The Adventures of Alice and Max
Chapter 20: Max Makes a New Friend
Maxwell would come in every morning ready to work. He worked for hours and sometimes without a break. Devon noticed. He would take his allotted break, watching Max weld line after line of dimes eventually resulting in great works. But Devon would bust his balls.
“Hmmm, not bad, but needs some work.” His backhanded remark caused him pain. Max was determined to prove himself. He wanted people to notice him, especially Lauder.
Lauder would come over and watch him. “Great work, kid. You’re gettin’ better. Keep it up!” he said, slapping him on the back.
One day during lunch Lauder sat outside underneath the darkened fall day as Max joined him. The leaves were turning yellow, red, and orange. It filled their eyes with excitement and wonder.
“Where you from, kid?” Lauder asked.
“B-12. The Platforms.”
“Don’t know where that is, the City’s all I’ve ever known. I was raised not far from here.”
“What was it like?”
“Horrible. My mom drug addict, never around. My dad was a good guy but angry. All the time.”
“I’m sorry,” Max said.
“Don’t be. Nobody’s ever gonna feel sorry for you. Get that? You don’t have to be that to others.”
“But that doesn’t matter,” Max said as he bit into his sandwich.
“What doesn’t?”
“It doesn’t matter if people aren’t sorry for you, you should at least try.”
“Look, I respect everybody. If I do that I demand respect, but pity is the worst. Respect is what propels a man forward. Pity only leaves you with guilt and guilt is nothin’ you want.”
“Why?”
“Man, you ask a lot of questions. Guilt demands you give back, to be a better man but nobody wants that because that means you gotta change.”
“What’s wrong with that? If it’s the right thing,” Max asked, sincerely.
“You gotta decide that for yourself, kid,” he said downing his soup and throwing the styrofoam cup in the trash. “Never, I repeat, never let anyone take advantage of you. In the end, they all do.”
“What about you?” Max asked.
“What about me?”
“Will you take advantage of me?”
Lauder stopped and turned. “Don’t find out the hard way.”
After a few months, winter came. Cold and brutal bringing frozen winds and frosty temps, Lauder one morning came up to Max. “Max, today, you’re gonna start working with Devon.” Devon was working on the ship and climbed down the ladder, clinking the metal with his steel-toe boots.
“And this guy is gonna show you everything.” Lauder went over and shut the bay doors because it was freezing.
“Am I?” Devon snarled.
“You are. Starting today. Stop complaining. Just do it.” Lauder left to work on the other ship.
Devon with arms akimbo sighed, “Well, let’s do this.” He went over to his table.
“What are we gonna start with?” Max asked.
“We? Hold on, you gotta understand one thing, kid. There’s no ‘we’ in this. Only me and you. We’re separate. We’re not a team. I don’t care what Lauder says. Only look out for yourself. Got it,” he said curtly. Max nodded uneasily. Devon sighed. “Just come on.”
They hopped up onto the platform where the mechanical ship lay. Inside the vast ship, it was frigid and dark. Devon turned on his flashlight and motioned for Max to come.
“You see this? It’s connected by clamps. You gotta weld the middle of the base of this ship together. You start from one end and work your way down. Never weld on one side, stop, and then go over to the opposite end. It’ll end badly for ya.”
A machine welder was already positioned in the darkness. “Watch me.” He welded ferociously and efficiently, placing down some damn good dimes. “Easy enough. Got it?”
Max nodded.
“Good, now, you do it.” Devon handed him the welder and left abruptly.
“Where are you going,” Max asked.
“Gotta take a smoke break. I’ll be back. You better do it right or Lauder’ll be pissed.”
Sighing in frustration, Max began.
While he welded he heard screams. Shouts went up and he came outside to see the matter. Lauder was screaming at Devon, flailing his arms and accusing him of leaving Max alone.
“Why can’t you do a simple thing?” Lauder complained. “You work together.”
“I was taking a smoke break, OK?”
“You take a break during break time. You know that!”
“I can do whatever I want.”
“No, you can’t! I’m your boss,” Lauder yelled.
“You’re not my boss. Bruce is!”
“He doesn’t do a damn thing,” Lauder said, infuriated. “Look, go to him. See? He’s not even paying attention. He’s playing a game on his computer.”
“I don’t care, man. You can’t treat me like a kid.”
“You’re not doing your work, D! That’s why I’m on your ass!”
“Stay off it!” Devon left to go outside.
“Fine, you wanna go! Then go! You gotta do your work, man.”
Devon shouted from outside, “We work too much. You even said it yourself. We’re only two guys!”
“That’s why the kid’s here. Work with him.”
“That’s just it: Why does it gotta be me? He’s your pupil. You brought ‘em in. Why don’t you watch him!”
“Because I gave ‘em to you,” Lauder said
“You like ‘em better than me.”
“Because he actually works unlike you.”
“I work my ass off every - single - day!”
“Not like him.”
“Screw you, man! I’m not working with him!”
“Then leave!” Lauder screamed.
Silence. Nothing for a moment. Finally, Devon trudged back in. “Fine. I’ll do it.”
“You can start by gettin’ the kid a cup of coffee.”
“Yeah right!”
“I’m serious, go do it. Come on kid, take a break. Take a load off! You deserve it. This guy’ll get ya some coffee. Why don’t you get me some too? Go D! Go!” Lauder mocked him mercilessly until Devon slowly walked his way to the break room on the lower level.
“Ah, it’s nice to be the supervisor. Hey kid, don’t let ‘em get to you. And if you have any problems, come get me. Don’t listen to him. He’s scum.”
Max took a small break and sat down. Devon came over with his coffee. “I don’t drink.” Devon gave him a look that made him pee his pants a little. “But I’ll take it. Thanks.” Max managed a smile.
Devon gave it to him roughly almost making him drop it. Drips burned his hands.
He handed the cup of Joe to Lauder. “Thanks, friend,” Lauder said with a smile and wink. Devon huffed.
After their small break, they continued inside the ship welding for hours until lunch.
At lunch, Max sat down next to Devon on the side of the platform and asked, “So where you from?”
Devon ate but didn’t look up, “On the platforms, C-7. It was a shit show there.”
“The platforms are weird, aren’t they? I’m from B-12. What did you like best when you lived there?”
“Hey kid, with all due respect, I don’t care. Know when you’re not welcome.” He rolled his eyes and got up. Max hung his head defeated, was ravenous, and then chomped on his meal.
After weeks of working with Devon, Max became better, refined with new skills, but Devon didn’t care. He made Max do everything and he didn’t say one word of encouragement. Max had taken the advice to keep his head low and just survive, never approaching Lauder out of his ego. Lauder noticed and would mercilessly and repeatedly scream at D shaming him for not helping poor Max.
“You gotta help him, D!” But Devon became furious and after a while became silent and avoided all confrontation and held a bitterness that grew into hatred toward Lauder but especially Max.
He loathed Max and couldn’t stand to be beside him. Respecting him little but became more hostile. He pushed Max’s buttons and tried to compel him to slip up pushing him further into a frenzy and disorienting him. Confusion filled Max’s mind, becoming livid. His whole experience at work became a drudgery and he was compelled day after day and drove into a madness that turned into despair. Max had had enough.
One day after six months of evading the authorities and being hidden from the world Max had no one to turn to. He felt as though Alice had enough problems of her own and Miss Rose seemed as if she didn’t care for such matters. He felt he was a burden. His whole life he was a burden. His parents thought he was a burden which, in his frail mind, is why they abandoned him.
Then that fateful day, it was long and hard, cutting the material and racing against time to finish early, it being a Thursday, they fought ferociously. Lauder left early that day. He didn’t explain why and this annoyed Devon to no end. Bruce was on the floor tidying up for once in his life. Max was doing most of the work. But Devon loaded the trucks. He held most of the burden on his shoulders.
But he screamed at Max, “Hey, I need you to hurry up.” Max said nothing but Devon wasn’t finished. “I’m not gonna be late because of you. It’s my son’s birthday.”
“Don’t worry,” Max said.
“What?” he said annoyed.
“I said don’t worry, I’ll get it done.”
“Don’t tell me what to do.”
Max remained quiet.
“Hey, you gotta do it like this. You’re not welding properly.” Max became angry more angry than he ever felt in his life.
Who are you to talk to me about how to do things? “I’m doing it the way, Lauder showed me.”
“Nah, do it like this…”
“I think I’ll be OK.”
“No, you’re not!”
Max screamed uproariously a curse that echoed all throughout the shop. “Just get out! Go away! Shut up!” He continued.
Isaac and Pinny turned their heads. Rooster saw the whole scene unfold. Bruce stopped and then went back to work. Everything stopped even the saws in the distance.
In Devon’s low self-esteem and pride, he left him. He started up the forklift and continued to load the truck without a single word.
Max became guilty but felt proud for once in his life. He stopped the bully, ending his reign.
They finished the day quickly and Max did everything he was told to do. Ending with a shut of the bay doors and washing his hands, Rooster came up to Max.
“What happened?” James and Markus followed after.
“What did you do, man,” James asked.
“Max tell us,” Rooster demanded.
“It was nothing. You know how it is. It’s just… the work’s getting to me,” Max said defeated with tears in his eyes. “I’m just tired. We’re all tired.”
“Yo, you told him,” Rooster said.
“What? Tell me!” Markus asked, annoyed.
“Max cursed out Devon.” They all ooed and awed.
“No way? You?” Markus said. “Yo, I didn’t think you had it in you.”
“I guess so,” Max said proudly with a heavy heart.
Everyone was coming back and going to the locker room up above the shop.
“Yo, you better be careful, Max,” James said. “You don’t mess with Devon. I heard he choked his girlfriend for nothing. He was pissed she didn’t have dinner made when he came home. He’s nuts. He went before the courts, but let him off cuz he lied. Watch your back.”
Fear and danger filled his soul and he looked at Devon when he entered the locker room. But he was silent and dared not meet his eyes with his now adversary.
The locker room was in a frenzy: all shouted and whipped each other with towels for fun, Max and Devon silently undressed, ashamed of what they both had done.
Whispers and murmuring came from the other guys as Devon left. Rodrigo spread the rumors and filled the story with great excitement and embellishment. They ate it up while Devon knew full well what they talked about but remained quiet outside until an opportune time would come for him to ambush his co-worker, paying evil for evil.
To Be Continued…
