position against the violent man's throat and the boy quickly moved back away from the now free man.

The man didn't respond as Carol expected him to. She had expected him to jump up and rush the boy, using his superior size and strength to beat the boy to death. But instead he calmly stood up, turned, nodded to the boy, and then left the store. She watched the man leave, unwilling to look away fearing that this was all a ruse, that looking away would cause them all to return and do the horrible things they had implied. It was only when the door had closed behind the guard did she finally released the breath she had not realized she had been holding. Looking over to the homelessboy she noticed that he had also been watching the guard leave but had now turned to return to his table. He quietly placed the pad of paper down on the table; he must have picked it up when the man was leaving.

But incredulously the boy seemed to act as in nothing had accrued. He took a bite of his sandwich then reopened the newspaper he had brought with him. She approached him, standing nervously at his side unsure what to do. "Excuse me?"

The boy's head turned. He stared at her, his face expressionless any emotions he may feel at the moment were hidden behind the visage. "Umm… thank you for helping me."

The boy nodded in response then returned his attention to his newspaper.

"Hey Carol I finished up