The Street Rat 207

“Right, what’s all this, then?” Eddie asked in the worst British accent he could muster. 

“Now, how would I know?” Maria asked, stopping to dramatically turn and face him with her hands on her hips. 

“You know you’re the brains around here,” Eddie answered.

The four of them were walking six blocks for their family dinner, when, at block four, they ran into a large crowd gathered around a stage. 

“Can we still have Fry Farm?” Tomas asked, his eyes widening. He bounced on the balls of his feet as he waited for the answer.

“Tomas,” Eddie ruffled his hair as he talked, “even if I have to put you on my shoulders and jump from one rooftop to the next to make it there, I’m taking you to Fry Farm.”

“Okay, good,” Tomas answered with a smile, satisfied that no matter what was going on in front of him he’d still get Fry Farm. 

“Let’s check this out.”

“Why would we do that?” Maria asked, but Eddie was already gone, Tomas and Alex following close behind. 

Maria trotted after them through the crowd as Eddie weaved around people to get to the fence.

“I guess I’m in the rich-guy phase where I want to help communities while also getting buildings named after me,” the man on the stage laughed as the crowd joined him. 

Eddie was captivated by the speaker. A tall, dark-haired, charismatic man stood on the stage before him and commanded every eye on the street. His bright smile and fierce eyes wouldn’t let you look away.

He even speaks like me! Eddie thought to himself as he watched the man pace, winning over every skeptic and cynic in the crowd with his charisma. 

Well. Almost every skeptic and cynic. 

“Get a load of this guy,” Maria snorted behind Eddie. “Like anyone couldn’t see through this nonsense. I thought eating Fry Farm food was going to be the most nauseating thing I did today, but I guess I was wrong.”

“Hey!” Eddie and Tomas shouted at the same time, albeit for different reasons. 

“What’s your problem?” Eddie asked, turning from the stage. “This guy comes in and builds a new research facility down the street from our neighborhood, and you have nothing good to say?”

“You’re kidding. Eddie, this guy’s clearly a snake!”

“Am I a snake for trying to make the neighborhood better, too?”

“No, because you care about the people here. This guy doesn’t. What are we even arguing about?”

“I just don’t know why you’re against progress for our neighborhood.” Eddie shrugged and turned back to face the stage, where the man was still smiling. 

“The new Avara research lab will help revitalize this area of Sanders and will raise everyone here up with it. New jobs, higher pay, and more money put back into the community.” 

The man paused as he soaked in the applause. 

“These first few weeks of operation have already been so much more fruitful than I could have hoped. I see great things in store for the people in front of me, and I want to thank you again for welcoming us into your home so kindly. 

“The people of Sanders are a proud people, and rightfully so. I’m not looking to be an interloper or come in and change everything in a search for power. I am here to create the opportunities Avara will provide and retreat back out of the spotlight like a modern Cincinnatus. Sanders doesn’t need a handout or someone from the outside to lead them. They just need someone to believe in them so they can lead themselves. Matthew Fox believes in you, Sanders.”

The crowd burst into applause when he finished. He waved as he was escorted off the stage. 

Eddie joined in, clapping and bouncing on the balls of his feet, as the crowd dispersed.

“You’re always optimistic,” Maria said, shaking her head at Eddie, “but you aren’t typically this naive. What’s going on?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he laughed and lifted Alex onto his shoulders. “I’m just excited that people are trying to help us. I don’t see how it’s a bad thing that a successful businessman is putting a nice new building here. It’s what I’ll do when I’m in that spot in twenty years.”

“I don’t want to see you get hurt, Eddie. That man is going to crush your dream.” 

“You gotta have faith. Ain’t that right?” he asked Tomas as he took his hand and walked through the crowd, Maria following. 

“What answer gets me the large drink at Fry Farm?” Tomas asked, looking up at Eddie. 

“Always scheming,” Eddie laughed as he navigated through the moving bodies. “I respect the hustle.”

They got out of the crowd to walk the last two blocks to the Fry Farm on normally crowded Sanders sidewalks. Eddie picked a newspaper up off the ground outside the restaurant as they walked in, and Alex and Tomas sprinted for the playground. Eddie tucked the paper under his arm and approached the counter to order as Maria chased after her brothers.

Eddie dropped the paper on the table and sat a plastic chicken with a large, blue number six painted on its side for the servers to bring out the food. Eddie quickly flipped through most of the paper. Sports and international news didn’t have much of an impact on his life. He got to the local news in the heart of the paper and scanned for anything interesting. 

“New Policy Working to Clean Streets”

The mayor is declaring victory over the homeless issue that has plagued Sanders for years after his ‘Street Sweeps’ policy has cut homelessness by over half in the area in the last year. 

“We are working to make the city a safer place for our current residents, a cleaner place for our visitors, and a more prosperous place for our future,” the mayor told the Sanders Post. “Our hardworking officers have done an incredible job in helping to enforce our new policy and keep our streets clean.”

How the police are addressing the issue is still unconfirmed, but the results cannot be denied. What do you think of the mayor and police department’s efforts to reduce homelessness in Sanders? Let us know on our Flitter or PicBook accounts!

Eddie crumpled up the paper as he finished reading. He shook his head as Maria looked over and tilted her head. Eddie dropped the wad beside him as a server brought a tray with their food. 

Eddie smiled and passed the food out as the boys ran back to the table to eat. Maria raised an eyebrow at him as she sat across from him, but he just shook his head again. 

The four ate as Tomas and Alex argued over who was faster on the slide and begged Eddie to time them after they ate. Eddie agreed, and by the time they’d finished eating, the boys had come up with an entire obstacle course to go through. 

“So, what’s wrong?” Maria asked as they stood along a wall in the playground room, with Alex and Tomas ‘warming up’ for the race.

“The sweeps,” Eddie answered, clenching his fists as the blood rushed to his face again, warming his skin. “They’re still doing them, and the paper is praising them for it. Reads like an ad for an exterminator. It’s always an ‘issue’ instead of people. How much does it matter if I keep doing this if everyone like me is getting hauled off to who-knows-where at the end of the day? Over half of the homeless in Sanders have disappeared, Maria. Where are they?”

“I don’t know.” She rubbed his back. 

He rested his head on her shoulder and took a deep breath. 

“Well, I’m going to figure it out.” He stood as Tomas yanked at his arm, pulling him toward the playground. “Starting tonight, that’s my new focus.”

The Street Rat continues with episode 208.

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