Half past eight in the morning, the day seemed happy that the sun shone brightly that I could even feel the heat from the sun burning my skin.

I wandered the city then by coincidence, I met Emerald. I walked closer to her and patted her head like before then I saw her owner, the boy who I met the other day too. He was hiding behind rose bushes watching against something which I couldn’t even predict what it was.

I went closer to the boy and sat beside him. I asked, “what are you looking?”

“Shhh,” he put his finger to his lips then said, “Look at the door knobs with ropes tied on them. Just wait and see.”

I quietly waited for what would happen next since I was also curious about it. Few minutes later, the doors shook and the people from inside struggled to open them because of the rope tightening on the doorknobs. The boy and I laughed to our satisfaction. He rolled on the ground and laughed harder.

“You’re a bully! Naughty boy!” I screamed.

“Well am not! You’re laughing just about before,”

“I laugh because you laugh.”

The people inside the house saw us as they used the back door to get out. They chased us with iron bars in their hands. The naughty boy grabbed my hand then we scuttled away. The owner of the house was extremely mad.

We hid in a dark place behind old wooden boxes. The mad people of before had given up on finding us and decided to get back. The boy went out from the dark.

“Why do you bully, naughty boy?” I asked.

He stared at me and said, “I've name, you strut-noddy! It’s Adrian, you may call me that cause I love it best.”

“Adrian the snot-nose,” I giggled.

“Then what are you, eyh? Aahh, I know, you’re a tiny little mouse.”

I saw a teacher teaching his pupils at the other building then I interfered to ask Adrian a question about the school.

“The school is so vile and vicious! The teachers are wicked and evil like murderers,” he explained while we walked along the silent road.

“Why? Aren’t school marvelous? I heard from Dr Stefen that ls is great.”

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“Are the opposite. Once, I was late for school, then, the headmaster slashed my hands six times with a thin cane in front of 300 students and he also inserted my name in the disgrace and punishment book. I dare not tell this to my parents but they found out soon after they saw marks on my fingers.”

“At least it could help you to behave properly at school.”

“Tell me, what do you really know about school?”

I told him about what Doctor Stefen had told me the other day when he nursed me. Adrian seemed to reject every word I spoke. He took Emerald and held her in his arms.

“I just wanted to experience friendship. He told me that school could change your lonely life.”

“I don’t go to school nowadays but I’ve a young governess which my father hired to teach me but I dislike her so I pissed her oftenly. She dislikes my attitude and reports this immediately. She annoyed me then I ran away from home. My guards are probably searching for me now."

"You naughty! If I were you, I would just accept her and admired her as a friend."

"Why do you need friends?”

“I’d nobody since mother had passed away of cholera.”

“Sorry to hear that. How old are you?”

“Four,”

“You’re too young to live outside the wildlife! Why don’t we become friends so we could share thoughts together.”

I nodded guaranteeing him as my acquaintance. We play ‘Geordie Bowling’ using two old balls we found in the piles of trash.

We set 100 metres for the distance then start throwing the old balls. Adrian won the game because he threw his ball only five times while I threw mine many times in the hundred distance.

Then we played Up the Buttons and hopscotch. I really enjoyed the day playing with him.

We sat on grass by the riverbank and watched the fishes swimming in it. I was so excited to play with him. We acknowledged each other and from this I know that he is 3 years older than me.

“What do you wish for when you grow up, Emily?” Adrian asked while staring at the sun setting.

“I want to be rich,” I answered directly.

“Why? Rich’s life is miserable and vicious, I dislike them for claiming the poor as servants.”

“I know but I want to fix mother’s grave and buried her body properly and help the poor people and tell the world that the rich should thanks the poor for working for them.”

Adrian said nothing but smiled. "I want to be a doctor."

"So you could help them,"

"Absolutely!"

Later, as the day grew darker, I was ready to bid farewell to Adrian but he wasn't satisfied that he followed me to where I usually sleep. I told him that I used to sleep under the bridge but his stubbornness forced me to sleep for the night with him.

Emerald slept with us too. We cuddled ourselves together as the night got colder. He was so warm that it made my sleep comfortable.

The next day, as the sun had rose, I found out that I was sleeping alone under the bridge. Later, I saw Adrian coming towards me with a delicious warm bread in his hands then lent the other to me for breakfast. We ate it together.

I stared at him then he stared at me back.

“What?! You think that I stole them? I exchanged my silver ring for pounds and bought them with it.”

I laughed then he smiled. As we’d finished our breakfast, we moved away and found jobs to provide money.

We found a home where they offered us work and agreed to offer us some food as a payment. Adrian cleaned the house while I swept the chimney then helped him to wash the dishes.

After we’d finished our work, the master of the house offered us some delicious cakes and warm milk. I never tasted cake before and it tasted great! Later, we thanked the master then left the house.

He’d give us a shilling each as an extra payment.