The Book of Michael Part I

Chapter One: A Day in the Life

Michael walked down the broken sidewalk of Grase Avenue close to midnight. The street was mostly empty excluding the occasional john driving by, the two or three men loitering every other block in dark colored concealing clothing, and the occasional beggar taking ownership of whatever stoop they laid on.  Michael had to fight back the impulse to intervene with the others he passed, as he headed back to the orphanage on Sixth Street and Grace Avenue. He wasn’t the only orphan who snuck out or stayed out past curfew, but he was the one who had the lowest percentage of getting caught to getting away with it.

            As Michael approached the wide three story house known as the Sixth Street Orphanage he paid close attention to which windows were still illuminated. Once he had confirmed that no one around had been watching him, or was close enough to the window to see what he was about to do, he ran towards the five foot, black, steel yard gate which surrounded the property. There was a point in the fence where it was bent down towards the sidewalk slightly and this is the point Michael jumped quickly onto as part of his dash towards the house, as it was the closest piece of gate to his room. With the same speed he used to jump onto the fence, Michael jumped off and launched himself over ten feet into the air, lifting his feet towards his chest, crossing his arms in front of him and closing his eyes. As Michael was approaching collision with his window, Michael clenched his body.

            Michael fazed through his glass window and crash landed in his bedroom, there was a faint sound that quickly passed through the room as the window shook slightly as if it were made of reinforced plastic and something was quickly pressed against it. Michael hit into the wall of his room which was on the side of the hallway.  The thud was heard throughout the house.

            "GO TO SLEEP!" echoed throughout the orphanage in a masculine voice.

            Michael got up from the floor and turned on his light.  He then removed his shirt shoes and socks and hopped into bed. Michael stood up thinking about the meeting with his friends he just got back from.  They had been designing new armor for themselves, however none of them could agree upon which design was best. Michael's television set turned on and the lights went off. 

            "Channel two action news:  welcome viewers, tonight we will discuss several topics of interest... Another decrease in the police department budget, affecting Creekwood, Jilton, and Sparrow counties, a sixty year old woman escapes a house fire, Cell phones; are the risks worth the benefits?"

            Michael fell asleep listening to the news the fact that his county was one of those that would be affected by the budget cut bothered him. He pondered ways that he could make the difference and get it changed; All to no avail. Michael knew his neighborhood wouldn’t be affected much as the other areas as the police rarely patrolled it. Michael wondered how the other areas would manage with a known decline in police activity. He eventually fell asleep and awoke six hours later to someone banging on his door.

            "I'm up!” Michael yelled in an irritated tone. Michael turned his television off and went to his closet. The closet was just big enough for him to pile his clothes into, for they would not all fit hanging up, and he likely wouldn't take the time needed to keep everything organized. He grabbed a towel from under the pile and his favorite pair of boxers from a small shelf that stood high in the closet.  Michael then left his room and headed down the hall to the bathroom. The whole house was noisy with everyone getting ready to face their daily routine. The bathroom door was closed, Michael could hear the shower running.

            "Why do I even bother." muttered Michael.

            Michael knocked on the door then yelled, "Hurry up!"