Chicken Boy and the Banker

He was there again.

Why didn’t somebody do something about this kid? He’s been hanging around this street for over a month now.

It was getting kind of creepy.

I crossed the main street and headed for the business office. It was 8:05 am. I was early-ish. I avoided the eyes of that kid as I walked through the glass doors. He was always begging for something and there was always that thing in his hand. It’s a shame that these people are allowed to roam on these downtown streets.

The office was cold. It was always cold lately. I was always cold. I shrugged as I got to the elevators and quickly walked in. It was a bit of a hustle as ten other people pushed through and I got shoved to the back.

“Damn it! Look out would you?” I shouted to no one in particular. There must have been ten different conversations and those buffoons couldn’t hear a word.

Finally the elevator doors opened and everyone spilled out. “Idiots!” I shouted to their backs. No one returned a response.

It was so cold on the tenth floor. I pulled up the collar of my shirt and buttoned the top button. Then I headed to my cubicle. It was a nice little 5 foot by 5 foot. Enough for now but soon I would be moving on. I really didn’t belong amidst the clout of mediocre minds on the tenth floor. My genius was about to be discovered and appreciated any day now. I knew it for certain.

“Hi Bob. Do you have the Mcallister and Cowen files ready?”

It was Bessy Major. Bessy was the hottie of the office. Pretty, shapely and with the cute whinny voice. She was standing beside my desk. I smiled coolly and fiddled through the papers on my desk. There were six or seven. I generally worked on multiple files at a time. I was a beast at multi-tasking. I opened up one or two to check the contents. It wasn’t my style to use those silly colored sticky stupids. I had it figured out.

Bessy waited. She shifted on her 3 inch heels. Of course she would wait. I noticed her gazing across at me several times a day. I was her type and we both knew it. This was just the kind of moment she needed to see me up close and admire my work ethics.

“Well, are the files ready or not?” She shifted again.

I looked up at her. She must be having the same kind of morning as I was. Her face reflected a daunting look. I smiled again and handed her a folder. She made a half smile, took the folder from me and walked away.

“We definitely get each other.” I mumbled to myself. “We’re both fed up with this place. Should I…”

“What’s this?” Bessy asked. She was back at my desk.

“What?” I asked a little off guard. Did she miss me already?

“This file? It’s not Mcallister or Cowen. It says William…and it’s not even completed. Do you have the Mcallister or Cowen file?” She almost sounded impatient.

“Oh…” I said once I caught myself. “Yeah, you know how it is around here. So much work and so little time to get it done.” I gave her my sleek smile. It was a chick magnet.

She didn’t respond. I so get her. She is as sick of this place as I was. I shuffled through the files on my desk once more and found the right files. I handed them to her coolly. She snatched the file and walked off. We were definitely on the same page.

I smiled and turned back to my desk.

It was 12 noon and time for lunch. I pulled my long sleeve shirt down as much as I could and blew some heat into my cupped hands. Why was it so cold in here? I was about to head out onto the street for a burrito when I heard my name.

“Barley…Bob Barley get in here now!”

It was Mr. Wright. He was the head checker in this bank. I could tell from the sound of his voice that lunch was going to have to wait. It was about time. I was waiting for this promotion call for some time. Was he kicking himself for wasting so much time? How much money could I have saved them? I laughed as I stood up and made a big show of pushing my chair in.

“On my way Sir.” I said loud enough for my voice to travel across the room and certainly to get within ear shot of Bessy, oh my Bessy.

“Shut the door Barley!” Mr. Wright said slamming some files on his desk. They looked familiar.

“Mr. Barley do you know why you were hired here?”

“Yes I do and I am pleased that you recognize my talent.”

Mr. Wright starred at me. Clearly he was in awe.

“Your talent Barley? How about you lay out for me what this talent as you call it is?” Mr. Wright leaned back in his chair while he tapped his pen on his desk.

I leaned back too and smiled broadly. Here was my moment.

“I am a shark! I’m the guy to get the job done. I look around at these guys and I say hey, why are you guys kidding yourselves? I graduated in the top fifty of my college and there were good things said about me.” I laughed aloud. “If you are thinking of promoting me, that’s a good move for the company. I’m good with people. I get them off those properties in a jiffy….”

“Are you done Barley?” Mr. Wright Interjected.

That caught me a bit off guard. I was just getting to the good part. Last month I evicted seven delinquent families and I’ve got four sluggers lined up to take over those properties.

I starred at my boss. I chuckled inside. One day he would be my subordinate.

“Barley, you evicted five of the wrong families. Did you even read those files? They didn’t match up with the addresses or account balance details. There was a fire in one of those homes and guess who is being blamed?”

I looked hard at Mr. Wright. What was he saying?

“What’s this got to do with me?” I asked.

Mr. Wright stared at me. I was getting the point now. I used to respect this guy but clearly he is just like all the others. He’s not living up to the post he’s been given and he’s trying to shuck the responsibility. When I take his job, he’s going to be out of here.

“Look Mr. Wright, I understand you have a problem on your hands. I can offer you some advice on this but you have to man up about your mistakes.” I leaned forward and looked him in the eye.

Mr. Wright starred at me. In awe again I could only suppose.

“You are a piece of work! What in the hell are you going on about? These are your clients, your files and your problem. This is something you need to fix. Get it fixed or kiss this job goodbye.”

Mr. Wright’s voice was booming through the office and reverberating on the glass windows. Pairs of eyes peered through the translucent windows including those of Bessie.

I gulped and loosened the top button of my shirt. I suddenly felt hot.

“Get the hell outta here and hit those addresses. Correct this mess up or you’re done for here!” Mr. Wright thrust the files at me and stormed out of the office.

I tried to grapple with the situation. Why was I being blamed for the incompetence of a whole office of Neanderthals? My back was to the door and the glass window. I cracked my cervical vertebra with a tilt of my neck and pulled my sleeves down over my wrists. I sucked in a breath and turned to exit the office.

“Yeah I got that. Not a problem.” I laughed awkwardly. “It’s under control. It’s cool.” I waltzed out of the office with my head up. I walked calmly to my desk with a ‘I’m- in- control’ grin and collected my work case.

I exhaled once the elevator had shut. Lunch hour was long gone and I had the elevator to myself. It was suddenly very hot in there. I unbuttoned the second and third buttons on my shirt.

This was ridiculous. Just who the hell did that Wright think he was? That son of a….He was dead wrong to blame me for his inability. I slammed my work bag on the floor and jumped on it. I kicked it against the wall of the confined elevator and cursed.

3……2…..

The elevator was reaching ground floor. The doors would soon open. I picked up my brief case, dusted it and shoved it under one arm. With my other hand, I slicked back my hair and took a deep breath. Someone was going to pay.

The doors opened and I ran out. I exited the double glass doors of the building and almost spat at the first sight that met me. It was that damn kid again. He still had the thing in his hand and he was still staring at me. Did he wait there for me every morning and evening? What the hell!

I turned away. In my brief case I found the damn papers Wright flung at me. The first address was six blocks away. I jumped on a bus headed that way.

The bus stopped and I hoped off in a fairly decent neighborhood. I looked around as the bus moved off. There were kids playing in the yards and a few persons working around their homes. Then I saw him.

What the hell was that kid doing here? He stood about 100 meters away from me with that thing dangling from his hand. I looked around and got an eerie feeling. Something didn’t feel right. All of a sudden I felt the cold chill return. I wasn’t in the office so why?

I turned my gaze away from that kid and headed to the house across the street. It was where the Mcallisters live. It wasn’t my fault some idiot screwed up their data. It was my job to review the numbers, and I did. It seemed fine to me, they were behind by seven months. But now they want to say that the numbers were wrong and that I should have picked that up. What a crock!

I knocked on the door. There was no answer. I knocked again and again. Then I pounded.

“Hey, there’s no one home. They moved out a couple days ago.”

Someone shouted to me from the yard next door.

I nodded. Why the hell didn’t he say something before I walked up this darn walkway? I sucked my teeth and turned to go. That’s when I saw him again. Enough was enough.

“Kid you better stop following me. Where the hell are your parents I shouted?”

The kid stared at me then held up that thing in his hand. It was a stuffed chicken doll.

“I’m gonna call the cops kid. Get lost!” I shouted.

“Mister you alright?” I heard the neighbor’s voice again.

I shrugged and walked on-quickly.

Next stop was the Cowen’s. At least I could get those two done today. It was hot out and the air conditioning was busted on the bus. I should have been sweltering in the heat but I wasn’t; I was cold. I buttoned up my shirt and pulled my sleeves down again.

When I hoped off the bus five blocks away I was freezing. Something felt out of place-No! Something felt wrong. The house was right in front of me according to the address on my file. But it had to be wrong. I walked up the path, what was left of it, and made my way to what was the front door. It was as black charred as the rest of the burned up building. The roof had caved in and it was hard to make out much. I gasped once and then I gasped twice.

There was a fire here. Then I saw him again. It was the chicken boy. He was sitting amidst the ashes in that burnt up house. He was looking at me. He slowly lifted his hand and the stuffed chicken toy dangled from it.

I screamed and reeled back. I stumbled and fell on the path as I tried to get the hell out of there. I ran for two blocks without stopping. The chill was still there and I was gasping for more air that didn’t want to fill my lungs.

I ran onto the safety of a little grocery store.

“Hey, you alright?” the old lady behind the cash register asked me. I must have looked really messed up because she came around the counter to greet me.

I gasped and wheezed and my knees buckled. “There was…a…fire.” I finally got out.

“Fire? Oh you mean the old Cowen home?”

I looked up now and met her gaze. “Yeah ..the Cowen home. Wha…what happened?”

“It was so sad.” The old woman said. She must have known I was struggling to stay upright. She pulled a plastic chair over and made me sit.

“Well it’s a real bad thing. Seems the bank made a mistake and had those folks harassed out of their home. The wife was so stressed out that night that she left the gas on after cooking. Something must have sparked when they woke up that morning. That kaboom was heard for ten blocks away.” The old lady shook her head slowly.

“Gas?...how?” I tried to ask.

“How did they know? It’s the saddest part.” She shook her head again. “The little boy survived for a day and a half. He gave some detail to the police. Poor thing. He was always coming to my shop with that little chicken toy of his. What a shame. A crying shame.”

I tried to breathe but no air came into my lungs.

“Those nasty bankers! It was all a mistake. They weren’t supposed to evict that family. Someone should take responsibility.” She patted me one last time on the back and went back to her register.

I could feel the chill in the tips of my toe nails. It ran up my feet, my calves, my thighs and into my stomach. That freezing feeling made its way up my chest and I felt it gripping the edges of my heart.

“No…no. I didn’t know! I…” The cold seemed to respond in anger. It spiked at my heart and I clutched at my chest. It knew. The cold chill knew I was the bastard responsible. I tried to cry but tears wouldn’t come.

I stumbled out of the little grocery store. The sun was blazing in the sky but my heart was freezing cold. I shuddered and my teeth chattered. Then I saw him. It was chicken boy. It was that damn kid that I had evicted. Why didn’t I check the numbers? Why didn’t I do my job?

I looked at chicken boy and chicken boy looked at me. He raised his hand and that thing dangled from it.

I fell to my knees and then on my back. I glared up at the sun and it glared back at me. I prayed for it to melt my frozen heart.

THE END