Alexis Cole – Chapter 3

His mum was taken aback but tried not to show it. His brothers were still jumping up and down excitedly. She told them to go back to playing with their cars which they did with the same enthusiasm. She then hugged Alexis telling him it was okay. Alexis emerged from his mother’s embrace still composed and headed for the stairs. Without turning around, he said

“tomorrows another day.”

His mum smiled with the same pride she had when he initially set out in the morning. She couldn’t see the tears streaming down his eyes as he walked up the stairs to his room. Alexis closed the door behind him, and placed a chair under the door handle so his little brothers couldn’t see him like this.

They all shared the same room.

Alexis cried that whole night. He must have asked in every shop on Oxford Street. They all gave him the same answer: He was too young and he had no experience. Most of the managers that bothered to speak to him seemed to look down on him, as if he were nothing. Alexis wiped the tears with the back of his hand, took off the tie and threw it across the room which landed on his brother’s toy truck.

It was a vicious circle. He couldn’t get a job because he didn’t have any experience, and he couldn’t get any experience because no one would give him a job.

It all seemed futile. How can you get out of the gutter when everyone treats you like shit?

He contemplated how the rucksack came into his life.

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