What life gives you

“So? How bad do you want it?” 

says a man who's carelessly sitting on an old rundown couch. It's been left on the side of the alley that's between a dry cleaner and a pawn shop. Both establishments seem partially abandoned and the alley is littered with heaps of trash and old newspapers. You also used needles lying about with two grocery carts filled with more garbage not far away.

“Man, we go way back...why you gotta be like this?” 

Says a younger man standing before him. He wears baggy clothes that are tattered and are quite dirty.

His desperation is very evident to any observer and the bags under his eyes make him appear older than he really is. His eyes darted around desperately for the other man to answer.

“There's no “way back” when it comes to the streets...come on Sticks, you know that.”

The man adjusts his position and gestures to another thug sitting next to him.  He’s passed a blunt which he inhales patiently. He then looks at Sticks with a smirk.

“Now answer the question...what would you do for this bill right here?”

He lazily holds a fifty in his hand.

“I don't know man...I can, I can maybe…”

“How much can you get for this anyway? Not much I imagine with D'angelo's crew bumping up the prices nearly every week.”

Sticks stares at the bill with starving eyes.

“Hey Jones, why don’t we have fun with this? You know...like make him do something wild...like a dare you know.” Says the other thug.

Jones looks at him and smiles.

“I’m listening….what do you have in mind?”

“Well I don’t know... maybe, oh I got it!”

“What?” Jones grins and glances at Sticks.

“Ok we’ll give him the fifty but only if he doesn't get caught okay?”

Sticks nods eagerly with no hesitation as the immediate joy from the needle is all he cares about.

It's early afternoon and the busy streets of Toronto are filled with activity.

Businessmen are now making their way back from their lunch breaks and several tourists walk about and admire the skyline. The scene is noisy and filled with traffic and the sound of street performers trying to scrap a living. It doesn't go without its handful of homeless that lie against the wall with your typical signs like “Need money...any bit helps”.

As he turns a corner with an iced coffee in his hand is a well-dressed man. His suit and overall demeanor speak “High Society” and is completely immersed in a phone call as he walks right past the homeless without a second thought. He appears quite angry as he argues with someone on the other end. His expression worsens as he reacts to what they've just told him.

“Come on Max, you know that's bullshit! Who does she think she’s fooling?!... Besides, I’ve worked my whole life to get where I am...I’m not gonna stand by and watch her take half of it...she's even turned our daughter against me, can you believe that?!”

There's a pause as the other side responds.

“Well of course she’s in it for the money! It's like I don't even know her anymore! I…”

As he is about to continue his rant a young man in baggy clothes approaches him from behind and taps him on the shoulder

“Excuse me?”

The man quickly turns around in agitation and faces him. 

“Get your hands off me you…”

Before he can finish he is received by a sucker punch to the face and stubbles back in shock. His iced coffee spills over his elegant suit and his phone falls to the ground.

He’s in complete shock as he feels his cheek and nose which has a small drip of blood. His confusion turns to pure rage as he watches the young man bolt through the streets and disappears as he turns into an alley.

“What the hell?!”

He now looks at his phone lying on the floor, luckily it seems to have survived the fall. While picking it up he also glances at his suit that’s now covered in coffee stains. His rage is about to get the better of him until a call starts to come in. His anger softens as he looks in surprise at who it is. He struggles to compose himself and answers the phone. It’s his teenage daughter who hasn't spoken to him for the better part of two years.  

Not far off, an alleyway Sticks stops running to catch his breath. Two thugs are leaning against a brick wall and can barely control their laughter as they look at Sticks in disbelief. Sticks grins with anticipation as the leader begins taking out a wad of bills.

“You're a wild man, you know that! Can't believe you actually did it! And the look on his face ha! Priceless!...” Jones says.

Jones eyes the wad of bills in his hand and is about to take out a fifty when the other thug

stops him. 

“Hey, why don’t we see how far he’ll go?” He turns to Junkie 

“I’ll put a fifty of my own if you do it again, but I choose who this time.”

Jones smirks and says “Hell I wouldn't mind seeing that again...Sticks what do you think?”

At the prospect of doubling his money, Sticks nods eagerly and manages a smile that reveals the corroded teeth of the common street addict.

A few hours later on another side of the financial district, a sharp young man is sitting at a park bench. He wears a simple dress shirt and well-polished shoes.  While going through some files in front of him he seems to be reciting lines under his breath. Now looking at his watch he takes a deep breath and gets up. As he looks at the skyscrapers around him his heart races in anticipation but appears very calm. He begins to walk towards the main entrance of a luxurious office building. The noisy streets are busy with people of all kinds and music from street performers blends with the endless traffic noise. A typical Friday evening in the concrete jungle.

 Right before he crosses the street to reach his destination he is tapped on the shoulder. 

Sticks delivers his second punch of the day, this time with even more force than the previous one. This time it's much more public and those crossing the street look in shock. But just as before, Sticks has already bolted and made his way through the crowds before any onlooker can react.

The young man falls to the ground and the papers he was holding spill onto the street.

“Oh my god, are you okay!?”A young lady gasps as she approaches to help him up. 

There are about three other people who immediately go to his aid. One looks in the direction where Sticks ran.

“Somebody call the cops on that bastard!...” says one. 

A man in his late 50s makes a gesture.

 “Take my hand and I'll pull you up...there you go easy now. Damn..anyone got a napkin or something? Looks like he's bleeding.”

At this, the young man gets out of his daze and touches his face to feel the blood on his left cheek. His eyes widen as he looks around at the small crowd.

“Here, you can use this.” 

Says the young lady as she hands him some mascara wipes. She's reasonably attractive and her smile is quite disarming. He nearly returns the expression when he remembers his need for urgency.

She mistakes his expression and nods.

“Hey, I think you should sit down and don’t worry cus they’ve already called the cops. Whoever that was, they'll get him for sure.”

Seeing his reflection through a store window he shakes his head and glances at the papers that lie on the sidewalk. Some have been taken by the wind and blown out of reach. His determined spirit seems to leave him as he says.

“I need to...I have a job interview in ten minutes, thee job interview...I obviously can't go in like this...talk about life throwing you curveballs right?” 

As he slumps down by some steps the rest of the crowd has begun to disperse as to give him space, the young lady stays and nods in sympathy.

“Hey you can always reschedule, can’t you? Like who wouldn't understand after some nobody decks you like that?”

He looks up at her and manages a smile.

“He did get me pretty bad...but you got a point.”

She hands him another mascara wipe which he takes gratefully.

“I’m Laura by the way.” 

He grins at this as his doomed attitude slowly falls away. He stands up as his confidence slowly returns.

“I’m Marcus...weren't you going somewhere?”

“Oh, it's actually my day off from work and I was going to the gym by 5th st.”

“Royals?” 

“You know it?” She looks surprised. 

Marcus nods while appearing nostalgic.

“Ya my..my dad was a boxing coach there. We used to go every weekend to watch the amateur fights.”

Laura seems impressed by this.

“Haven't gone in years tho...you box?”

She nods with a grin.

“Well it's only my greatest obsession...well right after eating tubs of chocolate ice cream.”

Marcus laughs.

He then looks at the corporate building where his interview is going to be held.

“I gotta make a call.”

Laura agrees while seeming hesitant to say something.

“What?”

“Well...I was gonna ask...once you’ve cleared things up and all that, wanna walk with me to Royals? I bet you haven't seen the new workout station they put in last year, cus I think it’s amazing.”

Marcus appears surprised but soon agrees.

Moments later they are both walking through the streets and talking openly about any given subject. Despite the day's circumstances, Marcus seems in good spirits. Better than he's been in a while.

Laura points to an old-fashioned sign at the end of the block.

“Here we are! Oh, you're gonna love the new stuff. Come on!”

 Before Marcus follows her into the building he looks up at the sky and silently says

“Thank you.”

“Julie? It's been a while...how have you been?”

He asks while his face carries a glimmer of hope.

 “I'm fine Dad, LA has been...okay. Can I be honest with you though?”

“Of course.”

“I’m starting to think I made a mistake choosing to live with mom.”

He remains silent.

“I look back and I never even heard your side of it. Like I know you have your temper and all that but...well you should see what happens here. It's just so toxic to be around her friends and…”

He transfixed to the conversation as he stands in the middle of the sidewalk. He ignores everyone who passes and doesn't seem to mind that his three thousand dollar suit remains soaked in coffee.

“What is it?”

“Well I can see why you couldn’t stand it cus now I just want some sanity in my life. I know you made mistakes but I never even gave you a chance...can we talk? Like really talk through video chat or something?”

There's a silence on the other end as he can't help but smile.

“Dad? I’m not interrupting your busy schedule am I?”

“Of course not! I’ve got all day if you want.”

Julie sounds relieved

“That's good, I’ll call you through video in about an hour then.”

“Sounds perfect.”

 While finishing the call he barely acknowledges the ruined clothes that would normally spark outrage. While cleaning himself up and looking back at being hit he simply shrugs and finds the humor in it. Smaller things have ruined his day before yet the call with his daughter made him see what really matters. 

“Well...looks like I've been given a second chance...now time to use it.” 

He tells himself with conviction.

As he continues his walk he gives change to a homeless man who's leaning up against a wall. Mixed in with the change is a simple business card. The homeless man seems surprised and looks up. 

“What's this?”

“A way out...use the change to call that number and they will get you a job to keep you going.”

“I...I..thank you.”

“Everyone deserves a second chance...all I’m saying.”

The homeless man grins at this and nods.

Seeming content the businessman keeps moving through the streets until he reaches a luxurious apartment building. Just before entering, he gives a rare smile as he looks to the sky with gratitude.