Box Manor

Oliver:

"Hey Oli, can you grab extra bread I think we'll have visitors today?" Jimmy asked Oliver as he headed out of our makeshift box hut. Oliver had been living with this motley crew that had welcomed him in for about three weeks now. He felt pretty accepted and part of this little family since that first bite of bread he took. Bread. That was the extent of their meals. Jimmy was the only one out of the five boys of Box Manor--a small "house" literally composed of boxes that different restaurants in the area had thrown out...it was big enough for ten people and so had plenty of space only housing five--who had a job. Jimmy worked for a bread company and was always able to bring home any stale and left over bread items. They mostly drank water, but occasionally Peppers could get some nice, quality bottles of grape juice from the cute gas station clerk he would flirt with. Everyone had a way they could contribute to this little society. Jimmy and Peppers with the bread and juice, Jack collected boxes whenever they needed more, Dan always made sure to have wood for the fire pit, and Oliver now was called the waiter. Since he was the newest to the group until he could find what he was most useful with he was the one would collect things for people. This is why Oliver found himself gathering extra bread for these mysterious visitors.

In the three weeks that Oliver had been a part of Box Manor they had never had visitors. No one had phones and so Oliver had wondered how Jimmy could know that they were getting visitors. Jimmy was like that: He always knew when something new was going to happen. No one knew how he did, but he did. There was something else about this motley crew worth noting. Not only did they all contribute to their community through providing goods, but they all had gifts and skills like Jimmy's. Peppers was a very charismatic speaker and loved to teach the crew new concepts. Jack cared for the group, by that I mean that, he made sure everyone had what they needed and was always there to provide council if needed. Dan liked to start new things. Whenever Jimmy would tell him something new was happening then Dan would start making sure everything was ready for that new event. Oliver was still trying to figure out his place in all of this, but above all else he knew he was accepted here and that was good enough for now.

"Here they come!" Jimmy whispered to the group as Oliver had found his seat around the fire pit. All five boys looked over to see a couple walking towards them. They looked exhausted and confused. What was most surprising to see was that one of the two people approaching was a girl. They never had girls come find them and yet here she was. Dan naturally stood up to welcome them.

"Hi there...is this Box Manor?" The girl asked and Dan nodded his head while asking them if they'd like to sit and have some bread.

"And who might y'all be?" Jack asked most likely preparing ways to make them feel most welcomed, just like he did the first time that Oliver had joined the group.

"I'm Coco and this is my brother Trevor." the girl calmly explained and Jimmy's ears perked up.

"Coco? You're Coco?" Jimmy asked surprised, "We certainly have been waiting for you...have you brought news?"

"That depends...is Oliver among you?" Coco asked and very hesitantly Oliver stood up.

"That's me." and before he could say anything else, Trevor burst out, "Oh Good! We thought we'd never find you. It was hard ya know. Luckily Br...Coco insisted we keep looking." Oliver looked at the other boys and this new couple with a quizzical look.

"Me? You were looking for me? Why me?"

"Of course we were Oliver. You are very important to all of us." This mysterious girl named Coco replied.