Page 34 of Gary
Lifting a brow at the boy’s insolence, Gary walked towards him. “No, just a curious adult. You are trespassing.”
Raymond gave the place a scornful once over before coming back to him. “This dump belongs to you?”
Gary hid a smile. “It does. Very soon, it will not be a dump.”
The boy’s eyes turned curious. “What will it be?”
“A community center. Do you think there is a need for such a thing?”
“What kind?”
Gary’s brows lifted. “The kind that caters to youths.”
Raymond eyed him up and down and noticed the expensive boots and sweater.
“How rich are you?”
Amusement twinkled in his eyes, and he found himself laughing out loud. “What a thing to ask someone. That’s none of your business. Now back to my original question. Why aren’t you in school?”
The boy gave him a sullen look and shrugged his shoulders. “I am a ward of the state and my foster parents are about to dump me back into the system.”
“What happened to your parents?”
The boy shrugged thin shoulders. “They died, okay? Why all the questions?”
“Perhaps I care about your welfare.” That got him a skeptical look.
“How old are you?”
“Sixteen. So, too old to be adopted.” He shrugged again.
“Are you still in school?”
“No. I hate school.”
“Education is always a way out of poverty.”
The boy sneered at him. “Have you ever been poor?”
“Can’t say I have. What would you like to be?”
“What?”
“What are your aspirations? What do you see yourself doing?”
The boy looked at him as if he had lost his marbles.
“How the hell should I know?”
“How about I make a suggestion?”
The boy shrugged again as if he was not interested.
“Like I said, I will be fixing this place up. The demolition team will be coming by tomorrow to gut the place. It is going to bea community center geared to young people who want to have someplace to chill, play games, learn some skills and socialize.
I am going to need someone to help me come up with ideas of what young people need these days.” He stared at the boy, until he realized what Gary was suggesting.
His blue eyes widened. “You mean me?”