-Alex: hey, so from where should I start?

-Emily: From the beginning, like what happened that made you leave us, if you remember. Do you know how heartbroken your mother and I were, you left without a word.

I looked at Alex, he looked calm and relaxed. He took a breath in and…

-Alex: so… when I finished school, I was bullied.

I interrupted him.

-Emily: I know that you were, you would come home bruised.

-Alex: Can you not interpret me? Please. These memories that you remember me with that person are not here anymore, he is gone.

He stood from the chair and shouted that. I was startled. He was tight, he had changed so much. Now he looked like a completely different person, he now had short brown hair, hazel dark eyes, and was wearing glasses, the Alex I remember had sunny beach blond hair, and he was a timid person, but the Lex right now, that is standing in front of me he is not timid at all.

-Alex: So, like I was saying, all that I remember, was me getting a job, in Uncle's company, and working on my first day when I saw something I was not supposed to see...

Flashback to 12 years ago, (Alex’s perspective)

It was a morning like any other, except for the fact that I felt like it could change my whole life. I got a phone call from Uncle:

-Uncle: hey here nephew, a spot has just opened in my car shop it is yours if you want it. Just come to St. number noon. There will be a guy with blue rags waiting for you.

-Alex: ok, uncle thanks.

I hung up the phone, got dressed, and headed straight to the shop. I didn't think much of it, I was happy to get the job. And as I was walking toward the shop.

After a few minutes, I went to the shop. And saw the man uncle had described on the phone.

-Alex: Hello, um! Sir, my uncle has sent me for the job opening.

I said that stuttering, well it was kind given the man was tall and big. The man in blue rags looked at me up and down and then, opened the rusty blue door close to him.

-Man: guys Danny’s boy is here for the job.

He opened the door and let me enter in front of him, there I entered, and I was shocked to see how clean it was, it was a car mechanic shop, yet it looked so tidy and clean, unlike the man I came in with. As I was walking in, I saw many other people who also looked like that man, whose name I saw on a sewn name tag on his top rag: “Bob” It read, after walking for a few more steps there was a round table, which the uncle pointed at for me sit down. I sat down, still my eyes were wandering around, the place. I was still wondering what kind of job my uncle was doing, cause even though the auto shop looked clean, no clean for an auto shop, there was something else going on. And I wished to find that out. On top of that, the shop had this kind of mystery about it, like the phrase “Don't judge the book, by its cover” kind of thing.

-Man: So, you kid. You are Danny's kid, right? How is he doing by your uncle?

-Alex: he is doing fine. I talked to him last month. He seemed to be fine. Wait. Why are you asking? Isn't he your boss? I looked at the few guys who were around me, they then looked at each other in some sort of confusion, and then they looked back at me. When one of them spoke:

-Man 2: hey kid, listen, your uncle is technically our boss, but you will soon take his place. And in the meantime, I will tell you everyone's name. For starters my name is Will West, I am the main mechanic, so if you have any questions ask me.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

I stared him up and down, he looked like an average white man in his 40s.

Then he pointed at a man that was sitting on my left side.

-Will: This is Sam. Yō Sam says hi to the new kid on the block.

-Sam: hey kid, welcome to the family. My job is to change car oils mainly and sometimes rotating tires. And the rest of the team you will get to know in time, just to let you know, you see that guy over there, the one under the car.

Sam was pointing at somebody under a car with different colored rags.

I nodded.

Sam: He doesn't talk at all, and he oversees the interior and outside looks of a car. I don’t think you will need to ask him anything in the future.

-Alex: So, I was wondering, what will my job be here?

-Will: well, for starters you will clean the shop, whenever no one is working, and or whenever work hours for us mechanics are finished, is that ok?

-Alex: Yes, that is fine. I have no problem with that. Should I start now?

-Will: well, not exactly, your first task for today is to see us, get our flow, and clean whenever you feel like it. For today only I want you to watch us and study us in a way.

I we had, everyone went to work, so quickly. I was surprised. I took out my small book and started to document everyone's movement, I was so organized that most of the time they did not even notice me. I was proud of that, and then the guy, the mute guy rolled down from underneath the car, and came towards me, but only to turn on the raid and I saw his name tag: Tobi. He looked somewhat my age: he turned on the radio at the exact moment when the news was over, so I added that to the book.

Tobi:

-Mute guy,

-Looks around my age,

-Turned the radio at 14:00 on the dot

-His job is to design cars.

After I wrote that I was startled by him, because he was right beside me, watching me write, he caught my arm, I think he thought I might fall. Then Tobi took my pen and wrote: “I am not fully death” .;

And then he walked away, and all I could do was stare at him, and not mutter a word. After a few heartbeats, I got back to my work. Which was seeing everyone like a hawk, talking in the data and writing it in my notes, and then doing some small bits and pieces of cleaning. Time flew so fast, that it went to nighttime, and that shop was closing at exactly 21:30, which was a surprise it's not a full number. I of course was the last person to leave at least that is what I thought, but Tobi stayed behind with me. I was kinda happy, he helped me put down the bars of the shop since I could not reach them. When we finished that, we started to walk in the same direction, to go home, but Tobi took his phone at one point. On the phone, he wrote:

- Tobi: I will take you home. It's too dark for you to walk around in the dark.

I nodded in agreement.