Mario's Story by Diane Young

Author:Diane Young
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: storm, street rats, lab rat, outside world, packmates
Publisher: Diane Young

14. Street People

One afternoon, the pack received an unexpected visit from the real estate agent. He worked in an office across the street and rarely came to the shop. Herbie and Neo were playing near the stairs when they heard voices at the door. After alerting Oscar, the pack hid amongst the boxes in one of the small rooms.

The real estate agent, who was dressed in a smart suit, came in with his client. As they looked around the shop, he pointed out various features: the long counter, the storage space under the stairs, the size of the front window and so on. The client, a rotund man with a short beard, wasn’t impressed; he complained about the damp carpet and the smell. They went upstairs and passed through the other rooms. If they’d looked more closely, they would have seen the rats’ nests inside the cupboards and the wardrobe.

After the real estate agent and his client had left, Oscar called everyone together for a meeting.

“If the shop’s rented out, they’ll bring in the pest-control service to get rid of us,” he told them. “If that happens, we’ll have to find somewhere else to live.”

Thankfully, the real estate agent didn’t come back with his client or any other clients. So the pack was safe for now.

Yet life was still hard, especially when it came to food. The dumpster at the apartment building was now out of bounds; the people who lived there sprayed it with anti-pest spray every day. The dumpster behind the noodle bar was no better; the cook now kept the lid shut and he made sure there weren’t any scraps lying around. There was still food in the garbage cans on the street, and whatever they found was shared amongst the pack. But there was never enough food and they were always hungry.

One night, Mario and the others went out to check the garbage cans. They were joined by Isabel and Ariel. They waited under the shop while Zephyr poked his head out and checked the street.

“Oh no!” he gasped.

“What’s the matter?” asked Jax.

“There’s someone looking through the garbage can.”

“Let me see.”

Jax squeezed alongside Zephyr and peered out. Sure enough, there was an old man with a long gray beard hunched over the garbage can. He wore a tatty old suit and a pair of worn boots.

“He can’t do that!” said Jax angrily. “That’s our garbage can!”

The old man rummaged through the garbage until he found a take-out carton. He opened the lid, scooped up a handful of noodles and wolfed them down. Then he wiped his mouth on his sleeve and shuffled off.

Once he’d disappeared around the corner, Zephyr scurried out and leaped onto the garbage can.

“He’s taken all the food,” he said as he searched through the contents.

“And there’s nothing here,” said Mario as they looked through the garbage on the sidewalk. “Not even a single noodle.”

They checked the garbage can by the barber shop, but the old man had already gone through the leftovers.

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