Snot - 5 Minute Freewrite

Snot had always hated her nickname, ever since she first got it when she was six or so years old. One of the older street kids had given it to her, and, like the mucous she'd rub on her sleeve... it stuck.

These days, some five years later, it was a name she refused to let go of. It reminded her of why she pushed so hard. It reinforced her will to achieve every time anyone said it to her.

One day, one day soon, she'd leave these streets behind.

For now, though, she had more immediate plans to complete and watch over. Several months back Rat had disappeared, and she had inherited the leadership of her little band of urchins.

It was under her guidance that she'd worked out the current system with that horrible merchant. It was an unfortunately one-sided system, but it kept her and the kids under her watch fed... and even gave them a bit of spending money if they did particularly well.

The "Brussel sprouts" had been her idea, [5min] after she'd noticed that they were almost never purchased by anyone. The stupid merchant kept putting them out though, and that puzzled her. And because of her curiosity, she noticed that the 'merchant' wasn't selling a lot of... anything. He appeared to mostly buy items. The stock on his stall almost never moved, and Snot... well, she had been on these streets long enough to know what that meant.

So she approached him one day, purposely timing it so that they were uncomfortably close to a guard's posting.

"I know what you are, and you're not a merchant." she had said, loudly enough to get a glance from the guard.

She smiled, remembering that first interaction. The first time she'd really stepped into her role as leader of her little band.