Evaluation

Lydia removed her hands from the sides of the boys head. She stood up and turned to Cynthia; "He's honorable and a hard worker. But he's going to be a flight risk." She said, her tone serious and sharp.

Cynthia nodded and opened the door to leave the small concrete room. She turned towards the boy and smiled softly; "We're going to discuss the details of your evaluation. My good friend Johnathan will keep you company in the mean time, please don't be shy if you need or want to ask for anything at all." As she left and Johnathan entered, they exchanged a certain type of eye contact that caused a light blush to spread on Cynthia's face. The door clicked shut behind her and sighed a breath of relief.

"You gonna ask him out some time or just keep staring when you walk past him?" Lydia asked, lighting a cigarette as she leaned against a wall. Cynthia snatched the cigarette from Lydia's mouth and stamped it out on the ground.

"I have other priorities. There's no time for a relationship. That's a privilege I just don't have right now." Cynthia replied, her silky voice now laced with sadness.

Lydia sighed and pulled her older sister into a hug. "You're putting too much on your shoulders again Thia. You deserve happiness just as much as anyone else."

Wrapping her arms around her younger sister, Cynthia smiled and rested her chin on Lydia's head. "I have all the happiness I need right here. I have you and that's all that matters." Pulling away from their embrace, Cynthia looked back at the door then back to Lydia. "So, a flight risk... but... a tell risk?"

Lydia shook her head; "It's not likely that he'd tell anyone.... but I've been wrong before about his type..."

"Give me the run down" Cynthia said

"He is tormented mentally and emotionally. The earthquakes took his entire family and neighborhood. He was the lone survivor because he was in a different state, visiting an online friend. Once he was able to get back, he learned that he'd lost everything and he blames himself. He's terrified and he's depressed. He doesn't stay in one place too long, in fear that he'll grow close to people and they'll die."

Cynthia shook her head, her expression darkening. "He shouldn't have to be on the run in the first place." She paused for a moment. "I vote we let him in, get him into our therapy program. Any skills or talent?"

Lydia thought for a second before remembering what she'd found in his mind; "He has a love for cooking, and he's not half bad I think."

"Alright, we can always use more kitchen staff." Cynthia responded, earning a nod in agreement from her sister.
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Johnathan lit a cigarette and leaned against the door, taking in a long drag as he did so. "You alright kid?" He asked, not looking up from the ground as he spoke to the boy.

"Yeah.... I'm a little scared." he responded, trying to hide the tears that were welling up in his eyes.

Johnathan walked over and took a seat across from the boy. He looked up, making eye contact. "There's no room in this world for fear anymore kid. If the ladies decide you can stay, you have no reason to fear anymore. Ya hear?" He said in a crappy attempt to comfort the boy. Surprisingly though, the boy smiled and wiped a tear from his cheel.

"You remind me of my brother."

Johnathan smirked and took another long drag before blowing smoke up to the ceiling. "You remind me of my sister."

"At least I remind you of someone