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Sanjit figured he could live with that

But the little kids, Peace, Bowie and Pixie, had been scared fro Even Choo, whom Sanjit had never seen upset, had been creeped out

The sie house, with some rooms the kids had never even seen, roo and as dead as a h Nanny’s upstairs suite, through the bungalows and dorlars

But everyone’s mood had improved when they returned to the -overdue dinner that first evening

"They do have ice crea They lied to us They have tons of ice creaallon tubs of ice creaallons of ice cream

Sanjit had patted Bowie on the shoulder "Are you really surprised, little guy? Cook weighs three hundred pounds, and Annette isn’t far behind" Annette was the maid who cleaned the children’s rooms

"Can we have some?"

Sanjit was surprised to be asked for permission that first time He was the oldest, but it had not really occurred to hie

"You’re asking rown-up for now"

Sanjit smiled "Then, as temporary adult, I decree that we have ice cream for dinner Grab one of those tubs and five spoons and we don’t stop till we hit the bottom"

That had kept everyone happy for a while But at last Peace raised her hand, like she was in school

"You don’t have to raise your hand," Sanjit said "What’s up?"

"What’s going to happen?"

Sanjit had considered this for a few seconds He was not norhtful person, he knew that He was normally a joker Not a clown, but not so life seriously was Virtue’s job

Back in the days when he’d lived on the Bangkok streets and alleyways there were endless dangers: sweatshop bosses ould try to kidnap you and put you to work fourteen hours a day, cops ould beat you, shopkeepers ould chase you away from their fruit displays with bamboo sticks, and always the pin men for their own purposes

But Sanjit had always tried to laugh and not cry No iven up like soh he surely had survived by stealing And as he aged on those wondrously exciting, terrifying, never-dull streets he’d nurtured a certain swagger, a certain attitude that made him stand out He had learned to live each day, not to worry too much about the next If he had food for the day, if he had a box to sleep in, if the rags on his back weren’t crawling with too many lice, he was happy

"Well, we have plenty of food," Sanjit said, as four faces looked to hi out Right?"