This was going to be a perfect day, I just knew it! The sun was shining, the birds were chirping and I was in love with the most incredible man ever. ...ot to mention, today was my 30th birthday! Thomas had to work today but promised an incredible birthday celebration when he got home this evening. I pressed him for details but he wasn't forthcoming. He kept saying, "Be patient Angel, be patient!" The morning passed by and not a word from him. Maybe he forgot? It didn't seem likely, but hey, I. So was my backpack, my few other belongings and even the shoes that she’d insisted I take off. She did leave me a note. It told me that she had just taught me the most valuable lesson that anyone could. When you’re on the street, trust no one. She mentioned of course that she was only passing the information down the chain the exact way that she herself had learned it only a few months before. I was barefoot for more than a week before I got lucky and found a nearly worn-out pair of tennis. Over and over, she pounded the tree. When her anger subsided, she sank to the ground, weary from her efforts. Alyce closed her eyes for a moment, and then heard the familiar, soft chuckle. Seeing Chet leaning against the battered tree, she glared at him. “You know this is your entire fault!” Alyce blamed him, “If you would have just told me the direction I needed, I would be at home by now.” “Well, it seems to me that you’re having fun figuring it out by yourself,” he leered. “What's that. The most unlikely of the six was Mona. Good looking, sexy even, but she was a born again Christian. She didn't smoke, drink or swear and at break time and lunchtime you could find her in the break room reading her bible. I left Mona on the list because I had seen some "born agains" come crashing down before, and when it happened it could be spectacular. I remember one time in college when a bible thumping goody-two shoes ended up dancing in the nude on a pool table and then taking on eleven.