The Return of the Bad boy

Chapter 16: Cam

As punishment for my acts, I had to take 10 hours of anger management classes and do 50 hours of community service. I didn't have to do both at once, so I chose to take the anger management over the summer, twice a week.

Now that they were over with, I had my community service hours to complete.

I wanted to help out at the Brighton nursing home. I started last week, and I've completed about 10 hours so far. I should be done in no time, but I've been thinking about making weekly visits to some of the residents. Many of their family members didn't often visit, while others simply got dropped off so they would be someone else's problem.

The residents got a little rowdy sometimes. I saw a fight break out in the cafeteria over the last pudding cup with one resident threatening to run over the over with his wheelchair while the next one furiously waved his cane, saying, "I dare you!" A dementia resident had made a run for it with a team of nurses sprinting behind her. And then there was this scandalous love triangle, but we didn't have to get into that.

Overall, it was never a dull day here.

The nurses and the residents were used to seeing my face. Which was progress, in my opinion, considering they had kept eyeing suspiciously for the first few days before warming up to me. The rumors about my reputation had gotten around, but fortunately, most of them were willing to overlook that dumb mistake and give me the benefit of the doubt.

I strolled past the front desk with my volunteer ID badge and greeted almost every employee I saw walking down the halls. I had learned their names relatively quickly.

I made my rounds, chatting up the residents, asking if they needed anything, then I saved my favorite person for last.

The room at the end of the hall to the left was Mr. Corbin's room. I knocked when I saw his door slightly pushed up.

"I'm busy, Dolores!" he grumbled.

I peeked my head in. "So Dolores has been stopping by?" I lifted a brow.

He twisted in his wheelchair, a slow grin appeared. "My boy!" He waved me in. "It's good to see you."

I walked over, taking a seat across from him at his table. "How's it going, Johnny?"

I saw that he was playing Sudoku on his tablet.

He braced his hands on the wheelchair's bars. "Eh, no one did anything exciting today. So I had to retire to my room to find other means of entertainment." He sounded kind of bitter about it, and it made me laugh.

I haven't met Johnny's family yet. He said they lived in town, and his grandchild visited him twice a week since he was sent here over the summer after he had a stroke. Compared to a lot of the other residents, Johnny's room was completely decked out. Not only did he have the space all to himself, but he had a flat-screen TV on an entertainment stand with a blue ray player and Nintendo switch because he loved to play video games, especially Mario World. Then he had a couch, a dining table that he used as a desk sometimes, and a bookshelf with a decent collection. So whoever his family was, I liked to think they had a lot of money or good connections.

"On the bright side, the workers must have had an easy-going day, and that's a plus for them," I told him.

"I guess." Johnny managed to shrug. He closed his tablet, resting it on his lap before wheeling off to place it on one of the shelves. "We still on for a movie?" He spun to face me.

I remembered I promised to watch an old Marilyn Monroe film with him during my next visit. "Of course."

His face brightened. "My grandbaby bought me snacks. But I'm supposed to keep it a secret," he whispered.