Chapter 16

We hadn't eaten any of my spaghetti. I had to throw out what I didn't eat for breakfast. I ate as much as I could. It didn't taste so good after it had sat on my table all night. I couldn't save it because I didn't have a cooler. The only thing to do was eat as much as I could and toss the rest.

I was very depressed. Alvin had left in the wee hours of the morning. He was still upset about the incident with the police. I was, at least, glad they hadn't taken me downtown. The old fear of being locked up for no good reason haunted me. I guessed it would haunt me for the rest of my life.

The next day I picked up some real booze. I tried to get some of that stuff I had drank down at the Gas City bar. That had been good.

I remembered Toni. I wondered how she was doing. It had been long time since I had thought of her. It was funny how innocent I had been then. I had come down to the bad side of town to play at being a CB. She must have thought I was really something. What a dweeb. What was the saying? Lay down with dweebs and get up with fleas? No, I think it was something about getting up without any fleas because they would take them--something. I must have really looked like something.

I thought about it some more and remembered the morning after. Toni and her friends didn't make fun of me. They had shared themselves with me and listened to my problems. Sid had given me the shirt off of his back! I wouldn't mind seeing them again. If I could be sure I wouldn't be rousted by the police. Hell, I had been rousted by the police a block from my own home! What was the use trying to avoid them. Still avoid the police was what I wanted to do.

I got two bottles of schnapps. I remembered that was what Toni drank, or at least, what Sid suggested I get for her.

The salesman asked me if I would be interested in some pills. I still had never done pills. They were legal but there were so many untaxed pills out. That was really what all the hassle about drugs was, people were buying cheap, untaxed pills. Everybody was making them. Basically they were all made the same way. There was some kind of a plant that was ground up and made into a dough. The dough was dribbled into hot cooking oil and cooked. Different effects could be had from the so called pills by cooking them longer. Anyone who had access to the plants could make pills. That's what made it so hard for the government to tax them. They tried everything to convince the public that the black market pills caused all sorts of problems. The city fathers just wanted the added revenue.

Pills were a CB thing. The regular folks didn't do pills. I had never done pills. After what had happened the night before I decided I wanted to be sure there were some in the house. I asked the clerk if he had any 'green-meanies'. He laughed and asked how many I wanted. I got a bottle of ten. Ten credits. A buck a pop.

I carried my supplies home and put them up. I wanted to go see Alvin. I hoped that I could get him to come back again for a more enjoyable evening. I got dressed for work and went back out into the hustle and bustle of the street.

When I got off the bus beside the little store Alvin and his mother ran it was just about noon. I went in the store. It was quiet. Alvin's mom, Mrs. Kelly, greeted me warmly. That was a good sign. I had been afraid that she might have blamed me for almost getting her son in trouble.

"Hi Mrs. Kelly, how are you doing?"

"Fine, fine. How about you after keeping my boy out all night?" she asked smiling. I thought she was thinking Alvin and I had done something together. It was obvious she didn't know about the police thing. I didn't know if I should tell her about it or not.

"I...I'm just great!" I told her. I wasn't sure what was going on. It might be better to play things by ear before I went and said the wrong thing. I had always thought that Alvin and his mom had a good open relationship. She was a good woman. I kind of looked up to her as my second (third) mother and I knew she almost considered me her daughter. "Is Alvin around?"

"No. He went on an errand. He'll be back later. You should come around the house tonight. We got some fresh cantaloupe that'll knock your socks off."

"I'd love to Mrs. Kelly, but you know how I am about being on the street after dark. Maybe some other time."

"I don't blame you. You are very wise for your age. These other young people go out on the street all night every night. They will learn."

I nodded in agreement. "Would you ask Alvin to drop over to the restaurant to see me for a moment when he gets back?"

"Sure. He'll be back in awhile. Can you stay and talk?"

"I'd like to..." I lied, "..but I should get to work." I wouldn't mind chatting with Mrs. Kelly normally, but with me not knowing what Alvin wanted her to know about the previous night it wouldn't be a good idea.

***

It was almost time for me to get off work when Alvin finally came by. He sat in a booth and I went back to see him. He ordered some coffee so my boss wouldn't get upset that I was talking personal business.

"Alvin, what did you tell your mother about last night? I went in there today and she acted like she hadn't heard what had happened."

"Don't tell her about the cops. I should have warned you the other night. Her nerves just wouldn't stand it."

"Ok Alvin, I can understand. It'll be our secret."

"Thanks Sue, I appreciate that."

"No sweat. You want to try doing it again? Without the...distractions."

"Only if you let me take you out to eat. It was your treat last time, let me treat this time."

"Ok." I laughed. "Just promise me you won't take us someplace fancy--and that we get back before dark."

"You know I won't spend a lot of money--I can't. And yes, I will be sure we are off the street before it gets dark. Then it's a date?"

"Sure."

"When?"

"You decide."

"Ok Sue, how about Saturday night?"

"Fine, what time?"

"Eight?"

"It's a date." I said with a wink then I kissed him.

***

I was still in a good mood when I got off at ten despite the fact that I had had my butt pinched so many times it felt like it was going to fall off. That was part of the deal I had with the manager, I had to let the customers play around and pinch me and not slap them. It was good for business. Most of the time it wasn't a problem. There were only one or two guys who regularly tried to get fresh. I had learned how to avoid them. Sometimes though they would get their buddies in on it and while I was avoiding one another would strike. Most of the time it was just a game. Shifts like the one I had just finished could sometimes be rough. I hadn't enjoyed the game.

I was hurrying home when I saw a crowd of people ahead. Then were gathered around two bloody bodies laying on the street and they were angry. I saw one of the guys I knew and asked what had happened. He told me the police were trying to make an arrest when the people they were arresting made a run for it. They had been shot and killed. Both officers had emptied their guns. That's twenty rounds each. The crowd had gathered quickly and they were pissed. My friend warned me not to go near the scene. There might be a riot before it was over. He walked with me around to the other end of the block where I could catch a bus in safety. I thanked my friend and got on the bus.

The bus went up the street and right back into the scene of the shootings. There were ten cruisers there by that time and the police were breaking up the crowd, the way they liked to--with clubs. That had incensed the crowd that much more, they were throwing things at the police.

Some of the rock throwers I recognized. They were good honest citizens. They were just tired of seeing the police come into our quiet neighborhood and bring all the shooting and violence with them. We knew the police weren't responsible for all of it. We had criminals among us and they needed to be rooted out and punished. No body objected to that. It was all these other things the police did in the name of the law, like what had happened to Alvin and me the night before.

What the police did know was there was a feeling of strong resentment among us CB's towards them. We knew we were being persecuted. That was always denied. The city fathers were always quick to point out that we had the same rights as anyone. We received the same medical benefits as anyone. We got the two revampings guaranteed in the colony charter. We could look for work anywhere we chose. We had the right to live anywhere we wanted. Sure...

If we were as free as the regular people then why did the letters NS show up on any important paperwork we had to have? Why couldn't I get a better job than being a waitress?

Hell, I had been an accelerated student! If I was a regular person I would be pulling down big credits instead of the peanuts I was getting. It was segregation all right. I knew. I had been on both sides of it. The people in my old neighborhood thought it was alright just as I had. What they didn't see was the pain it caused. It wasn't just that I couldn't get a good job, I couldn't walk the streets in safety. The worst part was I feared the cops more than the muggers and the rapists.

The anger of the crowd was infectious. The people on the bus were becoming just as angry as the people on the street. I was angry. I wanted to see the crowd win. I wanted to see the people in the crowd pick up sticks and beat those lousy cops back, to make them go back where they had come from. To my amazement that's what I was seeing out side the window of the bus. The crowd was winning!. I cheered them on.

Then the police drew their weapons and let go a hail of bullets. People began falling everywhere. It was terrible to watch. If there is one thing a CB fears it's dying! Do you blame us? That's one time when not having a soul really matters. The crowd was breaking up as fast as it could. The police were still firing. Firing at the backs of people trying to run away. I ducked down as one of the windows in the bus was shattered by gunfire. The shooting felt like it lasted forever. I'm sure it was for only minutes or maybe just seconds, but when each bang or pop I heard meant somebody was being shoot then it lasted too long. Way too long.

The bus driver finally hit the accelerator and got us out of there. He skipped the next two stops. Finally he parked the bus and I think he was the first one out of there. We all scattered. I ran the last block to my apartment. I could hear sirens all over the place. The police were sending everything they had. I would find out later that the bus had been hit fourteen times.

I ran into my apartment and slammed shut the door. I locked it and leaned back against it trying to keep the world out. The sirens outside wouldn't let me forget what I had seen. I realized I was out of breath. I tried to shut it all out. It wouldn't go away.

In desperation I found my bottle of 'green-meanies' and ate two of them. I unscrewed the top off the bottle of schnapps and drank until I began to feel better. No wonder those pills were so popular. I did feel better! I was actually smiling. I popped another pill.

***

The next day I got up and went to work like always. I had a bit of a headache but aside from that everything was alright. I rode the bus like always. When we drove past the spot where it had all happened there was no trace of the carnage from the night before other than some boarded up windows. By nightfall, I was sure, even they would be replaced by glass again. Everything would be the same--except the people.

At work my boss wanted to tell me all about what had happened the night before. I let him read to me from the paper.

                C H E S B R O O K; Last night police 
                reported  a  gun  battle  with  drug 
                dealers.   The   six   dealers  were 
                armed  with  automatic  weapons  and 
                held  police  at  bay  for nearly an 
                hour   while  shooting  at  innocent 
                passers-by. 
                Ten  innocents  were injured and one
                was killed. 
                Police  finally  arrested  the  gang 
                when  the  two  leaders were shot by 
                their  own  gang members.  A  half a 
                million  credits  worth  of  illegal 
                pills were recovered... 

***

Let's see, I had the date with Alvin planned for Saturday so it must have been Friday night when I got home that I had been vandalized. I got home from work tired as usual. When I went to the door to my apartment I found where it had been kicked in.

Gingerly I opened the door. I should have gotten help first. Inside the lights were on and I could see where someone had thrown all my things into the middle of the floor. Everything was a mess. I listened for noises. There was no one in there that I could detect. Carefully I went in and grabbed the broken leg of what had been my only chair. I held it ready to swing if my vandal was still around. The only place one could hide was in the bathroom. The door was open. I crouched down warily and approached it ready to take a quick swing and run. There was no one in there. I was safe. I stood up fully and relaxed my grip on my chair leg.

What a mess! I was shaking like a leaf. It wasn't anger or even fear. It was frustration. I was worse off than I had been over a year before when I had first been deposited in that place. At least then I had all my clothes. Now most of them had been ruined. They had been dropped in the middle of the floor and what few kitchen supplies I had had been emptied on top of them. Some had even been ripped up.

I looked at the mess before me and wondered what could have driven someone to do this to me. I had so little. Why did people want to take that away from me too?

Along with my own losses there was the damage to the apartment. The door jam was busted. My chair was broken into pieces. The bed was torn down. Even the walls had been abused. I might be able to get by with just a coat of paint there. The walls already had several cracks and chipped out places.

I hated to tell my landlady what had happened. I could do all the rest but I didn't know how to fix a door. I might be able to call Alvin and have him come over to take care of that for me so I could lock the place up and be safe again. I got up and went out into the hall to use the phone downstairs. I wanted to just lay down and mope for awhile but I didn't have time. Soon it would be late.

I ran into my landlady downstairs.

"I want to talk to you, young lady!" she told me. "The police came by here today. They went up to your room. I don't want no police around here. All they bring is trouble! If you are going to keep them coming into my building then I'll have to tell you to leave!"

"The police? Did you see what they did to my place?" I exclaimed.

"Yes I did, dear." she told me. Her voice had softened. "What have you done?"

"I...I don't know! I haven't done anything! You know me, I keep my nose just as clean as I can."

"Yes, I know. It's probably just them. I'll let you stay but if they keep coming around I'll have to make you go. This is all my husband left me and I have to be careful."

"I understand. I'll try to get this straightened out tomorrow. Thank you."

"You're welcome, dear. I've got my handyman on his way. He'll fix your door. I'll make a list of the building's furniture that was damaged. I'll expect for you to pay for those damages as well as the cost of painting the room over. I just had it all painted just before you moved in."

"Let me know what I owe you and I'll pay."

"Good, dear. You get things put back as good as you can and I'll take a look to see what all was lost. If you want I'll just tack it onto your rent and you can pay an extra twenty credits a week until it's taken care of."

"Thank you that would be nice."

"Ok, now go on up there and keep an eye on things before someone finds out you can't lock your door and steals you blind."

"There's not much left worth stealing. Thank you again."

I went back to my apartment and began cleaning. It was hard to know where to begin. The police had done this to me! There was no call to invade my privacy and destroy everything I had. Really, the only thing I did have was my clothes. I had a few odds and ends. Nothing special.

All my nice stuff was still back where mom and dad and Shela lived. I would probably never get those things back again. I don't know why. The only thing that I could figure was dad was afraid they would just make me a target for a robbery. I had no doubt that if I had anything of value it would be stolen from me. We had robberies around us all the time. The building I lived in had two robberies the month before. Not the whole building--two apartments in the building (including the land lady's).

I sorted clothes into five piles: wearable, dirty but still good, torn but repairable, stained but could be dyed black to hide stain, and torn or stained beyond repair. I wouldn't throw anything out. The clothes torn or stained beyond repair would still be used to wear around the apartment and the things that couldn't even be worn then would still be saved to use as rags.

I had cleared a hole in the middle of the floor and I was ready to put the bed back together. I heard someone behind me. I jumped then before I realized that it must have been the repairman. I turned and there were three cops. A big guy in a trench coat and two of them in uniform. I dropped what I had in my hands and held my hands up about shoulder high with the palms facing them. I didn't want to give them an excuse to shoot me or something.

"Sue Ann Tegor?"

How many times had I heard a conversation begin like that?

"Yes officer?"

"We came back because we found this-" he said as he held up the half empty bottle of 'green-meanies' I had purchased earlier in the week. "Are these yours?"

"I think so, officer. I got some of those this week from a store--legally!"

"Yes they are legal."

He had come into the room and was standing directly in front of me. The other two were standing to each side of me and slightly behind me. I just knew they were going to arrest me again.

"Pat her down!" the big cop in the plainclothes told the cop to my left and behind me.

He did a very thorough job of it. He felt all through my hair, stuck his fingertips in my ears, felt my clothes, stuck his hand up under my dress, stuck his fingers in the side of my shoes... He was very thorough. I didn't have a shred of dignity left when he had finished.

"She's clean!"

The big cop smiled. "Just doing our job, miss. Sorry to have troubled you." he started to turn and leave.

I lowered my hands to my sides. My fists were clinched. "That's it? 'Sorry'?"

"Goodnight."

I was boiling mad. I wanted to kill. He had done that just so I would know who he was. What his face looked like. To let me know that he was the one who had torn my things apart. To let me know that he could come into my home anytime he wanted and do anything he wanted. I had rights and they meant nothing.

I wished he had at least left me my pills!

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