Out
in the World
(a true story)
Copyright
© 2002, Lorenzo Vidali. All Rights Reserved
Lorenzo
Vidali awoke to the morning sounds of the kitchen. Lazily he checked
his clock which told him it was 9:00 a.m., Saturday, and time to get
up. Having a weekend job on top of a hectic school schedule was very
demanding, and so was the quota of four leads an hour he met each work
day with his marketers. Every weekend he and his team collected the
names and phone numbers of people interested in house painting or related
home renovations. His manager was his brother Orlando, often called
"Dino," who spent most of his time out with his girlfriend or painting
houses.
Slowly Lorenzo slid out of bed and slipped into a cold white T-shirt
with a "Student Works Painting" logo on it and a pair of blue jeans,
the "cool" kind with huge sagging cargo pockets. After getting used
to his clothing he left his messy room, completed all his bathroom chores,
and plodded out like a zombie.
"Morning,
Mom. What's for breakfast?" murmured Lorenzo.
"Gooood
Morning, Da-tzee," exclaimed his happy mother as she gave him a big
kiss on the cheek. "We're having eggs and toast. Does it sound good?"
"Yeah,
I better eat before my workers come. Too bad they can't drive themselves
to work. Dino's car is so darn packed when we're drivin' there, I can't
even move, and now it's gonna' be even worse with Chelsea in the car."
"I'm
so glad Dino has a nice girlfriend--and glad he broke up with that other
ding-a-ling," stated his mom with a strong tone of disgust in her voice.
"Good
morning, Love," called Lorenzo's dad Aldo as he entered the kitchen
with an arthritic limp.
"Morning,
Pa."
"Good
morning, Ti," said Aldo. He often used the nickname "Ti" instead of
"Lorenzo."
"Good
morning, Love," replied Mom with an angel voice, quite different from
her voice when talking about Dino's ex.
"Good
morning," said Dino and Chelsea at the same time as they entered the
kitchen and yawned.
While Lorenzo munched on toast he began to wake up fully. The family
chatter became more irritating and when he had finished his last bite
of egg he wanted to run to his room and call up the movie theater to
get away with his friends...but he didn't. He just couldn't stand the
way his parents would criticize everyone and the way his brother would
act immature and try to tackle him. Chelsea was all right. She had just
come to visit and was going to stay for the summer. He hadn't been around
her long enough to not stand her yet.
"Gosh,
why does my dad always get so emotional when he talks about politics.
It's so ANNOYING!!!!!!" thought Lorenzo. "I wish Dino would stop trying
to make me laugh; it's getting Mom angry. I can't stand it when she
blows her top over the tiniest things."
A few minutes later when the dishes were in the washer, the doorbell
rang.
"Yo,
wassup, Brian?"
"Hey,
Lorenzo."
Brian was about two years Lorenzo's junior, and he was an outgoing,
loudmouthed guy which was quite comical for is small stature (4' 9"),
yet it fit his red hair and freckles. He loved to get in trouble and
get kicked out of class at school whenever possible.
DING DONG.
"Hey,
Nikko."
"Hey."
Nikko and Lorenzo were very close to best friends. They both enjoyed
making fun of everybody and they would laugh while everyone else would
steam. He was a small person with black hair and a cut that reminded
Lorenzo's mom of the Beatles. Nikko was quite soft spoken but had his
clever moments.
The doorbell rang again.
"Hey,
what's up? I'm Lorenzo? Pleased to meet ya'."
"Hey,
what's up? I'm Schuyler."
Schuyler was the "new" kid. He had yet to learn the ropes of the job
and seemed to be cool. He was about Brian's age and they were actually
good friends--a squat little fellow who often expressed his love for
prime rib.
"All
right, kids. Let's go!" Dino announced with one arm around Chelsea's
waist.
Everyone hopped in the car and drove off leaving Lorenzo's parents to
themselves in a now quiet house.
A banged up old black Honda Accord barreled down the highway in the
fast lane as everyone in it nodded their heads in sync to the heavy
metal music playing on the radio. Orlando turned down the volume.
"So,
Ti, where do you need to be dropped off?"
"Oh,
just where that big block of houses is in PG."
"Pacific
Grove?"
"Yeah."
Soon the marketers stood in the middle of a mass of houses. The hours
began. They went door to door with their flyers and clipboards collecting
names and numbers. It was a hard job and some people had dogs that chased
them off into the streets.
Out of the many homes visited, certain inhabitants became stories to
tell. A rickety old gate creaked as Lorenzo opened it and proceeded
toward the front door of a run down old house with a dead lawn and a
huge monster truck in the driveway. After ascending the stairs to the
porch, Lorenzo knocked loudly on the door. The air was putrid with the
smell of old beer and cigarettes. As he was looking around at the yard,
the door opened and a huge man with bloodshot eyes stared down at him.
Way too intimidated to say anything at first, Lorenzo falteringly gave
the man his pitch.
"Hi,
my name is Lorenzo from Student Works Painting. Are you?..."
"Wrong
Time!!" interrupted the hulk rudely and slammed the door.
Lorenzo quickly ran out of the yard of metallic junk.
A few houses down the block he approached a plot of land with a trio
of ugly pink houses. There he found three drunk folk who stumbled around
loudly, blabbing. One was a rough lady in her forties, waxing an old
black car. Another a man about the same age with a beer belly, sipping
a huge bottle of beer called " A 40," and the last was a second man,
tall and skinny, puffing a joint. All three junkies displayed red-faces
and a jolly gait, and after asking Lorenzo many questions they each
signed his paper and added their phone numbers. Lorenzo was quite pleased,
but didn't expect anything out of these leads because the signers were
drunk. He then caught up with his friends who were starting on the next
street.
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