In The Back Streets Of France, Chapter 1: Charcoal

Chapter 1: Charcoal

In the back streets, a girl runs into a deserted soup kitchen carrying a big lump. The door is blocked from the inside by charcoal. She is the only one who goes through the front entrance, earning her the nickname Charcoal. She never answers to the anything else. She goes down a dimly lit hall to a lone door and crosses the threshold. Here, five mattresses are arranged in a circle.

“It’s about time!” complains Andrew. Charcoal rolls her eyes.

“You try to steal something larger than a wallet!” she grumbles. “I just got us all a better heater!”

Shawn rolls over onto his stomach. He picks up one of his prized comic books and stares at the cover. “Charcoal, what’s for dinner?” he whines.

“No clue,” Charcoal mimics Shawn’s whiny voice. Then in her regular voice she says, “it’s Alex’s turn to cook…but knowing Alex, it’ll probably be burnt crêpes.”

Hidden behind a wall of half finished projects, a shaggy head appears. “Don’t you know any other recipes, Alex? Alex?” calls Matt. “Hey, Charcoal. When you came in, did you see Alex?”

Whenever Alex comes home late it usually means that he is in trouble. Everyone looks concerns.

“I’ll go look for him,” Charcoal says anxiously.

She leaps up and scrambles over the mattresses. She finds her balance again and runs out into the hall. Standing under the one dim light in the hall, is a figure doubled over but holding cigarette. That is how they can tell Alex is mad or find him in the dark because the butt glows. But this time he is taking particularly heavy drags on the cigarette and Charcoal watches the glowing butt shake uncontrollably.

Suddenly he straightens up and she takes a step back. It is Alex but when he looks up at her, she sees blood all over his face, neck, and hands. His eyes are bloodshot and his usually somewhat neat hair is caked with blood. Charcoal gasps.

“God, Alex! What happened?” she whispers. Then she screams shrilly, “What happened? God, tell me what happened!”

He lurches towards her then backs up until his back is touching the wall. They are facing each other.

“Shhhh! I don’t want them to see me this way. I didn’t want you to see me this way, either, Charcoal. Go back in.” He puts out the cigarette.

“No I won’t. You aren’t the boss of me.”

He smiles through all the blood. They all know that they are not the boss of her. It is almost an unspoken rule mostly because she is the only girl, she is oldest (14), second only to Alex who was 16 (and-a-half as he liked to remind them.) and she seems like a mother to all of them.

“What happened, Alex?” Charcoal repeats with forcefulness this time. “Tell me.”

Alex wipes off some of the blood so he can talk. “I don’t know what happened. All I was doing was what I normally do –.”

“Which is making trouble.” Charcoal interrupts. “Go on.”

“So yeah. Minding my own business when it went dark. When I woke up I-I- do you really want to know?” Alex slides down the wall. He is shaking uncontrollably again so Charcoal kneels beside him and reaches into his inside pocket of his jacket. She draws out the 24-pack of cigarettes and the sleek black lighter. She flips the lighter head back two or three times to get a flame that will hold and holds the end of an unused cigarette to the flame. When she is done she sticks it into her mouth and takes a heavy drag to steady her nerves. Alex’s eyes widen. Then she does the same for Alex and sticks the end into his mouth. After a few drags, he slowly stops shaking violently. He gently reaches over to her cigarette and snubs it out on the cold concrete.

“It’s not a good habit. Don’t start.” He says in a calmer voice.

She reaches into her own jacket and pulls out a matching packet of cigarettes and a matching lighter. “I didn’t just start. I’ve been doing it since you started about a year ago. I’ve tried to stop five or six times but so far it hasn’t worked.” She lights her own cigarette and puts it in her mouth.

“Charcoal. I can’t believe this. You – why didn’t you tell me?” He leaps up and put his head on the cold concrete wall. “Charcoal, you have no idea how I feel. I – I feel like a father who just failed to protect his daughter.”

He slides down the wall again.

She looks at him. “I had no idea. But Alex, its too late now, what’s done is done. Listen: don’t tell them. Anyway we aren’t talking about my shocking, dreadful, ghastly cigarette habits. We’re talking about what happened to you. Oh, and in the future try thinking about me as girlfriend if you’re going to worry.”

Charcoal leans forward and gently brushes his lips. They both turn red and she sits back hurriedly.

“Now, tell me what happened.” She looks at him as if prompting him

“I – I woke up on a bar. There were nine or ten shot glasses around my head and they all had an oily appearance like there was alcohol in them. I reached up to wipe my hand on my mouth and realized were the alcohol was. They were all poring it into me! They started to smash beer bottles on my face, neck, and hands. God, it hurt! They were all drunk. I was drunk, Charcoal! I am so mortified of myself for getting off the bar and ordering five more!” Alex is crying into her shoulder now. “There was blood all over me but I didn’t care. I will clean up later.” He looks up at her and says, “I even paid for all of them. I got the money out of – never mind.”

“No, tell me.”

“From you. I came back and there was no one here so I got under your stuff to your money. Shit, now you’re mad at me!” he sobs. Charcoal takes a long pull on her cigarette. She can’t believe him! The…the…. No stop, Charcoal. He was drunk and that wasn’t his fault. Slowly she pushes him back so she can see his eyes. “I’m not gonna blame you this time but I don’t want you to look for that money again, capesh?” she shifts into a more comfortable position. “Look, you are too young for drinking. I never want to see or hear of you doing out of your own free will. But if there is another incident like this, I wanna be the first person you come to, got it?”

“Capesh,” whispers Alex.

“Okay, I have to support you into the room otherwise – yes I want them to see you because I want them to understand and I want you to, too – otherwise you might end up at my money again. Get up. Nice and easy!” Charcoal tenses and strains to pull him up. Finally, they get Alex up and they stagger to the door. It is not easy going because Alex is all slippery with blood.

“Matt! Shawn! Andrew! Open the door!”

“Why don’t you?” comes three distant voices.

“OPEN THE DAMN DOOR!” Charcoal snarls.

Matt is the one who opens the door after they play Rock-Paper-Scissors. He screams and runs back to his bed while Charcoal and Alex stagger in. She pauses when they get to Alex’s bed. She looks around and says in a loud voice:

“Guys? I’m sorry that I spoke that way. Can y’all come over here for a second? Good,” she says when they all creep over. “Alex here did not make any conscious decisions to get him to this point but I will ask, are you or were you scared when you first saw him?”

They nod.

“Good, because this is what happens when you drink to the point of oblivion. He-”

“Alex was drinking?” asks Andrew.

“Yeah, but don’t put it on his head because it wasn’t his fault. Apparently he was knocked out and forced to drink. I just wanted you to know that this is what drinking does to you.”

“Why all the blood?” asks Shawn.

“They were hitting him with beer bottles. Glass ones. Face, neck, and hands. No drinking, copesh?”

Alex, Matt, Shawn, and Andrew all put their hands on top of Charcoal’s closed fist and say, “Copesh.”

Charcoal smiles. “Good!”

Later that night, when Charcoal is standing over the stove, she thinks: You know, they aren’t that bad as all that. They’re all good kids underneath. But that’s what they have to remember: they are all kids when the tough exterior is stripped away. I’m so glad that I decided to run away from that atrocious orphanage with them! I almost went with Alexis, Casey, Jessie, Maya, and Dani! God! All I would have heard from them is how cute Alex is! I know that when I was there that was all I heard! And when I went to pack my stuff, and told them I was running away with Alex, Matt, Shawn, and Andrew, they positively died they thought I was so lucky! I just think of them as four best friends, that’s all. Well except Alex… I guess. I kinda like him and he’s obviously into me too or else he so wouldn’t of kissed me back. But I really want to see my girls again. I miss them. But then again… if I saw them now, I wouldn’t hear anything else but “oh, you’re so lucky!” I guess I am in a way. I mean, I’m with Alex and the other guys, they’re all great to be around, also.

She shrugs and says out loud, “I should probably see them.”

Shawn looks up, “What? Who?”

“Alexis, Casey, Jessie, Maya and Danielle.” She looks at him while she is stirring the soup. “I miss them. Don’t you?”

He smiles. “Yeah.”

“I was just thinking, how about we see them?”

“Well Alex wouldn’t like that.”

“Yeah, but Alex is in no fit state to entertain if you get my drift, so I’m totally in charge. Would you like to?”

“Yeah, totally!”

“Ok, don’t tell though, Shawn. Big, bad Alex wouldn’t like that!”

“No I wouldn’t!” says a deep voice. Alex has made his way over to her and the stove and proceeds to give Charcoal a shoulder massage.

“Not here,” she reprimands him gently as she removes the hands.

“Oh, My, God! Are you two going out?” Shawn screeches. “Hey guys, they’re going out! They’re going –”

“No we aren’t” Alex and Charcoal scream together.

“YES YOU SO ARE!”

“You little devil!” yells Alex. And he dives on top of Shawn and tickles him until he thinks he will die. They all are laughing.

“DINNER!” Charcoal finally yells.

They all get a bowl and spoon and hold it out so she can put some food into it.

“None for you until you’ve had a shower!” Charcoal says to Alex. When he comes back she gives him some.

“Tonight,” she says dramatically, “is gourmet night. Chicken and broccoli soup. Shut up.” Alex make a retching sound. They all laugh. They eat with the usual gusto then roll into bed where they have the routine of saying good night to the person next to them three times. It usually ends up being more like five because they keep laughing and forgetting whom they are on and what rotation. They always have a smile on their faces when they go to sleep.