First Day

Dusty air hung like a dark sheath over the town of Utica, while the sun tipped over the horizon, radiating its faint yellow glow through the foggy darkness, calling the early morning workers to rise from sleep. They rose with groans and sighs and glares at the bellman or whoever had forced them to wake. “Laziness is a sin,” A voice boomed in one of the worker’s boardinghouses near the factories.

Jeremy, on the other side of town, awoke not to the sound of a bell clanging but to some innate sense in his body that warned him he needed to get up or he would be too late. He lay there on his not-quite-comfortable cot and stared at the ceiling for several moments in complete silence.

Chipped yellow paint stared back at him. It looked darker in this room, with only a window whose curtains were drawn so tightly with string that not even the faintest light would’ve come through, if there had been much light to speak of.

But he didn’t have much time to think.

Fifteen minutes later, he was dressed in trousers and overall straps and boots and jacket. Having quickly devoured an egg on toast – which he had received from the man who had rent him the room – and left the place, Jeremy found himself five blocks away on one of the busier roads at such an early hour.

Grimy old men and young ones who looked like near-beggars and had expressions of distrust written clearly on their faces hung around on the doorsteps of the shops and houses that lined this road. Some walked along in little groups of two or three people, making their way slowly toward the factories at the end of the road.

Jeremy’s boots hit the dirt hard, sending more dust into the air. He squinted with his hands in his pockets, scanning the relative darkness for a familiar face, hoping he didn’t look too out-of-place here.

“…oughta see this kid, looking so fine and mighty – thinks he’s all that, ya know, but I got other things on me mind,” a loud, distinctly New York accent spoke from somewhere to his right. He glanced hesitantly in that direction, and the boy caught him looking and paused his speech, glaring at the stranger.

Jeremy instinctively started to turn away and keep walking, but in half a second he changed his mind and turned back to the kid, who was probably his own age but a little shorter. “Hey you, you seen Sandy yet?” he called.

The boy made a noise in his throat and stepped nonchalantly off the doorstep he and two others were hanging on. “Got some business with Sandy or something?” he asked, with an air of something like superiority, likely to feel taller in the eyes of this nearly six foot boy in front of him.

“Yep, I do,” replied Jeremy, checking his stance to look just as cool and familiar in this place. “If you see him, tell him Jeremy’s waiting.”

The boy narrowed his eyes a little, but nodded. “Sure.” He stared at him for a second longer, then turned and sauntered back to his friends.

Jeremy exhaled slowly and turned back to the road in front of him. He moved forward, sidestepping an older man who was glaring at nothing in particular. Looking up and ahead, he squinted; the sun at that moment flashed its first ray over the town, directly into Jeremy’s eyes. His hand flew up to cover them, but too late.

“Don’t blind yourself, buddy,” Sandy called with a laugh, just ahead and quickly closing the gap between the two boys. He was alone this time and had a good-natured expression on his face. He didn’t seem as daunting as he had when Jeremy first met him.

Jeremy smiled, lowering his hand and sticking it back in his pocket, slowing to a stop. “I try not to.”

“Couldn’t find the lodge, I see,” said Sandy, smiling too. “It’s all good though, I figured you’d get lost or somethin.”

“Yeah, everything kinda looks the same,” said Jeremy, glancing at his surroundings. In the entire row of buildings on either side, you couldn’t distinguish any difference without reading the signs closely. “So where’s this factory?”

“Back there.” Sandy gestured behind him with his thumb and then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. His lips were chapped. “Follow me, I’ll introduce ya to the manager.” He chuckled as he turned and the two started walking down the street. “Oh, boy, you’ll like him.”