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“Deal.”
    And so I had got myself a shadow for the day. She helped me do some filing and tidying first off, then we did some restocking. I showed her where the supply closet was, where we stored all the cleaning products, paper towels and toilet paper. “We need to make sure everything is stocked at the beginning of every day, in both bathrooms,” I told her as I loaded up rolls of toilet paper in my arms.
    She scrunched up her nose. “That’s kinda gross.”
    I chuckled at her and handed her two rolls. “You can take those into the women’s bathroom,” I said, and loaded on two more rolls.
    I stood outside the entrance door and waited.
    “Just sit ’em on top?” she called out.
    On top of what, I didn’t know. “Yep,” I answered anyway.
    She came out empty handed so I presumed all had gone okay. I walked to the door of the men’s bathroom. “I won’t be a second.” I walked inside, put the toilet paper in the cubical stalls and was checking the paper hand towels when Claude walked in.
    She leaned against the door, looked around the large room and folded her arms. “What the hell, man?”
    “What the hell man, what?”
    “Why’s this one three times the size of the women’s room?”
    I laughed and clicked the hand towel dispenser back into place. “Well, it was originally a fight club, and there weren’t any women fighters back then.”
    Claude put one hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow. “You know,” she said, pursing her lips. “We have equal rights now. It’s the twenty-first century.”
    I grinned at her. “I heard that rumour, you know, about it being the twenty-first century and equal rights and all that.” I put my hand on her shoulder and turned her around. “Come on, you shouldn’t be in here. Out with you.”
    We walked out and back across the gym floor, and Arizona smiled at us. “You got yourself a helper?”
    “Yep. She’s just been lecturing me on equal rights.”
    Arizona stifled a laugh. “Keep up the good work, Claude.”
    I rolled my eyes at him and kept ushering the little girl towards my office. “Come on, squirt. Lunch time.”
    When we walked back into my office, Claude went straight over to the small kitchenette. “I’ll just have another hot chocolate,” she said.
    Of course she didn’t have any lunch with her. She came in here empty handed. It was hard seeing kids come in here, knowing they didn’t have a nice home or proper food. I took out my lunch container from the small fridge and put it in the middle of the table. “You should eat something,” I said simply.
    “These hot chocolates are real good,” she said.
    “So are the salads Kira makes,” I replied. “Fresh greens, peppers, cucumber, carrot. But you’re right. Hot chocolates probably are better.”
    She eyed the container on the table, and I knew she wanted it. I wondered just how long it had been since she’d actually eaten anything fresh if a vegetable salad looked appetising to a nine-year-old kid. “You’re welcome to it.”
    She came over to the table like she couldn’t have cared less and peered into the plastic container. She took it immediately, snatching the fork and speared some greens and peppers. I watched as she ate it, like she hadn’t eaten in days. If I was hungry before, I’d just lost my appetite.
    I actually felt a little nauseated.
    “Is there rice in this?” she asked with her mouth half full.
    “Brown rice,” I corrected her. “Kira is a bit of health freak. Each meal should have the right portions of nutrients, vitamins, protein and fibre,” I said with a smile, almost as a joke. “He only eats healthy stuff.”
    “It’s good,” she said while she chewed. She looked at the almost empty container and swallowed her mouthful. Reluctantly, she handed it back to me.
    “It’s yours,” I told her. “Eat up. We’re in the gym next. You need your energy.”
    “Is Kira your boyfriend?” she asked with her usual level of tact.
    “Well, actually,