The brothers

I wake up from a decent nights sleep. It wasn't the best because I spent my night mostly tossing and turning in anticipation of today, April 1st, also known as April Fools. I always hated this so called holiday. The idea of people setting up pranks that could cause hurt, disappointment, or anger. That's why I spend my April fools days taking the time to help people.

I got out of bed tend to my normal morning routine by heading into the adjacent bathroom to take a warm shower to wake up and to brush my teeth, as well as my hair. Then I walk over to the closet that also houses my maple would dresser. I stand in the closet looking at all the shirts that hang on the multi-color clothing hangers. I look among all the long sleeve shirts and t-shirts, the graphic t-shirts and the tank tops. I settle on a "Good Vibes" t-shirt and begin looking for a pair of pants to go out in. I attempt to decide between jeans or a comfy pair of leggings or a pair of shorts. Deciding between the 3 depends on what I will being doing through out the day and the weather. I remembered waking up to the sound of wind whistling through my poorly inserted windows in my crappy apartment, so I decided to grab a pair of leggings and headed on my way to begin my day of good deeds.

I headed down the street on my way to the same old cafe a few blocks down. As I was walking I looked around the corner of the neighboring building to my apartment and noticed that a couple of older teenagers picking on a middle school student. When I begin to head in their direction I started to hear some of the insults and jokes being said.

The line that got me was the one where they said, "By the way, you have to walk home." Which was met with a slight whimper of fear from the little kid receiving the older children's torments, "Mom and Dad said to stay with you. I don't think they'll be happy when they find out that you left me on the opposite side of town." His brother appeared to be trying to impress his friends when they hopped in the car and rolled down the window to say, "Mom and dad won't know because you won't risk being stuck taking the bus to school. Since they wouldn't trust me to transport you again." His brother looked down at his shoes and probably debating if it is worth it. I don't blame him, the school bus is way too rambunctious and noisy at 7:30 am. Before he could answer his older brother says, "April Fools," and drove off. I walk up to this obviously confused and lost middle school student looking around as if deciding how to handle his predicament.

He looks at me trying to decipher if I am friend or foe. I look at him and decide to go with the simplest way to begin a conversation, "I saw what happened are you okay?" He looks at me with relief and goes, "Not really. My brother just left me to find a way across to town to get home. Some April 1st huh?" I look at him and see the tears begin to pool along his waterline. I reach around to my backpack and start digging through it. I was looking for some spare change or even a few dollar bills. I knew that if I helped I probably won't be stopping for that fresh baked muffin before work but he was in need of a way home. I finally find a five dollar bill stuffed away in a small pouch in the big pocket of my bag. I stand up and turn to him and say, " Look man I know its rough having siblings. Here is five dollars and there is a bus stop just down the road. I can get you there if you want?" He stood there looking at me. In his eyes I could see him going through the pros and cons of my offer. We stood for a minute and he finally answered. "Thank you so much. I would appreciate it very much."

We walked down the road and began to discuss how he was in a hurry to get home. He had to start his homework for school before his mom got home. His brother had been told to take him to the store to get a new notebook. Somewhere between being told and actually getting to the store he had decided that it would be a great idea to leave his little brother stranded on the other side of town. I told him that siblings are hard to grow up with however eventually you will hit an age where you can stand each other even if they bug the heck out of you. He laughed and by then we had reached the bus stop. The bus stop looked like every other bus stop in this town run down and covered in graffiti. The city really needed to tend to the street art because it was filled to the point that the add for the newest book series coming out. We waited for just a couple minutes before we heard the sound of a large automotive and the cloud of black emission of gas coming up the road. He looks at me again and said, "Thank you so much for helping me. I don't know how much I appreciate it." He turned and climbed on the bus and headed off. I waved and began my walk again to the cafe now just across the street. As I walked into the building I smiled to myself thinking that my mission on April fools day to turn strangers days around was off to a good start. Since I had given my only bill in my bag to the kid I pulled out the bag of spare change. I generally only keep the silver coins but there are the a few straggling pennies in there. I pulled out a three dollars in quarters to pay for my drink before I continued on to see who else I might help today.