A FRIENDLY REMINDER

'Where did you get all of that from?' Mary-Jane asks his tired looking boyfriend, Cyril.

'From the streets, babes,' he replies.

She keeps queit.

'I can't believe that the world has put so much strain on us,' he continues.

'You're to blame for all of this,' she replies. If you didn't act all heroic, I'd still living under my parents roof as their one and only trusted daughter. Now, we live like dungeon dragons in this petty part of the city where a soul is found dead on the street every other day of the week.'

'I'm not all happy about all of this but, at least this should be the place to raise our kids at. I go to sleep engulfed by the noise of hooting cars and sometimes a brave owl above our only tree in this yard, a peach-tree. I'm also getting tired of this life but, I wont go back home to the township to be eaten alive by the poverty scourge.'

'You may think you're a cellphone repairman but, to I you're only a newby crook who's sick scared of jailtime.'

'Be careful, hey. some walls have ears and your wish of visiting me behind bars may just well come true.'

'At least I sell no technology. Thus, I've no stress of police asking me unkind questions. Do you know that I'm beginning to get irritated by the Gangster Girl name tag I've just been given by passersby?'

'Don't listen to any fool. Just do your selling job with aplomb. I'll give you some of my wares to sell tomorrow. Plus, I wont be going to the market anytime soon.'

'Why, what's the problem?'

'Derrick has been taken in for questioning earlier this morning.'

'Why?'

'An elderly woman came riding with the police fingered her as a suspect who robbed her of a her cellphone more than a year ago.'

'Why then should you feel scared?'

'I was with him hours before that and was seen with him several times by the police because we work on the same spot.'

'Do you think they'll come after you?'

'Possibly so. I should've stayed and kept queit while they bundled him at the back of the police van but, I took my goods and hit the corner.'

'Why did you run away?'

'I thought he'd finger me as one of his partners in crime.'

'Why aren't you calling him to hear what happened to him this morning?'

'It's no use. He'll be rude to me if he gets to answer his phone.'

'Can you go out to the supermaket to buy us milk?'

'Us?'

'Yes. I'm tired of eating meat. I hope you're as tired as me.'

'Yes.Although today is risky, I'll go.'

'Thanks.'

A few minutes after he has left,she hears a heavy knock on their living room's door.

'Who are you?' she asks.

'It's I sargeant Ron Mills, comes a reply. Please open this door, young lady.'

She does.

A tall, black figure walks in grinning from ear to ear.

'How may I help you s-i-r?' she stummers.

'Well,' he replies slamming he body against the couch's softness. I'm here to see your man. What did you say his name is?'

'Cyril?'

'Yes. I've got nothing much to tell him beside friendlily warning him to stay away from Derrick. That young man is so troublesome that we've put him on the police watchdog list. I don't know if your boyfriend knows but, that young gun has trialed for over fifteen months over a man slaughter suspicion. Now we're investigating him over a series of mugging incidents.'

'Huh?'

'Take, this is my business card and it would be of good use to you whenever you're in some kind of trouble.'

'Thanks.'

'Tell you boyfriend to keep calm. I saw him quickly folding his table early this morning, got called and   informed by my informants about his hiding place but, though pressured by my colleagues to pursue him, I told them to let the boy go on about his business of selling.'

She gasps as she watch him close the police van driver door and drive away. Next to her set a very beautiful police woman who could make bullets melt. She locks all doors and windows except the bathroom's one and stands against the window looking at passing vehicles and people on the streets.

A door opens and closes.

'It's you!' she says animately. I knew you'd come back alive. I knew.'

He looks depressed.

'Ron Mills was here,' she continues. He says they had arrested your friend early this morning. But it seems like there was no information to pin him to the crime they were suspecting him for. He offered a friendly reminder to you; You should play or work as far from him as you possibly could.'

'I agree. He doesn't even want to talk to me for now.'



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