JR SWAT 4: JunIor AdVocates

Chapter 18: Bargain

Late afternoon, Chesterfield Park...

It was fun hanging out with Chen and the kids flying drones, but it sucked that he couldn't stay a bit longer. After school Rubio had a meeting with the Home Economics teacher and the group of young chefs that were scheduled to help on Wednesday. Then he was off to the final meeting with the baseball coaches and last gym session before announcing the starters for the season. On Friday, the list of first team -aka starters- and second team -aka bench- will be posted on the front bulletin board.

Just as he came out of the gym, Chen stopped by and convinced him to go to the drone activity. Rubio had to practically beg his cousin to pick him up later from the field. He was in luck though, because Anita had a study group meeting in a cafe just two blocks from the field. Although the kids were fun, his time was cut short when Anita stopped to pick him up, claiming her group never showed up. She was only able to study a bit with one of the girls from the group and she needed to make it back home. Frustrated, Rubio went to Chen to announce his departure.

"Sorry, Chen. I gotta go." he said with head bowed down.

"It's ok. The guys already finished. It was a nice run!" Chen responded with a shrug.

"Yeah" Rubio said, shaking his head and picking up his bags.

"C'mon, man!" Chen tried to cheer him up. "I'll see tomorrow."

"You get to stay. I gotta go. This sucks!" Rubio said frustrated.

"Relax, they're just saying jokes and putting their stuff away. We'll be outta here in no time. You wont miss much."

"I can't move anywhere. Before, when I was in the streets, I can go places."

"So, ask for your bike back!"

"How? Ma said no." Rubio snapped annoyed.

"Well, try to bargain for it." Chen said with a quick shrug of the shoulders. "Try your pops this time."

Rubio stopped cold. Eureka!

Some time later, Sarzo's place...

He was freshly clean! There's absolutely no better sensation than getting all muddied up and then taking a long shower. His muscles screamed for mercy, but the cold water brought just enough of a relief for the teen to feel relaxed.

"¡Amor, ven a comer para que termines tus trabajos del colegio!" ("Honey, come and eat so you can finish your school work!") Helena called loudly from the kitchen.

"¡Voy!" ("Coming!") Rubio called, setting up the dog's food and water bowls in the bedroom.

"Amá" ("Mom") Anita called from the garden.

"A ver, Anita. ¿Qué haces afuera?" ("Well, Anita. What are you doing outside?") Helena called.

No answer was provided, so the older lady washed her hands, towel-dried them and headed out.

Rubio sat down and enjoyed his early dinner, while the ladies chatted outside. They were out for quite a while. Rubio sat down and ate quietly, then washed the dishes. He was going to let his aunty know that he was done, but when he peeked through the curtains he noticed mother and daughter having a pleasant chat sitting in the bench overlooking the flowers.

Must be gossiping, he thought with a shrug.

So, without wasting any second, he turned and headed to his room down the hall.

BARK    BARK

The little dog placed both front paws on the teens' legs to greet him. Rubio patted his head and talked softly to him, approaching his desk to go over his to do list. The Special Ed teacher always did a great job of helping him do his list of school work before the end of the school day. When he gets home, all he does is take out the paper and get to work. The paper is divided into strips, so as he completes the tasks he rips out the paper with it. When the paper is left with no tags, he's done. This technique has made wonders for him! Ever since she implemented it, he hasn't missed any homework. (by accident that is, because nothing is 100% kid proofed!)