"Run girl!"
"Girl jump!"
"Duck nor girl!"
"Throw the ball! Throw the ball!"
All the commands were coming simultaneously from the group of children playing on the lawn. The three little boys and four little girls were busy with their dodge ball. They didn't see the ragged little figure peeping through the fence.
Andy had been lurking there for more than half an hour now. This was not his territory really but after having being chased by the older fellows on his side, and knowing that there was no escape as long as he remained in the Gutter he had headed into Sea View. Here he knew that he was safe from his pursuers. They did not dare follow him here. But their presence would arouse the suspicion and anger of Sea View residents and soon they could expect a visit from the police. Gutter residents were not welcomed in Sea View.
The boy behind the fence gazed at these children at play and wished that he could join them. As he stared at the boys in their clean jerseys and shorts with their bobby socks and sneakers, he became conscious of his own shabby state. He had been wearing these same clothes for the past week, and it was difficult to tell the original colour- they were tattered and soiled. He looked down at his bare feet on the ground, the toes splayed and grimy, and his legs scratched and showing a few open sores. He felt ashamed.
Suddenly he heard a noise in the brush close to his head. He looked and saw the children's red ball stuck in the ledge and one of the girls was running to retrieve it. She was almost at the edge of the fence before she saw him. She halted abruptly and shouted:
"What you doing here? Eh? Go away!"
The other children had heard her and asked;
"Jenny who is it?"
She replied without taking her eyes away from Andy
"One of the Gutter rats. Come and see."
With that the band of children came rushing towards the fence where Andy was standing. The boy seemed to shrink. He wanted to run away but found that he could not move "Hey you! What you want up here? the biggest boy asked. "You can't talk? I guess that all you could do is steal and curse eh? Kim the smallest girl retorted.
At that moment a woman stepped onto the verandah and saw the children standing by the fence. She called out in a lazy voice:
"Anybody for some pop corn?
Then she seemed to notice the strange boy.
"Hey! Isn't that the one of them from the Gutter? I think I'll call the police for the little scamp. You can't take the chances with them at all."
With those words, she headed back into the house.
The woman's departure seemed to galvanize Andy into action. He took off like a Ben Johnson or a Carl Lewis. The name 'Police' is bad news to youths from the Gutter. All could relate horrifying tales of encounters with members of the law enforcement agency. While some never lived to tell of their experience. Policemen just loved to run into Gutter youths.
For Andy it was better to face any number of gang members than one policeman.
Andy sped down the smoothly paved road to the road that led into Sea View then made a left turn onto the gravelled track leading down to the Gutter. Now he could slow down for he felt safe here. He disappeared into one of the many shortcuts that led to his home.
His aunt was sitting in the yard grating coconut as he arrived breathlessly.
"Hole it boy! Wa happen you running so? Police again? Why dey don't leave us alone and go after those big boy drug men? Poor people really have to see trouble."
She was one of those people who liked listening to themselves, and as she took a break, Andy related his experience.
"Wa happen to those kine ah people? Dey tink dat dey better dan we, and we don't have any right on the face of the earth?
Roy Benjamin
"Girl jump!"
"Duck nor girl!"
"Throw the ball! Throw the ball!"
All the commands were coming simultaneously from the group of children playing on the lawn. The three little boys and four little girls were busy with their dodge ball. They didn't see the ragged little figure peeping through the fence.
Andy had been lurking there for more than half an hour now. This was not his territory really but after having being chased by the older fellows on his side, and knowing that there was no escape as long as he remained in the Gutter he had headed into Sea View. Here he knew that he was safe from his pursuers. They did not dare follow him here. But their presence would arouse the suspicion and anger of Sea View residents and soon they could expect a visit from the police. Gutter residents were not welcomed in Sea View.
The boy behind the fence gazed at these children at play and wished that he could join them. As he stared at the boys in their clean jerseys and shorts with their bobby socks and sneakers, he became conscious of his own shabby state. He had been wearing these same clothes for the past week, and it was difficult to tell the original colour- they were tattered and soiled. He looked down at his bare feet on the ground, the toes splayed and grimy, and his legs scratched and showing a few open sores. He felt ashamed.
Suddenly he heard a noise in the brush close to his head. He looked and saw the children's red ball stuck in the ledge and one of the girls was running to retrieve it. She was almost at the edge of the fence before she saw him. She halted abruptly and shouted:
"What you doing here? Eh? Go away!"
The other children had heard her and asked;
"Jenny who is it?"
She replied without taking her eyes away from Andy
"One of the Gutter rats. Come and see."
With that the band of children came rushing towards the fence where Andy was standing. The boy seemed to shrink. He wanted to run away but found that he could not move "Hey you! What you want up here? the biggest boy asked. "You can't talk? I guess that all you could do is steal and curse eh? Kim the smallest girl retorted.
At that moment a woman stepped onto the verandah and saw the children standing by the fence. She called out in a lazy voice:
"Anybody for some pop corn?
Then she seemed to notice the strange boy.
"Hey! Isn't that the one of them from the Gutter? I think I'll call the police for the little scamp. You can't take the chances with them at all."
With those words, she headed back into the house.
The woman's departure seemed to galvanize Andy into action. He took off like a Ben Johnson or a Carl Lewis. The name 'Police' is bad news to youths from the Gutter. All could relate horrifying tales of encounters with members of the law enforcement agency. While some never lived to tell of their experience. Policemen just loved to run into Gutter youths.
For Andy it was better to face any number of gang members than one policeman.
Andy sped down the smoothly paved road to the road that led into Sea View then made a left turn onto the gravelled track leading down to the Gutter. Now he could slow down for he felt safe here. He disappeared into one of the many shortcuts that led to his home.
His aunt was sitting in the yard grating coconut as he arrived breathlessly.
"Hole it boy! Wa happen you running so? Police again? Why dey don't leave us alone and go after those big boy drug men? Poor people really have to see trouble."
She was one of those people who liked listening to themselves, and as she took a break, Andy related his experience.
"Wa happen to those kine ah people? Dey tink dat dey better dan we, and we don't have any right on the face of the earth?
Roy Benjamin
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