Cal had been awkwardly sitting in the waiting room, watching the secretary work away. She had thought about saying something like: Good Afternoon or something, but it hadn't really been that good of an afternoon. And Cal was never good at starting conversations with strangers. She had watched the secretary check the time, buzz into Howard Brown, and then open the door for Cal to enter. With an almost forced nod of thanks, Cal stood up and entered the office. For some reason, she expected the office to be way different. Whenever she thought of offices she either thought of the blinding, clean, white of the doctors or the rustic and stuffy brown of some rich old guy, one like her principal used to have. She had seen that office enough times to remember it detail for detail. Whenever she was called into her principals office she felt small and meek, no matter how much she tried to defend herself. This office felt different. She watched with wandering eyes as he set down what she could only guess was her file. It was a lot smaller then the one she had at school. That one was stuffed with write ups about how dangerous she was.

"Uh...thanks..." She grumbled as she chose a plush seat, one that was not directly in front of Howard Browns line of sight. She didn't like eye contact. 

She visibly relaxed when he mentioned that they wouldn't be talking about her past. That was one of her biggest fears with coming to Open Roads, she didn't like strangers poking around inside her head. But that made her wonder how much he knew, how much was in that file. She would have to talk carefully. She didn't want to reveal anything he didn't know. Her face turned to one of shock when he offered her a cigarette. Gosh she wanted one. "No strings attached? I'm not gonna light one then suddenly have a SWAT team burst down the door?" She asked as she cautiously slid a single cigarette out of the package, handing it back to him. She then accepted his lighter, happily flicking the small flame to life.

She drew in a deep breath, sucking a lung full of smoke into herself. She tipped her head back, a lazy smile spreading across her face as she exhaled, releasing the smoke up in a pillar above her. After a week of not smoking, she had been trying to ignore the itch. She almost texted Ronnie, asking him to bring her a pack and a light. As Mr. Brown spoke again Cal slowly tipped her head back forward, keeping her eyes on the floor. "Well...uhh...ya'know..." She struggled to find words as she anxiously tapped her cigarette. "Free food and a bed that wasn't my truck...I guess..." Okay not the whole truth, but she didn't want to give away anything about herself.