Substance

Sid couldn’t hold the pressure anymore. He screamed at his mom, “Okay mom….”

“I will go to the party.” He then walked away from her, went into his bedroom slamming the door behind him hard.

His mother finally found the peace after the fight that lasted the whole afternoon. She wiped her tears and sat on the couch. Her husband looked at her, “Jane. Why are you stressing so hard? You know it is hard for him to meet the people after…” he paused.

“After what James? After cops found him in the street with drugs in his shoes?” his mother shed tears again and hugged her husband.

“Well. You have to understand him. Ever since his father left you, you were the only one in his world. But when we got married, he could neither add me in his world nor remove you. It made him feel so lonely.”

“Still, it’s not acceptable for him to find the need for using such kinds of substances. I gave him the time to sort things out himself, not to find friends who are wanted by the cops.”

James looked through the window where he could see the party arrangements were handled by Mr. and Mrs. Green. “You know Jane. He feels guilty too. He was afraid of the humiliation he is going to face in the party. He didn’t interact with anyone in the neighborhood, since he came back from the rehabilitation care Centre.”

“I do understand James. But you have to stand in my shoes. I want him to have a life like everyone else. He can’t sit in his room forever, avoiding society. How can he put this whole thing behind him, if he can’t talk with people normally?”

“You are correct. He is supposed to make friends. But I’m not sure if this is the right time. Sophia is a well-behaved girl. She tried to be nice with Sid even after all the circumstances he has been. It’s very polite of her to invite Sid to her birthday party. But we are not sure if her parents want the same thing. There will be other kids too. What if they all avoid him and he has to sit there alone?”

“We have to take our chances James. It’s not everyday Sid will get invitations to their houses. I just hope this turns out good for him.”

Hours passed and Sid was worried more. He sat on the floor in a corner of his room with his head resting on his knees. His brain submerged in forecasting all the anxieties he has to face there. He wants to run away from home to avoid everything.

Jane knocked on his door. When he opened the door, his mom was carrying a gift for Sophia in her hands.

He took the gift and walked to the party. It was not so bad like he thought earlier. He sat on the couch waiting for Sophia. Since everyone was busy watching the football game, nobody paid much attention to him, and it did give him a slight relief. The party is filled with enthusiasts and huge fans of football. There was loud cheering every time the goalkeeper from Wolfs stopped the goal. When Sid was almost hiding himself among them, a hand landed on his shoulder that caused his heartbeat a bit stronger than usual. He turned back to see who it was.

 It’s Sophie in her bright green birthday gown. She was charming among the lights arranged for the party. She sat next to Sid to watch TV with everyone.

He kept staring at her and Sophie loved his attention to her.

He said, “Happy Birthday” in a low tone, so that no one there would listen except Sophie. She looked into his eyes. They both ignored their surroundings and lost time.

The sirens of city police patrol cars disturbed everyone at the party.

They went to see what was going on in the streets. There are several cops in the streets with torchlights in their hands and dogs searching for someone.

Sophie held Sid's hands. One of the officers there looked around the surroundings to find the missing thief who robbed the diamond necklace from a jewelry shop. He took the megaphone in his hands, still his eyes looking for the thief, he spoke, “You can’t escape now. If you resist surrender, we won’t mind shooting you. It is best for you to surrender without causing any more trouble.”

Sid and Sophie were scared to see everything happening around them. They took a stop together near the bushes. Sid was pushed strongly by someone from the back.

When he looked back, the thief was holding a knife against Sophie's neck. The torchlights and guns are pointed to him.

“Allow me to go. I don’t care about the girl. I seriously don’t mind killing her.” He yelled.

He took a few steps slowly away from them without turning back. His eyes are unstable trying to cover everyone in his vision.

Sid found something on the ground. Once he realized what it is, he shouted “Stop. Stop. Leave her.”

“Why would I leave her?”                                                    

“You can’t leave the place without the necklace. He showed the necklace he found on the ground.”

The cops looked at each other.

“You leave her and I will give you the necklace.”

“Give me the necklace or else I will kill her.” He yelled back.

“Okay. Okay. Why don’t you leave her and in return I will give you a necklace and you can take me instead of her to escape from here.”

Sid slowly moved forward. The thief looked around, when Sid reached him, he quickly pushed Sophie and held a knife against Sid. They both moved slowly. After a few steps, Sid kicked on the thief's knee and managed to take the knife from his hands fast enough and pushed him back. The thief fell down and the cops moved quickly and surrounded them.

His heroic acts surprised everyone. Cops collected the thief and the necklace. They appreciated him and are about to leave.

Sophie looked into Sid's eyes and Sid did the same. He got disturbed when a police dog growled while sniffing his shoes. The dog’s attraction to the shoes grabbed the attention of an officer there. He held back the dog and asked Sid to remove his shoes.

Sid stood there still without any reaction. The cop asked again, “Please remove your shoe sir. Now.”

Sid removed the shoe. Officer took the shoe to check inside it. He felt something inside the shoe. He took it out. It was a small packet filled with cocaine.

The End.