There is no way things can get any worse, Audrey West thought as she rummaged through a trash bin, trying not to gag, looking for something to eat. She had hoped that things wouldn't come to this, but here she was, no money, no place to live, rummaging through a bin for someone's half-eaten leftovers.
She sighed as she pulled her arm out of the bin. No such luck today. She tightened her ragged sweater over her shoulders as the chill night air of San Diego, California caused her to shiver. She'd been on the move from Lafayette, Louisiana ever since she'd left her parents' house in the dead of the night two months ago. She'd managed to get to San Diego before she'd run out of the little money she'd had.
Her stomach rumbled with hunger, and Audrey had to fight the urge to cry as she made her way to the alley she'd made her home for the last two months. She curled up under the newspaper that served as her blanket, a few tears escaping as she closed her eyes. Are things ever going to get better?

Notes