Somewhere

Chapter 2

My pockets were heavy with watches and wallets and other small things I had snatched on our walk through the park; but sitting there in that cushy seat, I felt completely weightless. My eyes were glued to the pictures on the screen. For the first time ever, I was seeing something outside of my small world. My world that was confined to the streets of the West Side and the glimpses of the news my father left on at all times. This was new, vivid, colorful. A fantasy world of unicycling bears, talking mice, and beanstalks. I almost forgot about the boys sitting next to me. They were the only reason I was there at all. They were the ones to sneak me in and show me what I had been missing for the first eight years of my life.

The sun was blinding when we stepped back out into the street, and I threw my arm above my eyes to shield them. Riff stretched, arms up towards the sky. He seemed just the same as before, and I was reminded that this was something he had done several times. He hadn't discovered a whole new reality, as I had. But Tony looked just as free and refreshed as I felt.

"That was great. Good call." Tony said, patting Riff on the back as we walked. There was no clear destination in mind.

Riff shrugged. "I thought they'd be playin' something fun."

"That was fun." Tony said, eyebrows furrowed.

"You were the one who wanted to go in the first place."

"It was a bunch a kid stuff."

I could sense an argument coming, but tried to ignore it. I was staring up at the clouds, wondering if there really were giants up there, lounging in their castles. Maybe there was a beanstalk somewhere that some poor soul would climb, unaware of the trouble it would cause. Blinded by the promise of something better. What would I have done? Would I have turned and fled, unwilling to take a chance of dooming myself, or would I have done just as they did? But the reality of the streets around me and the cloudless sky above me were pulling me back in.

"Can you get your head outta your ass for two seconds and just have fun?" Tony asked, nudging him.

Riff shoved him, causing him to consequently ram into me. I almost lost my balance, and when I gathered myself, I glared at them. "Quit it."

"Well, what'd you think?" Tony asked, and Riff fell quiet.

"I dunno. I thought it was good, but I don't have nothin' to compare it to." My opinion didn't seem to cause much of a reaction out of either of them, because it was a very vague statement. I knew it. That's what I wanted it to be. I wasn't ready to unravel in front of them. I was hardly asked about my thoughts on anything. There was nobody there to ask for them until then. I watched as an underfed alley cat scurried around a garbage can and disappeared.

I always liked the alley cats. They reminded me of myself in a way. Nobody really took notice of them unless they were bothering them. They faded out of sight to everyone else, starving, fighting. My stomach growled. I hadn't had anything to eat since yesterday morning, and it was becoming a bigger annoyance by the hour.

"Can you imagine," Tony said, dreamily. "If all that stuff was real?"

"What? Talking animals that eat paper thin bread and a human harp?" Riff asked, critically.

He scoffed. "No, not that. I meant like giants in the clouds."

"I think that's more ridiculous than the talkin' animals and human harp." I interjected, which caused Riff to laugh. The euphoria of it all had worn away, and I had been dropped right back into the streets of New York. There were no castles in the sky with blood-thirsty giants. There weren't any unicycling bears either. I didn't have to put myself in the characters' shoes, because I'd never find myself in them. I had other things to worry about other than the endeavors of drawings- like finding something to eat. But it was nice to dream for a little while.

We had managed to kill over two hours of time, but the day was far from over. The struggle was finding things to do. There was only so much you could do with three people. I racked my brain for something to say or do, but before I could get a word out, Riff slowed his pace. "Play it cool. Schrank and Krupke." He hissed. A cop car was slowly cruising up the street, and I saw Tony stand a little straighter.

"Wait, what's happening?" I whispered, suddenly very aware of all the stolen goods in my pockets. I prayed that the police car would pass and pay us no mind, and that they wouldn't notice the bulges in my pants and jacket. I slowed my steps to fall just an inch behind them, hardly even acknowledging the car. If we pretended they weren't there, perhaps they'd do the same.
Pretending got us nowhere. The car slowed to a stop beside us, and the window rolled down.

"What are you two... three up to?" The man in the passenger seat asked.

"Nothin', Officer Krupke. Just some law abidin' citizens out on a walk." Riff said slyly. It looked like a game to him; a game he'd played a hundred times. Clearly, neither of the two men believed him. Their expressions were set in stone, flat and bored.

"Who's the girl?" The driver demanded. He looked exhausted, a five o'clock shadow visible on his face. I looked at Riff for guidance. I'd never talked to a police officer before. I had no reason to. I didn't even know why they'd bother to stop to question a few seemingly innocent- at that moment -children. We weren't actively causing trouble. We didn't even know where we were walking to. It was irritating that he interrupted us. Riff caught my eye for a moment and turned back to the car.

"This is Laces." He said. "Laces, Lieutenant Schrank." He gestured to the car, but Lieutenant Schrank did not seem to be in the mood for formalities.

He leaned back in his seat. "What are you doing with these bums?"

In a split moment, I found my words. "Nothin', sir. Just walking around." They were really Riff's words, Riff's showmanship and casual manner. But it felt natural in ways I couldn't describe. I didn't copy his sly smile, but I slouched a little more. If they noticed my stuffed pockets, I'd do what I did best and run, or maybe I'd talk my way out of it; but I doubted it would come to that. I was shielded by Tony, and the officers seemed too fed up to really bother looking.

"You should steer clear of them. They're nothin' but trouble. Get on your way and don't be stupid." Schrank sighed, beginning to crank his window back up.

Riff stood pin-straight in a mock solute. "Aye-aye, Captain." Tony and I burst into uncontrollable laughter. I couldn't remember ever laughing like that before. Something so simple, so childish, so silly for the situation we were in, made the three of us untense immediately. It felt nice to have some laughter in my life, a relief from the unrelenting actuality surrounding us on all sides. We didn't have much light in our lives, so we had to craft it ourselves. The car turned the corner, and we were left alone.