Negotiation

"So you want two bottles of that and a six pack?" I heard a man say, as I walked through Georgetown on my way to the metro after work. He was a tall, heavy-set African American. I couldn't guess how old he was, but I figured he was in his late forties at least. The two girls he was talking to nodded. "And what are you going to give me?"

"Um, twenty dollars?" one of the girls ventured. She was tiny, with straight, shiny brown hair skimming her shoulders and a little more eyeliner than seemed good for her.

"Twenty dollars? Each?" The girl shook her head. I couldn't tell if he was really disgruntled or just giving the girls a hard time. "Man, I'm homeless you know."

"And we're seventeen and don't have jobs, just allowances."

And then I was out of earshot.