2013.03.10 - A Rare Afternoon in the Hood

While Harlem happens to be an area people try to avoid, the crime and poverty just don't carry much appeal, and if one follows police blotter they get a sense it's not too welcoming. Kiden, however, doesn't seem to be bother by it. A cigarette stuck between her lips with smoke swirling from it, she's walking down the streets with her hands dipped in a pocket of a worn black leather jacket. She seems lost in her own meandering thoughts, her eyes mostly set on her feet as she walks onward, her blonde hair falling over her face in a way that hides her visage. If anything were to draw attention to her, it could be the fact she looks a bit young to be smoking, but then most people are far too damn invested in their own lives to care or notice.
Gabriel is sitting on the a box that has been placed against a wall at the corner of the main street and an alleyway. In front of him is a board set up on two tubs of paint and on the board are three playing cards, slightly bent lengthwise. Gabriel has the sleeves of a thick, blue hoody pushed up to his elbows as he moves the cards from spot to spot on the board under the careful eyes of a small crowd of people standing in front of him.
Bad part of town? Who says it's the bad part of town...well, the guy who just tried to toss Marissa a bad pickup line does! She actually flicks her hair back as she strides away from him, with comeback, "Yeah, well, you seem to think I come *cheap*." Ow. The guy playing cards or...no. Three Card Monte? Only person who wins *that* game is the house, but the young woman wanders over to watch anyway.
Kiden spots the small crowd gathering by the guy shuffling cards, and stops to think, she could continue to walk or she could do something. Kiden being Kiden, she chooses to stick her nose where it doesn't belong, and walks up to the small crowd, pushing her way to the front before calling out, "people have it tough enough already, you shouldn't be hustling their money like this. It isn't fair, they got families they need to support. Go on, scram, shoo."
Gabriel's hand freezes mid motion as he hears Kiden's comment and he tilts his head a bit to the side to give her the ol' once over. Finally he smiles brightly and looks around the small crowd in front of him and says,"Would anyone like to tell the little lady here how much money I've won today? and how about how much money you all have won?" The response varies with "Zero" called out by one person, "I won twenty before he cut me off" called by another, "Won ten." spoken from right next to Kiden, "He's been loosing all day. Slow hands if you ask me." Mentioned by a grizzled old man. After the comments peter off Gabriel smiles even bigger and motions to the two new comers, "Now, if either of you would like to play, maybe my loosing streak will break. New players can change the luck'a the table sometimes."
Marissa Sometimes laughs a bit. If he's losing, it's because he intends to...and he'll get it all back. Marissa shakes her head. "I'm not big into gambling," the delicate-seeming young woman notes, leaning against the wall nearby. "Sorry. If I'm going to make a donation..." A flicker of a grin there.
Kiden lets out a puff of smoke in Gabriel's general direction as she reaches to hold the cigarette between two fingers, "that's a load, hustlers are never ones for charity, this is a big show so people bet more money and then they lose. I've seen it all, I know it all, beat it." Kiden snaps, before looking aside at the other people, "you should all stop being sheep and believe what people do to trick you. At least I'm honest when I'm begging for money...sheesh," throwing the cigarette to the pavement, she crushes it with her shoe and raises her arms sideways, "you guys want to lose money, you're welcome to it."
Gabriel arches an eyebrow at Kiden then takes the cards and stuffs them back into a well worn pack of card he pulls out from his hoody's pocket. The crowd starts to disperse as Gabriel take his board and leans it up against the wall and then stands, looking at the two women with a small frown on his face,"Well, so much for spreading the wealth a little bit today." Pulling out a small fold of bills from the same pocket he had the cards in he peels off two twenties and offers them to Kiden, "But here. Maybe that'll put off the next round of panhandling for a while."
"I don't need any," Marissa says, to stem off any offers of cash that might come in her direction. Although her clothes are hardly designer, the young woman doesn't look at all like she needs money. "Neat idea. Gets around the pride objections."
"That's right, truth hurts," Kiden snaps as she gets a few looks, "seriously, how stupid can people get?" She seems upset by what she expects the answer is, before turning to look at Gabriel in complete surprise, "just what are you trying to pull off? Are you on high?" Kiden asks, quirking a brow as she looks at Gabriel suspiciously, "is this fake? I don't get you." Nevertheless, she still reaches to take the freely offered $40 and stuffs them in the pocket of her jacket. "So, what's your game, brutha?" She shifts her eyes curiously towards Marissa, "you honestly think this bozo is in the Robin Hood business?"
Gabriel sits back down on his box now that the crowd is dispersed and kicks his feet out, crossed at the ankles, as he leans back against the wall. With a grin he winks at Marissa and nods then answers Kiden,"Like she said, it gets around pride issues. Some people feel bad about accepting charity. And look around you, if anyone needs a Robin Hood, don't you think its the people in this neighborhood and neighborhoods like it?"
Marissa Sometimes nods. "I'm not too proud to take charity if I *really* need it, I just look for ways to pay it forward." Not back, forward, because that's the way the world works, for her. "And he seems to be. NOBODY wins Three Card Monte except the house, after all."
"That's pretty cool, actually, you better not be fucking with me," Kiden says, still putting hawk-like eyes on Gabriel, she's learned not to trust people in the streets. Too often there are hustlers and con-jobbers about. "But, if you're straight with me, that's pretty cool of you...and I'm sorry I ruined your good deed for the day...if it's any comfort, I lost my last cigarette..." she kicks the cigarette bud she mashed on the ground a moment ago. "So, everyone's even." She finds the logic in what Marissa says, Gabriel may well be legit in his claims.
Gabriel chuckles and nods, "Well, I was only going to be able to keep going for another 20 minutes or so anyway so no big deal." Looking over the two young women standing in front of him he frowns slightly. First pointing at Kiden then at Marissa he says, "You look like you belong here, You, on the other hand, look a little out of place. What's a girl like you doing in a place like this?" The last line is delivered in a complete deadpan, almost as if he didn't know that's one of the most famous, lamest come-on lines ever invented.
Marissa Sometimes rolls her eyes. "You should see what happened to the last guy who gave me a line like that." She flickers a grin. "Short cut. And I don't worry about getting beaten up." She can, after all, look after herself.
"I look like I belong here? Well gee, thank you very much, like I don't already know I'm all gutterpunk and everything," Kiden snorts, crossing her arms as she feigns being offended for a brief moment. Looking at Marissa when Gabriel delivers his line, Kiden rolls her eyes before turning back to Gabriel, "so Robin Hood, how do you get all that giveaway money? You in the business of stealing?"
Gabriel looks a little confused at first then a grin starts spreading over his lips as the reason for Marissa's answer dawns on him. "Heh! Naw, if I'd been out to hit on you I would be a lot more original than that. Seriously, how lame do you think I am?" Then he waves his hands up and down his body, showing off his clothing which are in only marginally better shape than Kiden's, "Like I look like I belong anywhere else? And the money? Mickey D's, of course."
Marissa Sometimes grins. "And you'd have no better luck if you were." The young woman stretches. "I'm immune to pickup lines," she adds, with a grin. "Oh, name's Marissa." She's not got a New York accent, either...definitely doesn't "belong" here.
"For a Three Card Monte dealer, you're as lame as it gets," Kiden points out the obvious to Gabriel, grinning as though pleased with herself. Kiden does look a bit stunned when Gabriel answers Mickey D's for his source of money, "wait...you're actually working only to give that money away?" She puts an index finger to her temple, does a 'bang' gesture of shooting a gun and lets her head fall to the side as if she's been shot. Looking back at Marissa a second later, Kiden chuckles, "hey, that's one power I also got!"
Gabriel lets his chin drop to his chest with a big theatrical sigh,"Shot down again. And without even trying. Woe is me, I'm doomed to a life of loneliness. " Little show over he returns to his relaxed, smiling attitude and acknowledges Marissa's introduction, "Nice to meet you. Gabriel here. And even if you can take care of yourself, Marissa, I'd still be careful around here. Go down the wrong alley at the wrong time of day and, unless bullets bounce off of you, you'll be in trouble." Turning his attention to Kiden ha winks at her and adds in a friendly sort of way,"Maybe true, maybe not. But if its not, do you really think I'll admit to anything else?"
Marissa Sometimes snorts. "It's an earned immunity, not a superpower." She shrugs at Gabriel. "I can manage. Don't worry about me." She'll be careful, of course. "For one thing, I *do* think about what alleys I wander down." Unless, of course, she's looking for trouble - which she wasn't.
"No kidding," Kiden chimes in with Gabriel's warning to Marissa, "if you haven't been shot at before, it can be quite scary!" Turning back to Gabriel, Kiden smirks, "at least out on the street, you're never truly alone...and I think I might like you a bit more, now that I know you have a brain, smart guy."
Gabriel a curt nod accompanies a small shrug. He's duty is done and he's not pushing anymore, except for adding one last little bit of information, "Well, if you do end up in trouble and are still in a condition to need help I live in the crappy apartment building a block down on the right. Apartment 5-B. And you Blondie? Do you have a name or should I call you Blondie next time I see you around?"
Marissa Sometimes seems incredibly cocky. Of course, maybe she can back it up. There's something relaxed about her stance that might indicate it. "Not worried about being shot at." So, he has money to give away and lives in a crappy place. Priorities, she supposes.
"You can call me Blondie if you like, not like I'd take offense or anything, it's totally true...but name's Kiden," she doesn't extend a hand, shaking hands is a formality for people who live in the fake world of stuck up grown ups with stupid rules that make no sense, and are mostly hypocritical as it is. "Good on him is what I say, a lot of people around this neighborhood could use a handout." She then looks over at Marissa, "you really should keep clear of this place though, pimps would get an eye for you, and if they won't, dealers would, and if they won't...well, long story short, this neighborhood is in the crapper."
Gabriel tilts his head a bit to the side and considers Kiden as she gives her little speech to Marissa, nodding along with her but looking thoughtful. "That's all true. Which make me wonder: How've you stayed out of the hands of the pimps and dealers and such. You're aggressive enough I'm betting you're not the smallest fish around. But I /know/ there a lot bigger fish too."
"I noticed. Question is, how do you fix it...handouts won't do it, ya know. Not that there's anything wrong with handing out, but it's pretty short term." Marissa considers that, quite seriously, almost as if she expects to have the power to do something about it one day.
Kiden snorts as Marissa mentions the obvious, "d'uh, as if we can fix it. Stupid grown ups don't know what they're doing, how are we going to change anything? Best we can do is like Robin Hood here, give something to get people through the day. You know what a huge difference those 40 he gave me make? I'm going to eat well, I'm super lucky today," Kiden points out, before turning to look at Gabriel and pointing at herself, "you asking me? Or Marissa?"
Gabriel chuckles and points at Kiden with his chin, "You of course. You're the one that lives around here." But he hasn't forgotten about Marissa's question and it seems its something he's thought about. "Opportunities. Most people around here do what they do out of need. If the shelters where better funded, offered some job skills training, had some clothing to lend for job interviews... Tat would make a big difference. More police coverage, things to give the people pride and help them come together as a community... But like Kiden here just said, the people in charge either really don't know what they're doing or are focused on the people that can fund their political campaigns. The poor can't do anything for them so they don't do anything for the poor." For the first time since the conversation started a hint of bitterness creeps into his voice.
Marissa Sometimes nods. "Clothing to lend for job interviews sounds like...have they thought of putting out a drive to get people to donate their slightly out-of-date suits? I know women who buy a new suit every *year* and just toss the old one." Something to bring up next lunch-with-Pepper, she thinks. It's something easy that could give somebody something more long-term than a handout.
"Which is why dumpster diving is such a worthwhile sport," Kiden remarks to Marissa, only it doesn't sound like she's saying that in jest, it seems she's absolutely serious. She nods in agreement to what Gabriel has to say about those in charge, politicians and such, and then smirks when he asks about her feat of avoiding all the aforementioned threats to young girls out on their own in this area. "Well, I'm tough, I guess they don't expect me to be tough, it throws them off...gives me enough time to clear away." It's not like it's entirely untrue, but nobody needs to know about her power, it's bad enough when people don't know you're a mutie freak on top of it all.
Gabriel grins at Kiden,"When you know the right Dumpsters it can be great. Found myself a whole Fubu collection once. Sold it on Craig's List for a pretty penny." Almost its own his hand pulls out a silver dollar from the hoody's pocket, which starts flashing over his knuckles fast enough to turn it into a constant bunch of flashes and flickers of light. "That's a good beginning Marissa but by itself not enough. After all, what good does a Chanel suit do if the person wearing it has no clue on how to get through a job interview. Or if they don't have the skills to break into a new career path?"
Marissa Sometimes nods. "It's just that I know somebody who could set up a suit drive like that. The other stuff...isn't really within my reach right now. I'm just a student." She grins at the coin juggling, slightly. "I'm not rich and I don't want to be a politician, just build things."
"Yeah, like computer stuff, ugh," Kiden obviously hadn't had a computer around the home to get to familiarize with, which makes her clueless about them, which makes her not like them. Not like she's run across a computer in the street, but she knows a lot of jobs require you to know how to work with those things. She does flash a thumbs up at Gabriel's mention of knowing the right dumpster, "exactly." Nodding at Marissa's words, Kiden quips, "good for you, maybe you'll stay normal."
Gabriel grins at Marissa, "And maybe they know someone that can help with the other things. Its all about the steps and every step gets you closer to the goal." Noticing Marissa's reaction to his exercises with the coin he holds it for the girls to see, then grabs it in his free hand, followed by a clap and a flourish to show completely empty hands.
Marissa Sometimes nods. "They do, but I think he likes to put his money more into medical research than helping people get jobs." She considers that. "That's the thing, there are so many causes." She grins again at the magic trick, then glances at Kiden. "Normal? No thanks."
"Well, more power to you, sister," Kiden grins at Marissa, but she doesn't look quite as impressed with Gabriel's trick, as she remarks dryly, "I know all about sleight of hand, anyone can do it once they learn how, and practice a bit."
Gabriel snatches at the air then flourishes the large silver coin he's been playing with, arching an eyebrow at Kiden, "Practices a /bit/? Tell you what Blondie, if that's all it take I'll give you a $100 if you can do the trick I just did at this same time next week. That should give you time to practice 'a bit', right?" With a small, sadder smile he turns to Marissa, the coin going back to flashing over his knuckles, this time on his left hand. "Medical research, huh? Not a bad cause but how many people that don't have the money for the treatments that come from it do you see getting them?"
Marissa Sometimes shrugs. "I'm not going to judge where other people put their charity dollars. The only person you can really be responsible for is yourself, after all." And then she seems to think about it. "You can try that. I know full well it would take hours I don't have spare to do that stuff."
"You're absolutely on, shake on it?" Kiden says with a mischievous grin on her face, obviously, she thinks she can do it with a bit of practice. She just neglects to tell Gabriel that she has a whole lot of practice already. She does somber a bit at the serious tone of Gabriel's conversation with Marissa, and looks over at the other girl, "I don't even need money, I just like the stuff you can get with it."
Gabriel offers his hand up to Kiden with a sly smile on his lips, "Done and done. And I agree. Stuff like food, and clothes, and a place to stay that's not a shelter of a cardboard box." The coin juggling doesn't waver through the hand shake. In answer to Marissa he adds, "I'm not judging either. Just talking realities. Its still a good cause."
Marissa Sometimes nods. "I almost ended up homeless once. So..." She got lucky. She found friends...people willing to bail her out, people to keep her from being stupid.
Unlike Marissa, Kiden must hold some kind of Guinness Record in stupid, because she's been able to out-stupid any responsible adult or friend who has tried to help her in the past. Maybe she's just too damned proud to accept help, or she doesn't believe in the alternative to her current lifestyle. "Lucky you," she flippantly mutters at Marissa. To Gabriel she comments, "nice concentration, I like that," referring to how he can keep flipping the coin between his fingers while doing a handshake.
Gabriel shrugs a little bit but smiles in response to the compliment. "Practice. And Marissa, I was lucky to find friends too. That's how come I'm not in a gang or working for some pimp or dealer. But mine couldn't get me completely out either."
Marissa Sometimes nods. "Well. I plan on doing what little bits I can. I'd give out money but I...need every penny for college." Footscuff. Yeah, she does that.
And into this little discussion on living on your own and finding friends to help and all such matters comes a prime example of that need: Jeremy. Or, rather, he comes walking down the street, anyway. Kid seems notably more with it than he has been the previous times Gabriel saw him, though there's still tired lines under his eyes. He's carrying a couple grocery store bags filled with various cleaning supplies. He nearly walks on past, but stops when he spots Gabriel out of the corner of his eye, and smiles a little and waves as he starts towards the three. "Hi, Mister Gabriel!"
"Good for you too, Gabriel, because you wouldn't like me if you ran into me and you were a brutha, or a chulo...or a player!" Kiden for whatever reason doesn't think she'd be in more trouble if Gabriel actually would have wound up with such bad crowds. "Come on Marissa, you don't really need college, look at me, I dropped out of High School and I'm okay," or so Kiden likes to believe. When Kiden spots Jeremy walking towards them, she turns to look at Gabriel wide-eyed, "that kid on his own? This is crazy..."
Gabriel chuckles. The whole footscuff is kind of cute coming from a young woman her age. But before he can say anything Jeremy is approaching, causing Gabriel to raise his right hand and wave from where he's sitting on a box, his back against a wall, "Hiya Jeremy. Still at Jonah's or have you moved to one of the other shelters I showed you yet? Doing good on everything?" And in a slightly lower voice he says to Kiden, "Yes. And careful how you treat him so you don't freak him out." The volume is specifically chosen so that Kiden and Marissa can hear but not Jeremy.
"I do for what I want to do." And when she's rich, she'll help people...in all kinds of ways. She's sure of that. Hearing that, she glances towards the indicated kid. "Hey there," she offers in a soft voice. DEFINITELY no New York accent there, nor New York attitude.
"Um, I'm helpin' out with mister Jonah's place right now. I didn't think that'd be, um, a problem yet." Jeremy looks over at the two girls Gabriel is with, and gives a smile that was probably /meant/ to look friendly but ends up looking a tad nervous. "Um, hi...a-are you mister Gabriel's friends? He's been helpin' me out."
"Marissa, where are you from?" Kiden asks all of a sudden as if just picking up on her accent, then again, she might just be unsure at what might freak out Jeremy and perhaps prefers not to acknowledge him at all. She hasn't done well at all with her younger brothers after all, seeing how she fondly called them retards.
Gabriel shakes his head at Jeremy,"Of course it won't be a problem yet. And the old codger can us the help even if he won't admit it so its a really good way for you to build some bars, know what I mean?" Looking at the two women for a moment he adds for Jeremy's benefit,"I don't know yet. But it looks like there's a decent chance they might be new friends." Before paying attention to Marissa to see what her answer will be.
"Arizona," the dark-rooted blonde responds, without any hesitation...and the accent would definitely fit that origin. She's from the west.
Jeremy blinks a little. "I think so...but I just wanna help 'cause...it seems right, you know?" Not quite the full truth. Jeremy's a poor liar. He looks impressed at Marissa's answer, and smiles slightly. "Wow, Arizona? That's, um..." A pause, as he thinks for a moment or two. "Yeah, that's far. I'm from, um..." Long pause, and he looks embarrassed, and looks off to the side. "Er...somewhere." Kid does have a trace of an accent himself--sounds Southern.
"That's quite far away," Kiden remarks, looking at Marissa curiously, not like she hasn't strayed away from the city before, but she is utterly clueless about where she's been to. Looking down at Jeremy, Kiden offers a bit of a smile as she says, "sounds like somewhere south of the Mason-Dixon line."
Gabriel puts his silver dollar away as his finger start to get tired. "I'm from the south myself, actually. I just worked at getting rid of the accent. But I can y'all with the best of them when I want to." Grinning at Jeremy he tells him, "And that fact that you're doing it because it feels right will make the bar even stronger." The strange comments refer back to a conversation the two of them had a few days ago.
Marissa Sometimes is not going to ask what somewhere. Gabriel warned her not to spook the kid. "It is, but I'm here now...and I'm not going back." She does sound wistful, as if not returning is not exactly out of choice.
"Well, it's been grand getting to know you people, but I need to get moving, I got places to go, people to see, I've got a tight schedule..." Kiden says, even though all it takes is one look to know she's outright lying, she gives a wave of her hand to Gabriel, Marissa, and reaches to gently ruffle Jeremy's hair, "see you around if I'm still alive tomorrow," she jokes rather badly, and starts walking away, dipping her hands into the pocket of her jacket again.
"South of the...oh." Jeremy looks at Kiden oddly gratefully. "D-Does it really?" He looks over at Gabriel, uncertainly, but then nods a little. "Yeah, then I'm from the south...oh! Bars! Right!" He nods at Gabriel solemnly, and then looks over to Marissa. "Um..." A long pause, and he looks a bit concerned. "...whatever's why you came, I hope you're doin' okay." And then his hair is getting ruffled, and he yelps, looking up at Kiden. "Hey! Um, er...see you around, then...I guess?" He turns to Gabriel, and whispers urgently, "Is she in /trouble/?"
Gabriel chuckles as he hears Jeremy's question and shakes his head. In a normal conversational voice he says, "I don't know for sure but I don't think she's /in/ trouble" and then in a louder voice to make sure Kiden hears him as she walks away he finishes with, "but I bet she /is/ trouble." Laughing at his own joke he looks at Marissa and asks, "What are you studying anyway?"
"Engineering," Marissa notes. And then? Her pocket starts playing the Star Trek theme. "Ack." She tugs it out. "Yeah. Okay." She flickers Gabriel a grin. "Gotta go." And she's heading off...towards the good part of town, by the quickest route, but still talking into her cell.
Gabriel does earn one sharp glower back from Kiden, as she turns her head over her shoulder, contemplates making a snappy retort, and then just turns her head forward and keeps walking away.
Jeremy looks after Kiden, taking a step back from the glower, and nods a bit at Gabriel, speaking quietly. "Um...that's maybe a little rude t'say, but...I'm thinkin' you might be right anyway." He covers up his concern...kind of...and smiles at Marissa, waving after her. "Oh! Okay! Nice meeting you, miss Marissa!"
Gabriel mirrors Jeremy's wave and comment, "Nice to meet you Marissa." then he turns his gaze on Jeremy, glittering with amusement, "Well, if I'd meant it it would have been rude. But I didn't /really/ mean it. and I don't know her well yet, she might indeed be trouble. But I don't think she is. At least not in the, "I'm a bad person and want to do bad things" kind of way. So, you seem to be feeling a little better."
Jeremy shakes his head. "I didn't mean it that way either. I meant...I meant...I'm not sure what I meant but it wasn't the bad thing." He thinks for a few moments, and shrugs. "Yeah...um...knowing I've got places to stay is helpin', I think. I guess...this all still kind of, um, sucks, but...I /am/ feeling better. I'm just tryin' not to think about what's going on too much right now."
Gabriel laughs, "Well, she's a little old for you kid. But if that's the kind of girl you like, go for it! Worse she can do is say no... Actually, worst she can do is treat you like a little brother." With a grin he goes on to other topics, giving the shy kid sometime to get over the fluster that he's pretty sure is coming as a reaction to what he just said. "So, I know you want to help and that's great. Jonah is going to be fair and he won't abuse that eagerness. And I'll be stopping by pretty frequently. But even so, there's some of the other shelter managers that are not quite as cool as Jonah. /Don't/ let them take advantage of you."
Jeremy goes /bright/ red at that. "That isn't what I meant either!" he says, rather more loudly than he'd intended. That makes the blushing stronger, and it takes a few moments for him to get himself calmed down enough to listen properly again. "Um, mister Jonah's nice, yeah...but...I think I'll be okay. I just need to, um, want to help out. I-I've got time...so..."
It takes a moment for Gabriel to stop laughing. Once he does he digs into the pocket of the blue hoody he's wearing today and pulls out a few mini-Milky Ways. "Do you like Milky Ways? If you don't remember, then definitely try one and find out."
Jeremy takes one of the bars, looking at it curiously. "Milky Ways..." A long pause. "I feel like...maybe?" He opens up the bar, popping it in his mouth, and goes wide-eyed, smiling more brightly. "O-Okay, that's a yes. I-I don't remember if I did before, but...I do now."
Gabriel pushes his open hand a little bit towards Jeremy, encouraging him to take the other three mini-bars on his palm. "Well, have the rest of them. I have more. I was wondering, have you remembered anything else in the last few days or has nothing come back? And you've been trying to relax, right? I've been reading about amnesia at the library and most of the books say trying too hard to remember just slows things down."
Jeremy looks like he might protest for a moment, but he's learning that Gabriel means it when he offers things, so he lets it go and takes the bars with a quiet, "Thank you." He shakes his head a little. "Um, nothing's come back. I mean, other than the...I've been dreamin' a bit, but nothing good--I mean, um, useful." He shrugs. "I-I haven't been /trying/ to remember, I don't think...but...I guess...I don't know. I can't help thinkin' about it a lot."
Gabriel nods as he leans back against the wall, stuffing both hands into the hoody's middle pocket, "Oh, I'm sure you've been thinking about it. I can imagine it would be almost impossible /not/ to think about it." After a moment he realizes that Jeremy's still standing and he motions to the two plastic paint tubs on the sidewalk in front of him, "Grab a seat. No sense standing all this time."
Jeremy takes a seat, carefully setting down the two grocery bags of cleaning supplies he's carrying. "It, um, kinda comes to mind pretty easy. There's always something I'm not sure about 'cause I can't remember. But...I try to get thinking about something else really fast, so I don't /think/ I'm trying too hard. I don't know...maybe I just need the right, um...the right thing to happen? Like how I remembered my name."
Gabriel tucks his chin into his chest as he takes a moment to think before saying,"Maybe. Probably. I've been keeping an eye out for any fliers or such about you but I haven't seen anything. But considering you fell from the sky, who knows where you actually came from and how far away it might have been. Like we talked about the other day, its probably best to just take it day by day from here like you've been doing and then just see what happens." When he's done speaking he pulls out another mini-Milky Way, opens it up and pops it in his mouth, winking at Jeremy as if to say, 'See, I told you I had more.'
"Yeah...that girl said I sound like I'm from the south, so maybe I got blown here all the way from another state! I don't know, though." Jeremy frowns, but nods. "That's what I'm gonna do. I think...I'm gettin' kinda used to things again, so I'm gonna start lookin' around too when I don't have things to do to help out. Maybe I'll spot something familiar or...or something. Or...maybe I'll find somethin' else to help with. Either way it's good, right?"
Gabriel frowns for a moment, "I didn't really introduce you to them, did I? Well, Blondie's name is Kaiden. The older one from Arizona was Marissa. And now that she mentioned it you do have a little bit of Southern drawl going on. And one of the few nice things about being homeless if you get to do whatever you want to do. So do what seems right. Right now I think you're doing great.
Jeremy smiles slightly. "Thanks, mister Gabriel. It's good to hear you say that...I mean, you know all about livin' like this, don't you?" A pause, and he brightens. "Oh, hey...um, I think this is all mister Jonah wanted from me today, so do you have anything you need done? I-I can go get you something or...or clean up or something." He folds his arms, thinking. "I guess maybe I could check with the other people at the shelter, too..."
Gabriel's eyes open wide a bit at the mention of Jeremy asking people at the shelter if they need help with something and he tries not to sound too spooked by the idea when he says,"Well... I don't really have anything for you to do. My apartment is kind of small so its easy to take care of it. And pleeeeaaaase be careful about who you offer help to at the shelter. Actually, I think it would make me happy if you asked me or Jonah about anyone you want to help first, so we can let you know if they're OK or not. And don't do it at the other shelters..." OK, maybe that was a bit bossier than he usually is but this is something that can get a younger boy in a lot of tight spots...
Jeremy blinks, and just looks intensely disappointed for a few moments before he covers it...and as Gabriel continues, he actually looks a little upset. "Um...okay. I'll...I-I'll check..." He looks away, going very quiet.
Gabriel slides off his box and sits cross-legged on the sidewalk to be more at a level with Jeremy. After all, he was the kid's age not so long ago himself to its easy to remember how he would have reacted to a speech like that one. "Look, I know that sounded a bit bossy. But there's a lot of really bad people out there. And a lot of them troll the homeless shelters looking for people on the down-and-out, confused and weak, to take advantage of. And I know you know you're not at your best right now. I just want to make sure you don't get mixed up with some dangerous people. Does that make sense?"
Jeremy looks at Gabriel, still clearly a little down. "...yeah...I-I guess. You wanna make sure I don't get mixed up with bad guys and stuff. I don't wanna end up in trouble either, so...i-it's okay. And...you're right, I think. I-I don't know if I'd really spot somethin' like that myself right now. I just...I really need to help, that's all."
Gabriel rubs his chin in a pensive gesture that gets interrupted as the crinkle and scratching reminds him he still has an empty candy wrapper in his hand. With a bemused look at it he stuffs it in his hoody pocket and then brightens. "I know! Soup kitchen! What do you think about volunteering a few hours a day working at the local soup kitchen. Helping cook and clean and serve people that need some food and have nowhere else to go get any?"
Jeremy brightens. "Um, I don't know if I can cook, but I can clean and I bet I could serve...um...maybe." That /does/ probably involve talking to people and he's still pretty nervous. "A few hours a day...that'd be great. Between that and mister Jonah's stuff I'd be spending lots of time helping. That might work."
Gabriel hops to his feet,"Well, no time like the present. Lets go take this stuff to Jonah and then I'll take you by the soup kitchen and introduce you to the manager and some of the volunteers."
Category:Log