10/29/2018
Youth Achieve
New York City, New York
Youth Achieve is a not-for-profit organization that transforms the chaotic lives of young people. The organization takes young people from resignation to possibility, by providing vigorous intervention to young people from disadvantaged communities in the NY Metropolitan area. James Evans and Angelica Jones were told that the agency provides technical assistance, specialized programs and consulting in communities locally, nationally and globally. That the organization collaborates with other agencies that have a commitment to the at-risk youth population but lack the services. And while working with the other programs, young people are partnered with role models and mentors. Youth at Risk helps young people find the keys to unlock their futures, with the programs hopefully leveraging their effectiveness. Youth Achieve has developed an array of intervention programs that have had a lasting impact on the at-risk youth, their families and the professionals who participate in them, since 1989.
One purpose behind the creation of Youth Achieve is to customize education programs designed to intervene in and prevent the anti-productive behavior of youth and to support them in creating sustainable, positive and goal-directed lifestyles. The goal is, through a program of persistent and compassionate mentoring, to create an environment for personal development. The populations the agency serves mainly consist of youth and young adults, their families and the institutions and professionals that serve them. Youth Achieve works largely with populations at high risk for violence, incarceration, substance abuse, adolescent pregnancy/parenthood and poor academic performance, also tailoring customized programs to meet the needs and requests for particular outcomes in varying youth education settings, with the programs including shelters, hospitals/community clinics as well as schools.
James Evans had researched the programs, as well as many other avenues one could take in order to work with at-risk youth in New York. He had been searching for redemption of sorts for quite some time and felt that he could make a difference in the lives of someone else. Knowing that his tag team partner and friend, Angelica Jones wanted to do the same, he felt it was something she would be interested in.
“How did you talk me into doing this again?” Angelica asked, as she sat beside James in a waiting room, outside of an office belonging to the director of Youth Achieve, Daniel Sheen.
James turned to her and stared at Angelica for a few moments. She looked back at him smirking at first, but her expression changed from confidence to confusion. Angelica raised her eyebrows and shook her head as James smirked before replying, “I guess I need to spell it out for you. It’s because of my handsome looks and boyish charms. Who could say no to me?”
“I’ve heard rumblings backstage that Katie Steward told you no,” Angelica fired back.
James gripped his chest like he had been shot and faked a death, slumping in his seat, allowing his eyes to roll into the back of his head for a few seconds before sitting back up and shrugging, “Those rumors are completely untrue. Besides, the real story is that she is a disgruntled and disillusioned groupie from the James Evans stalker fan club that I knew nothing about until now.”
“Is that because you just made it up?”
James shrugged again, “More than likely.”
“So, seriously why are we here again? I feel like we’ve been here forever. I have things to do today.”
“Hey, you agreed to do this, remember?”
“I’ll pretend that I don’t but I’m sure you’re going to remind me.”
James nodded, “You’re damn right. I asked you to do this and you agreed to do so, because we both want to help others, especially kids before they get as old as you are when the damage has been done to the point of no return.”
Angelica’s eyes grew wide, “Did you just call me old you little shit?” Angelica followed this up with a punch to James’ shoulder, “I know we won the Elimination Chamber but that comment could result in harm to your health, plus me having to find a new tag team partner. I’m sure Marie would be game.”
“You wouldn’t want to do that, I’m sure. You need me. I need you. We need each other,” James said before getting creepily close to Angelica while maintaining some eerie eye contact.
“Dear God, you are so weird,” Angelica replied before turning away and shaking her head, “I knew I should have faked sick today.”
“Do you fake it with every man you’re with?”
“Only those who can’t get the job done,” The Dragon fired back.
James threw his hands up in surrender and smirked before repositioning his body to face forward in his seat, “Fair enough. You win.”
“Like always.”
“Cocky bitch,” James replied, with a snicker, “I’m glad you came with me, dude.”
“Things still a little weird between you and the fiancé, I take it…” Angelica said, referencing an argument between James and his fiancé, Braelynn just a day or so before Redemption’s big win at Under Attack inside of the Elimination Chamber. Braelynn had contacted a private detective, who agreed to help locate James’ father should the man be alive.
James sighed, “I guess you could say that. I mean, things aren’t all that weird. But you can tell our fight is still lingering around at home if that makes sense.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, after I got off the phone with you. I left the bar, not drinking my drink, and I went back to our hotel room. I went inside to find Braelynn sitting there in the kitchen area. I could tell she had been crying,” James said, taking a moment to himself as the memory flashed in his head, “I told her I was sorry and that things took me by surprise. I told her that I wasn’t prepared to have some detective come up to me out of nowhere, telling me he was going to help find my father.”
“And what did she say?”
“She agreed that she should have talked to me about it first, and that she was sorry for not doing so. She told me that she had hoped I knew that she had good intentions,” James stated, as the memory ran through his mind a second time before fading, “Which I told her that she did and I knew that after I calmed down from my little temper tantrum.”
“How mature of you,” Angelica said, giving a snicker of her own, “So, are you going to let that guy look for your dad?”
“I agreed to do it, because the more I thought about it, and with talking with you as well as Braelynn about it,” James paused again for a few moments, trying to gather himself before continuing, “I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Like what if my father is alive? What if he is in poor health? What if he changed things and turned his life around? Once I really thought about it, I couldn’t turn those thoughts off.”
Angelica nodded, “I get that. It’s like once those thoughts are in there, you have to do something about them or they will never go away,” James nodded back, looking a little unsure about the whole thing. Angelica frowned before putting her hand on James’ shoulder and patting him on the back, getting his attention once more, “I don’t know if it means anything but it’s coming from me, so it should but…I think you made the right decision, dude. I think you’ll find some sort of peace of mind and be happy that you agreed to do so.”
James went to respond but before he could the words out, the office door finally opened. A man in his forties and a little on the chunky side, looking a much older Derek Adonis but not nearly as charismatic walked out and stood before them. He grinned and extended his hand first to Angelica then to James as he said, “Good morning. I’m Daniel Skeen. Sorry for the long wait. You two must be James Evans and Angelica Jones, correct?” James and Angelica smiled and nodded before Daniel continued, “We are extremely excited to have you two on board. It’s not very often celebrities step up to work with the population that we work with.”
James shook his head, “Don’t think of us as celebrities. We are just two people who want to work with you as well as the youth here for as long as we can. We want to do all that we can to help.”
“Yes, exactly. James is right. We are here to help in any way that we can,” Angelica chimed in.
Daniel smiled and nodded as well, “Either way, it is exciting to have you here. It is always a pleasure when we get new faces who are stepping up to help out our population. Now, after reviewing your applications and backgrounds, I feel we have paired you two up nicely with a young individual.”
James and Angelica looked at one another, staring into each other’s eyes as if they were searching the other’s mind to see if they were still willing to do this. They nodded before turning back to Daniel and James replied, “We trust your judgment and hopefully we are the men…women…” Daniel gave James a concerned and confused look, as did Angelica who James quickly glanced at her before looking back at the director, “Uh people for the job…Um…Let’s meet the kid.”
Daniel seemed to take a few moments to himself, with the confusion and concerned on his face fading very slowly. He took in a deep breath before nodding his head, “Yes of course. Follow me,” He said before turning and walking down the hallway, with James and Angelica in tow, “Now this young individual comes from quite the background. Both parents are battling substance abuse issues, and this young man has dealt with quite a bit more besides that in his short life.”
“How old is he?” Angelica asked.
“He is 17,” Daniel said, glancing at Angelica over his shoulder.
“When you say he has dealt with a lot more than his parents’ substance abuse issues, what did you mean exactly?” James asked, shaking away the thoughts of his own history with his parents and their substance abuse.
Daniel sighed before responding, “When he was 11 years old,he was diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia. Now what that is…is a condition in which the individual’s bone marrow is incapable of producing the correct amounts of white and red blood cells and blood platelets.”
“Christ,” James blurted out before he could stop himself. Angelica popped him in the arm and gave him a “What the Hell” look. James shrugged and mouthed the word, “Sorry.” He then returned his attention to Daniel, “Sounds like the kid has been through a lot like you said.”
Daniel nodded, “Well, that was just the beginning,” He said before leading Angelica and James down another hallway, “He received a round of immunosuppression, in which the body was stripped of the immune system in a hope that the bone marrow would be “kick-started”. Initially, the doctors at the clinic stated that the juvenile would need a bone marrow transplant, because if they continued blood transfusions, he would become dependent on other people's blood, and it would make it hard to find a bone marrow match.”
James looked over at Angelica who seemed to tense up at the thought before she shook her head and asked, “Did he ever have to have a procedure or any kind?”
“Yes he did actually,” Daniel nodded before he continued, “His body began to stop the production of blood platelets. He had a bone marrow biopsy on 6/20/2012. The results of this procedure determined that he needed a bone marrow transplant,” Daniel lead the number one contenders down another hallway with what appeared to be a basketball court at the other end, “In August 2011, this young man was taken to the hospital for the purpose of a “pre-op” work up for a bone marrow transplant. He received intensive chemo therapy, radiation, and many different scans on his body, before finally receiving his bone marrow transplant on 9/13/2012.”
They came to a stop just outside of the gym, where a young healthy looking young man with black hair and dark skin complexion ran up and down the court, dribbling and shooting the basketball, seeming to be in his own little world. It reminded James of when he was younger and how he did all that he could in order to escape the Hell of his home life. James cleared his mind and his throat before he asked, “So what is this kid’s name?”
Opening the doors to the basketball court, Daniel replied with a smile, “Allow me to introduce you to,” The young man stopped at the sound of the doors opening and closing. He stood there looking at James and Angelica as Daniel continued his statement, “Daniel Parker,” James and Angelica looked at one another before looking back at Dustin and waving. Daniel motioned at Dustin, “Come on over Dustin. I’ve got some nice folks to introduce you to.”
Dustin nodded and kept his eyes on all three adults. He shook hands with Daniel first then Angelica, which James noticed the young man looking her up and down. She was attractive as James would admit so he understood the difficulty of ignoring that notion. Dustin then stepped toward James and extended his hand. James went to accept only for Dustin to jerk his hand back and comb it through his hair, flashing a mischievous grin at James who nodded and said, “You got me, man. I haven’t seen that in a long time. Maybe since high school.”
Dustin replied, “Are you really that old?”
James smirked, “How old do you think I am, dude?”
Dustin shrugged, “40...41, maybe?”
James looked over at Daniel who lowered his gaze and shook his head. James then locked eyes with Angelica who maintained eye contact as she smiled, doing her best not to laugh. James sighed, “Really? No help or back-up from either of you? Alright I see how it is,” James said, “As for you,” James stated, returning his attention to Dustin, “I am 31 years old so you were way off my friend. Like ten years off which tells me you need…” James paused for a moment or two, trying to think of a better response than telling the kid he needed to make better life choices. He cleared his throat and went with the first thing that popped in his head, “Uh...glasses…”
Dustin snickered before replying, “Glasses or no glasses, I can tell you’re full of shit. You’re as old as dirt, bro…” Dustin stated before turning away as he returned to shooting basketball.
They all watched him play for a few moments. James was amazed at how carefree the kid was, despite the tragedies he had to face and struggle to overcome. James finally went to step forward but Angelica beat him to it. The ball bounced off the rim and she caught it, asking Dustin if he minded if she shot around with him. Dustin seemed to be in awe for a few moments before finally coming to and picking his jaw off of the floor before saying yes.
James went to get involved but Daniel grabbed his arm and motioned with his head to step outside. James looked over at the kid and Angelica only for Daniel to state that they would be fine. James then followed Daniel to the point they were just outside the gym. James took another glance at Angelica shooting around with Dustin, reassuring himself that they were okay before looking at Daniel and asking, “What’s up, Mr. Sheen?”
It didn’t take but a split second for a look of concern to fall over the director’s face as he replied, “I want to start off by once again thanking you and your friend for volunteering to do this. Dustin is a great kid with a lot of potential…”
James grinned and nodded as he crossed his arms over his chest, “But I can already tell that there is a big, fat, and rather hairy butt lurking around somewhere between us. Am I right?”
Daniel gave an uncomfortable grin before replying, “You are correct. But,” He said, putting extra emphasis on the word, “Dustin is a good kid, but as I mentioned earlier, there have been issues with substance abuse in his home. But not just with his parents. Dustin suffers from addiction as well,” The director said giving a sad sigh before continuing, “Like right now, he is fine but none of us here have any idea how long this good spell will last. It is very hard to gauge with him when compared to some of the other youth that we work with.”
“What sort of substances is the kid addicted to?” James asked, before glancing back into the gym, watching as Angelica and Dustin continued to play around with the basketball.
Daniel cleared his throat, as he took another look at Dustin as well before returning his attention back to James as he said, “It started out with marijuana here and there. He has been in trouble at school with smoking cigarettes in the bathroom, not to mention sneaking alcohol into the school and pouring it into drinks belonging to other students. One of those students’ parents wanted to press charges, but luckily I was able to smooth things ever.”
James nodded, “Yeah. That could have ruined things for him before he really even had the chance to get started,” James said, letting out a sigh in the process, “Other than that and the marijuana, is he known to use anything else? Like anything harder?”
“He has been known to use meth from time to time,” Daniel stated, “He ran away about two years ago and got set up with some construction worker as well as his band of misfits, as Dustin called them. Dustin spent time with them and during that time, he used meth heavily. He barely ate anything. When he was found, he was going through withdrawals, exhibiting drug seeking behavior, and when the boy ate, he scarfed it down like it was going out of date. At first, he wouldn’t tell us what it was.”
“And how did you find out what it was exactly?” James found himself asking.
“We took him to the doctor as Dustin was complaining with stomach pain and his parents weren’t taking him,” Daniel stated, as he turned and looked at Dustin who was in the process of shooting a three point shot, “He was telling us that he had been coughing up blood. When we took Dustin to the doctor, they did a full scan of his stomach as well as a full body assessment. After being questioned repeatedly, Dustin finally admitted to using meth, with the doctors stating that his stomach was fine. They said whatever issues he had were due to his poor appetite and drug use while he was on the run.”
James nodded as he then turned and looked into the gym, “So, you said he ran away a couple of years ago, correct?” James looked at Daniel out of the corner of his eye, to see him nodding his head, “Is that something you guys feel to be an issue now? The only reason I’m asking is because if we are hanging out with Dustin and he takes off, what do we do? Are there signs we need to look for or anything like that?”
Daniel looked back at James, “We haven’t felt the idea of running away to be an issue now, but for the sake of all intents and purposes, if you were out with Dustin and he ran away, you would be asked to call us immediately. Once you called us, we would call law enforcement as well as the social services agency working with him and his family. We would also contact his family to let them know what had happened.”
James released a deep huff as he looked down, processing everything Daniel had said. Without looking up, James spoke again, “The last time he ran away and you contacted his parents…” James paused for a second, wondering what his parents would have said or what they would have thought had he ran away during his teenage years. He sighed before continuing to speak, “How did they react? You don’t have to tell me, but given what you’ve told me, I was curious…if they cared.”
Daniel took a few moments, as if he were pondering the question as well as the answer before shrugging his shoulders, “Let’s just say that they reacted the exact way we all thought that they would.”
“Poor kid,” James said, looking back at Angelica and Dustin, a tiny grin forming on his face as he watched them play.
“Well, I guess I better leave you to it. Enjoy being around Dustin. Get to know him. Let him get to know you,” Daniel said before patting James on the back and walking away. James took a few moments to himself, as he continued to watch them play.
Meanwhile Angelica and Dustin were having a fun time shooting some hoops. Angelica took a step behind the line, took aim and shot a three… “And she scores!” Angelica remarked in a braggadocious manner.
“Not bad, for a girl.” He quipped.
“Not bad for a girl?” Angelica repeated, arching her brow before she took a another step back and threw the ball high up into the air, watching the ball swish into the basket for another three pointer. “How’s that?”
“Like I said, not bad.” He winked. He took the ball and shots a basket of his own before bounce passing it back to Angelica. She took aim and hit yet another three point shot. Dustin looked slightly less than impressed as he passed the ball back to Angelica.
“Come on, Dustin. You got to admit, this girl is a little better than ‘not bad’.”
“You’re good, I’ll give you that. But you do kinda have a bit of an advantage.”
“How so?” Angelica asked, tilting her head to one side curiously.
“Well, you’re...uh....”
“I’m what?”
“You’re rich.” Dustin said rather bluntly. “You’re a celebrity. You’ve lived a rather comfortable life.”
Angelica nodded her head. “Now I do, yes. But that wasn’t always the case for me.”
“Really?”
“Yep, I admit I do live a blessed life right now, but I haven’t always had it as nice as I currently have it.”
Without warning Dustin rushed in and stole the ball away from Jones. “There’s a steal!” He rushed the basket with Angelica right behind him. He shot the ball into the air and it swished into the basket. “He shoots and he scores! The crowd goes wild!”
Angelica stared at Dustin, both of whom had smirks on their faces. Angelica applauded his work. “Very good, Dustin. You caught me napping.”
“Never take your eye off the ball!” He said with a wink.
“That’s a good life a lesson.” Angelica answered. “Never take your eye off the prize, never lose sight of your goals. Also remember that a setback is just a setup for a comeback. That’s a quote from Willie Jolley.”
“Who is that?”
“Just a motivational speaker, but a real good one. He helped me out a great deal back in the day when I was having issues of my own.” Angelica rushed in and got the steal from Dustin. She turned on her heel and shot the ball, making another basket. “Always keep your eye on the prize, Dustin.” She winked at him.
“Touche,” Dustin said with a chuckle.
“Life is a lot like basketball, you know?”
“How so?” Dustin asked quizzically.
“Well in basketball...especially if it’s two good teams playing each other...then it’s like a roller coaster. You’ll have your great moments where you are dominating the court, but then suddenly life comes up from behind and just steals your thunder. Just like a roller coaster you have your ups and you have your downs. But as you and I both said….” Angelica intentionally let her voice trail off, hoping Dustin will finish her sentence for her. He doesn’t disappoint as a wry grin slid across his face.
“...always keep your eye on the prize.” He remarked.
“Bingo.” Angelica said, nodding her head.
She passed the ball to Dustin and he immediately turned and shots another basket. He got the ball back as it fell through the hoop and turned back to face Angelica.
“What did you mean earlier when you said you didn’t always have such a nice life?” Dustin asked somewhat cautiously. “If you don’t mind me asking.”
“It’s ok, because I don’t mind answering. I like sharing my story because I know my story might help someone.” Jones sighed as she prepared to tell her story; it was a difficult story for her to share, even though she has shared it many times. It was still painful and troubling for her to get through it. But she does her best. “My mother died when I was very young. And I watched her die.”
“Whoa…” Dustin remarked with surprise.
She nodded her head. “My sister and I had very different and difficult lives from then on. I ended up being sent to a convent, forced to become a nun. My sister was in foster care, the care of a really bad man.”
“You have a sister?”
“Oh don’t act like you don’t know.” Angelica said with a grin. “But yeah, I do. And I have no problem admitting she’s much prettier than me. But then again, she is a former model.”
“A model?” His eyes grew wide. Clearly he was thinking some lustful thoughts. If Angelica looked this good and her sister Kayla was a model who Angelica believed was ‘prettier’ than her, what must she look like. “Can I meet HER sometime?”
“I’ll think about it kiddo.” Angelica said chuckling.
Dustin was clearly having fun spending time with Angelica Jones and, to be honest, the feeling was mutual from Angelica’s perspective towards Dustin. She never got that deep into her personal story, she only told him what was of public record, and there’s more he could probably find out on his own if he really wanted to find out. But what she did tell him was enough to clue him in to the fact that she didn’t always live a happy go lucky lifestyle. She didn’t live the lap of luxury that so many of “the rich” supposedly grow up in. Angelica was born middle class and her family was torn from her, nearly destroyed, and she had to fight and claw to get where she was today. It was the strength of her spirit, her perseverance, that led her to move on and continue.
Angelica saw a lot of herself in Dustin. She could have allowed herself to go down the wrong path. In many ways she did. Her mind went haywire and she killed a man, which cost her many more years from her family. Since then she had tried to maintain control over her temper and maintain control of herself in general.
Still, she could be an example. Angelica could use her own experience and the lessons she learned from them to help others, people like Dustin for example, avoid falling into the same trap she did. She can help Dustin and other at risk youth avoid falling into the allure of the darkness. Angelica knows, after all, that it is easy to fall under the spell of the darkness. It’s easy to just give in and quit fighting.
“So you’re a nun?”
“Huh?” Angelica was startled back to reality. “Excuse me?”
“You’re a nun. Like Whoopie Goldberg in Sister Act?”
Angelica grinned. “Kind of, but we don’t actually sing and dance like that.”
“How does that happen? Becoming a nun, that is.”
“Oh well there’s a long process. It’s long mainly because the Catholic Church wants to make sure you are serious and you are committed to the cause. But the whole time you are part of the community of other Sisters. Eventually you become a Novitiate. That’s your first true year as a nun, that’s full of intense prayer and study. The second year is focused on what your calling is.”
“What do you mean by your calling?”
“In what ways can you best serve the community and the world beyond.”
“Oh that sounds cool, I guess. What did you do?”
“Officially I was to be a teacher. Unofficially I helped other young girls joining the convent adapt to the new lifestyle; mainly those who needed the help. Girls like me, I never wanted to be a nun. My dad made me shortly after mom died. There was one girl in particular, her name was Maria. She was in a similar boat. Her parents forced her to join the convent and become a nun because they were of the super religious type and wanted that for their daughter. Maria was deeply depressed and I saw a lot of myself in her. I helped her get through those troubling times.”
“Dang...that was real great of you.”
Angelica sighed and shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe. After your second year as a novice, you take your temporary vows and then eventually your final vows. Then you’re a nun.”
“Cool. But…” Dustin motioned to Angelica “...you’re not dressed like a nun. And nuns don’t play basketball.”
“You’d be surprised at what Sisters can do.” She winked. “And it’s also a myth that all nuns wear the habit all the time.”
“Habit?” Dustin asked quizzically.
“Habit is what the nuns wear, Dustin.”
“Oh, so you’re still a nun then?”
“No.” Angelica shook her head. “Not anymore.”
“You can quit?”
“The church doesn’t like it but yes, you can. In fact, I knew a nun AND a priest who both quit their vocations at the same time because they fell in love with each other.”
“For real?!”
“For real.”
Dustin started to laugh. “Now that’s funny! But, why’d you quit? You didn’t fall in love, did ya?”
“No, but love was involved. Remember I told you about my sister?”
“Yeah.”
“Well when I learned she was alive and in foster care I made it my point to track her down. I wanted to find my sister, my biological sister, and reunite with her. I knew my duties in the convent would take up too much of my time. I couldn’t serve both my family and the church.”
“So I take it the church is kinda pissed at you right now?” Dustin asks.
“Yes…” Angelica paused for a moment “...but that’s not why they are pissed at me. They forgave that and forgot all about it.”
“So why are they mad at you?”
“That’s another story for another time, kiddo.” Angelica stepped back and threw the ball into the air. This time it bounced off the rim. Dustin caught the rebound, turned, and tossed it into the basket.
“I was mad at my father. I missed my mother. But I knew I could depend upon my sister. And I knew that she felt the same way about me. I didn’t want to let her down so I had to find her.”
“So, I guess you really haven’t had this awesome life that I thought you had, huh?”
“Nope.” Angelica shook her head. “But it just goes to show you, Dustin, that you can never judge a book by its cover.”
Just then the gym doors opened and James re-entered. He smirked at Angelica then looked at Dustin, extending his arms and asking, “Alright, who wants to get some food.”
Angelica looked at Dustin, “Are you hungry?”
Dustin looked uneasy at James before returning his gaze to Angelica, a smile forming on his face. James could tell that Dustin seemed to connect more with her than him. James told himself he would have to remedy that somehow, “I could eat.”
James stepped in between both Dustin and Angelica before locking eyes with the juvenile, “Well, Dustin today is your day, so we will let you pick. Where would Dustin like to eat? It can be anything. Doesn’t matter how expensive or anything like that, because it’s on us. You can pick anywhere in New York that you’d like to go,” James finished speaking and received a nudge from Angelica. He turned to her, glancing at her over his shoulder as she gave him a look, telling him that he needed to dial it down a bit. James couldn’t have agreed more.
Dustin shrugged, “I like pizza.”
James looked at Angelica and nodded before looking back at Dustin, “I’m cool with that. Pizza it is.”
James and Angelica led the way down to James’ car, with James letting Dustin get in the passenger seat and Angelica to drive. They left and drove through the city, with James telling Dustin to find some music to listen to. Dustin chose rap, much to James’ dismay but he was trying to be the cool adult, so James nodded in approval. They made their way to get pizza. It was mainly Angelica and Dustin talking, making James feel like a third wheel.
Once the meal was over and the conversation quieted down, James broke the silence and asked, “So, is there anything you’d like to do now, Dustin?”
Dustin shrugged, “I don’t know.”
James shrugged as well, his response was uneasy, “Do you like comic books?” James asked, hoping to make some sort of connection.
Dustin looked at James, as if he was trying to think about the question. He then sighed and replied, “Yeah. I’m big into Spiderman.”
“Ah man, you’re a Marvel Guy,” James said, giving a slight smirk, “I was hoping you were into DC. I mean, come on. Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman...Flash...Need I go on?”
Dustin rolled his eye and cracked a grin of his own, which James caught in the mirror, making him feel a little bit better about his chances with building a good rapport with the kid, “Okay first off, Batman is just too dark and depressing. Superman is boring as shit, and Wonder Woman is only hot when we’re talking Gal Gadot. And the Flash TV show ruined that dude for me. Don’t get me started on Arrow. That ain’t nothing but a Batman rip-off. Marvel is where it’s at.”
James released a sigh, placing his hand to his chest, “You have literally broken my heart, bro.”
“Truth is the truth, dude…” Dustin said, looking ever so pleased with himself. James tried to hide his own smirk, not wanting to let Dustin know he enjoyed their conversation, before they pulled into the back parking lot of the comic shop. They all climbed out of the car before proceeding inside.
Once inside, James introduced the shop owner Rick to Dustin as well as Angelica. All of the other nerds in the building took their eyes away from their books or D&D games to check out Angelica. It reminded James of the first time, and every other time, he had brought Braelynn to the shop. Nerds were ready to become men, but didn’t know how to approach the subject. Angelica found a few racks of wrestling magazines and DVDs, making her way towards it. James then showed Dustin where the DC comics were held, with Dustin telling him, “You’re not going to get me to come over to the dark side bro. Where’s Marvel?”
“In Orlando, Florida with Mickey Mouse,” James shot back with a grin, “I’m just joking. Kinda. Marvel is over this way,” James said, motioning for Dustin to follow which he did. They stood over the boxes, grazing through a few books before James broke the silence, “So who besides Spiderman is your favorite Marvel character?”
It didn’t take Dustin long at all to respond, “That’s easy. Captain America.”
“Okay,” James said with a nod, “Why him?”
Dustin shrugged, “That’s easy too. It’s just something about him. He was this poor kid in New York, who went onto becoming something in this world. He was able to travel the world. He was a hero. The people adored him. That’s what I want…” Dustin’s voice trailed off.
James replied, trying to keep the conversation alive, hoping to break some sort of ground with the kid, “You want to be adored?”
Dustin looked over at James, making eye contact with each other, the kid’s eyes spoke to James just as his words did, “No. I want to get out of this city. Get away from everything. From everyone around here.”
James placed his hand on Dustin’s shoulder and nodded, “Believe it or not, I’ve been there. Definitely not in New York, but where I’m from originally.”
“Where’s that?”
“Boring ass Boone, North Carolina,” James said with a grin, “I grew up in a world that wasn’t the best place for me. I wanted out. I spent a lot of my time wanting to do just that. To escape. To see the world. And it finally happened.”
Dustin shook his head, “That’s all well and good, dude but I don’t think it’s in the cards for me. Well, anyone like me.”
“What makes you say that?”
“If you knew the world I grew up in, you would see that there is probably not going to be an escape for me. At least not one like yours.”
“What do you mean...not one like mine?” James asked, wholeheartedly.
Dustin shrugged again, “You got a happy ending. I highly doubt that I will. The only way I will leave this place is in a body bag or some shit.”
James shook his head, “Look Dustin, I am going to tell you exactly what someone else told me. I didn’t believe it at first, but looking back, I wish I had truly taken it to heart when it was said,” James said, as the memory of one of his first meetings with Dr. Vaughn entered his head. James was young when Vaughn spoke to him, saying the words that James said to Dustin, “You are not your environment. You can become better than the Hell you’ve grown up in. You can take that as motivation to better yourself and to strive for more.”
Dustin looked at James for a few moments before looking down at his comic. He closed it and put it back in the box, staring off like he was trying to truly grasp what James had said. James stood next to him, observing him before finally asking, “Are you alright, man?”
Dustin nodded, “Yeah. I hope you’re right about what you said. It’s just that…” Dustin’s voice trailed off again for another moment or two. James patted him on the shoulder and nodded, trying to encourage him. Dustin nodded as well, “It’s just that it scares the hell out of me.”
James nodded back, “Yeah, I get that. I’ve been there. Living with that fear. It is a pain in the ass, and I lived with it for a long time. Up until the last year or so if I’m being honest. It took me awhile to realize that I am the only one holding myself back. I think once you realize that, then you can use that fear to push yourself. It can be added motivation.”
Dustin nodded, giving a half grin, “Like I said...I hope you’re right.”
“I usually am...just don’t ask anyone else about that,” James smiled.
“I’m going to run to the bathroom dude,” Dustin said. James nodded and watched as Dustin headed off towards the back of the shop. James then made his way over to Angelica, who was standing idly by.
“Having a bonding moment?” she asked.
James shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know. Potentially. I think I gave him some sound advice. What are you reading?”
Angelica smirked and showed James the inside of the magazine she was reading. There were pictures of them, “Reading an article about our little tag team and how we kicked ass at Under Attack.”
James let out a sigh, “That we did. We just gotta keep the momentum up. Against Bree and whoever her partner is going to be.”
“You don’t think it will be her and Scott?”
James shook his head, “No I don’t. And it is nothing against Scott. I am sure that he’s a great dude and that he could make it in this business with the proper training, but to just shove him in like this...I don’t think he will last. It is only a matter of time.”
“Speaking of time, where is our kid at?” Angelica asked, glancing towards the restrooms. James looked at her before heading in that direction.
“Dustin….” James said with a knock. There was no reply. James knocked again, “Dustin...Dustin...You fall in, man?” James said, trying to make a joke in order to calm his nerves and ease the worry slowly creeping over him. There was still no answer. James yelled towards the front, “Rick...Can you help me here? You gotta key?” Ricky nodded. James continued to knock as Angelica now stood behind him. Rick arrived and unlocked the bathroom door. James pulled it open, “Oh shit…” James turned to Angelica, his worry forming on her face, “He’s not in there,” James looked at Rick, “Did you see Dustin leave through the front?”
“No one has come in or out since you guys,” Rick replied.
James looked at Angelica and shook his head, before grabbing his cell phone. Placing it to his ear, he heard Daniel’s voice and James said, “Daniel...we have a problem…” James exhaled deeply, “Dustin’s gone…”
“Alright, where are you?” Daniel asked. James gave their location, trying to stay calm, as Daniel replied, “Alright. Stay put. I will be over there as soon as possible.”
“He wants us to stay put,” James said. Angelica nodded. James nodded as well, but he knew he couldn’t do so. Before he knew it, James was making his way through the comic shop and out onto the street, his eyes scanning the area, searching for any sign of Dustin.
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