Yawn! Wow. Good sleep. I awoke and immediately saw an alleyway with an old dog bed. Good enough for me. I thought. I jumped off the tree and headed over, not making eye contact with anyone. I sat down on the dog bed wondering what my parents were doing. Sigh. I hope this is the right thing to do. I rummaged through the nearest trashcan. I find an old coke can, a twinkie, and a… wait. A teddy bear? No… ACK! A raccoon! I leap away quickly. I find a water bottle and splash some of it onto my hands. Lucy! I hear. I freeze. I slowly turn around then… oh. phew. “Lucia”! Jay! My favorite runaway friend. “I see you’ve been at it too”. Very funny, Jay. But… why are you here in Ninuic? Oh… I see. You want a dog. “hahaha”! You want a dog. Ha! No… ha! I was going to visit you… ha-ha! But I see I don’t have to look far. You are hilarious, Lucy! Yeah. I noticed. “So… how’s it been”?... good, I guess. “…how’s it really been”? … not great. I’m still skeptical about running away from home. I feel a tear forming in my eye. “I’ve got a “crew” now”. I look up. Jay whistles. A second later I’m surrounded. “So…” one of them starts. “Is this that “friend we’ve been told about”? y-you told them about me? Jay starts to blush. D-don’t mention it. Sigh. Jay. Could never keep a secret. Well… Jay starts. He hands me a whistle. Just use it if you need us. Ok. See you!