Boom, crash, bang! Sirens, barking, scents and sights all around me as I stepped out onto the streets of downtown Chicago. My camera clicked away as I tried to take in everything around me. I, Brooklynn Davis, had done it, I had escaped, away from the crowded home for girls back in Rockford and the preppy private school i had been forced into. Now I was walking along the bustling streets of downtown Chicago, with just me and my zebra print digital camera which I considered my most prized possession. My head was buzzing with the thrill of what had just happened and what was still to come. But that buzzing was minor compared to the major question booming through my mind..... i panicked as i thought, What now?

I was feeling quite overwhelmed with everything so i found an open park bench and sat down to go over the events of the last 24 hours. Actually, i went back farther than that, back to a couple of months ago when my caregivers at Ms. Mary’s had enrolled me into Eastside Heights private school. I wanted to go to a normal school with normal kids, not the stuck-up rich kids of any private school. Mrs. Bach, my language teacher completely ignored my requests, saying “this is a great privilege and you should take this opportunity ” I personally thought it was the worst thing that could have happened to me. How did they expect me, coming from a run-down orphanage, to fit in with the preppy girls of Eastside?! I think they were hoping Eastside would change me, take away the spunky, somewhat immature girl that makes me who I am and replace her with a sophisticated young lady. They were wrong; as i predicted, i didn’t fit in at all, i had trouble finding partners for projects and the teachers didn’t appreciate any humor. Mrs. Bach and the other ‘Mothers’ were very mad about my poor performance and were always nagging me to do better; this made Ms. Mary’s an even more miserable place to be. About a week ago it was becoming too much to take, i was spending more and more time around town or anywhere to stay away from them. As i was avoiding them i thought what if i could get away? what if i could live and get by with just me and my camera? and that’s where i got the crazy idea that i was going to run away.

I knew Eastside wouldn’t note my absence as anything unusual so the next day i decided i was going to skip school and a hitch a ride on the first subway trip into Chicago. Before i left that morning i grabbed a wad of cash out of Mrs. Bach’s desk and shoved a couple of changes of clothes into my backpack, putting my camera in a special side pocket for the long journey ahead. Everything went just as planned, i only stopped to think once i was on the subway, halfway to Chicago. Then i thought, What will happen when they figure out i’m gone? Will they call the police? I figured they would either start the search themselves or, the more likely answer, they would be glad to have me off their hands and act like nothing had happened. So, that’s how i found myself here, sitting on a park bench in the middle of Chicago. Just as i was starting to think of all the possibilities i must have drifted off, because next thing i knew i felt a freakishly cold and sticky sensation on my arm and i woke with a start. “He likes you” i heard a guys voice say. As i looked to see where the voice was coming from i was startled to see i little green tree frog sitting there on my arm! “Now Click, give her some space so you don’t scare her away” I was finally able to focus on where the voice was coming from and I looked up to see an average height, dirty blonde-haired boy gazing down on me.
“Hey, I’m Trenton, may i ask who you are?”
“Oh um, hi, I’m Brooklynn, nice to meet you”
“you’re not from around here are you?”
“No not really, how can you tell?”
“Well um for starters you wouldn’t be sleeping on a bench, you’re gonna get robbed”
“Haha ya, well i didn’t mean to fall asleep here, i was just really exhausted and didn’t have anywhere else to go”
“You aren’t homeless, are you?”
“Well, i ran away from the orphanage just last night, so yeah, but of my own accord”
“why in the world would you want to do that?!”
“It’s a long story”
“I’ve got time, you wanna take a walk?”
“I’d love to”
“Cool, c’mon Click” The peculiar little frog hopped right onto Trenton’s shoulder like it was an everyday thing to have a tree-frog in the middle of Chicago!
“Maybe you can tell me the story of your frog while we are at it?”
“Haha sure, do wanna stop by the cafe and get smoothies before we start our walk?”
“Sure! so how long have you been in Chicago?”
“Oh, only about 6 months, since I turned 19 in December and my parents kicked me out as soon as Christmas was over” “But I voluntarily left, i was ready to be my own self and they didn’t approve of my job choice, or my pet choice for that matter”
Confused i asked, “What’s your job? and What does this cute little frog have to do with anything?!”
“I write children’s stories, mostly about wild animals, I love writing and i don’t know what it is about them but i think animals are so interesting, thus Click, he got his name from his strange love of pictures, especially the ones in my book”
“Omg that’s so cool! I love pictures too! Except I love taking pictures maybe even more than looking at them”
“I bet that’s why he likes you, he senses your similarities”
We walked on, stopping at a little cafe to pick up smoothies and continue on our way, I was enjoying myself for the first time in a long while. We came to a huge museum and Trenton stopped at the front doors.
“I’ve been using this place as inspiration for my next book”
“Cool! I definitely want to get some pictures of this!”
At that Click turned to look at me with what looked almost like a smile on his face! “Do you think Click could come with me while you work on your story?” I asked.
“Shouldn’t be a problem, just don’t go too far, I don’t want you getting lost”
“Ok, meet back here in half an hour?”
“Sounds like a plan, see you then!” He said as he went to sit down at a window seat near an ice age exhibit.
Click and I roamed the museum, my camera taking in every little detail; i wanted to remember this day forever. We went deeper and deeper into the museum, so far i had seen exhibits on everything from rainbows to tropical rainforests! (Click’s Favorite) It seemed like we were just getting started when all of a sudden the lights shut off! Snapped out of my picture-taking frenzy, i looked around for a clock to see the time; it had been an hour! I frantically tried to go back to where Trenton had agreed to meet but couldn’t seem to make sense of anything. Click and I were lost, i ran around, calling for Trenton, and almost tripping over an employee stooped dusting an exhibit! “Oops sorry, do you know how i can get to the front of the museum?”
“Ya, just go straight and then... hey! I’ve seen you somewhere before!”
“Umm I don’t think so, I’ve never been here before, maybe I look like someone else.” I was kind of starting to panic, thinking about Ms. Mary’s; what if they were looking for me? “I better be going now” i said starting to jog the way she had pointed before, “thanks for the help”
“Hey! come back here, I need to talk to you!”
Then I started sprinting to the front, i spotted Trenton and yelled “Let’s go!” That was enough for him, he led the way as we bolted out into the busy streets, looking for somewhere to go so I didn’t have to go back.

“What was that all about?!” Trenton exclaimed “You’ve got some explaining to do” I looked around the room and was surprised to see it was an office of sorts with a little living space connected to it.
“just one question before I begin, where are we?”
“Oh, we are in my apartment, it’s not much but it works just fine for Click and me”
“Ok, are you ready for this?” I asked, taking a deep breath before starting the story of how I came to be sleeping on a bench in downtown Chicago.
“Whoa... whoa, whoa, whoa wait a second, so you are actually like serious about photography?!” Trenton speculated.
“Ya, well, that’s what the plan was, to get a job that had something to do with taking pictures, I was thinking more like for a newspaper” I explained.
“Ok, and what does this have to do with you being chased by a museum employee?”
“They recognized me from somewhere and i’m thinking that Ms. Mary’s has put something in the paper about me missing.”
“Oh, well that isn’t good then is it?”
“Not really, but maybe if i could show them I’m ok they would leave me alone...”
Confused, Trenton said “I don’t see where you’re going with this”
I think Click understood, because he was bouncing up and down like no tomorrow!
“I’m gonna send them some of the pictures I took today, showing them I’m alive and well and telling them not to worry”
“Wow! that’s a great idea!” Trenton exclaimed “By the way, how are your pictures?”
For the rest of the evening we sat on the sofa going through the photos, deciding which ones would be sent and which ones I could keep. Then I wrote a nice letter explaining everything, hoping it worked so I could stay here and prove myself. As we sat there Trenton felt like the big brother I never had and it stirred a thought about another thing that i had never had, a mom and dad. This in mind, I asked “What’s it like having parents? Even ones that aren’t perfect”
“Oh, um it’s pretty cool, feeling cared for like that with an undying love”
“I hope my parents come back for me someday, and I’ll show them I was worth it.”
“I bet they will Brooklynn, i mean, I bet they had a reason for putting you where they did, who knows, maybe they are close by and have been watching over you your whole life, just waiting for the time to talk to you”
“With that amazing thought in my head i curled up on the sofa and fell asleep, listening to Click look at my pictures.

I woke up to complete silence, I was a bit frantic at first but then i found Trenton’s note Click and I had business to do, be home by lunch, try to stay away from any museum employees ;)







-Trenton
I smiled as I looked around the small room, trying to find something to do, then it became obvious that this apartment belonged to a 19 year-old boy, it was filthy! I went about tidying up until around 10:30, then I needed some fresh air so I decided to walk to the store and buy some fresh stuff to make us for lunch, i figured since they were being so nice to me I better let them know how grateful I am!
Trenton and Click came in the door just as i was finishing the salads, “Perfect timing!” I called from the kitchen. I then realized that they were accompanied by a couple of straight-faced men in suits and I got nervous. Trenton looked a little uneasy too so I decided to leave the area and go find my camera, I was just turning to leave when he called my name, telling me to have a seat on the sofa. I did as I was told and everyone else followed suit. The first to speak was the man with the red tie
“Hi, I’m Steve, I am Trenton’s boss and I have become interested in your photographs” I cast Trenton an uneasy look and got a reassuring one in return, this made me feel better and i listened to what the other guy had to say “But, in order for you to work for us..”
“Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! What?!” I was so confused “Since when am I working for you?”
This was when Trenton butted in “I was looking through your pictures and they were really good! So I took them down to my other office and was going to put them in my story when Steve here asked where i had gotten them”
“Yes, yes I did, and when he said they were yours I accused him of plagiarism”
“Yeah, so I had to go to their office and tell them what I could about who you were” Gloomily, Trenton added, “ Since I just met you I failed the test”
“Thus why were are here today; to discuss everything with you” Rob explained.
Everything was starting to make sense, except I was confused why Trenton looked so nervous. Everyone looked as though they wanted me to leave so I went into the kitchen with Click to eat our salads. Impatiently waiting for them to finish their important business.

After what seemed like hours, I heard the door shut and finally, Trenton walked into the kitchen.
“What happened?” I asked “What is going on?” Trenton looked rather gloomy and I didn’t think that was a good sign.
“I have something to ask you”
“Just say it already!” I butted in, getting impatient.
“I would like to offer you a job taking pictures for my stories and for the company I work under” Trenton added quietly “The only catch is that you are supposed to be 18 otherwise your parents must approve”
“I would love to take pictures for your stories!” I exclaimed “ That would be my dream job!”
Click was getting excited and so was I until Trenton reminded me of the catch. This reminded me of what I had decided to do here. “I need to find my parents, first and foremost, before I think about anything else” I said “I’m sorry but I have to decline your offer”
“I kinda thought you would say that” Trenton said glumly.
“Well, thanks for all your help, I’ll never be able to repay you enough” I was then prepared to pack up and go downtown. My first stop was going to be the police department to see if they had any information about my parents.
“I’ll be at Grant Park if you need me”
I took a deep breath as i shoved open the heavy doors of the police station, preparing to be turned down”
“May I help you?” a kind-looking lady asked.
“I’m looking for my parents, I haven’t seen them since I was three, can you help me?” I said as confidently as I could.
“I personally can’t, but I will direct you to someone who might be able to” she said, leading me towards a cubical to the left.
We opened the door to see lots of files and hidden behind them, a shorts man with grey hair was sitting at a desk. He looked up and the lady next to me said, “This young lady is looking for her parents”
“Well I may be able to help her” he said calmly. “Have a seat”
I took my seat as the kind lady walked out of the room, leaving us to ourselves.
“When was the last time you saw your parents?” he asked “what have you been doing since then?”
“I last saw them when I was three, since then I have been living in a foster home but recently I have been on a quest of sorts to find out where they are”
“Oh, well this is a very extreme case, and it may take awhile for you to be able to meet them and for them to gain back custody”
“How long, what if I don’t meet them right away, can I contact them through a letter?” I asked eagerly.
“Getting their address will take about 5 hours, considering all the paperwork, but first, I need any information you can give me about yourself, start with your last name”
“My name is Brooklynn Kay Davis, I am 16 and have been living in Rockford, Illinois.” I informed him “I don’t know my parents names or even why they left me, I just know that I want them back”
“i will do a thorough search, and get back to you as soon as I can”
“Thank you so much!” I said as i stood up to leave.
To pass time I decided to go back to the museum, walking around aimlessly taking pictures of my surroundings. I then went back to Grant Park to wait for the police to inform me. Around 5:30 in the evening I decided to go back to the police station and see if they had gotten any information. As I walked in the guy with grey hair, I now know his name was Dave, came out to me
“We have gotten a possible address for your parents” “It may not be correct, but you can give it a try if you’d like”
I snatched the address out of his hands, wanting to see it, wow, my possible parent’s names were Katherine and Tom! Katherine and Tom, Katherine and Tom I thought over and over again, my feet leading me out of the police department and down the block to Trenton’s apartment. I needed to write a letter to them right away but I didn’t have any paper or the pictures I was going to send them. I knocked on Trenton’s door, hoping he wasn’t too mad. He answered with Click on his shoulder, my pink camera in his hand. “Hi, I know you probably don’t want to talk to me but Ijust wanted to tell you that they might have found my parents and I’ll gladly take the job after I can contact them. I just need some paper and a pencil to write the letter and my camera to send some pictures”
“Oh, um, yeah, you can come in, I was just sad you couldn’t work for me”
Click seemed very happy to see me, so I invited him to come sit on my shoulder while I wrote the letter....

Dear Mom and Dad,

Hi, this is Brooklynn, your daughter? I have been wondering where you are and when you are coming back for me. I’m 16 now and I decided I wanted to go to Chicago! I may have a job as a photographer , taking pictures for my friend Trenton’s stories! I have enclosed pictures of near where I am staying, when you get this, meet me in Grant Park if you are near Chicago, if not please write back as soon as possible, I’ll be waiting!
~Brooklynn Kay Davis