"Reki my mom's here!" a boy shouted from below Reki. Rekis gaze darted underneath him where his friend was looking up at him with his skateboard clutched in his hand. Reki jumped off the ramp landing steadily on his feet and flashed him a grin "I'll see you tomorrow!" Reki outstretched his hand and his friend slapped it back.
"Yeah, see ya."
Reki sighed and threw his head back, the sun was already starting to set. "I'm not going to go home just yet.."
He picked up his skateboard off his ground and held it under his arms as he wandered out of the skatepark. He walked on the edge of the sidewalk, the cars blared past him noisily as he walked. His stomach growled loudly as if it were trying to announce his hunger to the whole world. He clutched at his stomach in an attempt to numb the dull pain of hunger. His eyes lit up when he turned the corner. "There it is."
His pace quickened as he drew close to a familiar restaurant, the Sia La Luce. He could already smell the food making his mouth water dangerously. He shuffled into the ally and peeked into the trashcan. Every day at 8 the owner throws away food that didn't sell or leftovers and Reki would collect his fair share. He frowned deeply as he peered deeper, the trashcan was empty. "Was he early?" He stuck his head in deeper desperate to find one thing that could take an edge off of his hunger.
"Hey kid!" a booming voice startled him almost causing him to fall into the trashcan. He tumbled back and fell on his back his eyes flashed up in fear.
"What do you think you're doing?" the man said lowly. He wore a chef's hat and an apron. Rekis eyes widened in realization and scrambled to get up. "It's the owner!" Rekis breath quickened. He glanced up at the man who was staring at him he held a platter of uneaten dishes in his hand. "I need that food." the biting pain of hunger cut off his train of thought.
"Are you-" Joe was cut off, Reki sprawled up and snatched a plate of food from Joe, pieces of food fell off as he ran away.
"I'm so stupid!" Reki sprinted away and held the plate of food close to his chest. He didn't dare look back if the owner was chasing him he might die before starvation could get to him. After a good while of running, he stopped at a park bench set down the food, and collapsed onto the bench. Reki tried to catch his breath and wiped the sweat off of his brow. His sides burned and his body felt heavy. "Running on an empty stomach isn't ideal." he grimaced. He picked up the dish of food, it was a half-eaten dish of chicken alfredo. Reki didn't have the luxury of a fork so he grabbed a handful of noodles. He couldn't care less how he looked right now, the feeling of food slipping into his stomach was heavenly. The plate was emptied in seconds, and Reki scraped the plate clean. Although the food helped with the pain his stomach still felt empty. He couldn't do anything but accept it, the sky was now dark. "Moms going to bed mad."
He thought about just sleeping on the bench but a group of men smoking a couple feet behind him changed his mind quickly. He rode his skateboard down the street, it wasn't a long ride till he pulled up to a motel. The paint used to be a bright purple and yellow but now it faded into a murky brown and dirty purple. He walked up the steps to the second floor, his feet were sluggish.
A door flew open right in front of his face causing him to stumble backwards. "Go fuck yourself!" she screamed shrilly and threw something inside the room.
"You psycho!" A man's voice screamed back, but before the woman could throw anything else the door slammed shut
"Don't even think about coming back! The man snarled from inside. The woman let out a huff and shoved past Reki harshly.
Reki was frozen for a moment before he came back to his senses, his apartment was right next door. He opened the door which was covered in stains and makes. The lock had been broken by one of his mom's previous boyfriends and was never fixed. The smell of smoke instantly filled his nostrils. His nose wrinkled as he walked into the room, the lights were all off except for a yellow-lit lamp. He could make out the silhouette of his mother slouched in the cough next to it. There was a shattered beer bottle underneath her hands. The whole room was filthy. He tiptoed around his mom and peeled back the covers of his bed.
"Reki." his mother growled from behind him her voice was ragged and mean. Reki flinched and turned back his breath shuddered as he stared into his mom's glassy eyes.
"Where have you been." she rasped and staggered towards Reki she was so drunk he was surprised she could even stay upright.
"I've been at the skatepark." He said meekly backing away from his mother. His mother's eyes glanced at his skateboard and narrowed.
"How fucking useless." she hissed. "Instead of riding on wood how about you go down the station and get your mom some beer." her breath was hot as she inched closer to Reki. Reki looked away he couldn't run anywhere his mom had him cornered.
"Mom it's late, can I do it tomorrow morning?" the second the words left his mouth he regretted it.
"What." his mom's eyes burned with anger as she snatched the board away from Reki. "You think this is more important than your mom!" she yelled causing Reki to flinch. She rose the skateboard above her head her eyes locked dead on Rekis. She threw it to the wall inches away from Rekis's head. It hit the table and the microwave along with some bottles toppled over and fell with a loud slam.
"I-I'm sorry I'll go now." Reki stumbled over his words, his mom was in a worse mood than usual.
"Ungrateful shit." His mom snapped and fell back into her chair "Go!" she screamed.
Reki rushed out of the room and shut the door. He clutched at his chest trying to slow his breathing. His body was trembling. His head was spinning as he stumbled down the stairs. The air was cold now and bit at his skin. He was only wearing a yellow hoodie and black shorts.
XXX
"Hey Kaoru I'm back!" Joe took off his shoes and walked into his house. Karou glanced up he was bent over some paperwork his hand was pressed against his forehead.
"How was work?" Karou asked, he took off his glasses and set them down.
"Just like usual, oh wait I saw a kid digging around in the trash today," Joe answered.
"Sad to see it, I would've given him a fresh dish but he snatched some leftovers right out of my hand," he said with a sigh.
Karou frowned "How old did he look?" he asked. "Like about 14 maybe 15, the kid was scrawny."
Karou shook his head "How unfortunate."
"Yeah I agree, if I ever see him again I'll be sure to get some food into him," he said with a hint of determination. "Oh, you know what, he also had a skateboard."
Kaoru joined Kojiro on the couch and nestled beside him "You miss skateboarding?" Kojiro had many fond memories of skateboarding as well as some not-so-good memories.
"Sometimes," he answered airily.
XXX
"Ouch" There was a sore pain on his back, he could hear the sound of cars around him. He forced open an eyelid, the sun immediately fell harshly over him. He blinked away the sleep as he came to his senses, he was sat over at the back of the gas station. "I must've fallen asleep.."
He unsteadily wobbled up ignoring the sore pain coursing throughout his body. His mouth was dry and his back and legs hurt from sleeping on the ground.
" Oi you there get outta here!" a man in a greasy white shirt and baggy jeans that fell to his knees emerged out of the back of the gas station, He threw an empty Coke bottle at him, missing Reki by an inch. "If you wanna sleep go somewhere else don't need ya stinking up the place." he snarled.
"I can't catch a break can I" Reki scrambled to get up he reached for his skateboard but then remembered it was probably broken in half back at the motel room. Before the man could yell at him anymore he sneaked away.
"I left in such a rush I didn't even bring money to buy the beer" Reki wandered down the sidewalk the whole area in this city smelled like smoke. He hated this part of town, he missed back when his dad was alive. "If only I knew how lucky I was." Reki grimaced as he kicked a stray rock off into the road.
After his dad died when he was 10 his mom slowly unraveled. It happened so quickly, one second his mom was packing him lunches and the next she was a a husk of herself. Reki remembered trying to get his mother to talk to him, no matter what he did she would just stare at him coldly sometimes Reki found her crying by herself. Soon enough he had learned how to take care of himself, well the best that he could learn at 10. His mom never got a job she never left the house and they were forced out.
Reki had to fight his mom to get up off the street to try and find someplace to sleep. His mom wouldn't move but that was when the first boyfriend approached them. He wore a sly smile and clothes that reeked.
He was the first boyfriend but not the last.
XXX
Reki found himself in the skatepark, he sat down on the ramp and kicked his feet in the air. He couldn't even skateboard. "When will Langa come."
He fiddled with his hoodie as he watched the road intently, soon enough he heard the familiar sound of a skateboard against cement.
"Langa!" Reki shouted as the boy came into view. Langas eyes widened and he lost control of his skateboard causing him to fall off onto his back.
"Oww." Langa groaned rubbing his back with a wince.
Reki ran up to him with a smile "You just wiped out dude!" he laughed and outstretched his hand helping Langa up.
"I'm still new at this," Langa mumbled. Whenever he was with Langa, Reki seemed to forget about all the shit he had going on.
"So funny story I forgot my board at home today," he said sheepishly.
"That's ok, we can share mine or we can do something else?" Langa suggested.
"No no, I want you to master the ollie." Reki waved his hands.
Langa slouched and furrowed his eyebrows "I don't want to fall again."
"Falling is how you get good at stuff!" Reki assured him. Langa let out a disbelieving groan and got back on his skateboard.
After Langa tired himself out they both sat down next to each other. Langa was fussing over a scrape on his knee
"Reki what if it gets infected?" Langa worried.
"Relax it's just a small cut if it scares you that much just put a bandage over it," he said lightly.
Langa leaned back "This is out of the blue but what school do you go to?" he asked. Reki paused he never thought about that. His mom didn't care enough to send him to school and honestly, Reki didn't care that much either. He spent his days wandering around the city and skateboarding.
"Oh uhm..I'm homeschooled?" Reki was a horrible liar.
Luckily Langa believed him right away "That's so cool who teaches you?"
"My mom," Reki answered shortly. "It would be so cool if we went to the same school." Langa looked up at the sky. Rekis heart sank a little at Langa's words. It would be nice if he could go to school, have friends to share classes with, and maybe feel like he belonged somewhere. He quickly pushed those feelings aside with a forced smile.
"Yeah, that would be awesome," Reki replied. "Alright, you've had long enough to rest let's get back to your ollie!"
Langa grabbed his skateboard "You know you're a good teacher." Langa said quietly. Reki didn't like how whenever Langa complimented his face tingled and his heart started to beat faster.
Rekis expression softened "You're a good friend." he replied tenderly.
Despite, the hardships that Reki faced Langa made him feel alive, and free from his troubles even if it only was for a little while. The sky darkened in what felt like moments, the streetlights flickered on signaling it was time for Langa to go home.
"I wish I could stay out longer but you know how my mom is." Langa frowned as he gathered up his belongings.
Reki nodded, a hint of reluctance in his eyes "Yeah, I need to start heading home too."
Langa waved goodbye and set off leaving Reki alone. His smile quickly faded when Langa disappeared from his view. Without Langa to distract him the biting pain of hunger almost became too much to bear. Reki had to get something in his system he had been living on nothing but a handful of noodles from last night. With a determined stride, he made his way towards Sia La Luce. This time he would be more careful not to get caught by the owner. A man passed by him
"Excuse me do you know what time it is?" Reki asked.
The man checked his phone "It's 8:09." he answered.
Reki thanked him and ran back to the alleyway his eyes brightened as his eyes locked onto the familiar dumpster. He opened it up and this time there was some leftover food. Unfortunately, the owner didn't throw out plates with the food so he had to settle with a paper plate he found a while back. Just as he reached inside the dumpster he was pulled back. He immediately went into panic mode as he felt someone touch his shoulder. He whipped back, now face to face with the owner of the store.
"I thought I would run into you." his voice was sharp but somewhat concerned.
This time Reki couldn't run anywhere "I-I'm sorry." Reki breathed in sharply preparing for the man's anger. "You're hungry, aren't you?" The man asked his eyes were kind. Reki couldn't ignore the hunger gnawing at him and he shifted back his eyes to the ground.
"Yeah," he admitted quietly.
"Let me get you a hot meal, not something out of the trash ok?"
Reki's eyes widened did this man mean what he was saying? "I don't have any money," Reki said shallowly.
The man let out a small laugh startling Reki "My treat"
Reki didn't need any more convincing he followed Joe into the store through the back door. The smell of food made his stomach ache dangerously.
"Go take a seat." he motioned to the dining area.
The restaurant was mostly empty aside from a few stragglers. Reki chose a table close-knit to the corner of the restaurant. His leg shook nervously as he buried his head into his arms. He chewed on his cheek as he waited "Maybe I should just go what if the man makes me owe him?" Rekis head was racing. The taste of blood made him go limp. He was tired and hungry, Reki was going to let himself enjoy a warm place to rest without his mom ruining things. The owner approached him with a plate of chicken alfredo in his hand.
"This is what you got last time so I hope you like it." Joe sat down the plate and sat across from Reki. Manners flew out the window, Reki grabbed the fork and spun the noodles around his fork. He ate so quickly that he was barely even chewing.
"Woah slow down kid, the food not going anywhere." Joe gaped. Reki stopped immediately and flushed with embarrassment. "Sorry.." he murmured.
Joe raised an eyebrow "Whats your name?" he asked. Reki averted his gaze this man was a stranger.
However, this stranger was feeding him for free.
"Reki..Kyan," he answered.
"I'm Kojiro, this might be a bit personal but why are you digging around in my trash for food?" his voice was soft like a parent coddling their child.
Reki hesitated "My mom doesn't have any money for food."
Kojiro always had a soft spot for kids, and the sight of a starving child made his heart ache.
"Reki this is sudden, but how about I hire you?" Kojiro knew he was going to get a mouthful from Karou for this. Rekis eyes widened his amber eyes were lit up.
"Really?" his voice was now excited but also cautious.
"You can wait tables right?" Joe asked.
Reki nodded vigorously "I can work whenever you want me to!" he exclaimed.
"Don't you have school?" Kojiro questioned,
Reki fell back into his seat. "No not really," Reki said quietly.
Joe felt a tinge of anger towards this boy's mom, was she even raising her son? "I see." Kojiro rubbed his temples. "How's this, you work for me here at the Sia La luce, and I'll make sure you have food to eat every day, but I also want you to try and apply to get into a high school."
Reki hesitated "I forgot, my mom needs me around to help her."
Kojiro sighed softly, he barely scratched the surface of this kid's situation. "I'm offering you what I can."
Reki nodded slowly his mind processing the offer "I'll do it, you have no idea how grateful I am Kojiro-san." Kojiro smiled warmly "No need for all of that formal stuff, good to have you here Reki."
Reki finished his meal, and a sense of relief washed over him, for the first time in forever he had a full meal and it was hot! He couldn't believe that this person who had been a stranger until an hour again was changing his life.
XXX
Kojiro opened the door and peeked in, he was later than usual so Karou might've already gone to bed. He crept into the house careful not to make any noise but of course, the stairs creaked loudly as he walked up. The bedroom lamp was still on so that meant that Karou was still awake. "I'm home, sorry I was late." Kojiro stepped into the room and started to get ready for bed.
Karou set down his book "Did you see that boy today?" he asked. Kojiro sat down on the bed next to Karou "Yeah I saw him again today, I found him digging in the trash again behind the restaurant."
Karous expression softened with concern "Poor kid...did you talk to him?"
Kojiro nodded "Yeah I did, his name is Reki he doesn't have a great home life, the kids been struggling to find food because his mom is a deadbeat from what I can assume." the words came out more angrily than he had expected.
"That's terrible, did you do anything?." Karou chewed on his lip, it was something he did often.
"I offered him a meal and a job, but Karou it's not just about the food." Kojiros tone became tense "I feel like I'm just letting this kid suffer if I don't do more." He clenched at the bedsheets.
"You always had a big heart," Karou said softly. "No matter how much we want to, we can't meddle in others' business but it's not our place."
Kojiros expression hardened "But I can't just stand by."
"You've already done so much just by offering him a job and a place to go," Karou assured. Joe nodded reluctantly. "I bet this Reki kid is endlessly grateful towards you," Karou said gently. Joe gave him a small smile. "Maybe."
Authors Note:
This was inspired by a Dhar Mann video belive it or not, thank you for reading feel free to leave a comment!
See you in the next chapter