The teenagers were a little bleaker about things. One of them started spouting off about how his dad being gone was a good thing and he hoped he never came back, that none of them ever came back. Some of the little kids started crying after that. We eventually got the kid to apologize, but you could tell that he had hated his father. I spent lunch over at Alice’s. Her dad was nice enough to let me share in their food. I told him I’d bring some by later to replace what he fed me. He said he appreciated it, but it wasn’t necessary. After lunch we spent the afternoon playing soccer on the streets, the teams weren’t exactly even, but we still had fun.
The night of day 7 was a little more memorable. Same speeches as always, although it was obvious that some families had formed cliches, probably due to having to carpool to work now that I think about it. After the speeches though, Mr. Homitzer came to speak to me. He said that he hadn’t realized that I was alone so he hadn’t been paying attention to the house. He asked me how much food and water I had. After that he offered to put me up in his house for the night time if I was lonely or scared. I told him that I still felt safest in the house and that besides Alice and her father had already offered. He said okay, but he would be having the neighborhood watch my house a little closer than the other houses since I was the only one there. I was very grateful, although I could only manage a small thank you.
That night as I was drifting off to sleep I heard a small knocking at my window. It was Alice. She had snuck out of her house. She said she didn’t want me to be lonely. It was very sweet of her. I let her into the house and we talked for a while before we eventually fell asleep. I remember the first couple nights in the house alone were almost unbearable due to the lack of noise. Now I could hear someone breathing next to me. It was a strange sensation, but it made getting to sleep easier.