The following dinner was a little quiet at first. But even with tension in the air, Jack still watched these boys really eat. Maybe it was the hard work they put in cleaning up their mess, or the early morning, or the slightly out-of-touch doctor, but they ate as if they still hadn't eaten the last two proper meals. Due to how late it was, and the rough day, dinner wasn't anything fancy. He expected noses to be turned up at S.O.S, but the boys still ate the creamed, chipped beef on toast, even the peas, without any complain. Well, aside for having to be reassured it was really food when fist presented with it.
As he served each plate, and the boys took seats around the table; Ace at one end, Snake to his right, Grubber on his left. Billy and Lil' Arthor sat on the sides of Jack at the other end by default.
"Hands washed?" Jack asked, calling the attention of the few who dared to dig into the food the moment they sat. Billy paused mid-bite. Snake had been absent-mindedly picking his up, but stopped.
"Well, they was clean." Ace answered, nodding to Big Billy who large hands had accidentally turned his toast into a few peices of toast causing the beef to get on his hands.
"'Member?" He smiled, hoping to play on the fact that most old people Ace met were- well, forgetful old folks in wheelchairs with bad memories. Jack glanced around, he knew for a fact he heard no water running from any sink in the apartment. But seeing how Billy choose to eat caused a mess of beef on his hands anyway- he sighed and let it slide.
Manners seemed lost on them when it came to eating peas, and Jack was not surprised. They were obnoxious, loud, untamed children. Some of the mess he could understand, Billy was a messy eater by nature. But Jack's breaking point was after Grubber had tried throwing peas into his mouth, but before Snake could load his spoon like a catapult.
"ENOUGH!" His voice actually reached a higher, angerier tone for long enough to stay the word. Peas feel off Snake's spoon abd back on to his plate as Jack got all eyes on him.
"I'm going to assume you boys know how to just eat, quietly. It's not a hard task." He would have gone on, but the doorbell rang.
"Sanford, get the door."
"Wha'? Why me? I wassn't even."
"Door, Sanford." Jack repeated sterner. Snake pushed his chair back and grumbled under his breath as he slidered out of he room.
"-And I told you not to drag your feet." Jack called. Snake didn't answer.
What stood at the door was a thin thing in a long black coat, limbs akwardly and unsurely moving; a foot placed behind the other on its' toes, a hand rubbing the back of his neck. He looked warn, and weather, with thin hairs covering his more than starved face and bags under his eyes. His skin had a sort of yellow-green color, almost like a sea sickness, or Jaundice given his eye color. In fact, if it wasn't for the peices of scales occasionally flaking off as he rubbed his neck, or his chipped teeth having a few too-many points, he could almost look human. When Snake answered, he stopped rubbing his neck and ran a hand through his greasy, short, dark hair.
"H-hey, kid-uh. .. Howsss... it goin'?" As the man talked, his face had this distant look that almost matched the distracted, nervous tone in his voice that occasionally drifted off mid-sentence.
"Uh- fine." Snake mumbled, a bit shocked and staring himself. "Yeah-yeah? Your mother ssaid..somethin'- uh!" Then suddenly he'd snap back into focus and blink a few times, his stance became a little more sure and he made eye contact with the teen, who stood a hair or so shorter. "You grew..." the man just muttered, keeping his mouth slightly open with a smile.
"Yeah, that happensss. What are you doin' here? You okay?" Snake frowned as he asked, the man seemed to be talking sense. But it was hard to tell. Seeing as he just got a blank look from the man, Snake when on. "Ya'know are you still all..." he trailed off and looked up at nothing for a second.
"Oh that!" A chuckle followed, "oh, no. No. I'm-I'm okay- I mean I'm not- I've been worse." His hand figeted in his pocket, Snake wasn't sure if he was lying but before he could go on to question, the man cleared his throat.
"Your mother, said sshe- uh-...got a messssssage from some guy about'cha?" And just like that the little, complete focus the man had was fading as he started seeing things that were hard to ingore. Snake didn't care much and his attention was right to the news.
"THAT GUY CALLED PARENTS?!"
"Yeah. Yeah he did...sssso-sorry-" he mumbled as he pulled a cigarette from his jacket "so-so- he ah good guy?" He shook the cigarette as if flicking something from it, maybe pocket lint, maybe a small being only he saw.
"I guessss? He'ss annoying an' a jerk an'-"
"Sseeems like he's doin' okay then. He around?"
"What?! You can't really be-?!" Snake asked outraged, but with a puff of smoke the man of around 30 or so, akwardly pulled rank. There wasn't a strict tone to his voice, or even an annoyed look in his eyes, but rather he muttered out
"..Sanford Daisssuke Ingleberry.."
Snake's whole face fell as if it was much more of a threat, he slunk back inside, backwards. Shutting the door once inside.
It was only a few poofs off his cigarette before the door opened again. The stranger at the door even stood shorter than Jack Wenseday, who frowned at being distrubed from supper.
"Can I help you?" He asked polity enough, "what is it you're selling young man? I don't like my time wasted and my supper getting cold."
overcome by the size, he just stood there, cigarette going limp in his mouth. Then his eyes started to wander to over Jack's shoulder, Jack went on.
"You know the dangerous of smoking? And I assume its not good for whatever you're selling here, not to mention your health. But I doubt someone like you would know or care about your own health risks. Let alone the health of those around you!" He went on in his normal manner, the cigarette happened to fall from the other man's mouth and on to the stoop as his hands fidgetted in his coat again, and one soon held out a crumpled, white, worn envelope, shaking as if offering it to some man, or demon to spare his life. Once Jack stopped his barking and took the envelope, with a confused look. The younger and shorter one stumbled back off the stoop in a panick, stopping only when he was at the buttom of the steps.
"...Geezuz," he mumbled as he ran a hand down his face, rubbing his eyes and pulling cheeks in one go, trying to get a hold of himself. "-Christ."
"...what is this?" Jack asked glaring down at the man, still holding the envelope with just one hand. The exact way he was when he took it.
"Uh-" it got the strangers attention long enough that he peeked up, his hand still on his chin. "About uh- hundred...maybe more or lesss...uh, cash. Yeah, itsss cash."
"...cash, Mister...?"
"Uh- Jack," The man at the buttom of the steps answered, "Mononoke. Ssssnake's uh...well I mean his mom and me... sssorta...but yaknow 'm not good with kids orrrr...stuff. So-so, I give money ta' hisss Mom...but uh, the kids not livin' with her. Fact I'm not even sure she'd tell me if he wasn't..." he started rubbing the back of his neck then as he half rambled on. Wenseday raised his free hand and stopped him.
"Mr. Mononoke, was it? Normally I would say you are a worthless, terrible person who is at fault for what has befallen these children. Including, what I assume you are trying to explain is your son. However, given your,...circumstances. I will look past this one discussion. But I do hope you'll get help in the future."
"...I can get more cash?" Mononoke just asked after a pause, hoping this was a better answer as he cocked his head one way, looking at the man. "I think I know you..." His mind jumped to a new track.
"Jack Wenseday, truancy officer as I explained on the message I left with-"
"Yeah,...yeah...your hair was brown 'fore in uh, eighty-three."
"I've done job a long time, son."
"It ssshows too." Mononoke nodded, he wanted another smoke. But didnt want to fsce the lecture, it was like being back in highschool.
"Uh- I gotta go." He started turning his body away, one foot placed in front of the other. "But um...thanks, Wenseday?"
Jack Wenseday squinted his eyes as he watched the young man scurrying off like a mouse advoiding a trap. He could vaguely recall busting young punks in bathrooms for smoking, drinking, and unspeakable actions with young women. But that was years ago. Was Mononoke what became of the last generation he tried to help? Jack tried searching all of the scared faces of those days, he couldn't place one as strange as Mononoke- then a young man, probably just starting to see things, or hear things. He never understood that, some punks just did mushrooms or other illegal substances. It didn't occur to him at the time that those crazy homeless men, probably started as boys with homes. He might've done things differently, if he could with that generation. But he couldn't. All he could do now was help the current generation, be it with mental issues or health and education as he was now. Seeing otherwise made him almost as sick as not being able to do his real job.
He returned inside, envelope in hand and lazily tossed among a pile of todays' mail to be delt with later on as he turned to his kitchen table. With a mess left on it, though he was still somewhat surpised, that not even peas were left over in their serving dish. Finding all the chairs empty of a mess, he could hear the boys in the living room had found the tv. This was due more to them being loud than the thin walls.
"Hey, I was watchin that!" Lil' Arturo piped up as Jack heard the static of channel change.
"Well too bad. Itssss almosst over." Snake replied, the tv had an explosion on it. Then in changed again and Jack heard some comdey.
"Hey-" Snake lost his control to Billy. Jack started to move dishes to the sink, listening to see how exactly this might play out. The TV changed again to some news story, Jack assumed it was by accident.
"Hey! That was my turn!" Billy whined.
"Pfft!"
"The Newsss is boring anyway!" The channel changed again back to some pepole cheering over an explosion, then the laugh-track of a comdey, some news report, and the channels changed faster and faster with the remote clicking and channels going in and out to static to other tv shows. The fighting got loud enough and fast enough, Jack couldn't rightly make it out as he turned the water on for the dishes and running soap in serving dishes to soak. But just as Jack was about to enter the room-
"will ya' goobers KNOCK IT OFF!"
And the room fell salient of actual voices. The tension broken only by the laugh-track on tv. Even then it wasnt on the tv for long. The remote clicked one more time, and the tv made sounds that sounded like the same program for a solid five seconds. By the time Jack entered the living room, the boys were quiet. Spread out on the sofa on the wall opposite of the t.v. Billy sitting on the floor leaning on the armrest, Ace actually sitting on a different armrest, his body facing sideways and his head cocked towards the t.v. He kept the remote in one hand folded to his chest with the other. Grubber, Lil' Arturo and Snake taking up the actual seats on the sofa cushion. All nine eyes remained on the T.V., watching a pair of animated, teenage, slackers blumb through life unsupervised as stupidty got them in and out of trouble. As if nothing happened in the past hour or so, no parent visiting, or fighting, the boys enjoyed their trash like tv. Jack shook his head as laughter filled his living room at a vulgar and stupid joke from the T.V. any other time he would've forbid that trash in his home, it was probably reasonable for the decline in morals and intelligent. But, given the day, everyone needs a way to relax. So for now, he let it slide. Tomorrow the real work began.
