Voices From The Neighborhood
The day was cloudy and gloomy, like most days in our city. Nothing ever seemed different—just the usual monotony—but that morning felt like something might finally break through. I walked into the office hoping for a light day. Thirty seconds after I sat down, my boss burst in, already buzzing with her usual six-cups-of-coffee-before-8-a.m. energy. We were yin and yang. The faster she talked, the calmer I became. I secretly enjoyed the power I wielded.
The boss told me how she got a call from a probation officer. He had two kids who were suspended, and he needed to keep them busy during the school hours. She told him to bring them over, and we would baby-sit. Correction, I would baby-sit.
Freddie, the tall, gangly kid with dirty blonde hair, looked like he had all the awkwardness of adolescence going for him. Ty’Rik, on the other hand, was small and compact, but his fiery gaze made it clear he wasn’t someone to mess with. They might have been opposites in appearance, but they shared something—trouble. I wasn’t sure which one did what. If someone had asked me to bet, I would have put my money on little man as the fire starter and tall boy the future heavyweight champion of the world.
My boss made the introductions. “This is Freddie,” as she pointed to the tall one. “And this is Ty’Rik,” as she looked at the little man. She told them my name and that I was in charge. Not sure if that was a compliment or a punishment. Either way, I was already thinking of ways to make their time here… memorable.
“Hello, gentlemen,” I said.
You could barely hear their greetings.
“Hi.”
“Hi.”
“I’ll be in charge of you for the rest of the day. You be nice to me, and I might grow a heart and feed you.”
The little one smiled.
“And your name, sir?”
In his little boy voice, “Ty’Rik.”
“Okay, Mr. Ty’Rik, we work hard here. You ready to put in some time for your crime?”
“What do I have to do?”
“Hmmm, well, for starters, we have you don some overalls and goggles because the work can be extremely nasty around here. Last week, our community service kids had to go into one of the older ladies’ houses, and they even had to change her diaper. It was not pretty.”
The boys looked at each other in disbelief. I truly love the power I wield.
“Naw, I’m just teasin’. I’m going to walk you across the street so you can clean the empty lot. I’m going to trust you to do the job on your own. I’ll get you some bags, gloves, and rakes.”
As I escorted the boys outside, I noticed one of our friendly well-known child molesters walk by our offices. We greeted each other with nods. I saw his eyes look towards the boys. At that exact moment, my boss came out to remind me about something when she saw Chester, the child molester. Boss and I looked at each other and had a silent conversation with our eyes. We were both thinking the same thought. No way were those boys going to be left alone. In a low voice, I told her I would be staying with the boys. She responded in an even lower voice, telling me not to let them out of my sight. In an even lower voice, I said duh, lady. In a louder voice, she said, “Do you remember who signs your paycheck?” As I walked away, I said, “Not you. Heeheehee. Love ya, Boss.”
I knew there was little I could say to her that would offend her. She loved me because I always made her look good, and I was an extremely awesome assistant, if I do say so myself.
“Well, today is your lucky day, boys. I’ve been demoted to looking over you to make sure you actually do the work. UGH.”
Freddie, ever the protective one, didn’t just act like a big brother—he was one. I could see it in the way he looked at Ty’Rik, constantly on edge, always scanning the surroundings. It wasn’t just about cleaning the lot for him; it was about keeping his friend safe. He stood tall, even if his shoulders hunched a little under the weight of responsibility.
“Come on, boys, if we work hard… oh wait. If YOU work hard, I may still grow a heart and feed you.”
The boys began cleaning the large field while I stood around looking like I was on guard duty. I hollered over to Freddie to start clearing a section nearer the road. At that same moment, I noticed an elderly Asian man parked, looking at the boys. My heart skipped a beat. What was this, let all the Chesters out day? I was growing more agitated that someone would be so bold to check out two young boys. I wasn’t the type that needed to gather up the nerve to speak to anyone. Communication was my superpower. I always said, i can’t paint, draw, or dance, but I can finagle my way out of any situation. So I walked over to his car and directly asked him if there was a reason he was checking out my boys.
“Not checking out boys, the land,” he said.
“What? The land?”
“Yes, I am looking for a location to open a Chinese restaurant.”
“Oh, well wrong lot, buddy. That lot was donated to the community by the City. You don’t have enough money to take it over. It’s about the only green space we have in this community. You don’t want residents coming after you like a mob chasing Frankenstein. There are other areas that we can show you in the neighborhood.” He gave me his card, and I told him I’d put him in contact with our Community Business Manager.
While I had been talking to Mr. Chinese Restaurant, a line had started forming at the local bar that had yet to open. I shook my head in sadness or disgust, couldn’t decide which. It wasn’t even 11:00 am. Around 11:20, the owner of the bar drove up. He opened up promptly at 11:30 am to his six eager waiting customers. Most of them waved over at me as they straggled into the bar. I waved back and told them that the fried chicken the bar was famous for would probably take a while to be cooked. They laughed.
When I turned around, Freddie and Ty’Rik were finishing up. After an hour of hard sweat, we put all the garbage bags at the corner of the street for the sanitation department to pick up on some random day. I walked with the boys to a local neighborhood sub shop a few blocks from the lot.
When we arrived, the business owner greeted us.
“Hey Danna, you are like a mama duck with your baby ducklings.”
“Yeah, well the baby ducks are hungry.” I told the boys that they could order their heart’s desire as long as it was under $5.00 each.
While we sat eating, I told the boys that they had done a great job on the lot. Ty’Rik smiled. Freddie said nothing but gave me a nod of thanks.
“So what did you guys do to have the pleasure of my company?”
Freddie spoke first.
“I started a fire.”
“Why?”
“I was angry.”
“How do you feel about it now?”
“I shouldn’t have done it. It was stupid.”
“I hope next time you find a more positive way to deal with your anger. You are a really nice kid.”
Freddie bowed his head.
“How about you, little man?”
“I hit someone.”
“Why?”
“He was picking on me.”
“Sorry to hear about that. Sucks to have someone pick on you.”
“Yeah.” Ty’Rik asked me if he could go to the bathroom. Freddie offered to escort him.
When Freddie came back, I asked him why it seemed he was so protective of Ty’Rik.
“I was afraid someone would kidnap him.”
“Why would you think someone would kidnap him?”
“When we went outside this morning, you had said you were going to leave us in the field alone, but then when we got outside, there was that scary-looking man. I saw you act weird. Then I heard you tell your boss that you were going to be with us. I figured that was a bad man.”
I felt my heart snap, and a lump grow in my throat.
“Freddie, you’re a great kid. I hope you never forget that, no matter what bad choice you made in the past. Always remember you have a good heart, and making bad choices does not mean you are a bad person. Bad decisions don’t have to define you as a person. They are meant to help you grow and mature as a person. Thank you for being so kind and looking over Ty’Rik.”
Freddie smiled for the first time.
