Once he cleaned himself out, I made sure that he was at the front desk and presentable. We got him his photo and his membership card. Once that was in his hands, he no longer had to worry about the abuse of the staff. He looked so happy he could cry. I pat him on the back and said "Don't worry. It was literally not an issue for me. You are a great guy and I just want the best for you." He pulled me into a hug. I was there for him. When he was done crying, I asked him why he was struggling financially. It was a big thing. Layers were not well regarded in society. It was largely seen as embarrassing. Especially for a boy. His family were classic deadbeats with several children in tow. Aiden was the second out of five. As the only layer, he was immediately ostracized by his parents. It was one less mouth to feed. He was basically living in the recreation center for free. I asked if he was going to start selling his eggs. He did not know about the fences or how much the eggs were worth in certain places in the city. That was a major tragedy. If he was essentially alone, he did not need to suffer this.
I told him where to get money for his eggs and where my motel was. "Remember, this is important. If anyone asks where you got the eggs, you found it somewhere. Your eggs are precious. Never tell them where they really came from." I stressed to him. This was not something he could slip up with. Once he had the money, he could get a room in the same motel as me. Aiden would not have to be stranded with those creeps in the recreation center anymore. He nodded his head. Aiden's eggs came in the morning, and he had long since dropped out of school. He could go over to the fence as soon as he laid it. I told him to sleep in my room tonight. I did not trust those guys not to do something bad to him. Aiden agreed and we shared the bed. Nothing happened between us. I turned my back to him and let him get some sleep. I went to school and told him to stay until he had laid the egg. At school, there was yet another math test. I did well on it. I was making really good progress. When school was out for the day, the weekend was upon us. I went back over to the motel and found Aiden there.
He had gotten the egg to the fence and got the money for it. I went with him to the office to make sure he was able to buy a room. He got it and we were down the hall from each other. That was something that Aiden needed to do for himself. I actually got 500 exp for it. I was now Level 5. That was good. I went to Old Kipler to see what jobs he would have for me now. He looked happy to see me. "I was waiting just for you to come by. I have a new job for you if you want it." I was interested in hearing it out. He smirked and said "This time, I want you to pick up a package for me. Once you have it, bring it over." I sighed and said "Of course. I'll bring it to you." This did not seem to be too much of an upgrade. Instead of delivering drugs to random locations, I was now picking up the payments for said drugs. It was not a big deal until my third task. A gangster tried to steal the money. I had to fight him off and run down to Old Kipler. He had better stamina, so I was caught. Luckily, he was a low level punk. I was able to beat him and force him to flee. I told the old man. "Here." he said. It was a gun.
