Redney One-Shots

Addiction ❶

From where I live, being a kid gives you as much freedom as an adult. Everyday I can see people as young as nine walking home alone or thirteen year olds trying to break into houses, it was ridiculous. My parents become aware of how dangerous the neighborhood has become, so they never let me go outside alone.

It was nice to know I was safe, but I always felt trapped. Once my mom picked me up from school, I stayed indoors. The only chance there is to go outside is at night. Sometimes on weekdays, I go outside for an hour. All I really do it stay on my porch and watch the tenth graders skate down the street, or kids smoking and spray painting a brick wall. However, it felt nice to watch everyone have fun too. At first I watched from my window, but now that it's the thirteenth time doing this, I feel so much safer.

Yawning I looked over to my watch, it was five minutes till. I was going to miss the loud music from two houses down. My feet stung due to me sitting on them; putting them to sleep. I stretched my arms and took in a final view of my environment. Everything was the same until I saw someone from my school running down the street. It was rare to see another sixth grader out at this time. The night was -from what I've seen- mostly when only the older kids were out. Even the so called "thugs" weren't out on the streets since some teens really do not like when kids are just lurking around their turf. So of course seeing someone around my age, I was surprised. Not in any of the thirteen days I had watched the outdoors, had I ever seen a kid. Only kids doing the same as me and sitting outside on their porch, just instead they would be watching their older sibling or smoking.

Curiously, I looked both ways down the road and ran towards him. And I of course wasn't checking for cars. As I ran to him, I felt a gut feeling. Maybe it was just nervousness, but I wouldn't be surprised since I'm sure no one would like to get caught at night by a dangerous teenager with a knife. From the years I've lived here, that only happened twice. As I was running behind him, I noticed he stopped at the brick wall. The wall was a broken part of an old building that I guess just never fell. Once my school mate stopped and took off this hoodie, I recognized him instantly.

"Hey's Red" I told him. He looked at me shocked, but then calmed down once he saw it was just me. "Hey" he said back, he then sighed heavy. "Also can you tell me when your behind me?" He asked me in a whisper. Apparently, he knew about the teenagers being the only ones out too. "Sorry's" I apologized. I would've told him that I could've scared him nonetheless when I was behind him, but I didn't want to start up an argument. "So what's are you's doing?" I asked him. Red then put his hands on the shoulders and faced me with seriousness in his eyes. "You promise you won't tell anyone?" He asked me sternly. I nodded back just as stern and I planned on keeping my promise. The activity in my neighborhood is bad and I never told anybody about it. Unless it was something serious like a stabbing or shooting, which luckily happened rarely.

Red told me to stay put, so I did as was told and waited for him while he went behind the wall. It was only a matter of seconds until Red came back with a yellow Dollar Store bag full of God knows what. He looked at me and pulled out a can of spray paint. "You want one?"
"No's thanks, I's don't graffitiing" I told him. He just smiled at me and nodded. "So's, what's are you's doing here's so's late?" I asked. It was the whole reason of following him in the first place. "Oh I always go out at night, I just haven't been here before" he said taking off the cap to the spray can. "Why's did you's comes here?" I questioned. "I've been going to the same place for a long time and the police already know I'm going to be there. Well, at least they think I will be there. I just really wanted to do this without police just having to watch me" Red complained rolling his eyes.

Then instead of spraying the wall with spray paint, he started breathing it in; inhaling it. I haven't really met that many people who did this, but I knew it was just as bad as smoking. At least that's what I've heard. But when I looked at Red, he looked so addicted with it, like he couldn't live without it. He had maybe ten cans stuffed into the yellow plastic bag and I wondered how long he's been doing his. Just waiting to inhale the addictive smell.