Lirssa stared at the ledger with Xe and Ollie. Xe shook her head again. "We can look at this all day, and those numbers aren't going to change."
Ollie tilted his head far to the side as if it might help. "We just need to tweak the plan is all."
Xe chuckled, setting the tattoo on her neck to wiggling. "Got sparks in the pan, chopper" Share, share."
Lirssa felt the same frustration she heard in Ollie's groaning sigh when he sat back in his chair sending it rolling away from the desk. The back room of Second Chances was a large closet converted into an office. There were file cabinets along the recently painted wall and two desks, though only one was ever used much at all. It was the one that had molehills of paper when the folks in charge came to examine the workings of the halfway house.
"What's the real problem then" Let's start at the beginning." Lirssa tried to apply some of her schooling to the situation. Always start with the question of what is the problem, then theorize, then test.
Xe kicked up her feet on the other desk, a patch of paper crinkling under her boots. At least the boots were clean, but Lirssa did frown just a moment. "We don't know," Xe said. "We just know somehow the till is coming up short."
Lirssa did not like hearing that news at all, not when she had just brought in another group of clothes to alter and sell. "Think someone's bringing the street indoors?"
"Fingers get itchy, Lir." Ollie looked guilty, but Lirssa could not believe it was him. Maybe it was guilt on behalf of whoever was doing. Even if it was that.
"Well, we don't know that for sure, and I'm not about to get this place all twitched up with blame." Lirssa frowned all the more, feeling the tightness of the furrows on her brow, she pushed and pulled at them with her fingertips.
"We can narrow down those that have access to the till." She offered. "Or do counts more often. Make each person touching the register responsible for the count at beginning and end."
Xe sighed. "Might set matches, kid. Meaning, you'll have those banding together, covering each others backs or you'll have those one blaming the other and see this house come down like cards."
A shake of her head, Lirssa realized how much easier in many ways the foster homes were. The children never had to stay, but they did not have trouble with charity and there were adults willing to share what they earned. Sometimes Lirssa wondered if she just encouraged the biggest scam in the streetkid world.
"Okay," Lirssa gave in and it made her sick that she did. It went against everything inside her.
"Look, I'm not giving up and neither is Ollie. We'll find it. Just isn't going to be split-splat. Got to wait for some more rain, see where it leaks, huh?" Xe looked confident and sure unlike when Lirssa had first arrived. Lirssa was pretty sure she was being played, but it was more an instinct. Xe could have fooled most anyone, except Lirssa knew the itch. They may all think she wasn't a real street kid, but she still could get that sensation when something just was not right.
"I got some foster homes to see, so I'll be moving on." Lirssa picked up her pack and went to claim Dante who was having his visiting full body rub by some of the kids.
The bicycle zipped through the puddles as Lirssa went on her way, but her thoughts were as sullen as the sky and she blinked up at it when it rumbled. "Yeah, exactly."
Ollie tilted his head far to the side as if it might help. "We just need to tweak the plan is all."
Xe chuckled, setting the tattoo on her neck to wiggling. "Got sparks in the pan, chopper" Share, share."
Lirssa felt the same frustration she heard in Ollie's groaning sigh when he sat back in his chair sending it rolling away from the desk. The back room of Second Chances was a large closet converted into an office. There were file cabinets along the recently painted wall and two desks, though only one was ever used much at all. It was the one that had molehills of paper when the folks in charge came to examine the workings of the halfway house.
"What's the real problem then" Let's start at the beginning." Lirssa tried to apply some of her schooling to the situation. Always start with the question of what is the problem, then theorize, then test.
Xe kicked up her feet on the other desk, a patch of paper crinkling under her boots. At least the boots were clean, but Lirssa did frown just a moment. "We don't know," Xe said. "We just know somehow the till is coming up short."
Lirssa did not like hearing that news at all, not when she had just brought in another group of clothes to alter and sell. "Think someone's bringing the street indoors?"
"Fingers get itchy, Lir." Ollie looked guilty, but Lirssa could not believe it was him. Maybe it was guilt on behalf of whoever was doing. Even if it was that.
"Well, we don't know that for sure, and I'm not about to get this place all twitched up with blame." Lirssa frowned all the more, feeling the tightness of the furrows on her brow, she pushed and pulled at them with her fingertips.
"We can narrow down those that have access to the till." She offered. "Or do counts more often. Make each person touching the register responsible for the count at beginning and end."
Xe sighed. "Might set matches, kid. Meaning, you'll have those banding together, covering each others backs or you'll have those one blaming the other and see this house come down like cards."
A shake of her head, Lirssa realized how much easier in many ways the foster homes were. The children never had to stay, but they did not have trouble with charity and there were adults willing to share what they earned. Sometimes Lirssa wondered if she just encouraged the biggest scam in the streetkid world.
"Okay," Lirssa gave in and it made her sick that she did. It went against everything inside her.
"Look, I'm not giving up and neither is Ollie. We'll find it. Just isn't going to be split-splat. Got to wait for some more rain, see where it leaks, huh?" Xe looked confident and sure unlike when Lirssa had first arrived. Lirssa was pretty sure she was being played, but it was more an instinct. Xe could have fooled most anyone, except Lirssa knew the itch. They may all think she wasn't a real street kid, but she still could get that sensation when something just was not right.
"I got some foster homes to see, so I'll be moving on." Lirssa picked up her pack and went to claim Dante who was having his visiting full body rub by some of the kids.
The bicycle zipped through the puddles as Lirssa went on her way, but her thoughts were as sullen as the sky and she blinked up at it when it rumbled. "Yeah, exactly."