Noah
My first day at the açai trailer was a success! I sold much more than expected, and people loved the toppings I served. I also prepared some açai vitamin options, which were well received.
I'm so happy and excited. I closed the trailer yesterday after midnight. Since the trailer is in front of my house, I just had to close it up and store the tables and chairs in the backyard. I'm looking forward to opening again tonight. Besides working and making money, I have fun and meet new people. I'm loving it.
As soon as I wake up at 5 am, I make the little rats' breakfast and wake up the cuties to catch the bus because their school is so far away. After they leave, I tidy up the kitchen and get ready for my first job, which is at the market.
As soon as I leave the house, I realize something is wrong. I don't see the chairs in the backyard. I run to the front of the house and see the trailer door broken into. My heart broke into a million pieces, and despair took over me. My God, what am I going to do? I have two loans to pay, one at the market to buy the trailer and another at the diner to equip it, and on the first day, I get robbed.
My God, how am I going to pay this debt? What do I do? None of the neighbors saw or heard anything, or at least they didn't want to tell me. With nothing I could do at the moment, I had to go to work. I told Lorena what happened, and she said she would help me figure it out on my lunch break.
The morning passed slowly, and I was distressed, thinking about how unlucky I am. I must have been terrible in another life because, oh boy, fate has it in for me!
Finally, my lunch break arrived, and when I left the market, I saw Lorena on her motorcycle waiting for me. My friend works at a tattoo studio. She's still learning to do tattoos, small ones for now, but what she really does is piercings.
I got on the bike, and she didn't tell me where we were going. That is until I almost had a heart attack when she stopped in front of the main drug den in the slums.
"Lorena, for God's sake, what are we doing here, woman?"
"Calm down, I told you we were going to solve it, didn't I? Trust me." She was braver than I was, that's for sure. She didn't lose her posture, walked upright with a firm gaze, and asked to speak directly to Ruivo.
He was very dangerous, but they said he was fair, so coming here to talk to him wasn't a bad idea. The guy who was at the door went in to talk to Ruivo, and Lorena's phone rang right after. It was her boss yelling at her because she forgot about a client who was there waiting for her to get a piercing. When she saw I was terrified of being left there alone, she quickly calmed me down.
"Nono, relax. Just tell them what happened, tell them your story, and they'll help you. They may be gangsters, but they have rules, remember?"
"I always see this Ruivo around. He never smiles and always has a frown on his face, like he's angry all the time. He scares me a lot, Lory."
"Stay calm, and just be yourself. It's going to be alright. Call me as soon as you leave here... Love you, babe."
"Love you too."
She left, and I was there waiting. When I was about to give up and run away, the door opened, and the kid told me to come in.
"Hey, where's the hottie who was with you?"
"She went to work, she just gave me a ride."
As soon as we got to one of the rooms in the house, he knocked on the door, opened it, and let me in. I walked in and saw the infamous Ruivo, sitting behind a desk with a cigarette in his hand, staring at his phone. There were four other men there with him, and they were all looking at me.
At this point, I was desperate. The man looked up and stared at me with those green eyes, and my legs almost gave out. He's handsome, handsome, and terrifying.
"Well, kid? Spit it out, what's going on?"
"Yo-you see..." Damn, terrible time to stutter! "I was robbed, sir! I opened an açai trailer in front of my house, on the street by the gas station. I opened yesterday, but this morning I saw that everything was gone."
"Hmm, and are you a junkie? Do you owe us money, or someone from the slums? This could be payback." Ruivo spoke impatiently.
"Look, sir, I'm 22 years old, and I've lived here since I was born, and this is the first time I've ever set foot in a drug den. I don't use anything, and I don't owe money to criminals." I saw him looking at me intently. I needed him to help me get my stuff back, so I took a deep breath and continued. "I've been working since I was 16 when my grandmother died and left me taking care of my twin brothers and my drug addict mother. My mother died too, so it's just me and them. Even though I work my butt off at two jobs, the money is still not enough. My brothers are going to college this year, and I need to pay for their rent and food there, plus books and other things. That's why I took out a loan with my bosses to buy that trailer and sell açai to supplement my income. You can check it out, I'm not a bad person, I just need help to get my stuff back and get back to work. I was told you are fair, I never came here to bother you or cause trouble, but now I really need help."
By now I had lost my composure, my eyes were filled with tears, my face red, showing all my tiredness, frustration, and sadness. I don't want to play the victim, far from it, but this outburst made me think about how sad, tiring, and lonely my life is. I didn't come here to beg for pity, I just want justice.
Ruivo seemed convinced, looked at me with an unreadable expression, as he always had a frown on his face. But then he looked at me and held my gaze with a nod.
"Juba, find out who the bastard was. I told you I don't want any stealing in my territory."
"Hey, kid, don't worry, by this afternoon, your stuff will be back where it belongs. Give Klebim a list of everything that's missing and leave it with us, we'll take care of it."
He spoke with such confidence that it was like he really did have everything under control, and I think he actually does. I couldn't hide my smile. I was happy to be able to work again.
"Thank you, sir, thank you so much!"
I left there all smiles and relieved. This man is truly just. He looks like a Greek god, like the ones in the books, so handsome he doesn't even look real. But as always, he's straight. Even if he wasn't, with the crappy life I have and the appearance of someone who hasn't slept in a month, I'm sure I wouldn't catch his eye.
I went back to work calmer, but every time I closed my eyes, I saw those deep green eyes that seemed to pierce right through me. Ah, it doesn't hurt to dream, I can't have him, but I can dream...
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