“Neighborhood Watch” Adrian Villarreal – Second Place That August 2011 night was like every other summer night in LA. The heat of the day hid in our homes, forcing us out into the cool air outside. Chris, who lived a house away from me, was dribbling a basketball in place at the edge of the street near his dad’s parallel parked truck. Every so often Richie would step up to him and put his hand in Chris’ face to blind him from the imaginary basket. Ruben rocked himself back and forth on the penny board nearby. I leaned against Chris’ dad’s truck exhausted from soccer practice. The skin of my sleeveless arms was stiff with dried sweat and felt cool against the steel. Someone was saying something about the possibility of us having classes together for senior year when a police car with its headlights turned off sneaked up on us. The driver’s door swung open before the car came to a complete stop. The suddenness of its arrival threw Ruben off balance, kicking his board under the truck. “You guys live around here?” All four of us heard the question. None of our mouths moved. We knew better than to say anything to the police, especially a cop who didn’t look or sound like us. “What happened to that board?” The cop turned his flashlight on and spotted it. “Who does that board belong to?” He looked at Ruben. Ruben shrugged. He then turned his head to the radio on his shoulder and mumbled phrases and numbers under his breath we didn’t understand. “Why don’t you all go and take a seat on the curb.” Carlos, Chris’ older brother, came out the house barefoot and shirtless about the same time the second police car arrived with its flashing lights. He walked right up to the police officer who suddenly began to cuff Chris. “What’s going on? Why is my brother being detained?” Carlos asked. “Take a seat,” Cop #2 replied. “Sit? For what?” Creative Non-Fiction
Vortex
29
