New Boy | Miguel Diaz

New Boy

I was standing in the middle of my living room looking around the house. I live in a shit hole.

I decided to clean up the apartment, making it smell better than alcohol. For a second, I heard voices outside. Looking through the curtains, there was a boy checking the mail. Looked about my age.

He seems new.

I walked out of the apartment, accidentally slamming the door. The boy jumped, relieved to see me.

"Hi! I- I'm Miguel. Just moved in."

"I'm Ava. Nice to meet you." We shook hands, and he looked away. Miguel's very awkward, huh?

Our other neighbor, Johnny Lawrence, slammed his door, and came out with a bag of trash. He's lived here before me. I've always tried talking to him before, but he always shooed me away. I don't think he's very fond of kids.

Miguel started walking up to him. "Hey, I'm Miguel. My family and I just moved into 109."

"Great. More immigrants."

"Actually, we're from riverside. Anyways, I was just wondering if you were having trouble with your water pressure, cause' I know our sinks being a little weird right now and- oh, bottles go in the blue bin."

He turned around, tossing his keys in the air, catching it. "Listen Menudo. I've lived in this shithole for over ten years. The pipes don't work. The fountains full of piss."

Before he continues, I interrupt. "What! I drink from there." The man glares at me and for a quick second he squints his eyes at me, acting as if he recognizes me.

He looks back at Miguel, "And the only good thing about being here is I don't have to talk to anybody. So nice knowing ya."

"Okay, well have a nice day I guess."

"That's Johnny Lawrence. Complete ass, but you'll get used to it. Anyway, I should get back to my place."

"Why don't you come over to mine? We could hang out for a bit."

"Um-" I glance at the parking lot, mom's car not there. "Why not." He leads us to his apartment, only right across from mine. Boxes are placed everywhere, and a lady walks out from the hallway.

"Ma, this is Ava. She lives across from us."

"Hello, Ava. It's nice to meet you." She greets me with a hug.

"It's nice to meet you, too."

"We're just gonna hang out for a bit if that's okay with you."

"Of course. It's nice to know you're making friends."

Miguel then drags me towards us room. "Do you need help with unpacking?"

"No, it's okay. I don't have much to unpack so it's fine." I sit next to him on his bed trying to make conversation.

"So, is it just you and your mom? Or...?"

"And my grandma. My dad, well, never knew him. Ma divorced him during her pregnancy with me. He sounded like an ass anyway. Mainly, from how my Yaya talked to me about him."

"Well, not sure if this would make you feel better, but my parents- my mom and her boyfriend, they're never really home. My real dad, he left when I was nine. Hated the guy ever since."

We give each other apologetic looks, and talked more about our lives. We end up being asked by his grandma to get medicine from the store.

We go to the mini-mart and inside, standing by the counter, Johnny.