Last Week

I went to court on Friday.

I was there to help represent Rocketown. Two of our skater kids had spent the summer playing musical homes. Their parents were in rehab. We met with the court to assess whether the boys were fit to return home.

….

TJ stormed into the office on Thursday yelling.

He said he was through with the rhyme lab. He didn’t want any restrictions when he rapped. He told me it was unfair to his story. His home was not cheery. His neighborhood was not safe. TJ did not want to spin positive rhymes. He said it did not portray the shit he had been through.

…

Did you and Alex used to be close?” I asked surprised as Michael’s MySpace page came up. The page was labeled “In memory of Alex.” Alex was a former Rocketown kid who had passed away last year.

“Yeah,” Michael said. “We used to be best friends. We would skate and shoot photography together. At his funeral his dad said my name. He only named five kids.”

…

Jimmy had a MySpace message left on his page. It didn’t say who it was from but Jimmy thought it was from his father. He hadn’t seen his dad since he was 7.

The message talked about what a horrible kid Jimmy was. It said he was a liar just like his mother. It said what goes around comes around. And it ended with “You need Jesus you low life piece of shit.”

…

“So what’s going on?” I asked surprised to see Michelle with her mom. Michelle was a somewhat new face to Rocketown. She had started coming after she ran away from home.

“A lot of new things have been happening,” she responded half-smiling.

Big stuff?” I wondered out loud.

“Well, yeah!” her smile got bigger. “I just found out I am pregnant.

Michelle is 18 and still in high school.

…

“I just want to live a life where I do good,” Jeremy said with a soft sincerity making it hard to tell whether he making a statement or asking a question. “And I believe all good things come from God. Is that such a bad thought?”

He asked this question because the church he went to said it was.

…

Coming back from a coffee shop I asked Mary Virginia if she knew kids’ home lives were so crappy when she was growing up.

She said no. I agreed.

…

Tomorrow is my day off. I think I am going to sleep in.