Honestly, it may have been the most beautiful day of the year. The sun was high in the sky, bathing the city of Angel Grove in a pleasant warmth of seventy five degrees F, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. It was warm, it was nice out… It was the perfect day to be outside! That is, if you weren’t dressed in a bright orange reflective vest, with giant, bold black lettering on the back that proudly declared you a member of the Cherub County Juvenile Delinquent System. Of the gathered, six though, only five of them wore Cherub County JDS vests — the sixth wore one that claimed she was a volunteer. Why someone would volunteer for this kind of punishment was anyone’s guess, but there she was.
It seemed to James that he could have been stuck with a worse fate. All things considered? His punishment could have far more severe, but rather than being locked up in a cell he was out here. For four hours, every Saturday for the next month and a half, he and this group of people would be picking up the shit people were too lazy to throw away in the provided trash cans. Building character, the judge had told him and Christian.
What the fuck kind of BS was that? Building character? What did that even mean?
James felt like he had a pretty good character. In fact, if someone were to ask him, he’d say that he got the shaft in this scenario. Really, he did! What he’d done was easy to defend. He, along with Christian, had gotten in a fight with some of the students from another school over something they said about James’s mother during a football game — the last one of the year, actually! There were worse fates than something as simple as a bout of community service, for that.
“Can I have your attention?”
James was snapped out of his trance by the voice of the grey haired man who was standing in front of all of them.
“Welcome to community service. You’re all here for different reasons, but your goal is the same nonetheless: building character.”
Why did they keep saying that?
“We’ll be starting here, at Angel Grove Park, and we’ll go from there. Please, just pick up the trash. I’ll be reviewing your work every day to my superiors — both as individuals, and as a team. I’m not a slave driver, so you can interact with each other if you want to, you all look like you’re the same age...ish. Trust me, I’ve done this a hundred times, and the whole thing will be a lot easier if you just buckle down and do it.”
He paused for a moment, and James tightened his grip on his garbage poker and bag, preparing for the mission ahead, before the man spoke again.
“Oh, go ahead and introduce yourselves. Might as well…”
Not even seconds later, nearly cutting the old man off, Everly Styles, the one that volunteered, stepped forward, ready to be the first to speak. As per usual, there was unassailable confidence in her gaze. That gaze that scanned everyone else with scrutiny. The girl who never showed failure, always displayed utmost prominence, and was undoubtedly here for no one else but herself.
Everly. The classic, type-A overachiever, who could easily slip in with the mean girls, if she wasn't a bigger bitch than them. A girl with a few labels, but no depth beyond that.
There are some individuals who assume she is a third wave feminist because of how argumentative she can be in class. It's simply because she cannot hold her tongue when she knows others are wrong. High school would end and those particular girls were catty. A total waste of time. As far as her peers were concerned, she's just another trust fund baby.
And yet... her reality?
Well, she was kind of a loner.
Was she truly here for herself? Absolutely not. She was here to not disappoint the only person she cared about. Her father. She didn't care much about helping the world. Since when did she owe the world anything? Why should she care about anyone else? Internally, she wasn't looking forward to this equally as much as everyone else. However, for her father and for her resume, she would participate and get her hands dirty.
Make a difference and build character!
Ew, what does that even mean?
No one specified a dress code, so again, unlike the others, the volunteer was dressed in an everyday casual outfit that didn't suit the work they would be doing. Her casual outfits and outfits in general usually incorporated a skirt. This outfit was no exception.
The volunteer did dress down more so than usual, hardly as fashionable as she would prefer, but she was dressed down nevertheless. Everly would not be caught in pants unless she was absolutely forced to. The old man couldn't complain. She was here on her own free will! To 'build character'. The plan was to work and hardly break a sweat. Watch. She'd clean up this park in a jiffy (yeah right).
"I suppose I'll start us off. Hello, everyone." Everly glowed, her smile never faltering — as fake as it was. "I'm Everly. Everly Styles. Not that surnames are important or anything." Her father was a pretty big deal in science. "You're more than welcome to call me Evie, if saying Everly is too hard for you." What a cheeky girl. "I do so look forward to cleaning up things around here. Someone has to do it. Might as well be us!"
There. She spoke and now she was done.
The old man seemed lost for words.
It seemed to James that he could have been stuck with a worse fate. All things considered? His punishment could have far more severe, but rather than being locked up in a cell he was out here. For four hours, every Saturday for the next month and a half, he and this group of people would be picking up the shit people were too lazy to throw away in the provided trash cans. Building character, the judge had told him and Christian.
What the fuck kind of BS was that? Building character? What did that even mean?
James felt like he had a pretty good character. In fact, if someone were to ask him, he’d say that he got the shaft in this scenario. Really, he did! What he’d done was easy to defend. He, along with Christian, had gotten in a fight with some of the students from another school over something they said about James’s mother during a football game — the last one of the year, actually! There were worse fates than something as simple as a bout of community service, for that.
“Can I have your attention?”
James was snapped out of his trance by the voice of the grey haired man who was standing in front of all of them.
“Welcome to community service. You’re all here for different reasons, but your goal is the same nonetheless: building character.”
Why did they keep saying that?
“We’ll be starting here, at Angel Grove Park, and we’ll go from there. Please, just pick up the trash. I’ll be reviewing your work every day to my superiors — both as individuals, and as a team. I’m not a slave driver, so you can interact with each other if you want to, you all look like you’re the same age...ish. Trust me, I’ve done this a hundred times, and the whole thing will be a lot easier if you just buckle down and do it.”
He paused for a moment, and James tightened his grip on his garbage poker and bag, preparing for the mission ahead, before the man spoke again.
“Oh, go ahead and introduce yourselves. Might as well…”
Not even seconds later, nearly cutting the old man off, Everly Styles, the one that volunteered, stepped forward, ready to be the first to speak. As per usual, there was unassailable confidence in her gaze. That gaze that scanned everyone else with scrutiny. The girl who never showed failure, always displayed utmost prominence, and was undoubtedly here for no one else but herself.
Everly. The classic, type-A overachiever, who could easily slip in with the mean girls, if she wasn't a bigger bitch than them. A girl with a few labels, but no depth beyond that.
There are some individuals who assume she is a third wave feminist because of how argumentative she can be in class. It's simply because she cannot hold her tongue when she knows others are wrong. High school would end and those particular girls were catty. A total waste of time. As far as her peers were concerned, she's just another trust fund baby.
And yet... her reality?
Well, she was kind of a loner.
Was she truly here for herself? Absolutely not. She was here to not disappoint the only person she cared about. Her father. She didn't care much about helping the world. Since when did she owe the world anything? Why should she care about anyone else? Internally, she wasn't looking forward to this equally as much as everyone else. However, for her father and for her resume, she would participate and get her hands dirty.
Make a difference and build character!
Ew, what does that even mean?
No one specified a dress code, so again, unlike the others, the volunteer was dressed in an everyday casual outfit that didn't suit the work they would be doing. Her casual outfits and outfits in general usually incorporated a skirt. This outfit was no exception.
The volunteer did dress down more so than usual, hardly as fashionable as she would prefer, but she was dressed down nevertheless. Everly would not be caught in pants unless she was absolutely forced to. The old man couldn't complain. She was here on her own free will! To 'build character'. The plan was to work and hardly break a sweat. Watch. She'd clean up this park in a jiffy (yeah right).
"I suppose I'll start us off. Hello, everyone." Everly glowed, her smile never faltering — as fake as it was. "I'm Everly. Everly Styles. Not that surnames are important or anything." Her father was a pretty big deal in science. "You're more than welcome to call me Evie, if saying Everly is too hard for you." What a cheeky girl. "I do so look forward to cleaning up things around here. Someone has to do it. Might as well be us!"
There. She spoke and now she was done.
The old man seemed lost for words.
