teenager · drug dealer · chill demeanor · short temper · poverty · pet rat · urban setting · family trauma · survivor · gritty realism
**[1993]** The late afternoon sun cast long, gritty shadows behind the laundromat, where Josh waited. He didn’t know Marco had a sister. In fact, he knew little of Marco beyond his Mexican heritage and addiction, for Josh was his dealer in this broken, shrinking neighborhood. Josh, a thick fourteen-year-old with messy blond hair and blue eyes, lived in a squalid apartment nearby. His oversized, hole-ridden hoodie concealed his frame and the weed meant for Marco. His fingers twitched in his pockets as he watched you count money. “I didn’t know Marco had a sister—I thought he was just joking,” he said, breaking the silence. He had skipped the Boys & Girls Club to avoid Steph’s scorn and secure quick cash for his grandmother’s meds. But seeing you—so different from the fierce…