The door slammed behind her, echoing through the deserted hallway. Grasping onto her father’s hand, Claire tried to keep up with his pace. Tiny lights bounced along in the darkness with her every step, her light-up shoes illuminating her path. At the end of the hallway, they stopped, and her father dropped her hand to rummage in his pocket. He pulled out a rusty lighter and brought it up to his face where a crushed cigarette parted his lips. With a quick motion, he mentioned to the familiar car in the carpark, the lights flaring as it unlocked. Claire adjusted her backpack and started for the car. She heaved open the front door and pulled herself in, throwing her backpack to the ground. Tiny plops drew her focus to the front screen. Tiny little rivers of water began to flow down the window, and from behind them, the bright red flare of her father’s cigarette contrasted with the grey skies.

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Squirming in her seat, Claire pulled at her backpack and gently brought out her Gameboy. With the little sun that was left in the darkening sky, she switched on the console and began to play. The electronic music familiar to her ears. She cleared the first level easily. She glanced up as a movement passed by. It was a stranger. Behind them, her father was on the phone. His raised voice caused her to shiver slightly. She pulled her eyes away and turned back to the game. The graphics blurred past as the game began to get more difficult. Her tiny fingers grasped at the controls. With her brows furrowed and her tongue hanging out the side of her mouth, she threw down the console when the defeating jingle played. With a sigh, she picked up the Gameboy to try once more. Squinting her eyes, she struggled to play with the lack of light, and eventually settled the console to the side, defeated. Looking around her, the sky had nearly gone pitch black, and behind her, the main streetlights began to flicker on. She turned back towards her father, the familiar red flare starting up again as her father gave her a quick wave.