TWENTY-FOUR
TODAY IS THE DAY FOR ANIJ. Mikael and Anij just woke up in the house. They don’t know what Steve wants from Anij. Anij has to show something to the boss that he is worthy of being in the house. They don’t think it would be another bloodthirsty event. But it will be something very big and dire. Or it might be a skill test. So far, Anij has been practising a lot with Mikael and by himself. The uncertainty always overrules everything, leaving many thoughts in Anij’s mind. For the past two days, Mikael gave Anij two days to do the job on his own without any help. And Anij did pretty good jobs. He is quite confident with himself. Although his state changed from uncertainty to confidence in one way, his life is still hanging by a thread.
They are waiting for the boss to come down. There hasn’t been any official acceptance of a stranger recently. So no one from the house has any idea what will happen. They just want to get over with this as fast as they can. All Mikael wants from Steve is to give a chance to Anij, so that he can at least go on with his life without so much bullshit from the streets, which he had before, day by day. At least that is what he wants. For Anij, he just has to get into this house, otherwise he has nowhere to go. Other boys are whispering on their own for possible outcomes.
“Hey. What do you think?”
“Well. We never had anyone from outside in a long time. And specially he ain’t the same as us. So I say he has no chance. You know Steve.”
“Yeah. I thought so.”
“Maybe not. I think this is the first time that he will open the door for the outside. We really need to expand our territory and manpower, you know. Steve has been saying that shit for a while. So maybe he has a shot for it. And it is from Mikael. So you never know.”
“Oh, yeah. That . . . Maybe. Just maybe . . .”
“Shut up. Steve is coming down.”
“All right. It is time.”
“Five cents for the Asian guy that has no chance.”
“Me, too.”
“I say five cents that he can get in.”
There is the boss walking down the stairs. With a half-determined and half-sarcastic look, the boss makes Mikael and Anij even more nervous. It is a time of sheer brute force of stress on Anij. Everyone is looking at the boss, Mikael, and Anij; all waiting for the decision.
Steve starts a conversation with Mikael first. “Well. Well. Well. Your Asian friend is still here. Has he even washed himself? It stinks badly. Haven’t you noticed?”
“Whatever. Cut the bullshit.”
“So what have you been doing with your Asian friend?”
“Well, I have been teaching him a lot of stuff. So he has some skills now. I would say that he is a very fast learner. You know.”
“Oh, really? I thought he couldn’t do shit for himself. Maybe . . . wiping his ass or something.” Steve makes a funny face and a gesture of wiping his ass. Everyone laughs.
“Hahaha!”
“He can be so funny sometimes.”
“Do that shit again.”
“Yeah. Like he said . . . I say that he has no chance.”
“Let me put my money on him.”
The boys are getting a show from Steve. More boys are betting money. But Mikael cuts through the noise. “Yeah. He is good. He pulled it off a few times already on his own without my help at all. Impressive, ha?”
“That depends where, how, and when. And like I give a shit?!”
“Uh . . . So what do you want from him? You want to see it for yourself? Or what?”
“Let me see . . .”
“Come on. What is it going to be?”
“Okay. I will send one of our boys with your friend to check how he does this time. And you can’t come. Okay?”
“Okay. Whatever you want.”
“Hey, you!” Steve points at Anij.
“Me?”
“Yeah. You do your job for me this time. Okay? And Chris, go with him. Make sure you check up on that guy. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Now I pick when and where to do the job. The time will be two p.m. today at Henry’s Hungry Shop.”
Mikael interrupts. “Come on. That is too much for him now.” Mikael knows that Anij might screw things up on his own at Henry’s shop.
But Steve doesn’t care about that at all and he continues, “Just shut up. I said I pick the place and time. Okay? You want to do this, or not? You told me that he is ready. And he has done some shit on his own. So I am giving you and him a chance to pull it off all by himself with our witness. I think it is more than fair. Isn’t that right? Boys?”
The boys yell at Steve with passion, “Hell, yeah!”
“That sounds about right!”
“That is it!”
Mikael ask Anij with much worry, “Shit . . . Can you do that, Anij?”
Anij answers with a scared face, “I will try. I am not sure.”
Then Steve cuts in with even more sarcasm. “Wow, what is all this drama? What are you, a drag queen or something? ‘Oh, I am not sure. But I will try’ . . . This bullshit. Why don’t you just cut your balls off? You little pussy wussy ass.” Steve is again making a funny face with funny gestures. Everyone laughs again.
“Way to go, Steve.”
“Holy . . . Today he is so funny.”
“Yeah.”
“Hahahaha . . .”
Mikael is pissed off at Steve and cuts into Steve’s action. Then he asks Anij, “He will do it. Right? Anij?”
“Yeah, I will do it.”
“You will be fine. Just remember the things that I told you. Then you should be just fine. Okay?”
“Okay. I will try and I will do it.”
Steve cuts in. “Wow. Stop right there. Did I just see a close friendship? Or a unlawful cardinal relationship between two fags?”
Mikael gets mad at Steve. “Why do you have to be such an ass?”
“Well. I just couldn’t deny the special bond between you and your mistress. That is all. Anyway. You and you go to the shop at two and finish the job.”
They all agreed.
“All right. I think I am done here.”
As soon as Steve had finished with his sarcastic pronouncements, Mikael takes Anij and goes outside for a pep talk.
“All right. Now you have to be very careful at that shop. You know what to do.”
“Yeah. Many people, many workers, and many guards.”
“Yeah. Exactly. So here is what you need to do and know. Okay?”
“Okay.”
Steve is upstairs and watching Anij and Mikael talking about some strategies for today’s big task. Karl comes up to Steve. Karl is one of Steve’s advisors. He is like a big brother for everyone in the house. Karl asks Steve, “So, what do you think?”
“Oh, well. I don’t know. I don’t hate him. But I am just not sure what to do. I don’t know what Mikael is thinking about that guy.”
“Well, Mikael is a smart one. But I don’t think there is any shit hiding behind all this.”
“I don’t think so, either. But I can’t be a hundred percent sure, you know.”
“Well, I know that. So if he does well today, will you accept him?”
“Well, I know we have to expand. So he will be in . . . But I want some entertainment as well at the ceremony. You will see.”
“Entertainment? Hm . . . Okay. I will be looking forward to it.”
With much pep talk from Mikael, Anij becomes calm. But the time has come. Mikael reminds Anij once more.
“All right. It is time. You can do it. Okay? Now, go out there and show him what you can do. Okay?”
“Okay. I will try.”
“You ready, man?”
“Yeah.”
To set up the action, Anij and Chris leave the house. Off they go. They head to the shop. As they are out the door, Mikael gives an intense look to Anij. Anij is scared but also eager to show what he can do for himself. Anij is going over and over the plan that Mikael gave him. There is no room for any error this time. He is standing on his own with his tiptoe at the edge of the steepest cliff. Not much energy to hold himself up. But he is thinking of his life on the streets if he doesn’t make the cut. He saw homeless people on the streets fairly often. There is no way in a million years that he will end up like them. For the past couple of years, he has always been in a situation where he has had to survive on his own. But at least he was with other people and guaranteed food and a place to sleep — this time, it is the real deal.
Suddenly there are so many butterflies in his stomach, disrupting bowel and intestine, a power play. It is more vigorous and exciting than any world championship game. Chris is looking at Anij. So far, Anij hasn’t been treated fairly. Chris is giving him a look that says he expects Anij to mess this up badly. As they are closing in on the shop, Anij’s face is getting stiffer and harder. It could almost fracture due to excessive stresses.
Suddenly Chris asks Anij, “You know what you should take?”
“What?”
“A pack of gum.”
“Gum?”
“Yeah.”
“Why gum?”
“Because it is right in front of the counter.”
“Uh . . . Mmm . . . Okay . . .”
“What? Any problem with that? You don’t want to do it?”
“Yeah. Okay. I will go in now.”
Anij enters the Henry’s Hungry Shop without any hesitation. Chris is watching him from the outside where he can see the counters. Anij is wandering around the shop for a little while to set his moment to undertake this job once and for all.
Mikael is smoking on the front porch. He is puffing very fast and worrying. He realizes that Anij’s success will bring him into the house and boost up his reputation on the spot. But if Anij is not successful . . . As soon as he is done with his second cigarette, he lights up another one and keeps walking in circles as anxiety floods his mind. It has only been twenty minutes since they left. Just walking to the shop takes about that much time, and he knows that. But he can’t stop thinking about it every second. Images of Anij doing his job are projected onto a screen in front of his eyes.
Karl approaches Mikael. “What are you doing?”
“Oh, you. Just thinking about a few things.”
“Why are you protecting him so much?”
“Well. You can see that he is like me. First time I got here, I couldn’t really speak the language. And specially nowhere to go. Enough for you?”
“I thought he was your bitch or something. Haha.”
“What the hell?”
“Just kidding, I guess. But why so much? You didn’t have to put up with that shit from Steve.”
“Well, it kind of hit me hard. He was very persistent. I was running away from him to get here, right? But he kept following me. He was pretty good. I couldn’t lose him. And he was asking me to teach him something so he could live by himself . . . and shit like that, you know . . .”
“Well. I was sure it was kind of dodgy.”
“Yeah. Anyway. What does Steve want from him?”
“Nothing much. As you know already, from time to time, we need to expand our territory and manpower. So he will accept your friend if he gets through this.”
“I can smell something fishy. Any strings attached?”
“Nope. You know Steve better than me.”
“What? No? For sure?”
“Just one small addition to the formula. And that is it.”
“What is that? Addition to the formula?”
“Yeah. An ‘entertainment,’ he said. I am not sure what it really means. I didn’t bother to ask him, anyway.”
“Ha. Entertainment . . . Oh, well. Even when it comes to the worst, it wouldn’t be that bad, right?”
“How do I know? I ain’t no black magic witch. Can’t read those crystal balls, man.”
“Anyway, I am going in. Just a little too hot these days.”
“Yeah.”
It has now been only half an hour. But sure it feels like five hours to Mikael. Then suddenly Chris comes into the house.
“We are back!”
Chris and Anij walk into the house. Anij is mute, with such a heavy face. Mikael can’t tell what it means. The house gets very noisy and loud again. Boys are excited to hear what Anij did. There were already enough bets around the house. Mikael and Karl are turning their heads to Chris and Anij. The boys keep asking Chris questions.
“Wow, you both are back.”
“What happened?”
“Did that guy pull it off?”
“I already bet eight cents on him, okay? Don’t make me look bad this time.”
“Tell us!”
“Cut the crap! What happened?”
“Come on! Tell us!”
While the boys are hyped about the result and asking questions, the boss, Steve, is coming down. As usual he has his signature pompous, arrogant, and snobby look on his face, with a sick grin. He also is eager to hear what happened. A moment of truth to be unveiled. Then he suddenly interrupts the enthusiasm by shouting at everyone, “Shut up! I ask the questions. Not you. Not you. And specially not you. Okay? Since it is an official announcement, I have to listen to it first. Then I will explain what will happen next, okay? Shit. Get a grip, guys!”
“Okay . . .”
Everyone quails and becomes quiet.
“So . . . Chris! What do you have?”
“Uh . . .”
“What?”
“I don’t have it. Actually . . . I don’t know what he has.”
“What the . . . You don’t know? What does that mean? You went with him to the shop, right?”
“Yeah. And I was watching him the whole time. And I just couldn’t see what he took.”
“You . . . idiot. But you told him what to pick, right?”
“Yeah, the gum.”
“Yeah, the gum. Right in front of the counters.”
There has been no such thing as testing out for this organization. It has never happened and never took place with anyone before. They can’t conceal their curiosity about the outcome of this event. For boys who were not in this morning’s commotion, it is news to them. Clandestine murmurings start to spread out smoothly.
Then Chris continues. “Well, I was watching him for sure. And I even saw him standing at the counter. But I didn’t see him taking anything.”
Steve asks Anij, with a confused look, “What did you take?”
Anij comes up to Steve slowly. Steve is slightly intimidated by his strong and thumping walk. Anij gets really close to Steve and puts his hand into Steve’s pocket. Anij removes his hand. The focus is on Steve’s pocket. Everyone’s eyes are locked. Steve is impressed by Anij’s bold action. Without a flinch, Steve keeps his cool and reaches into his pocket gently. Steve feels it first to figure out what it is before revealing it to everyone. After a brief moment, he takes it out from his pocket: a package of Spearmint gum.
Anij looks at Steve with glowing eyes and asks Steve, “I am in?”
Everyone is quietly startled that Anij has pulled it off and is so bold in front of Steve. The gossip spreads faster than a plague. But everyone waits for what Steve has to say about it. Steve wasn’t really expecting anything like this. Certainly not this level of boldness from Anij, and his success with this ridiculous assignment. Steve admits that he did well and speaks to everyone with a slight grin.
“Well. Well. Well. It is nice. I have to admit.”
Anij asks him again, “So I am in?”
“Yes and no.”
“What? Why?”
“You have to take one more test.”
It is just so confusing to Anij. Another test? It seems like mockery ambushes and attacks him with a sucker punch in his face once again. Everyone else also is in shock. Mikael stands up and charges over to Steve. But Karl stops Mikael abruptly right in front of Steve. Mikael stares at Karl with contempt. Karl gives Mikael the look. Mikael stares at Steve for a moment and slowly moves away from Karl with disdain.
Then Anij continues to ask Steve, “More test? What is it?”
“Well. Tony! Come up here and meet this wannabe-a-star Asian friend.”
Tony walks up to Steve without knowing what is really going on. Even Tony isn’t sure what Steve wants him to do. The other boys get even more intense. Some of them suddenly make some funny faces, as if they know what Steve is up to. Some nod their heads looking at each other for something that will be interesting to watch.
Mikael is sensing something bad is arising fast. Soon after, he gets it. Steve is looking at Karl with a little secret grin. Karl also gets it now. Steve says to Tony, “Why don’t you give him a little massage. It’s been a long time since you had a workout, right?”
Tony understands him now. He puts on a smile, “Yeah. But I think I still got it.”
Now everyone gets it. Spectators start to go crazy, making a new set of bets.
“Shit, I think I have to put some money on Tony.”
“I don’t know, man. That guy might be kicking some ass good.”
“Just what is going on?”
“It will be quick and clean, I would say.”
“Right.”
“Something decent for sure.”
“Here. On Tony.”
As the bets are taking place behind him, Mikael is angry and approaching Steve.
“What is this?”
“What?”
“You heard me. What the hell is this, man?”
“Well, there is nothing wrong with this, right? Any objection on my decision?”
“Hell, yeah. We never had this kind of shit. Why are you pulling this kind of shit now?”
“Well, rules are made to govern an organization. And I make the rules here. So if you are not happy with it, why don’t you eat some of Tony’s dust as well? I don’t give a shit. Okay?”
“Come on! What is this? You can’t just make some shit up! Not this stupid.”
“Well, this is an exceptional case. You have to bear that in your mind. Okay? Any other objection? No? Okay. Your objection is overruled under the jurisdiction of this house.”
“Shit, why do you have to be like this? He finished the job. But now what?”
“Why don’t you just stick up for yourself. Ha? It is not helping at all, my friend. Don’t make me do it myself. Okay?”
“Shit . . .”
Anij feels something bad right away. An ominous shadow passes through his brain. He asks Mikael what is going on. “Mikael, what is this? I have to do what?”
Mikael doesn’t answer back to Anij as he turns his face away. Mikael is slowly walking out the door. It would not be pretty for Mikael to watch. Another bloodbath. The front door opens, and there is Mikael walking out.
Steve is very excited like a baby playing with his toys. “Ready? Tony?”
“Yeah. Anytime you want.”
“All right, here comes round number one.”
The boys are going nuts with bets, and Tony is hyped up . . . he can’t wait to get his hands dirty once again.
Anij knows that it is going to be another bloodbath for him. Tony is a big fellow with a well-built body, a very solid figure all around. There is no comparison between Tony and Anij. Just too obvious. Maybe too tragic to watch what will happen in a moment. It is funny to put them in a match. It is like trying to play any game with a team of five-year-old babies. This match will end before Tony takes a second breath. Anij is very depressed and angry. But for the sake of acceptance, he will let this one happen without any objection. His imagination of being a real man has been quite different, but it is too late for all this vain thinking. It just sucks to be a human sandbag again with this giant standing in front of him. But as soon as he is getting into a mental preparation, a big punch comes at his face even before he takes a deep breath. Then two more, right away.
SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!
Two light jabs and a straight punch devastate and annihilate Anij within a second. Tony was just warming up a bit. But it seems like the match is over. Anij couldn’t even see where those were coming from. Blood spews from his nose to the floor as the world tips. His cheek and the floor have just become very good friends. He lies flat on the ground. But no one cares. The crowd goes nuts and expects more juice out of him as they scream out for more entertainment.
“Wow!”
“Holy!”
“That was so fast!”
“Shit! That guy can’t fight for shit!”
“I just lost my money on that Asian guy!”
“Get up! You pussy!”
“You got any balls to stand up for yourself?”
“Come on! Not this fast!”
“Tony! Make him stand up and fight!”
“Hahahaha!”
“What did I tell ya?”
“Where is my money? Bring it here.”
A typical scene from a dogfight.
Mikael doesn’t even turn his head when he hears all this. He really feels bad for Anij. But after this, Anij will be in for sure. He keeps smoking fast and hard in the front yard. Then a boy bursts from the front door and informs Mikael about the result.
“Hey, Tony just knocked him out with only three punches, man. But I think he got totally lost just after one jab. I think.”
“Shut up! I can hear that!”
“Wow! Easy, boy! Whatever, man.”
Then the boy goes back inside the house and continues to scream with other boys. Steve is looking at Mikael’s back for a while and goes upstairs with a bitter smile this time. The heat is not subdued yet within the crowd. As Steve is going upstairs, he yells at Karl.
“Hey, Karl.”
“Yeah.”
“Move that body outside. I think Mikael wants to talk to him.”
“Okay.”
Steve says to himself, “Sorry, man. You just had to be the one . . .”
Karl and some other boys pick Anij up and put him outside the door.
“Hey, Mikael. There he goes. Some pep talk?”
“Shut up!”
“I will leave you two alone for some quality time together. Okay?”
“SHUT UP!”
Karl and the boys go back into the house. The boys can’t seem to stop talking about the “entertainment.” Some were disappointed in its rather early finish. But it was all as expected, anyway.
Mikael keep smoking even faster and harder. He doesn’t even look at Anij. They both keep their emotions to themselves for a while. What else need be said? Mikael is still smoking like a power plant chimney. Anij is just staring at the ground, looking at nothing. Then suddenly, Mikael bursts out, “Can’t you even swing a punch at him? Are you that pathetic? What . . . What are you . . .? Blind? Ha?”
“Well . . .”
“That is all you can say? That is it?”
“He hit me so fast. I didn’t see it coming. Okay?”
“You knew it was coming. What the hell are you talking about?”
“I didn’t know, really. I thought about it. But not that fast . . .”
“Well, now you know. You’ve learned your lesson with pain. Why don’t you just sit there till morning, ha?”
Then Mikael charges to the door. He enters the house and slams the door shut. Anij doesn’t know what to think — whether he should be happy because he got in or he should be furious at having to take those knockout punches. Either way, he did what he had to do. There was just some collateral damage that he couldn’t avoid, even when he saw it coming. He is relived that the precautions were not too much of a big deal. Now he feels like he has become a real man, in a way, but only by the drastic measure of starting his life as a thief. Certainly it is not the right way, but maybe only slightly skewed.
Inside the house, the boys are still going on about the fight and their bets. Mikael is not in the mood for any social interaction. He just wants to forget about everything and stay quiet all by himself. But there are always teasers around, nibbling at your heels just to make you feel ever so slightly annoyed. A few of them start to talk to Mikael, just to see how he is taking this situation.
“So, how was your little Asian pet doing on the dirt outside? Truly feeling like he’s found his true home?”
“Whatever . . . Just leave me alone. I want to sleep early tonight.”
“Oh . . . So you can enjoy your night with your pet in your bed and going all kissy-kissy. Ha? Right?”
“Shut your pie hole!”
“Oh, my God. He is not denying it. So he must have planned something for tonight’s big celebration. Wow. That is so touching. I am about to cry. Ooh . . .”
“For God’s sake . . .”
“Whatever you do on your own time is not my business. But try to keep it down, okay? Because I am pretty sensitive with my hearing. Okay? Lover?”
“Shove it up your ass!”
“Shit! What is the matter? Did I just reveal your plan?”
“All right, I will cut your tongue right now!”
Mikael is furious with those jokes. He flies off to the kitchen and pulls out a knife.
“Holy cow! Man! I was just joking. Calm down, asshole!”
“Well, I am not taking any more of this. Back off, okay?”
Other boys are also watching this. Soon the group starts to break up and go to their rooms.
“Come on! That is not funny, man. We were just trying to have some fun!”
“Oh, I am just having some fun, too, you know. You know me, right?”
“I am going to sleep!”
“Sure you don’t want to get a sweet taste of this knife slicing up your ass?”
“You are sick!”
“Who is sick, here?”
Mikael sees them scattering. He doesn’t know why he is so mad about this. Maybe he is regretting having let Anij into this house. With this much trouble, maybe it is not worth it. So many thoughts are travelling in and out of his brain. He closes his eyes slowly and tosses the knife to the floor. Its tip penetrates the floor, and its cold blade swings back and forth.