Disiplinary

Chapter 11

That same afternoon, me, Adam and Arthur marched to Simon's and Alisha's house. Simon came to open the door, not knowing what he was about to expect.

"Can we have a word?" Arthur asked, "We know everything."

We all sat in the living room and showed Simon and Alisha the footage. Alisha couldn't believe what he was seeing, but Simon's head was down, knowing what he had done. I then turned to him.

"Why?" I asked him, "Why out of all of the people, would you do this to your poor grandma, and ruin this opportunity for her?"

Simon then looked up at me, almost in a fit of rage, "Why? Why?" he repeated, "Because look at you. You're the heroes. Grandma always admired you. You had a purpose. You were there during the pandemic, helping those like her out. Whereas me, I had no purpose, and I had no one. Mum and Dad don't love me, and I didn't want her to leave either. I just wanted to feel loved. Have a purpose."

Adam was next to question Simon, "But you had Alisha. Why didn't you talk to her?"

"I didn't want to burden her. She was dealing with it her way."

Alisha comforted Adam, "You didn't have to feel like a burden", Alisha stated, "You know I would've helped you. What did Grandma use to say?"

"Grandma isn't here anymore", he interrupted, "What's the point?"

"But she is", Alisah replied, as she placed her hand on his heart, "In here. And she said no one is a burden when you care for those you love."

Simon couldn't hold back the tears for much longer.

"She also said that showing emotion is a sign that you care," Alisha reminded him.

He then broke down into Alisha's arms, and I watched them, feeling empathy and also realising what I have is okay.

A few moments later, Simon is with Adam and Arthur, whilst he is escorted into a police car. Alisha came to me, intrigued as to what's going on.

"What will happen now?" she asked.

I knew I didn't want to tell her, but she had to know at some point, "The police said he will need to be questioned. Arthur will go with him, as even though he's old enough to be on his own, he's too vulnerable without an adult. It's just a procedure that we as a shop need to do. But they will take into consideration what has happened with regards to your parents."

"What about me?" Alisha asked, "Where do I stand?"

"Social services will get in contact with you for extra support. So for the simple things like managing bills, food shopping. And they did also recommend to get in touch with your uncle."

Alisha's face then dropped, "I don't know".

I assured her it was nothing to worry about, "Trust me. He'll get it. You can't do this on your own. And I'm sure that if you explain everything, he'll understand."

Alisha smiled at me, knowing she was right.

"Now go on and call him", and I handed her a card, "And this is my number, so if you need anyone at any point, give me a call", And I patted her shoulder as I watched her make her way to call her uncle, double checking to be sure she was doing it. And she was.

I then turned to Adam, who smiled at me to say that this was a job well done. Out of all my years of working at my job, I feel I have found a newfound appreciation.