Chapter Text
The sound of a chair scraping jerked Liam from his boredom induced sleep. Lifting his head he heard his fellow detainees pushing back their seats to leave as the teacher stood at the front of the room looking at her watch.
“Time’s up,” she said, sounding relieved. “Get out and don’t let me see you here again!”
Liam rolled his eyes as he stood up, pushing his chair back and pulling on his jacket. He snatched his school bag/makeshift pillow off the desk and grabbed out a packet of Doritos. Swinging his bag over his shoulder he got the hell out of the detention room.
“Liam, wait up!”
Looking over his shoulder he saw Rico, a somewhat tubby ball of a boy, running down the hallway.
“Can you believe that bullshit?” Rico puffed. “Who the fuck gives detention on the first day of school?”
Liam shook his head, shrugging as he opened the bag of chips. He popped one into his mouth before offering some to his friend.
“Aw, Nah, thanks man, I’m on a diet.”
Liam gave his friend a questioning look.
“Yeah, my Ma wants me to try out for the Football team this year.”
Liam nodded, clapping his friend on the shoulder encouragingly. ‘He’d probably make a great blocker,’ Liam thought to himself.
Rico continued to chatter away as they exited out into the mid-afternoon sun.
“Man, I hope my bike’s still there. I put three fucking locks on it, but you know this neighborhood,” he said with a laugh. “Ok, see you tomorrow, Liam.”
Rico veered left to head down the ramp towards the bike racks.
“Later,” Liam replied with a wave as he started down the steps.
Perched on the bottom step was a smaller child, holding a baseball. Liam paused halfway down the steps. Glancing at his phone, he wasn't surprised to see it was 4:30 but he was surprised that no one appeared too interested in the fact this little kid was still waiting to be picked up. Continuing down the steps Liam came to a halt when he reached the bottom. Looking over at the child, he saw a big pair of blue eyes peering up at him from under a mop of dirty blonde hair.
“Hey kid. You good?” Liam enquired.
“Yeah,” the kid responded, somewhat unconvincingly.
Liam looked up and down the deserted street.
“You waiting for someone?” he asked.
“No,” replied the kid, looking back at his baseball, little fingers pulling at a loose thread.
“Where’s your Mom?”
“At work.”
“What about your Dad?”
“Locked up,” the boy replied, looking towards Liam, his eyes fixed on the Doritos bag. “But he’s getting out soon.”
“Cool, so where are you supposed to be?” Liam asked, sitting down beside the kid as he popped another chip in his mouth.
“Mama told me to go home after school,” the child started, “but she doesn’t get off work till 6 and it’s only my Uncles and their Pops at home and… ” he trailed off, eyes downcast.
“Won’t they be wondering where you are?”
“No, they don’t care, they’ll be high or drunk. I’m just gonna wait here till Mama gets off work,” he finished, his eyes travelling back to the bag.
“Here,” Liam said, passing the chips to the boy. “You wanna help me eat these?”
“No, I’m ok,” he lied.
“You sure? Cos I’m probably just gonna toss them. I can’t eat ‘em all by myself.”
Blue eyes stared into brown for a second, before the boy stuffed his hand into the bag so fast Liam nearly dropped it.
Standing up, Liam dropped the packet in the kid’s lap. If he didn’t get moving soon his brother would start to worry and he didn’t want to be the cause of any stress for him, but neither did he feel comfortable leaving the little kid alone around here.
“So,” Liam began, giving his head a scratch, “my brother works at the library over on W43rd. I usually go there after school till he finishes. You wanna come and wait there?” Liam offered. “Beats sitting around here. You got homework to do?”
“Yeah, I got a math sheet to do and I’m s’posed to read to someone.”
“Well, there’s no better place to read than the library…” Liam started down the path slowly, looking back over his shoulder. “You coming, kid?”
The child thought for a moment, then nodded his head. Shoving the last of the chips in his mouth, he jammed his ball in a side pocket of his backpack and ran after the older boy.
*****
By the time they arrived at the Library it was just before 5pm. Liam had learned that the kid was in the 2nd grade, his favorite sport was baseball and he hated reading. When Liam discovered his name was Yevgeny and that he was a Milkovich, he immediately understood the boy’s reluctance to hang out with his Grandfather and Uncles. That family had a rep and it wasn’t a good one.
“You been to this library before?” Liam enquired, as they entered the brownstone building.
“No, but I’ve been to the one at school,” he replied, passing through the automatic doors.
After they went through the security detectors Liam led them towards the right and up a flight of stairs following the sign to the Kids/Teens Fiction section. When they reached the top Yevgeny stopped to view the ground floor issuing desk through the glass wall, his grubby Dorito stained fingers pressed to the glass and leaving streaks. Grabbing the hood of his jacket, Liam dragged him away and past several rows of bookshelves, toward the study area.
“Put your stuff here,” Liam directed, dumping his own bag on a vacant table next to a sleeping computer monitor. “I gotta just check in with my brother, I’ll be back in a minute. Bathroom’s that way, if you need it,” he said pointing towards the romance section.
After setting his backpack on the table, Yev wandered back toward the big glass window, passing bins of picture books and bright cushions where a small group of moms were watching their kids while drinking coffee and chatting. He made a wide circle around a group of teens boys hovering near the water fountain.
From his elevated vantage point, he was able to see Liam’s dark hair. He was leaning against the checkout counter talking to someone with hair like fire, both of their hands moving as they chatted. Without warning, Liam turned toward the upper level and pointed directly at Yev, who jumped back like he’d been bitten, but relaxed and waved when Liam smiled.
Yev raised his hand in response and wondered where Liam’s brother could be hiding. Returning to the table, he reached into his bag and took out his homework. The maths was pretty simple, basic facts practice mostly so he made a start on that first.
By the time Liam had returned, Yev was onto his last problem. A bottle of water appeared on the table in front of the 2nd grader as Liam proceeded to drink from his own.
“Thanks,” Yev said, taking a swig. “Did you find your brother?”
“Yeah,” Liam replied slowly, giving Yev a strange look. “Didn’t you see him wave at you?”
“Wait!” Yev replied, slapping his hands on the table in astonishment. “That was your brother?”
“Yeah, his name’s Ian.”
“Huh!” Yev said, looking slightly confused as he finished off the last math problem before stuffing the worksheet back in his bag.
“Did you need me to listen to you read, kid?” Liam asked.
“Yeah, would you?”
“Sure. What are we reading?”
“Some lame Dr Seuss book,” Yev replied, digging around in his bag. Finally he got his hand on the book and whipped it out of his bag, dropping it loudly on the table.
“Dude!” Liam hissed. “Do that shit quietly man, this is a library.”
“Sorry,” Yev whispered, smiling sheepishly over at the Moms who had glanced up from their coffee cups at the noise.
“Ok man. So read.” Liam instructed him. “Quietly!”
Yev opened the book and began.
“Oh, the wonderful things Mr Brown can do! He can go like a cow. He can go MOO, MOO. Mr Brown can do it. How about you?”
Liam watched as Yev clearly and confidently continued the story.
“He can go like a bee. Mr Brown can BUZZ. How about you? Can you go BUZZ, BUZZ.” Yev looked up at Liam for a second between sentences, rolling his eyes.
“He can go like a cork… POP POP POP POP. He can go like horse feet, KLOPP, KLOPP…”
“Wait a minute,” Liam interrupted. “I thought you said you hated reading?”
“I do!” Yev insisted.
“But you’re really good at it!”
“I know,” Yev replied, “but the books are so boring and babyish, that’s why I hate it.”
“So, wait. You don’t actually hate reading, you just hate the stuff your teacher makes you read.”
Yev considered this, then nodded. “Yeah, I guess.”
“Well then, I think we’ve come to the right place!”
*****
Yev had burrowed his way into the pile of giant cushions and was nose-deep in a book called Free Baseball when an announcement came over the speakers saying that the library would be closing in 15 minutes.
“Hey Liam,” Yev whispered loudly. “What time is it?”
Liam pulled out his phone and replied, “5.45.”
“Oh man, I gotta go,” he exclaimed, jumping up. He looked at the book in his hand. “Do you think I can borrow this?”
“Yeah man, just take it down to my brother and he’ll issue it for you.”
“K thanks” Yev replied, barely able to believe his luck.
Yev collected all his stuff and headed down the stairs. As he approached the desk he couldn’t see anyone, but there was a bell you could ring for attention further along the high counter. Dropping his stuff on the floor, he reached up to hit the bell.
A few seconds later, he heard a voice say “Hello?”
Yev took a few steps back and saw a face, with green eyes and a head of orange locks come into view.
“Hi,” Ian said, smiling down at Yev. “Sorry about that, I didn’t see you there.”
“It’s ok. I wanna take this book home,” he announced and held the book up for Ian to take.
“No problem,” Ian said, taking the book and moving to a lower counter. “You wanna come over here, Bud? This is where the kids normally check their books out. That way we can actually see who we’re talking to.”
Yev looked over at where Ian was now sitting and saw the sign over the desk with a big arrow pointing down at Ian saying, ‘Kids Issuing Here’. He felt slightly embarrassed, but Ian didn’t seem bothered, so he dragged his stuff over.
“Do you have your library card there?” Ian asked.
“My what?” Yev replied, his eyes growing large.
“Your library card. You can’t issue a book without one.”
He felt his stomach drop. He really liked the book and was dying to know what was gonna happen next.
“Well, where can I get one?” Yev enquired, looking around.
“Um, you get them here...but…” Ian began.
Yev gave Ian a slightly confused look, shoved his hands into his pockets and pulled out a quarter.
“How much are they? This is all I got ,” he announced, slapping the coin on the counter.
Ian grinned at the boy and pushed the money back towards Yev.
“They don’t cost anything.”
Yev’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? Great, I’ll take one please,” he beamed.
“No,” Ian sighed, shaking his head. “I’m sorry Bud, but I can’t give you one.”
Yev’s face fell. “What’d I gotta do to get one then?”
“You need to have an adult come in and get one for you and they need to bring ID and proof of their address. Like an electricity bill or something.
Liam arrived just in time to catch the last part of that conversation and saw the disappointed look on the kid’s face. He glanced up at Ian as if to say ‘do something’, but all he got back was a look that said ‘what the fuck can I do?’
Ian always was a bit of a stickler for the rules when it came to his job.
“Hey Yev,” Liam piped up. “I have a library card, why don’t I issue the book for you until you can get your own one sorted.”
“Yes,” he cried, snatching the book back and hugging it to his chest. “Can we?”
“Sure,” Liam said, patting the boy on the shoulder reassuringly. “But you’re gonna have to give the book to Ian so he can scan it first.”
“Oh,” Yev said, tentatively handing the book back to Ian, who took it and after swiping Liam’s card, scanned the book too. It appeared that for some reason Yev found the beeping sound highly satisfying, his little eyes lighting up with the swipe of every barcode.
Ian held the book out for Yev to take, but didn’t release it into the boy’s grip.
Green eyes stared into blue. “You need to get an adult to come get you your own card, ok?”
“I will,” he nodded slowly.
“Take care of this book, won’t you?”
“I will,” he promised, looking between the brothers.
Ian released the book and gave the boy a wink, as Yev hugged it to his chest again.
Yev hadn’t felt this happy since the last time he’d gotten to visit his father. He couldn’t wait to tell Papa all about the story. Papa loved baseball too. Mama didn’t like it so much, but he was excited to show her too.
‘Mama,’ he thought suddenly.
“Oh man!” Yev exclaimed, “I really gotta go.”
Grabbing his stuff, he raced for the exit, calling back over his shoulder. “Thanks Liam, see you tomorrow.”
“See ya, Yev,” Liam called back, watching him run out the door. “Poor kid!” he said, shaking his head.
“What’s that?” Ian enquired, as he went about shutting down the issuing computer..
“I was just saying, poor kid,” Liam repeated.
“Why’s that?”
“He’s a Milkovich.”
Ian stopped in his tracks and turned towards Liam.
“Really?” he questioned.
Ian had been good friends with Mandy Milkovich in high school but hadn’t seen or heard from her in years. He wasn’t too familiar with the rest of the family but seemed to recall an older brother getting hitched a few years back. This kid must be Mandy’s nephew, he decided.
“What’s his name?” Ian asked.
“Yevgeny.”
“Say again?”
“Yevgeny, but he said to call him Yev.”
“Yevgeny… that’s different,” Ian muttered to himself as he returned to his work.
*****
It didn’t take long for Ian to close up the rest of the library, before poking his head through the workroom door behind the desk. “I’m headed out,” he called to the Head Librarian, who was still pottering away in the back. “You want us to wait for you, Martha?”
“No, baby,” she replied. “You go ahead. I’m parked right next to the back exit, plus I got my taser and my baton, ain’t nobody gonna mess wit me.”
Ian chuckled, he sure as hell wouldn’t wanna mess with her.
“Ok, see you tomorrow,” Ian laughed.
“Bye Ian, bye Liam,” she sang.
“G’bye Miz Martha,” Liam called back before heading out the door. Ian followed close behind, pausing to flip off the lights and lock the doors.
*****
The brothers strolled towards their home, Ian walking a little slower to allow Liam’s shorter legs to keep up.
“So, why did you get detention?” Ian enquired.
Liam looked up at his brother. “Teacher was being a dick to one of the kids, so I tripped him.”
“No way!” Ian laughed.
“Yes way,” Liam insisted.
“With your foot or your bag?”
“What?”
“Did you trip him with your foot or your bag?”
“My foot!”
“Ah, see, that was your mistake,” Ian explained. “You have much to learn young grasshopper,” he continued, patting his brother on the head condescendingly. “I did the same thing in High School, but I never got detention for it. Why? Because I used my bag, so then the teacher just looked like a clutz.”
Liam turned, placed his hands together and bowed to his older brother. “Oh shank gu wise and ancient brother for your unending wisd… “
Ian shoved the little shit and flipped him off, laughing.
“How’d you meet the kid, anyway?” Ian asked, continuing toward their house.
“He was just sitting on the front steps all alone when I was leaving school after detention. I asked him if he was waiting for someone, but he wasn’t.”
“Why didn’t he just go home then?” Ian’s long legs slowed so Liam could keep up.
“I asked that, but it seems like he was scared to be there without his Mom.”
“I s’pose a big empty house would seem scary to a little kid,” Ian mused.
“Oh it ain’t empty,” Liam stated. “It’s full of Milkovich men who are probably drunk or high.”
Ian grimaced.
“So I said he might as well come and wait at the library. At least he could get his homework done there.”
“That was really nice of you, man. You’re a good kid, ya know,” Ian said, bumping Liam’s shoulder with his elbow.
“Oh shank gu, o wise… ahhh,” he ran, dodging the ginger man’s freakishly long reach.
“C’mere you cheeky little shit, you’re gonna get it,” Ian yelled, chasing his brother down the street and into their yard.