Chapter 3

Marcus and his crew were playing cards in the living room.

Three men, hunched around a folding table, smoking cigarette after cigarette, the whole room thick with smoke.

I sat in the corner, poring over the contents of the box under the dim light.

Mid-game, the youngest man, Leo, glanced at me: "Marcus, come on, what could a twelve-year-old kid possibly figure out?"

Frank also looked over: "She's been sitting there for two hours, hasn't moved a muscle."

I didn't dare move.

I'd seen abandoned kids before.

There was a boy, two years older than me, who slept beside a trash can after his parents ran off.

His eyes were empty, like two dark holes.

Marcus didn't speak, playing a card.

As soon as he spoke, I put down the last file.

"I'm done."

Everyone looked over.

I walked to the folding table, and they automatically made space.

The table was covered in ash and beer cans. I swept them aside, clearing a spot.

I pointed to the first case: "The year before last, in March, you said, ‘If you don't pay up, we'll make sure you regret it.' That was deemed a threat. But if you'd said, ‘If you don't pay up, we will pursue legal action,' it would be a legitimate collection notice."

Frank's mouth hung open.

I pointed to the second: "Taking the debtor's fridge and TV was classified as theft. But if you'd had the debtor sign a debt-for-asset agreement at the time, it would have been a voluntary civil transaction between both parties."

"Splashing paint. Illegal, but only civil compensation is needed. Go apologize and pay the person, then have them sign a letter of understanding."

"Last September was the most dangerous. Someone was injured, a pretty serious injury. But they struck first, so you could argue excessive self-defense, not intentional assault. The sentencing difference between those two is three years."

The room was silent. No one spoke.

Marcus leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, his expression shifting from skepticism to seriousness.

"Marcus, the kid actually makes some sense."

Leo, the young one, picked me up and looked me over, his voice astonished: "You're only twelve? How do you know all this? Are you a genius?"

I flailed my arms and legs, wanting him to put me down.

My face flushed crimson.

No one had ever hugged or picked me up since I was little.

I wasn't used to the feeling of being lifted off the ground.

I was scared.

Marcus took a hard drag from his cigarette, then gave Leo a light whack.

"She's a girl, she's shy!"

He stood up, walked over to me, and crouched down.

It was the second time tonight he'd crouched to my eye level.

"Chloe," he said, "you'll follow me from now on. I'll pay for your education. You just need to do one thing: teach us how to live legally."

"What's in it for me?"

Marcus paused.

Perhaps no one had ever negotiated with him before; his lips trembled slightly.

"You're a clever cookie, little girl. Much sharper than your parents."

"You'll get thirty percent of all recovered money. Also, I'll rent you an apartment with a bed, a desk, a lamp, and a south-facing window."

A south-facing window.

Since childhood, no matter how many times we moved,

Lily always got the big room, a princess bed, and pink curtains.

When the sunlight streamed through the window onto her curtains, she'd dance in the sun in her princess dress, looking beautiful.

My room was always the smallest, cluttered with junk, never getting any sunlight all year round.

Once, I was so cold I couldn't bear it, so I crouched by Lily's bedroom door.

Lily woke up in the middle of the night, screaming that I was trying to scare her.

From then on, I never longed for her room again.

"Okay."

Marcus extended his hand.

It was a large hand, with thick knuckles and several old scars on the back.

I took it.

Marcus squeezed once, then let go and stood up.

"Frank, tomorrow, get her transferred to the best school."

Frank wiped his eyes, his voice muffled: "Got it."

"Leo, go buy her a backpack. A good one."

Leo grinned: "Alrighty!"

"From today on," Marcus swept his gaze over everyone, "she's our little lawyer. Anyone who disrespects her, don't blame me for being rude."