stream of conscious drabbles

no good children

Kids stole from the Chinese convenience store all the time. The narrow, dank and usually unstocked aisles left plenty opportunity to stuff merchandise into their pants or jackets. And if the store was crowded with teens and the guys who aimlessly loiter about, then the small, angry-looking Chinese man, who always sat with the two clerks behind the plastic glass, would be too busy watching them and not the children. In response, the children devised plans to get in and out of the store with maximum profit.

The children would meet up together at a small playground that was a block away from the convenience store. The playground was really more of a plot of dirt with a slide and two swings, the third swing always conspicuously broken, and several benches that adults mainly sat at.

The children tried not to pay any mind to the adults at the benches, but they knew to be on edge--to watch out for whatever brashness the adults acted on next.

The children had already lost too many to their lax attitudes around the adults. You never knew when a crowd would get agitated and pull out guns for a fist fight. You never knew if the guys were actually there for their own reasons, or if they were closely watching a little girl or boy to snatch up later. You never knew who was going to get robbed for the little luxuries they had.

So, the children always met up in a group at the playground. No one ever went to the playground without a member of their squad. Once there, they'd plot their scheme.

Two kids would stand outside the shop; one would be prepared to hold the door open for fast escape, and the other would be on lookout to make sure no policemen or a familiar adult would enter the store. The other four would enter the store, but only two would do the actual stealing. They would break into pairs. One kid would snatch up stuff while the other looked around the area, constantly keeping an eye on that angry Chinese dude. After snatching all they could, the lookout kid(s) would go up to the register and purchase a few things-some candy or a big bag of chips. It was a ploy to cover their tracks, and allow the snatchers to escape.

And it had worked flawlessly for months.

Now, it was Jermaine's turn.
Jermaine had always wanted to join his friends in on their scheme. He wanted in on the jokes. He wanted to feel the grandiose they felt after leaving the store with all their booty. He especially want to prove to his older sister Tyease that he could steal just as well as she could.

In all honesty, Jermaine was too young to join in with their games and schemes. He was only six (going on seven soon) while everyone else was nine years old or older. Tyease was already ten. But Jermaine liked hanging out with these big kids. They were intriguing and yet already so mature. They had amazing secrets that they only shared with each other. They had such complex events and experiences going on in their lives. Jermaine couldn't wait to be on their level. They were definitely way more fun than the bigger big kids who stood around, talking to each other, making girls giggle so they could like them. Jermaine didn't even understand why the girls needed to giggle all the time.

At least his older sister, Tyease, never acted girly. She was a self-proclaimed tomboy. Tyease played all types of games with Jermaine, she even fake fought with him. She didn't like the color pink, instead she liked the color green. She didn't play with Barbies or baby-dolls, though she did have one black Barbie that still looked as it did when she received it. And Tyease always had the best games; games that she always included Jermaine in. Tyease never made Jermaine feel insignificant, never made him feel like he didn't matter to her. In response, Jermaine revered her. He couldn't wait to be grown-up like her.

It was a warm September afternoon. School had just been left out and all the latchkey children flooded onto the sidewalk. Tyease was already waiting at the front doors for Jermaine. She grabbed his hand and pulled him through the crowds of children screaming and blabbering as loud as they could.