Breaking the Machine

Chapter 1

AGE 15

There was a look of thunder on the boy's face as he glared directly into Tomas' eyes, this whole thing was pointless, he'd been off the streets for what? 3 days? And he already knew that despite the governments intentions to 'level out the playing field' that this whole program was a load of rubbish. Taking the street kids out of the streets and putting them in a house full of damp with minimal food wasn't exactly going to change anything, all it had done was throw Finn out of his comfort zone and into a situation where he suddenly had an adult pretending that he cared about him. He'd survived on the streets for 15 years and he'd been on his own for 10 of those, he didn't need anybody to mentor him, or train him, he could do it himself, just like he always had.

"Finn. Come on, get down here!" Tomas shouted up the stairs.

Finn didn't hear him as he slammed the door shut behind him, earning himself a look of confusion from his roommate Liam who had become accustomed to the level of anger that Finn displayed on a regular basis.

"You really need to get that temper of yours under wraps," Liam said from behind his book.

"What?" Finn snapped, throwing his only recreational possession, a tennis ball off the wall and catching it repeatedly.

"You also need to get your hearing tested," Ryan mumbled to himself as he continued reading his book.

There was a sharp knock on the door which opened shortly after to Tomas' flustered face, "Finn, please, just give me five minutes."

Finn rolled his eyes, as much as he wanted to continue his fight with Tomas he didn't really have the energy, he was a smart kid and whilst he did flip quite often he knew when what he was arguing about was important and when it wasn't worth his time. "Fine, whatever. Five minutes," he said, it wasn't like he actually had to listen to anything that Tomas told him.

Tomas nodded, "Come to my office."

Finn sloped down the stairs, not reluctant to show his disapproval at the whole situation, something that he'd been doing since the moment he arrived. "What's this about then?" he asked as he sat down on the musty brown sofa in Tomas' office.

Tomas sighed before exhaling slowly, "Look at me please Finn," he said tapping the table to get his attention, he was astute enough to already know that the boy in front of him didn't have the best hearing but was also astute enough to know that bringing that up now wouldn't be wise. "Is this really what you want for yourself Finn?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You're angry and I get that, out of all the kids I've had through these doors in the past year you probably have the most right to be angry."

"So you get it, great. Can I go now?"

"No. Finn, this anger you have it stems from something inside, you're smart, that's clear and you know what's wrong with this society and you could make a difference if you just used that anger to make a positive change...instead of flying off the handle."

Finn ran his hand through his hair, a habit that he'd had for as long as he could remember that always came into play whenever he felt even remotely uncomfortable. "How many kids that have been here have passed Paces?"

Tomas looked defeated for a second before he looked back up at the boy in front of him, "That's beside the point, you have so much potential Finn I'd hate to see it go to waste."

"You really don't get it do you? Potential isn't and will never be enough to pass, surely you know that?"

"Think about it Finn, you've lived on your streets your whole life and you've survived it, not many people who have been out there as long as you have can say that. You're a natural survivor Finn and Istha will like that."

Finn ran his hand through his hair impatiently, "Sure, I can not eat for a few days and not die, that's great and all but everyone knows how prejudiced the system is. Being a member of Istha, it's for the elite members of society, the boys and girls with a 'mummy' and 'daddy' that cared for them and trained them from the second that they left the womb. They have generations and generations behind them, rooting for them, who do I have? No one, apart from maybe Stoner Steve that wanders around Hyde Park as high as a kite every day."

Tomas smiled at the final comment, it was strange how many of the kids that came through his doors knew this Stoner Steve guy, it was like he was some sort of celebrity on the streets. "Do you want to be on the streets the rest of your life?"

"No," Finn said, getting bored of the conversation.

"What do you want to do with your life?"

Finn shrugged, "It doesn't matter what I want to do, my past is my future that's how it works for kids like me."

"But do you want your past to be your future?"

"Of course I don't, but I don't have the luxury to change that."

"But there is a chance that you could and even if it didn't work out then what's the harm in trying? We all know that there are many problems with the way Istha works, but you have the natural ability and with a bit more work in the next year, you could be in with a fair chance."

"But..."

"...Finn," Thomas stopped the boy, "You literally have nothing to lose," Tomas said, letting the words linger in the silence between them both before signalling to Finn that he could leave. Finn was the first kid in the past year, since this new scheme that he'd been allocated to, that he genuinely thought had a chance of passing and becoming something bigger than he could ever imagine. Yes he hadn't quite got his temper under control as of yet, and yes he did have enough emotional baggage to sink a ship but all those bad things that had happened to him, all those rubbish cards that he'd been dealt he could use them to his advantage. Because, sometimes the people at the bottom can teach the people at the top a few things. Finn...well he almost certainly could.