[Jaykobell]

Right close to the Slums, was a small town. Once upon a time, it was a a fair, hard-working town. Over the last couple of decades, though, it had fallen from grace. It was now barely any different from their neighbors, the one area infamously known and called the "Slums".

Despite everything, those who lived there, stayed. Little families stuck around, living off their savings and what little pocket change they had left from their low-paying jobs.

In such a town, a young man tried to make it work.

[Jaykobell]

"Welcome to the Museum of Evelonian Fauna and Flora."

He stood in front of a small crowd. All tourists, none being from the town. Just folks who thought they could come visit this little piece of the town, capable of paying the entry fee, compared to the townsfolk, who needed to save every last cent to make rent that month.

"Please turn off your cellphones and any other photo devices during the tour."

Even him, working in this place: he couldn't afford to pay the entry fee. Now that he wanted to, offering tours so often, repeating the same things every day.

[Jaykobell]

"If you follow me to the left, we can start the tour."

At this point, he knew the museum better than the owners. They were barely there; they just let the staff run the place for them. After all, they earned all the profits, sucking those gullible tourists dry. They put that money towards making the museum better, the exhibits clean and maintained, the building—

What a joke. They did none of that. They just spent their time sitting their lazy, old, fat asses somewhere nicer, like Jawan or the Dead Coast.

[Jaykobell]

Meanwhile, those rich bastards couldn't even afford to pay him a good enough salary to live in a crappy apartment outside of town. He needed to live with his parents. He hated the idea, but at least he wasn't homeless. The relationship with his parents was...difficult, to say the least, but again, it was better than to be homeless.

"Here you can see our first exhibit..." he said, the words coming out of him automatically, no longer needing to think or consciously utter the words. They were ingrained now, an automatic reaction, almost like a robotic command on auto-pilot.

[Jaykobell]

That's all he could afford to do anymore. He would wake up every morning, eat some cheap frozen breakfast filled with chemicals, walk or bike to work, get through a mind-numbing day of said work, go home, and if he were lucky, he would go straight to the basement and relax for a few hours before crashing.

On bad days, his parents would be there, they would harass him to do some stupid chores around the house, or they would comment on him, on his lifestyle, on his existence, if they felt feisty enough that night.

"The second exhibit is only a few steps away, continuing the theme..."

[Jaykobell]

Every day, despite the tours, despite the customers, despite the crap that would be going on at work, he was always stuck inside his own mind. He was always stuck in the darkness, like a trapped animal. He had some friends, but he barely took the time to hang out with them anymore. They used to be a tight group, years ago. They would do little crimes together, they would spend their evenings together, bonding.

But something had changed. Something had ruined it all.

One of them had completely ruined his life.

"Up next is the third exhibit, this time to your right..."

[Jaykobell]

"God, shut up, man."

There was laughter around the small room. A group of friends sat at a gross table in an equally questionable restaurant. The food wasn't all that good compared to what was out there, in the big cities, where they could actually get good ingredients. For this town, though, it was pretty good. It was affordable, too, managed by some townsfolks who cared for the tiny community.

"Watch out, Benny out here saying stupid crap again!"

[Jaykobell]

One of the most striking characters at the table was a young red panda wearing a black leather jacket, and with three striking, gold piercings on one ear. "Not dumb shit if it's true, Abi," he said in response.

A young addax antelope was leaning against his chair, and he looked stern. "Yeah, but come on, Benny. Leaving town? Really?"

"How would you even do that?" the rabbit, Abigail, asked. "Matteo's not wrong, it's kinda dumb!"

"That's not what I said," Matteo retorted with a quiet grunt.

[Jaykobell]

"Well, it's what you meant!" Abigail insisted with a large grin and a giggle, a small snort added in for good measure.

Matteo groaned again, and Benny just shrugged without really answering the question. "There's gotta be better out there," he insisted. "Better than this shit place."

"You're not wrong," Matteo agreed, but his tone was still dismissive, "but moving doesn't mean you'll be better off. That's common sense."

"Ain't even got money to move," Abigail added, propping her head onto her paws.

[Jaykobell]

There was a bit of silence after that mention. They were all poor as hell. They were poor as hell and lived in a poor as hell town. Not any other way to put it, really. The town was boring, with no opportunities to get a job, and then hold a job, and then afford a house.

But then again, not every single one of them was poor.

"Hey, Bailey," Benny called out to the fourth and last friend of the group, the only one who hadn't spoken yet. "You still with us?"

[Jaykobell]

The seagull was beak-deep into her phone when Benny spoke to her. "Sorry," she said after a second, pulling her eyes away from her screen. "Were you guys saying something?"

"Ohh, did someone die again?" Abigail inquired curiously, turning her attention from Benny to Bailey.

Bailey seemed unamused by that question, but outwardly, she showed little. "People die all the time, Abi," she said simply.

"Are you gonna pick me up when I die, Bailey?" Abigail continued, tilting her head as she asked the question.

There was a long, awkward silence.

[Jaykobell]

"Um," Bailey muttered uncomfortably, after a few long seconds of silence, "I guess I would, Abi. I guess I would."

"Don't dump my body in the canal when you do!" Abigail asked, the only one of the group who seemed unfazed by the morbid conversation topic.

Matteo took a deep puff from his cigarette. He exhaled a large cloud, and taped his stick against the ash tray.

"Anyway," Benny said eventually so they could break the ice. "Bailey, you got money, right?"

[Jaykobell]

There was another awkward silence after Benny had asked the question. Money was a touchy subject in general; it was even more of a problem when it came to the group of friends.

When no one bothered to answer, Benny went on. "Can I borrow some of that?" he asked plainly, directly. "I'd pay you back, soon as I get outta here."

The only sounds that replied to Benny's request were the clicks and clacks that were echoing in the background. The few other patrons eating; the chefs going at it in the back; the outside buzzing.

[Jaykobell]

Bailey looked at Benny for a long minute. Matteo had almost forgotten about his cigarette, the ashes building up at the tip. Abigail was still grinning, but her expression was a clear, "oh no, he didn't!"

Finally, Bailey answered the request. "I don't blame you for wanting to leave, Benny," she started, "and I'd love for you to make it. But the truth is, I just don't trust you to pay me back." Just as Benny had been blunt — and, frankly, very rude — in asking her, Bailey had been equally blunt in answering.

[Jaykobell]

The harsh, unapologetic answer almost knocked the red panda off his seat. The others, too, looked impressed, more than anything.

"Daaaaamn," Abigail gasped.

Matteo took a puff of his cigarette and looked away.

"No offense," Bailey tried to assure him. "I just don't think I'd ever see that money again."

"Don't have money to give back because there's no jobs here," Benny argued. "Other cities out there, they got jobs, and they got money."

Bailey looked like she was about to start arguing, her beak opened just slightly.