Lisa's Diary: Encounter på gaden

Dear Diary,I woke up because a big ugly dog started barking at me. I jerked awake and immediately started screaming. The fact that I reacted abruptly to its barking, just made the dog more excited. It started jumping up and down on me, kicking the garbage cans I was sleeping against, and it made a terrible noise. I was attracting too much attention, especially considering that I saw some police men the night before. I tried to quiet the dog down, making silly noises, and patting it, but that just got it even more excited. I started to panic when I heard voices screaming after the dog. I ran the possible options through my head, there weren't a lot, but I figured I had to do something. Option one, I could try to act casual, I wasn't bothered by the dog barking at me, and I definitely wasn't sleeping on the ground. I'd just casually run by the place. Option two... Well there really was no other option but to run. Unfortunately there was no time for option two since I could see their shadows approaching, I could hear their footsteps, and their heavy breathing. From that I could tell that it was two men, and there was no way I could out run them. The two men finally rounded the corner and I could vaguely make out their faces. The dog had finally, yet too late, fallen quiet, and as its owners approached, it obediently went to them. I smirked at the men, trying to play coy and act as if I wasn't scared. “Hello, who are you, and why are you upsetting my dog?” the first man asked, he was large and had a full beard. Just the type of man you would watch out from on the streets. “Doesn't matter who I am, and it was your dog who was upsetting me” I answered, still smiling, but I made sure that my eyes were hard, not letting him misunderstand what I meant. My cold response had worked, he was startled, and hesitated. “Well.. You shouldn't be running around on the streets by yourself, kid. You could get hurt.” the other man said. He was kinder, but more suspicious. He knew what I was doing, and I didn't like it. “I'm not. I was just passing through to get home. Nothing special..” but as I said the words, things started to fall into place. What was I doing running away from home like a baby? What point was I trying to prove, and to who? The kind man read my silence as acknowledgement to the fact that what I was doing was pointless. He nodded to himself, and gestured for the bearded man to leave. I was relieved, but I knew it didn't make a difference. They'd still call the cops and I'd be forced to go home. So better forfeit by myself. I took out my phone, I figued, at this point, I had nothing to lose. I dialed my moms number and she immediately picked up. She'd been waiting by the phone. Tears ran down my face as I heard her voice. “Lisa? Lisa? Is that you?”Long silence...“Yeah, mom. It's me.”