PREVIEW OF MY THIRD CHAPTER

Sleeping in a car in the dead of winter was a far worse experience than I could have ever imagined. I had already decided against the idea of staying at a motel, I didn’t want to spend money to stay anywhere when I didn’t have any idea how long I would be out without a job. After driving around for 2 hours that day, searching for any place that I could go to for the night, I finally decided to park next to my town’s common and sleep in my backseat. The car wasn’t quite wide enough and I woke up every morning with my legs cramped from curling into a ball. The cold was almost unbearable, but I praised my past self for not having enough money to get a car with leather seats.

For three days, I lived off McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts, making use of the deals they had on their apps and websites, but there were just so many munchkins and chicken nuggets a person could take. My car smelled like old ketchup and powdered sugar, and I had grown an abundance of little restaurant napkins. Maybe they’d come in handy at some point.

The only positive so far from being kicked out of my home was that now I was actually making use of my gym membership. Every morning, at 5AM before many people showed up, I would drive over to my local planet fitness and take a shower with the bars of soap and shampoo I had gotten from the dollar store. I managed to get a light workout in as well, drifting aimlessly from machine to machine through the gym, not really knowing what I was doing, but it gave me some time to think and the fact that my body felt sore gave me a sense of accomplishment. That’s when an idea struck.

After an especially intense workout (going an extra .5 miles on the treadmill), I mustered up the courage to walk up to the man working at the front of the gym. He smiled the second I walked up, a big toothy grin that spread across the entire face and caused the sides of his eyes to crinkle unnaturally. His blue eyes were wide pools which seemed to wash over me, but struck me with a sense of insanity.

“Hello, sir, seems like you had a great workout. What can I do for you?” he said a bit too loud.

“Hi, I was wondering if you guys had any spots open…or well any positions open, ‘cause I’m looking for a job and was just wondering if there were any jobs available…here,” my voice weakened towards the end and my body began to heat up, while his eyes never moved or closed, just staring directly into my soul.

“Huh, any positions available? I think we do have a couple. What kind of jobs were you looking to do?” he said, his voice, just like his eyes, never breaking or wavering.

“Well, I guess I wouldn’t mind anything.”

“Great, we love that!” he said. It was just me and him there. He began clacking at the keyboard in front of him, much faster than I thought any human should be able to type on a keyboard. He turned the monitor so that I could see it. “So, we have a daytime custodial position, a daytime service representative position, and an overnight custodial position. Do any of these interest you at all?”

I mulled it over for a few moments. The options were a bit disappointing, but I didn’t know what else to do. Member service representative sounded important, but I wasn’t quite sure what I would do. In the end I decided to go with the choice that made the most sense to me.

“Overnight custodian doesn’t seem too bad.” I said, regret and doubt immediately filling my mind.

“Ok great! If you could just bring some official documents and an ID, we can get you in our system right now!” he began typing furiously again.

“Uh, what about an interview?” I asked

The clicking stopped, and the smile on his face seemed to shake for a second, which returned just as quickly as it disappeared.

“Well, you’ve actually come at the perfect time. We haven’t been getting many applications recently, and very much needed a,” he stopped for a beat, seeming to look for the right word before continuing again, “…custodian to work overnight for us, so no interview required!” Sirens went off in my head, which he seemed to pick up on. He leaned over, his wide eyes washing over me and his toothy grin got even bigger, if that was even possible, and said seemingly as cheerful as he could, “It’s really such a great thing, you won’t have to go through all the hassle and anxiety of an interview, or wait days to hear back from a company that may or may not decline you!” 

I gulped and moved back. The voice of my mom rang in my head. “If someone is too eager to sell you something, don’t take it. Get out, and fast.” I looked at the man’s wide eyes and beaming smile once more. They really made me feel like getting out.

“Ok, sounds great,” I said finally, “all my paperwork is in my car. I’ll be right back!” I left, making my quick getaway with no intention of being right back.

I breathed in the sweet, icy air, sucking in as much as I could, before letting it all out in a cloud. Well I couldn’t go back there again.

Just as I was beating myself up about how I messed up my shower situation, I heard a loud car alarm go off in the direction I usually parked. 

Babum.

Please, don’t be mine, I thought to myself. I ran over to where I usually parked my car. I had chosen a spot behind the building where a neighboring market kept their storage units. For the last couple days, I would sit in my car behind the large storage units and take a nap after working out, since I got up so early. I realized that would all end as I watched a hooded man with what looked like a screwdriver, throwing open my car door and begin rummaging inside. The window had been smashed open and glass littered the ground.

“Hey, get out of there!” I yelled, still sprinting to my car. The carjacker jumped out the car, stuffing things into his pocket and holding out the screwdriver threateningly in front of him. I stopped a couple feet away, his waving of the tool sufficiently intimidating me. With every wave, he began to take a half step away. I didn’t want to let him go. Who knows what he could’ve taken already.

“Get back man! I’ll use this for real man!” His voice was weak and thick with anxiety, which somehow scared me even more. Desperation made people do some crazy things. I was feeling a bit desperate myself. 

Babum babum babum.

I inched closer and closer to him, slowly sliding my feet while trying to keep my distance from the screwdriver. We circled each other, nothing but the sound of my raging heartbeat and the scratching of our feet on the asphalt filling my ears. My breath grew ragged and my body felt both weak and explosive at the same time. I zoned in on his face, on his wild, unruly eyes that scanned both me and the area, his lips pressed together so hard they formed a line, the deep furrows of his eyebrows. It felt like an eternity, this clashing waltz, me unsure of who would break the stalemate. 

In the end, it was him who made the first move. He dashed forward, thrusting the screwdriver towards my face. I jumped backwards, probably much too far, making him miss by a mile. Still, he pressed forward, swinging and thrusting frantically at any part of my body he thought he could hit. 

Miraculously, I managed to dodge his advance, at least for the time being. We were stuck in this rhythm, his swings growing wider and wider with desperation. Eventually, the screwdriver managed to reach me, grazing my cheeks and stabbing my arms. I couldn’t just keep dodging, I would get killed, so I did the only thing I could think of in the moment. I lunged forward, managing to take him to the ground and sending the screwdriver flying. We struggled for a moment, fighting for some advantageous position over the other. 

My arms and legs felt like stone slabs as we wrestled and rolled around. It took everything for me to not just give up and lay there. In the past, I had often fantasized about getting into fights, what I would say, what I would do. I never imagined it would be rolling around in the dirt with what seemed like a sweaty and dirty homeless man. 

You’re homeless too, I thought to myself, people would see this as a fight between two homeless men.

The man was beginning to get the upper hand on me. He took every opportunity to wail on me, leaving me with no choice but to cover up. He sat firmly on my back, squeezing my arms with his legs so I couldn’t move. I struggled and struggled, but he didn’t budge. I imagined how I must’ve looked to an outsider, curled up into a ball with a rugged looking man slamming his fists into my back, arms, and head. I undoubtedly seemed pathetic and weak. That’s what I was. It was embarrassing to think that I could be anything more. 

A blow to my ribs loosened my defenses, which was promptly followed by a smack to the back of my head. I felt my consciousness slipping. I didn’t know how much longer I would last.

At that moment, I heard a loud popping sound and the punching stopped as the man crumpled to the ground. I looked around in disbelief, searching for who, or what, had saved me. I was met with the gaze of a man with long brown hair wearing a tracksuit. He stared down at me, concern plastered on his face.

“Hey, bro, are you okay?” he asked, extending his hand to help me up. I didn’t refuse. I grabbed hold of his hand, which was large and sweaty.

“Yeah, I think I’m good,” I said, wiping the dirt off my clothes. 

“The name’s Brendan by the way,” he extended his hand again, this time for a handshake.

“Tye, thanks for helping me out.”

His eyes grew wide and his mouth fell open. “Wait, Tye? Like Tye Jackson? I had a feeling it was you,” he nearly yelled. I stood there, confused for a moment, trying to figure out why this man might know me. Then the realization set in.

“Wait, Brendan Moneronté! No way that’s you,” I exclaimed. I looked him up and down, but the man I knew from middle school was almost unrecognizable. While I still had a few inches on him, and he retained the same friendly look on his face, there was a new fire in his eyes. The once chubby boy who got bullied was now a wide stocky man, who I would definitely not mess with if I saw them on the street.

Suddenly, my head pulsed and the world began spiraling, sending me right into his arms.

“Whoa there, you’re definitely not good. We need to take you to a hospital or something man,” he said, holding me up. 

“No, no I’ll be okay. I just need to rest a little,” I said softly. I barely had the strength to lean on his body, which seemed quite strong under the tracksuit he was wearing.

“What’re you talking about man, this is serious. We need to get you some help,” he persisted and pulled out his smartphone.

“Wait, please, I don’t have much money,” I admitted, “I couldn’t pay any of the hospital bills.”

Brendan’s face softened a bit and he began scratching the stubble on his impressive jawline. “Well, if that’s the case, I might have somewhere I can take you. Is that your car with the broken window?” he said. 

“Yeah, it’s not in the best shape, but it drives.”

“Okay, perfect,” he said, slinging my arm over his shoulder and walking me over to the car. 

“What about that guy,” I said. We looked over to the homeless man, still face down in the dirt, slowly rocking back and forth. 

“Wait here,” Brendan said, helping me into the passenger side of my car. He jogged over to the man, who seemed to have recovered a little. He was now sitting up, rubbing his face where I presume he got hit. He reeled back as Brendan approached him, fear and shock clearly plastered on his face. Despite this, Brendan gently helped the man up and led him to a wall to lean on. Instead, the man slid back down, waving away Brendan’s helping hand. The two spoke about something briefly, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying, although it seemed somewhat friendly. Brendan handed the man something out of his pocket, something small in a package, before heading back to the car.

“What’d you guys talk about?” I inquired as he hopped in the front seat.

“He told me to tell you sorry, he was looking for some food or money because he hadn’t eaten in a few days,” Brendan answered with a sigh.

“Oh…” I said absently.

“Yeah, so I gave him a protein bar I had in my pocket,” he said.

“Well, that’s good,” I responded.

“Yeah…are you all set?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m ready.”