the sign 'Hopford's Homeless Shelter' hanging at the top of the building at the end of the road. It looked more abandoned than the town itself and seemed uninviting in every way. Wooden planks were falling and lying around, the building itself was an ugly, pale beige, and the big doors made it look like they were standing in front of the boss level in a video game. 

"Well, here we are."

"Here we are." Faye repeated.

Chris was first out of the car. He'd been cramped at the back because Faye had pushed her chair right back to give herself more leg room. 

Christoph looked up at the dingy building and sighed. He hadn't realised how lucky he was to be born into a relatively rich family. Bob stepped out of the car and looked up at the place in awe. His home was not what he remembered it as, it had drastically changed from 2 days ago. The warm homely atmosphere was gone as it seemed there was nobody inside. 

Aberfaye interrupted Bob from his awe-struck trance and asked, "Not to be rude Bob, but why did you bring us here?"

Chris ignored the conversation happening between the two and tried to think about what was missing. It was on the tip of his tongue but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Bob snapped his neck to look at her. "You brought me to your house and Chris' but I didn't complain, I didn't immediately make you come here! I've got people to check on too, my family are supposed to be here but they're not." Faye looked at him in shock, not only from what he was saying but from how emotional he had become. Bob was usually all rainbows and sunshine but now he was practically screaming at Faye for asking a simple question.