The Building

By JRSpeck

Alex must face up to the demons plaguing his adolescent existence… but how? Alex struggles to make sense of what is happening around him but continues to betray his true stance in the face of uncertainty. He is young and he is strong and he refuses to reveal any weakness to his closest peers let alone his family.
His father is jobless, accused of playing a role in a recent death at a city construction site and appears to be going slowly insane. His mother is the quintessential Italian mother, extremely melodramatic, overly anxious and irrevocably pessimistic, and his best friends are simply too busy enjoying their youth. To top it off, The Talon Street Gang have decided that the next venue for their revered "Scaffold Party" will be at the very construction site his father was dismissed from. It wouldn't be so bad if Alex wasn't also having nightmares every night about some vindictive dead guy… Now he can't help but fear for his friends' lives, especially that of his secret love, Chiara.

• Language: English
• Publisher: JRSpeck
• Release date: Jun 16, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301542550

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The Building

By JRSpeck

Copyright © 2013 by JRSpeck

Smashwords Edition

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This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.

I dedicate this book and its story to my family. Without them I would not have experienced the rewards and pains of life that have made me who I am.

A special thanks to my big sister, who especially appreciates where this story has vaulted from.

Without your help, Sis, I may never have published.

Chapter 1

Something to do

The Talon Street Gang gathered at their local park at the usual hour; the grandstands of Howls Oval at 9pm. Although meetings were irregular during school terms, it was now the start of the mid-year break and so, for the next three weeks they had considerably more time and freedom, all except for Chiara and Sylina. These two had frighteningly strict parents who feared the worst for their little girls and went to extremes to protect them from outsiders’ corruption, rumours, and the like. The gang of six, three boys and three girls, all wished they met more often and for longer periods but if either of the two traditionally raised girls were caught with males, the consequences were severe. So much so, Sylina’s nervousness was like clockwork. As soon as 9:45pm came, she began eyeing the front gate, eager to return home and terrified someone may come looking for her. Although the boys in the group only ever met her family once, and under controlled conditions, her anxiety was well heeded and extremely effective. They generally avoided her whole street.

The male half of the gang had it easy. They would hit the streets every night and walk aimlessly, sometimes talking about the girls but mostly up to no good. ‘No good’ was a range of devilish yet creative ideas from blending chemicals that would serve to burn for hours on any surface and resembled messages from Satan, especially if done outside a church, jousting with their stolen parents’ cars but lobbing eggs instead of charging with lances, and pretend hold-ups of McDonald’s restaurants with water balloons; fear, not money, was the point. They had even reinvented such base concepts as the Knock-and-Run. After ringing the doorbell, instead of running, they waited in the nude for the door to open and blurt out some crazy statement about high taxes, the ills of religion, or recite a John Donne poem… and then they ran. Although these were considered great times, they never advertised it to the girls in group. The young ladies gave their young men a conscience, a behavioural insight they weren’t quite adept for. To the boys, the girls were an audience for their more manly character and, even though the ladies knew better, they still enjoyed the show. In any case, the gang was experiencing ties to one another that crossed, curved and sometimes leaped, to another member in the group, and at times to everyone in the group. Unfortunately, their youth didn’t give them the capacity to understand those intricate links but all the same, it felt good to be together.

"I can’t get over that! cried Bella, defeated by the prospect of jumping over the waist high fence that surrounded the Australian Rules playing field. Alex was right behind her and saw the chance to show some character and so, scooped her up and lifted her over. In spite of Alex’s youthful athleticism, he wasn’t prepared for the weight of the buxom Brazilian and she clumsily landed on hands and knees having slipped from his arms a little too soon. At least she was over the fence. After a short yelp and an embarrassed but forceful don’t touch me ever again!", she stormed off in the direction of the other members who had effortlessly made it over. Alex apologised profusely, realising this was another stroke against his misconceived ill-attitude towards women which was working its way towards a world record for the sleaziest, most chauvinistic 16 year old in history. His more-than-odd nature continually played against the fact that he was at times just trying to help. Once again he felt inadequate and stupid which took away from any excitement he may have experienced from handling the shapely girl. Had he known this would be the last time he held her like that, he may have tried a gentler approach.

The night was clear to the stars and held a bright half-moon firmly in its empty grasp. The park lights were never on at this time which made walking across the field that little bit more exciting, especially since the girls stayed close to the boys. Across the other side was a children’s playground, surrounded by leafy, thick bodied trees that were great for climbing. Everything was quiet and still, just an ordinary wintry night in suburban Melbourne. Most residents in these parts had already eaten dinner and were winding down in front of any one of six free-to-air channels broadcasted to their television sets, getting ready for the impending sleep before their early rise for work. Australian families, especially uneducated immigrants, were experiencing a tough start to the decade. After the end of the long boom in the mid 1970’s, the start of the 80’s was in contrast characterised by a sharp rise in unemployment. To maintain their jobs, immigrants did whatever was asked of them including unpaid overtime, no annual leave, and increases in job functions. Their lack of education and ignorance of their vocational rights, what little they had, added to their fear and anxiety of workplace redundancy which they knew potentially led to a failure of mortgage repayments. To them losing their home, their castle, after the many long years working for peanuts in hazardous or insalubrious environments while living an absurdly modest lifestyle would be a final deathly blow. As in the case of Alex’s parents, they came to Australia fleeing a war-torn Italy, had left everything behind to start anew, their only dream being a healthy family and a safe home. The young tribe were oblivious to the environment of their parents’ workplaces. They were on school holidays and nothing about tomorrow could possibly faze them. Their only concern was for the girls meeting their curfew.

The gang took up seats on swings, see-saws, and the merry-go-round. No one sat near Alex which increased his discomfort.

We should plan another scaffold party this break… last one was awesome! Alex attempted to distract the Talons from the existing awkwardness by reliving one of the great planned events of the gang. Their Scaffold parties had proven a great social success and gave them much credence amongst their other peer groups. To disguise his intention for starting the topic, Alex pretended to look busy by turning his back on the group and climbing up the slide of the slippery dip, cautiously so he wouldn’t slip, giving the group another reason to think him a fool.

It’s been a while! GRAND-I-OUS, I say, said Arin, the nuttiest of the gang, using his imitation of an upper class English accent, probably re-enacting a Monty Python character. Arin displayed an uncanny ability for reproducing accents and reciting scenes from films and long streams of stand-up sketches from admired comics such as Steve Martin and Eddy Murphy. Never a dull moment with Arin, he was chaotic, unpredictable, and spontaneous. Alex cherished the escapism that Arin so naturally bore by presence alone.

Last one was so much fun! said Bella as she hit the high on the seesaw, Arin on the other side kept her up momentarily with his extra weight.

"You guys are soooooo gonna get busted one of these days." said Sylina, always the most concerned in the group and the quickest to point out wrong-doings. It was almost impossible to convince her of doing anything remotely juvenile and only Bella was able to twist her rigid arm. Sylina was also the most beautiful of the girls and the difficulty in tainting her, made her extremely enticing to any boy. A lot was done for Sylina’s security and peace of mind and she was pressured the least to come out, stay out, or join group events. The only time the boys ever went to her house was for her 16th birthday, and they were on their best behaviour, trying to impress and play down any fears the parents had about them. It was the most boring event of their lives and thankfully it was an early night.

Mario and Chiara were busy talking privately to each other near the swings. These two were tagged to be the next hit though neither had made the crucial advance that sealed any teenage relationship. Both Italian and both graced with good looks, the other members always thought this a match made in heaven. Generally, Mario was always the first choice for the ladies. Alex and Arin shared