The Southern California heat finally felt suffocating to Jesse. Wearing black hoodies in eighty- or ninety-degree weather never seemed to bother him too much before. But now he couldn’t tell if it was the high temperature outside or his own nervousness and anxiety that was making him feel so noticeably warm now. He still hadn’t quite figured out what to say to the old man. How to ask for something that he wanted really wasn’t his thing. Nor was apologizing. And how was he supposed to convince someone that he meant it?
The usual hoodrats were kicking it and watching Jesse on the corner with mild interest. He hadn’t really been coming out too often in the last few weeks to shake people down. It didn’t bring him as much excitement as it once had before, and he was also recognizing that Maria probably wouldn’t be too impressed with him if she found out.
When Yusef Abdel finally rounded the corner in his long-sleeved, white athletic shirt and gray running shorts, he had to wipe the sweat from his eyes to focus on Jesse, who looked right at him. He slowed down to a trot, breathing heavily as he eventually stopped in front of Jesse and rested his hands on his hips. “Hello, Jesse. It is a pleasure to see you again.”
“Uh, yeah. Hey. Yusef, right?” The watch gleamed on Jesse’s wrist.
“What brings you out on this fine, dreadfully hot September afternoon? I hope it is not for another watch. I am all out.”
“Nah. Nah, it’s not that. I, uh…”
Yusef Abdel listened intently. “And thankfully, we are not on a roof this time, either.”
Jesse’s eyes grew large in surprise. The hairs on the back of his neck stood straight up and he felt goosebumps all over. A chill shot down his back that cleaved right through the heat. That dream I had… he does know. He was there! Inside my dream. Inside my fuckin’ head!
“Go on,” the Arab encouraged.
Jesse turned to look behind him and see who was watching from the neighborhood. He nodded for Yusef to walk away with him down the street. The old man followed, and Jesse looked behind him to scope out the neighborhood really quickly. No one of importance seemed to be paying attention. “Yeah. Look. I... I thought about what you said.”
Yusef stared right into Jesse’s eyes and continued to listen.
“On the rooftop,” Jesse said. He waited for him to look confused. But Yusef’s expression didn’t change. “You said you could show me more. You could teach me.”
Yusef nodded calmly.
Jesse didn’t know what else to say. A long, awkward silence continued as Jesse tried not to make eye contact with Yusef. But he was also trying to figure out how Yusef was feeling toward him. He needed to know how much pull he could get from the old man.
“I want to… I want to do everything you showed me. Like you said.”
Yusef nodded. “Why?”
Jesse thought for a long time. “You already know why.”
The old man grinned and looked right into his eyes. Jesse looked away with a bit of annoyance.
“Jesse, I am not the only person who can see right through you. Even if I was not a Reader, it would be fairly easy to know which buttons to push and which levers to pull. But other people will take advantage of that.”
“A what?”
“A Reader,” Yusef repeated, staring back.
“What the fuck are you talking about? Like you can read me like a book or some shit? Read this!” Jesse pushed his middle finger toward Yusef’s face.
The old man didn’t flinch and looked at Jesse’s finger tiredly. “A Reader is someone who has mastered themselves in our world first, then their dreams in their own world, and finally, the dreams of others in their own worlds.”
“The fuck?”
Yusef stared back calmly.
“You mean like all that shit you did to me in my dream? Why the fuck do you call yourself a reader, though? Like, is there some manual or some shit you read to get all up in my mind?”
“Readers are incredibly dedicated to knowledge. If you wish to master these worlds I have mentioned, then surely, you must first learn how they work. If you are to manipulate and create in these worlds, like you witnessed me do, then you must also go beyond the typed words in our books and read what is not directly written. You must also learn to read when there are no words at all.”
“Nah. Fuck all that.”
Yusef began taking some steps past Jesse. “Then you have chosen to be helpless.”
“Shit! Wait, wait, wait. Come back,” Jesse pleaded as he grabbed at Yusef’s shirt and tugged it toward himself. “But I fucking hate reading.”
“You do realize that is your choice? That you can also love to read? And with some guidance and practice, you will get better. And then it will be easy. Addicting, almost. If you are lucky.”
Jesse paused and thought for a few seconds, letting go of Yusef’s shirt. “Ugh. Reading? Really? That’s some white boy shit right there.” Jesse sighed and rested his hands on his head. “You’ll help me? Like you said.”
“Yes. With conditions.”
“Conditions?”
“Look at this as a deal,” Yusef explained. “I will take time and effort out of my growingly limited time on this Earth to train you. But you must be committed, Jesse. Or else you will never become what you want to be. You will never even come close. Your potential is... astounding.”
“How do you know that? I’m just… I’m just me. I ain’t got shit. I never went to no nice school. Why ain’t you stalking one of them white kids in south County?”
“I know this because you are not special or chosen, Jesse. Remove that rubbish from your mind immediately. I came to you because you are conflicted. You have been your entire life that much is remarkably clear. The odds have always been against you. And while you have not been making the best of choices, you are still here. For the first time in your life, Jesse, you have decided that you want something, that it will make your life better. And you come from nothing. Your intelligence is untapped and unused. Your life has been strewn with pain and bad choice after bad choice. But, Jesse, every day is new. Every choice you make is your own. Your life, your story, has not been written. Jesse is in control of Jesse’s life. All you have to do is accept that, and decide to use your will toward the things you want.”
“Nah, you can’t tell me that. You don’t know me, what I’ve been through. You can say that shit, but it’s not that easy to just start doing.”
“This world is full of distractions, now more than ever before. It is full of things that will entice you and take you off of your path. But I will be here to guide you.
“You can be remarkable in this world and grow to a unique greatness because of your struggles and your pain," Yusef continued, now looking intently into Jesse's eyes. "Do you not see, Jesse? Your pain, your struggles, your scars: those are all strengths. Those can make you smarter and stronger, if you let them. That is the advantage that you have over those other kids in the nice houses and personal cars. Everything they have has been given to them. They do not know how to struggle.”
Jesse looked confused as he processed everything Yusef was saying. “Huh. I didn’t see it that way.”
“You, Jesse: you will work for the things you want and need. You will earn it. Because of that, you will be capable and confident. You will understand the potential of your willpower and in so doing, possess remarkably powerful strengths and abilities in the worlds of your dreams, and others. Your growth will manifest here in the waking world, further empowering you to excel beyond your physical and mental limits.”
“A’ight. I get it. You couldn’t just tell me that I’m going to be a badass?”
Yusef chuckled. “Yes, Jesse. You certainly will be. But it will not happen overnight. And as I said… there are conditions.”
Jesse sighed. “Ughhh! Alright, what? I gotta mow your lawn or some shit? I know I’m Mexican, homie, but that shit is fucked up.”
Yusef stared back at him blankly.
“What? I am. Half. And Guatemalan.”
“You will not be required to mow my lawn, because I do not have one. Can we continue?”
“Alright, alright. I’m listening,” Jesse assured.
“First, you will be required to meet with me six days a week. You will have one day of rest and independent reflection. At these---”
“Get the fuck out of here! Six days? Hijole!”
“Is this going to happen every time I say something?” Yusef said with a slight annoyance.
“Shit. Alright, alright. I’m listening. Damn, six days! Might as well get a fucking job.”
“Moving on. At these sessions I will oversee your physical, mental, and spiritual training.”
At that, Jesse was about to speak, but then he quickly put his hand over his mouth.
Yusef went on. “I will tutor you academically for your classes as well as additional literacy and critical thinking skills that you need.”
Jesse’s eyebrows shot up.
“These will also include desperately needed etiquette training.”
“Mwahh dhaa?” Jesse asked under his hands.
“Etiquette is proper manners, habits, and customs that are expected to be used in everyday life and special occasions. Something you are sorely lacking.”
Jesse paused as his eyes scowled and stared right at Yusef. A moment passed as Jesse’s eyes wandered away in reflection. He nodded his head, dropped his hands, and shrugged in agreement.
“To promptly attend these training sessions and to properly take care of your body as it is about to change drastically, you will also need to follow a strict eating, studying, and sleeping schedule. This will also ensure that your dream journaling will be completed daily, and therefore, that you will sleep enough to have lucid dreams. Then you can properly explore and train in your dreams.”
“Okay, that first part really sucks. But that last part sounds lit. This is going to suck, but fuck it. This is what I gotta do, right?”
“There’s more.”
“No mames!”
“You will need to follow each and every direction that I give you from now on. No matter how minor or major. I am not your parent. I am more than that now. I am the gatekeeper to the heavens and beyond. This training, this world I am showing you, it is secret. You must not tell a single soul, nor attempt to explore this world on your own without my knowing -- under any circumstances. If another Reader finds you, they can infiltrate your mind and find you, your family, and me. I will be investing and risking so much in you, Jesse. You are indebted to me.”
“Oh, there it is! This is a fucking scam. I knew it. Fuck you!”
“Jesse, I do not speak about money. I speak about something I am investing in you that is more valuable than money. That has no price because it is so valuable: time, Jesse. The things you can do with your time are limitless. It is the ultimate currency in the universe.” Yusef stared into Jesse’s eyes intently. “Once you have spent that, you will never get any of it back. When it is gone, it is gone forever. With each passing day, each passing hour and minute... each second, Jesse, your hourglass loses more sand.
“Perhaps right now, in your youth, you probably see the sand in your hourglass as so vast that it might seem like a beautiful beach to you: limitless. At this point in my life, my hourglass runs nearly empty. Perhaps I could even count the grains of sand left until I am no more. For me, the time I am going to put into you is worth more than anything else I have spent my time on before this point, because I have so few left. Does that make sense to you, Jesse?”
“Fuck,” Jesse said heavily. His eyes stared a thousand miles into the ground. “Uh, I mean… damn, or whatever.”
“I will take that to mean that you do. Therefore, as my first order for you, I will ask that you enter the science contest being held at your school in January.”
“Wait, what? How -- there’s a science fair going on at school?”
“It is only being advertised on the sign out front.”
“Who looks at that shit?”
“People who are curious and engaged with the world around them, and not just their own. I will help you with your research and the scientific method.”
“Well, damn.”
“Tomorrow, your new life begins,” Yusef said. “Do make sure you get your rest. The first session will be one to remember.”