This story is a work of fiction. Any resemblances to any person, place, or written works are purely coincidental. It may contain consensual sex between young men. Do not read if you find that objectionable or if it is illegal for you to view this content for whatever the reason.
Copyright 2010 Jade, All Rights Reserved. Permission to post electronically is given to www.nifty.org and its affiliated mirror sites only. Otherwise do not post, copy, or use this story in any manner without my permission.
Always love to hear from you, please let me know what you think @: phantomscorpio77@gmail.com.
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If You Could Read My Mind
As soon as the bell signals the end of class for the week Neville grabs his books and practically runs, promising over his shoulder to Megan, "Before you close. I'll be there. You've got a computer right? Of course you do, never mind. Sorry, gotta go."
Normally Neville spends an hour or two in the warmth of the school library before heading home. Today is different. He knows there's a high school hockey practice after school today because he saw some of the guys tossing their equipment in a storage room when he left the arena this morning. Mornings like that suck, having to traverse pathways in the underbelly of the arena to sneak out a side entrance instead that lets out practically onto the school yard and sports fields. With no reason to be in the arena it would draw unwanted attention if he's noticed, yet sneaking out the side doors can equally be noticed if anyone's hanging around in the back school yard. Unfortunately nearly half the hockey team this year is in his grade and know him so he has no other choice.
Ignoring that Josh wanted to speak to him yet again, Neville walks fast from the classroom and slips into his home before the first boys enter the dressing room beside him. When the guys are out on the ice and warming up Neville strips down to his boxer briefs and grabs his shower items. When he hears the pucks hitting the boards and net he slips into their dressing room and turns the deadbolt. He quickly goes through the contents of some of the bags.
He steals a pack of cinnamon chewing gum from the back pocket of Ron Hughes pants. Cinnamon is not his favourite, something minty is always better, but chewing gum will help calm his nerves when he has to go over to Megan's tonight. He continues through the pockets as usual for spare change. He has some money at the moment, but with his toothpaste almost empty he's trying to scrounge up enough extra cash to get more and a new toothbrush from the drug store.
Not finding enough spare change he has to start in on wallets. Finding one with a number of bills in it he notes that Gordie Burns has a different condom in his wallet than before the holidays, `Looks like someone got lucky, hopefully he's not as observant as me and won't notice one of the fives missing.' Stopping at another specific bag he rifles through to find a clean undershirt. He knows exactly who's bag it is and that this is the only undershirt small enough to not hang loose off his frame.
Back in grade nine Neville used to almost be a men's medium from working the farm. Two years later now Brian is the only guy that's Neville's size on the team; boys large. And as far as Neville can tell Brian is fastidiously clean because he's only one of a few guys that brings a change of socks, boxers and undershirt for after practice. Any clothes he's stolen off Brian is always freshly laundered whereas some of the guys just put back on sweaty socks and underwear, if they shower at all.
Getting to Josh's bag he feels bad for doing this. He feels bad all through his shower and especially when he uses the lemon scented towel to dry himself with. In fact Neville feels so bad that he can't bring himself to steal the towel. He knows Josh's family is hard up too, replacing a towel is the kind of thing there's no spare money for. Instead he folds it and puts it neatly back into Josh's bag. He lingers for a moment at Josh's bag, wishing he didn't have to violate his almost-friend this way, but he needs to smell clean if he's going to sit beside Megan at a computer and do their homework tonight.
No longer hearing pucks being slapped around or any other sounds from the ice he realizes he's lingered too long. He unlocks the deadbolt and scampers back through the screens to his lair. Batman is his favourite superhero, so he thinks of his home, his bedroom in the back of an arena maintenance room, as his Bat-Cave minus the gadgets.
Minutes later as he's just starting to dress he hears it. Getting things out of his bag for a shower Brian O'Connor tee's off, starting a bout of profanities, "Fuck! Someone stole my shit again! Who the fuck keeps steeling my shit? This is like the third time at least! Socks at least once, twice my boxers, and now my undershirt? God damned pervert. One of you bitches is a sick fuckin pig."
Ron Hughes shrugs his shoulders. In Ron's mind Brian is always saying something of his was stolen. Still, firsthand experience makes him join in, "Dude! At least you get to keep your pants! Remember the time my tear-aways and Joey's towel and shower stuff got lifted?"
Sneaking a look at the high school hockey team after a sweaty practice while they undress and shower, or merely change back into street clothes, Neville remembers the fleece lined pants fondly. They kept his legs somewhat warm his first winter, much better than the stolen hockey socks he used alone.
Brian suggests, "Chalk another one up to Neville."
"Totally," Chris Wilson agrees as he lights up a cigarette, "I swear one of his t-shirts came from my bag."
Gordie reasons, "Now how the fuck could he break in here and steal your stupid t-shirt and Brian's undershirt or Ron's sweaty pants or Joey's toiletries? Hello, we take the key out to the ice with us. I say if there is a thief he's got to be amoung us in this room right now."
Brian's at a loss, "I dunno. Who else could it be? That kid's seriously fucked. Arthur, you were there that time we caught him eat a ketchup packet at McDonalds and Kelsey says she's seen him steal handfuls more. Who the hell is so poor he gets banned from McDonalds for stealing ketchup? He probably has a thing for my clothes."
Josh speaks up, "How do you jump from eating ketchup to having a thing for you? You're ugly and he's not a fag anyways. He's just really quiet and shy."
Arthur teases Josh, "Wooo, says his lover boy!"
"Ask your mom how she likes this! At least it's been touched by a girl AND gets hard over them. Two things you can't claim! Tell us, just how is your baby-dick doing with the ladies Artie," Josh says lifting his impressive flaccid manhood.
Protecting his friend, Brian reiterates, "Whatever Josh. He's poor and he steals things."
Josh won't back down, "One big problem with your theory Brian. Nev has zero fucking way of getting in here to steal your undershirt. Nah, gonna have to side with Gordie here. Maybe there's not even a thief at all, I think there's just a little too much crying wolf going on lately. You probably just didn't wear one in the first place so you can get us all to pay attention to you!"
Gary St. John asks Josh, "What's with you and Neville anyway? Why are you always defending that kid?"
"He's an alright guy. Poor as shit and his parents are never around for him. You'd be fucked up like him too. And like Gordie said, there's no way he's the one staling our shit, even if he is poor," Josh suggests. In his heart he adds that he knows what it's like to be poor and that's what helps him relate.
Gordie asks, "Where's he live? Anyone even know that?"
"No one knows. I'd say in the cab of one of his parents trucks, but they both seem to never be around that much," Cory Duggan answers.
Deciding against a shower because somehow his towel is already inexplicably wet, Aaron fills his year older teammate Gordie in, "You know how Corey and his dad work at the Confederation Bridge weigh station and truck stop on (Trans-Canada Highway) number 1, right? From time to time Corey sees Neville with his old lady there. Especially in the fall Corey saw him in hers and then some other dude's truck. So we figure both his parents are long-haul truckers. No one knows what happened to his brother Kenny though or even where they live. They're all like fuckin ghosts or something."
Ron points out, "I dunno, he has to live somewhere in the area to go to our school, right?"
"Davis Millar is his uncle or something, supposedly he stays in that shack across the street with him. That's what my mom heard anyway. So he probably has keys to everything here," Joey Anderson states based on what his mother who is the school secretary knows.
"That's what I'm saying! I still say he swiped my t-shirt," Chris says.
Gordie is once again a voice of reason, "Dude! You're mom isn't the only one that shops at Walmart. Let's be honest, with the ban on fishing right now it's the only ticket in town for some of us, if we're even that lucky. Half of us have the same shirt you lost. Get over yourself."
The room's getting a little too heated for his liking and no one cares to discuss the tough times many of their parents are feeling so Aaron tries to change the subject, "Hey, anyone see the new kids this week?"
Being the gossip he is, Corey chimes in, "Yeah, I heard they're from Moncton. The guy's name is Bailey, what a girls name! Lucky shit gets his girlfriend to move with him."
"First of all there's two girls. They have to be his sisters. Second, like his girlfriend is going to move with him. Quit hitting the crack-pipe, dipshit," James Bautista informs.
Joey feels he has the scoop, "The grade-twelve girl and the guy have the same name. The grade-eleven girl has a different last name. She's like a step-sister I think. I should know, my mom registered them."
"Nope. You don't even know her name. It's Megan. She's in my history class, so I should know. Her last name may be different, which could be like a step-sister, but she said she's living with her girlfriend. I think she meant boyfriend," Corey proudly explains.
"Yeah? I don't know, maybe they're polygamists or even some weird cult, think whatever you want Corey. I heard they opened up a restaurant in the old bakery over by the courthouse. I say we hit it and see if it's any good," Gordie suggests.
Arron shares, "The one girl you think is the guy's girlfriend was all friendly to Neville in English today and she's sat beside him all week. Oh, and get this; the shithead got us homework this weekend, didn't he Josh?"
James rolls his eyes. He's in Bailey's morning grade 11 English class with the same teacher, "Let me guess. She gave you guys a 500 word essay too? Your choice of character and why you think he or she really is the one with the power?"
"No. Our's is only 250 words on who Jones represents. James my boy, enjoy your 500 word essay. Sucker! I thought MacLeod was kidding when she told us to thank him for getting us an easier assignment than what she had planned. I guess I should almost thank the runt like that new girl was."
"Yeah, lets hit that place tonight. Dump our stuff at home and meet up there? Gordie? Dan? Aaron? James? Ron? Ya? Cool. Anyway, back to Neville I still agree with Gordie. He's not the thief. If anyone's swiping shit it's got to be one of us so let's settle this. One by one we dump out our bags in front of everyone," Josh suggests.
"Better yet, someone else dumps out each bag so that the thief can't hide my shirt. Seeing as though it's probably your poverty stricken ass stealing my clothes I'll start with yours Josh," Brian sneers.
"Yeah, cause I need your undershirt. Be my guest. And for the record, these are mine, you can tell because they're all stretched out in front," Josh says while dropping his pants so everyone can see the briefs he's wearing, "Just in case you're gonna say someone stole your underoos too."
Neville's heart is racing as he listens. He's going to get caught when they dump all the bags and the undershirt doesn't show up. He could just let it play out but some of the guys are on the right track. He gets an idea. Everyone's back is to the grate he's hiding behind as Brian tears apart Josh's bag. When the guys are on the fifth bag, hooting and hollering and trash talking each other Neville pushes the grate out and drops the small undershirt onto the floor and quietly closes the grate with lightning quickness. He closes up the second grate and goes to hide in his place. He's almost been discovered once, these guys may figure out that grates on both sides of the wall clip on and off easily enough if they try and investigate too.
In the darkness, sitting with his knees drawn and broken out in a cold sweat from worry, it takes less than a minute before Neville can hear the discovery echo through the storage room to him. Brian's voice gets louder as he approaches the grate in the next room, "There it is! Which one of you losers tossed it over here when we weren't looking? Someone's seriously got issues. Fuck this! I'm bringing my bag out into the stands from now on so you can't steal my shit!"
Ron rolls his eyes, "Whatever. I'm with Josh, I think you tossed it there because you're the sick puppy and get off on all the attention. There, problem solved, we all got to see you parade around in your gitch. Happy now? Put on some fucking pants already and quit lying about your shit being stolen. And seriously dude, Spongebob Square Pants? What are you, like two?"
If the guys continue to leave their bags in the room Neville knows he's going to have avoid stealing clothes from Brian again. The team all disperses, some with intentions of dropping their equipment off at home and meeting up at the very diner that is becoming the centre of Neville's incredibly small universe.
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Bailey's glad the day is over. Meeting Brooke and Megan at their lockers the three trudge the handful of blocks through the snow back home. Like the previous days of their first week they share their school experiences before switching gears and starting work. Knowing he gets a little crazy when he's in love, he does keep Neville to himself as he doesn't need Brooke and Megan looking over his shoulders.
Just around the dinner hour, when traffic in what passes for downtown Charlottetown starts to slow, a group of guys from school come in. Both Megan on the floor and Bailey from the somewhat open kitchen are always on the lookout for one boy in particular, but Neville is not amoung this group. It's the third group of kids from their school today that have come to try out the cozy new place. Word of mouth has spread all week and for the first time the girls find the pace hard to keep up with. Cathy and Jonas Regan hold things down during the day while their kids are at school but tonight have to help through the dinner rush.
While conversing with his friends Josh eyes thirteen year old Bethany Regan writing on a piece of poster board for the front window under direction of her mother. He keeps it to himself because he doesn't want any competition from his friends. When his friends clear out with the dinner crowd Josh sticks around to discuss what the youngest Regan child wrote.
After pretending to use the washroom he catches Mrs. Regan as she clears the table. Josh helps by stacking the dishes for her, "I noticed the sign you're putting up. What kind of help are you looking for? I've done clean up where my mom cuts hair before. I can mop and sweep, clean dishes, even cook if you'd like. I don't want to apply right now because I didn't get a chance to shower after hockey, but do you have an application?"
Cathy would hand Josh an application and send him on his way if she could find the box they are in, even though they have the old restaurant's logo on them. As whichever box they are in has yet to be unpacked from the move, she instead suggests he do up a resume and drop it by tomorrow. In her mind Jonas and Bailey could surely use a hand in the kitchen to cook, wash dishes, and help with bulk food preparation if things continue as well as they've started, and Cathy and the girls could use the relief of someone to help clear and reset tables up front or even serve. In her mind Cathy decides Josh is polite enough, and helping to clear his table seals the deal. If he returns tomorrow with something that mildly resembles a resume in any fashion he'll be hired.
Overhearing the short exchange Bailey gives Josh a smile, knowing his mother's pattern of hiring on instinct rather than skill set. Bailey doesn't even know his name, but Josh is the guy he's seen Neville talk to at school, so he feels a connection to him. Plus he could enjoy having the athletic looking guy as his bitch around the diner and so hopes Josh comes back tomorrow.
After the dinner rush is long over and the nightly cleaning is almost done Neville enters the diner, still occupied with a family of four and a single woman. Brooke and Megan smile at him as does Bailey, looking up from the dishes he's washing. Seeing Neville without a hat on for the first time all week, Bailey notices that he has a mild case of butterflies in his stomach over him.
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Neville never got that hot dog he was planning on; instead he caught up with the hockey team more or less, watching them in the diner from across the street for a while. He's curious about what Josh had wanted to say all week and waited for him to leave the diner, a few minutes behind his friends. When the moment arrived he scraped his plan of randomly bumping into Josh on the street, deciding that whatever it is, he should just let it go.
A few buildings down from the diner is a place Neville squatted with Kenny during his first few weeks in Charlottetown. Not that he's any better than them, the homeless there scare him. They are more desperate and dangerous than even the ones under the train bridge. Rather than kill time there or track all the way back to the arena, Neville takes a walk over to the public library next to the courthouse. Using a PAC (public access computer) to kill time he looks up Mr. Jones for his homework, NHL standings for fun, and for well over the hundredth time; how to legally change his name.
When Neville arrives at the diner Megan tries to push him into a chair and get him to eat. Even though he's paying for the V8, hot roast beef sandwich with gravy, and steamed vegetables he refuses to just sit still. He is only paying half price after all. After the remaining customers leave and the open sign is turned off for the night he gets up and asks where he can wash his dishes. Having watched her brother sneak little peaks for the last half hour at Neville, Brooke gives in a little too easily and directs him to the kitchen.
Sad that he hasn't been able to get Neville to talk in class, but hopeful that he'll be more social outside of school, Bailey can't contain his excitement. He practically pounces on Neville, "Obi Wan, we meet again, at last."
Neville has no clue how to respond to the Darth Vadar quote. Instead he sets down his dishes and pushes up his sleeves.
"You don't have to do that. At school I may smell of perfume and flowers as you so eloquently put it, now I smell like burnt grease and dirty dish water. You're here to do homework with Megs, I got this."
"Uh, I didn't mean to be mean. Monday just wasn't the best of days," Neville says, trying to figure out how to load the dishes on the dish racks and run the machine, "How do you work this thing?"
"Oh yeah, Monday. Almost forgot that. I can imagine the day sucked for you, first day back in the new millennium and all. Then again, try first day at a new school and being called Princess by your lab partner! Here, let me show you," Bailey says.
Neville's never had trouble getting a lab partner in class, even if they sit with friends, most guys know they'll get a good mark if they pair up with him. He's also pretty sure he called Bailey Precious. He's wondered about Bailey all week, just a vibe he thinks he's felt. Why would Bailey switch Precious to Princess? Not that there's much difference, but Bailey seems overly insecure about Princess. Certainty washes over him that Bailey is gay too.
Megan leads Neville upstairs above the restaurant and up another flight of stairs to a U-shaped landing. He's pretty sure he's now over the lawyer's office that is beside the diner. The layout of the house confuses and intrigues Neville as he's led to her and Brooke's bedroom. With only the one bed nothing gives away that it's both girl's room.
In her third floor bedroom, Neville navigates Megan's computer to a webpage he discovered a couple hours earlier, explaining the allegory that Mr. Jones and his family represent the Russian Tsar Nicolai Romanov II and his Royal Family. After that Neville's able to explain everything to Megan. Once Megan fully understands she leads him downstairs where Brooke and Bailey are discussing the diner with their parents.
Walking in on the conversation Bailey puts Neville on the spot, "Take Neville here, he already figured out the dish machine. We're looking for some help with the diner. You want a job?"
Jonas Regan glowers, "That's a little presumptuous of you Bailey!"
"No, seriously Dad, you and I can't do it all. At least Mom see's that," Bailey protests.
"And the girls could use a hand up front too. We could use two extra in the back and two up front at least if they're ever to get any homework done properly," Cathy puts forth.
Brooke speaks up, "You've already got that boy from earlier coming back tomorrow for the kitchen. Neville, you would rather serve and make more tip money too, wouldn't you?"
"Uh, I should be going," Neville says, not wanting to get in the middle of things.
Cathy smiles, "Neville. It seems you've had an impact on these three. They all seem to think you're the kind of person we're after. We find ourselves needing some help, do you have a job? Are you interested in one with us?"
Of course he is but he can't. It will expose his living situation. His back is up. Faced with situations like this his first line of defence is to flash a little hostility to ward off people getting too close. In this case these people are being kind to him, merely acting a little rude will get them off his back he figures, "Aren't you people even worried that I was upstairs alone with your daughter?"
Neville takes a couple steps backwards and is stopped by a wall. He wants to get out of the house as everyone is either laughing or stifling a laugh. He looks to Megan for an explanation, "You've got it wrong Pancakes."
Brooke steps in, "Sorry cutie, no one was too worried. You wouldn't get very far with her, and you're too nice."
He's not sure how to respond to that, "Oh."
Brooke claps a hand to Neville's collarbone and squeezes, "It's alright. It's cute. Plus she'd kick your ass. You're not so big under those layers and she's a scrapper."
Jonas finds himself liking how easily Neville fits with his kids, "We could use a student or two Neville. Would you consider a job? We're new and we have no way of telling if we are going to stay busy, or for how long. There's really no guarantee, but we could use an extra hand or two. Would you like to be a server? We're not licensed for alcohol, so there's no age requirements."
"Are you people for real? Like really offering me a job? Cause if you are I'd like to say yes. I could really use to start putting some money away for college. I'd work so hard for you if you hire me."
"Well then we're offering you one," Bailey indicates.
"Uh, thanks then. What do I have to do, what do I have to wear," Neville agrees, knowing inside that this is going to end badly.
Bailey is almost giddy inside, but he doesn't want to let on to his family. He really wants to get to know Neville better and now he has an opportunity. Even better, Neville's dropped the hostility and is actually speaking full sentences. At the same time he's a little saddened, thinking that Neville declared for the heterosexual team by asking about Megan. Fortunately this time, with a crush on a straight guy he won't be able to screw things up for his family again, and still get to feel the high of being in love. He'll play the romance out fully out in his head and no one will be the wiser.
Still, in his mind he's already playing scenarios of taking a drive across Confederation Bridge back over to the mainland with Neville and doing a little shopping with him for new clothes. His mind is already creating dreams of taking Neville for a tour of his old stomping grounds in Moncton and down memory lane. But shopping first. Shoes, they have to start with shoes. Neville's current shoes look to have been to hell and back. He'll need new shoes to work in public. Bailey can hardly wait.
Neville heads back home somewhat conflicted. Maybe he can pull this off. Lord knows he needs the money. The clothes he has will suffice because he never steals anything personalized or flashy, always plain with a subtle logo if any. That fits Mrs. Regan's description of `pretty much anything, just nothing loud or offensive'. To this end Neville's excited.
Tomorrow he'll hit the bank that's open weekends and open an account and bring the papers to Mrs. Regan when he shows up at the diner for 4:00. Going straight to bed once he manages to sneak through the still in-use arena, Neville leaves the alarm on his stolen digital watch set like he would for a school day just so he's ready for the day.
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Standing in line at the bank the next morning Neville is in a great mood. A teller who appears to be in his fifties looks up from his computer screen, "Next?"
Reaching the wicket, he leans in and quietly but purposefully states, "I need to open a bank account. Can I open a bank account?"
"Certainly, I just need some I.D. and we can get started. A birth certificate and a social insurance card should do, and a drivers license or something with photo ID if you don't have a license yet," The teller says.
"Oh yeah, I guess that would help wouldn't it? Here, uh...oh! Looks like I forgot my wallet. Damn. Guess I'll have to come back, thanks," Neville says, pretending to reach for a wallet in his back pocket and act perplexed when it's not there.
He doesn't even listen to what the man is saying as he makes his way to the door, getting out before he's had time to be remembered is his single concern at the moment. Be seen but not noticed, don't stand out, never make a scene; in short don't leave anything to be remembered for. Those were the few lessons he learned from Kenny in the weeks he spent with him, and they've served him well.
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Neville thinks back to his first summer in Charlottetown.
The first summer on his own is the worst time for him, sleep is a lot more comfortable because of the temperature but food is as hard to come by as ever. The emotional drain is far worse. There are a few homeless he's discovered here and there as he seeks shelter for the night. A popular place seems to be under a bridge by the rail yards. Instinctively Neville finds the place on just his third night, not wanting to be discovered in open parks and turned over to child services.
Being on his own now gives him a lot of time to think. Fear and worry are the two strongest emotions rooted deep in his mind under his immense sadness. He's not stupid, but he manages to convince himself of all the worse scenarios. He's convinced himself that if caught, the authorities will just send him back to his parents who cast him out into the world as a favour rather than murdering his blasphemous ass.
If that happens he'll ask his dad to go for a walk and get it over with, his only request will be that it come from behind. Unless he tells the authorities why he's out on his own in the first place; that his mother gave him the chance to run away or be `accidentally' murdered by his father.
Then his parents will be in trouble with the law and his brothers and sisters will be taken into child services too. Maybe not his oldest brother Mike because he's 18, but Seth and Kristen are still minors as well as his younger siblings Julie and Trevor. Then again, that's if he's even believed. They may just put him in juvenile hall or youth jail for being a lying vagrant instead. One thing's for sure, Neville doesn't expect to find himself on a milk carton. With that unhappy thought he vows not to draw the attention of the law onto himself.
Night after night Neville finds shelter in different places but doesn't sleep much, always worrying about being discovered. Also, he worries that he's a good target for inhumanity from any nut-job that realizes he won't be missed if he disappears off the face of the earth. Each night he makes his way a little closer to an industrial area until on his third night in Charlottetown he finds the jackpot under a little used bridge by the rail yard. Under this bridge he discovers a few single homeless, a family, and a fellow street kid.
His very first night under the bridge, when he falls asleep thinking he's found safety in numbers his backpack is stolen. He discovers this when he wakes to a hand in his pocket trying to wrestle his wallet free. Kenny, the other street kid, chases off the father of the homeless family by throwing a good sized rock at him.
Naive to his new life, Neville instantly latches on strongly to Kenny. Kenny takes Neville under his wing for a few weeks, gaining his trust. Neville picks up a few ideas for shelter and food like how to make tomato soup by getting a glass of water at fast food restaurants and adding ketchup packets. Kenny also shows him a vacant store in downtown to stay at when the winos in it are behaving, and the place he eventually chose to live in inside the arena.
Unfortunately, along the way Neville shares too much of his journey, "This lady truck driver dropped me off here. Dark metallic blue truck with a diamond and gold halo above it painted on the back of the sleeper cab, can't miss it. Thankfully Crystal deserves the halo. Her run brings her down here every Sunday. She unhooks the tractor to sleep the night at the truck stop and takes a different trailer back to Montreal the next day. Otherwise she does a Detroit and back haul, and a same-day round trip to Ottawa. She says she'd done the same runs every week for over five years and practically made me swear to check in with her every week. I think she feels really bad for me."
Having discovered Neville has money by snooping, and having gained his trust, one Sunday night Kenny steals Neville's wallet and hits the road to chase his dream of panhandling in Montreal.
Hanging around the truck stop a week later, defeated and thinking of heading home, Neville runs back into Crystal Reilly. Just like she said, like clockwork she's there. Talking to Neville she refuses to help him back home but feels bad for unknowingly being Kenny's golden ticket to Montreal with Neville's money and buys him lunch instead, leaving him with twenty dollars of her own and his wallet that Kenny left in her truck.
From that point on, every Sunday all summer long Neville meets Crystal and one Monday in August he gets her to pose as his mother in order to get him registered in school. The first school he tries doesn't even entertain him.
The second school he tries is in a less privileged part of the city where poverty is rampant and mostly goes unacknowledged, instead people in the area tend to keep their eyes from meeting and their mouths shut. The school in the area follows that trend, very few questions are asked of him and Crystal. With the returned contents of his wallet that Kenny left in the truck, Neville gives his real school information to have his records transferred, and the school secretary buys a sap story about the name change.
When school starts up Neville fits in at first and continues to visit with Crystal every Sunday night for dinner. Having told Crystal almost all of his true story she feels somewhat sorry and a little responsible for him. By October she's decided to have him stay the night in the sleeper compartment of her rig with her and she'll drop him off for school in the morning on her way to pick up her next load. Neville feels a gratitude towards her far greater than any he's ever known for anyone in his life.
Twenty three years Neville's senior, estranged from her family, unmarried and without even pets, Crystal feels maternal towards him and equally grateful that he's latched on to her. Should anything ever happen to him he has one person in this world that will know his truth. And truthfully, if he wasn't so hell-bent on continuing school in Charlottetown she'd consider taking him in to her home permanently, rather than merely getting him to agree to sharing her single rented room in Montreal for the summer school break. Instead he only allows himself to feel safe and loved once a week, but it keeps him going all the same.
What he finds harder is that sometimes he still goes days without eating. One day in November he gets caught stealing a handful of ketchup packets from McDonalds by a group of kids in his class. He's not fond of Kenny's ketchup soup so he forgoes the water and just eats the ketchup straight from the packets in the back parking lot when the group from his school appears from the road.
They think it's hilarious and he's made fun of for days. It almost breaks his spirit that in as many days as he is made fun of at school that those ketchup packets are about the only food that enters his stomach. Only one boy doesn't laugh at him in his face and seems almost concerned in the ensuing days. Josh can relate, some days there isn't enough money for food at his home either so he secretly drops a couple pizza pockets in Neville's back pack one morning. Not even knowing at first that Josh is his food donor, this is when Josh becomes the closest thing to a friend Neville's known in Charlottetown. It's also when Neville takes to petty theft rather than pan handling and begging and soliciting himself. Thankfully no one was ever on the market for a sixteen year old boy the few times he resorted to trying it.
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"Hi, I saw a sign for a student cook / dishwasher yesterday. I'd like to apply," Josh says to Brooke over the counter, holding his best attempt at a resume. Knowing that his friends would all apply and give the restaurant owners a broader base to choose from, Josh never told of the sign he spied and why he stayed behind yesterday. It's cut-throat, but jobs are hard to come by for teens.
He's expected but Brooke doesn't let on. She looks Josh over, "Let me see if my dad's free. What's your name?"
"Josh Wharton, thank you."
A couple minutes later Bailey is sent out by his father instead to do an interview with Josh. His mother already said to hire him so it's not like the interview counts for anything other than to see if Bailey can work with him. Sizing Josh up he knows he has no experience and will take as much training as anyone. Someone with some experience would be nice, but Bailey has already decided in his mind for different reasons to hire Josh.
Discussing the job, Bailey slips in that Neville is a server now and watches for a reaction.
Bailey can't read the face, but he sees the quickest of smiles. Falling for Neville after only one week, he pursues the subject with Josh. Josh is the only person he or Megan have seen Neville talk to, "What's his story anyways?"
"Honestly dude? Most people would say you hired a homeless kid. No one ever sees him and his supposed uncle together and trust me, trying to follow him home is plain impossible. He just vanishes into thin air. Plus he's always hungry. Not saying he'll steal food from you, he really is a good guy, just sayin. I know what it's like and I can totally tell that Nev is always pretty hard up for food."
Bailey's shocked, "Really? Do you think he's homeless? Wouldn't someone look into that?"
"No, I don't think so, but then again I'm not like most people. Look. You seem to have it good. It's not all like that here. Most of us aren't so lucky, not that anyone lets on. And some of us have it even worse, so no one thinks twice or gets their nose in other's business."
"Yeah, I've kind of figured that things here aren't quite like back home," Bailey lets slip, "Not like in a bad way. But I get what you mean, everyone here is polite and all, but totally keep to themselves. Especially Neville."
"Yeah, we live our lives and mind our own business. Take me. My dad worked on a potato farm but he's on permanent disability now and my mom's a hairdresser. Sometimes that doesn't exactly put food on the table. One day in science class last winter my stomach was complaining. It was matching Nev's all morning long. It's like they were mating or something! He asked to go to the bathroom near the end of class and didn't come back. When I got to my locker and opened it there was 2.33 in it. That's the exact price after tax for two hot dogs in the cafeteria by the way, 1.16 for one, 2.33 for two. One, Nev knows I eat two, one's never enough. Two, I know he'd figured out my combo a while before by watching me. And three, if there's anyone more price conscious than me it's him. It's the cheapest thing on the menu and he has it to the penny."
Nev. Bailey's heart almost speeds up every time Josh says the shortened name and he adores it. He wishes somehow Nev could be his, "So you guys got hotdogs, how's that make him homeless?"
"That's the thing. He didn't eat that day. I watched all lunch for him, not realizing at the time that he gave me all his lunch money. He never came to the cafeteria. His stomach was still making little noises first class in the afternoon. You can trap him; ask him how much a hotdog with tax is and he'll tell you before he catches himself. Ask him how much his shirt cost and he can't even ballpark it. Everything he wears is second hand or some will tell you, stolen. But not like new and stolen from Walmart, some guys think he steals it all from unwatched hockey bags at the arena. But don't listen to them, it's all horse apples. Easiest way to make yourself look good is to pick on someone worse off."
In the process it dawns on Josh where to find Neville. It's always either dressing room 3 or 4 that things go missing from, never 5 or 6, and Josh doesn't know about rooms 1 or 2 as they are for figure skating on the other side of the arena. In a moment of clarity it dawns on him that the little room in between 3 and 4 that used to also be a dressing room is Neville's access point.
"So how about that job?"
"Yeah, oh yeah. It's yours."
"Thank you so much dude," Josh says with a big smile.
"No, thank you. Seriously, you think Neville's homeless."
Weighing the ramifications of what he's told Bailey he recants, "No. I don't, but some people do. Like I said before, I don't think what most people think of Nev. But either way he is clearly embarrassed about where he does live. Next to no one ever sees him with his parents, and that's a fact, but we have seen his mom and sometimes his dad. He's a real proud kid; I've learned to steer clear of getting too personal. And seriously, don't believe the crap you may hear about him being a thief. Yeah, I think he broke into my locker, but he put his money in it! Not knocking myself, I know he'll be the hardest, most honest worker you'll ever have."
"He was over to do homework with Megan yesterday. You'll meet her, she's my sister's um, well, she's a good friend of the family. So close that she moved here with us. You'll meet her."
Josh catches Bailey's mis-step. Maybe Corey was right yesterday, maybe Megan is his sister's girlfriend after all. Not that he really cares, but still almost sounding too excited he answers, "Yeah! She sits beside Nev in our English class. Damn, they did it together? I still have to do that essay."
"Oh yeah? Apparently the answer you're looking for is the Russian Royal Family. I still have to do an essay on who I think is the strongest of the animals. Based on how Nev explained it to Megs I think it's Napoleon. Anyways, he ate first. Wouldn't hear of not paying, left a tip and was adamant about washing his own dishes. We kind of figured that he'll work his butt off, that's why we talked him into the job. He starts tonight. They want you to start tomorrow if you're free."
"Just name the time, I'm here."
After Cathy Regan goes over details with Josh about the job, payroll, what is acceptable to wear and what isn't, Josh leaves. He's ecstatic about having a job, and also very eager to test his theory he just came up with about Neville.
[to be continued]