My Neighborhood Watch

9:05 PM

Officer John Roads had dealt with hysterical people before in his line of work. He was used to dealing with people screaming and speaking incoherently. But what he saw in this young lady was beyond hysterics. A few seconds after he asked the girl if she needed assistance, she looked at him like he was some kind of monster and screamed to the top of her lungs, began to babble incoherently, backed away towards the door to what he assumed was her apartment and was trying to force the knob to turn with her manicured nails.

Stunned and surprised after the disorienting scream of the girl, John realized she might’ve misinterpreted his intentions. Remembering his “crowd control” training, he held his hands at shoulder height and kept a safe distance from the girl.

“Miss, I apologize if I scared you. I assure you, I’m not a dangerous person.” John’s voice was soothing and slow. The girl stared back at him like a cat in full defensive mode, throwing the mail she had just collected at him missing him by a country mile and falling on the ground harmlessly. For a second she looked like she was about to toss her smartphone at him, but there was a flash of realization in her eyes and she held back.

“G-g-g-get away! O-Or I’ll call the cops! Stay away from meeeeee!” Skylar was losing her mind as her fight-or-flight instinct was kicked into high gear ever since this ‘weirdo’ appeared! She heard him say he wasn’t dangerous. Yeah, right! She’d seen how weirdoes acted in the movies and videos! They’ll say any kind of thing to make her lower her guard!

The sudden mention of the cops by the hysterical girl made the ill-dressed man start up a moment and seemed to be looking for something in his pocket. This made Skylar’s heart pound in her chest as fear caught up to her! Was it a gun? A knife? A phone to take a picture of her in such a shameful way!? The horror!!!

To her sudden surprise, the man pulled out a small piece of metal that didn’t look like a weapon. It looked like a police officer badge.

It said: Port Seaview Police Department - “To Protect and to Serve” Number: 24-601.

“Miss, I am a Police Officer. If you’re in need of assistance, I’ll do as much as I can.” The man said softly while holding his badge for her to inspect. “My name is Officer John Roads, and I’m your neighbor.”

Skylar suddenly felt all the fear and anxiety she had felt being replaced by realization, then embarrassment! She had just screamed and attacked a police officer! And he just so happened to be her neighbor!? The “weirdo” she had envisioned? She felt the strength leave her legs as she sank to the ground.

“Oh… my… God…” Was all that came out of Skylar who covered her face in her hands out of embarrassment, which seemed to trouble John.

“E-Excuse me, miss. Are you alright? Do you need medical assistance?” John wasn’t that used to dealing with teenagers who behaved like this. Even he wasn’t this emotional in his teens.

Finally recomposing herself a bit, she stood up and bowed in a sign of apology. Her father had taught her proper manners thanks to his Japanese heritage, and the traditional parent had ensured Skylar was not the exception - even if the girl didn’t like it that much.

“I’m so sorry, Officer! I didn’t mean to attack you or scream at you… or… try to… call the cops on a cop…” Skylar was trying to hide herself from the world after her outburst. When she looked back at Officer Weirdo, she noticed that her actions didn’t seem to bother him in the least. She cleared her throat and tried to reclaim control of the situation. “My name is Skylar Aoi. I live next door to you with my parents.”

The Officer in the oversized suit nodded with an understanding smile. “There’s no need to apologize, miss Aoi. And please, call me John. Technically I’m off duty right now, so there’s no need to be so formal.”

Sky felt a bit more at ease knowing that her rampage hadn’t bothered the officer.

“In that case, you don’t have to call me ‘miss Aoi’ either. Skylar’s okay! My friends call me Sky.” She smiled brightly, still trying to hide her obvious embarrassment and awkward situation.

“I see. In that case, you seem to be having a difficult time right now, Skylar. What happened?” John kept his distance for the sake of Sky. He could still see the nervous look in her eyes and he didn’t want to scare her again.

But John’s question had turned up the anger in Sky’s head!

“OH MY GOD! What DIDN’T happen today!? First, I woke up late! Which of course made me arrive late to school, AGAIN! Then the teacher had me standing outside the classroom for an entire period! And then-!” While Sky was ranting with anger about all the mishaps of her day, she was flailing her arms and moving around like a mad person as she kept venting her frustrations in front of the stoic cop.

John couldn’t help but find Skylar’s overacting antics completely out of proportion. By all accounts, what she just described was the life of any regular teenager these days. But John still couldn’t quite figure out how so much energy and emotion could be held within such a curious young lady.

Sky kept ranting on, “... and then I made the dumb mistake of locking myself OUT of my apartment instead of inside! And get this! I forgot my keys inside and the landlord, Mr. Gonzalez, won’t be able to get here in who-knows-how-long! URGH! Today just keeps getting worse!”

John had remained quiet for a moment after Sky let out a heavy sigh and took several deep breaths. Seems letting her vent out her anger helped put out some of the fire. Just as he hoped…

“I see. Shouldn’t your parents be coming back from work soon? It’s 9:16 PM. Even some of the busiest parents I know wouldn’t be this late to come back home.” John watched how his comment soured the look in Sky’s face and realized he might’ve made a mistake in his assumption.

“They won’t be returning any time soon.” Sky said with a mix of anger and regret. “They work abroad, so they won’t be back, at least not for a couple of months.”

“I apologize if my question made you uncomfortable, Skylar.” John’s head nodded at her in apology. “This may be presumptuous of me, but, would you like to wait for Mr. Gonzalez at my place? It wouldn’t be safe for you out here in the hallway.”

Skylar looked at John a bit puzzled. She couldn’t figure out what this guy’s deal was. He looked like a regular salaryman with a terrible fashion sense, his hair was shaggy, but he kept a friendly smile on his otherwise stoic face. He hadn’t acted in any way that could be considered aggressive. He simply offered help and she had overreacted. Most people would’ve left her alone in her hysterical state.

“What’s your angle, Officer?” Sky looked at him skeptically and arched an eyebrow in inquiry.

“What do you mean?” John’s face showed he was confused by this question.

“Why do you want to help me?”

“Is it that odd that a police officer might want to offer a helping hand?”

“I guess not… still… I don’t want any trouble…” Sky was still not too trusting of ‘Officer Weirdo’.

“There won’t be any trouble, Skylar. I just want to make sure you’re not waiting out here for Mr. Gonzalez. Who knows what kind of weirdos are running around out there.” John smiled at his silly attempt at humor.

When he mentioned the ‘weirdoes’, Sky’s face went pale for a second but then burst out laughing loudly, which made John look puzzled by the sudden change in demeanor from Skylar.

If only John knew who Skylar thought was the ‘weirdo’ here…

9:21 PM - Officer Roads’ apartment

After Sky accepted and thanked John for giving her shelter until the landlord came in and opened her apartment for her, John led her to the door of his place, unlocked it and opened it. Sky’s imagination was still expecting to see something troubling or scary inside - she might’ve seen too many cop movies and CSI series. What she saw surprised her a little.

John’s apartment had very little furniture, and the few bits that were there were quite simple and utilitarian: there was a sofa in front of a TV on its simple stand, a few drawers where a few framed photos were set, a small table for four next to the simple kitchen with a stove that clearly was part of the apartment’s rent, a sturdy refrigerator and all the simple needs a simple person might need.

Sky did notice that there were some few bits of things here and there that let her know a bit about her odd neighbor: there was an electro-acoustic guitar resting against the sofa, a few vintage posters from an old rock band were hanging in a wall behind the TV along with some flags of the local soccer team, the Port Seaview Falcons, there was a duffle bag with a pair of soccer boots inside which were kept in pristine condition and on the wall next to the main door were several hanged plaques of commendations for excellence at work as a police officer, a picture of John when he became an officer and another picture of her neighbor with an older portly man who looked nothing like John with both of them smiling proudly in that picture. What struck Sky as both impressive but also embarrassing for her was that John’s apartment was perfectly clean from top to bottom… this only reminded her of the state she kept her apartment in.

For what she could tell, John lived on his own. There were no signs of him living with a roommate or a partner. She noticed a doorway without a door which led to his bedroom no doubt and another half-open door which seemed to lead to some kind of storage room for who-knows-what kind of stuff.

John turned on the lights and breathed out heavily to ease up the tension of his daily work. He took off his suit’s oversized jacket and set it carefully on the top back of one of the chairs by his 4-people dining table. Even his shirt was a bit too large for him… Sky couldn’t help but consider Officer Weirdo a hopeless fashion criminal.

“I hope I’m not crossing a line here, but please make yourself at home, Skylar.” John looked at her and gave her a nod to encourage her.

Sky was still not too sure of what to do or what to think about Officer Weirdo. She was still recovering from her initial outburst and was having trouble trusting him yet. Still, she couldn’t just stand by the front door of the apartment all night. With caution and reluctance, she slowly walked towards the sofa and sat down. She lifted her legs so she could be in a sitting position and held on to them in a protective manner. Her eyes kept looking at John who was moving around the place without missing a beat.

John was making sure there was no garbage or laundry that he might’ve left unattended since he didn’t expect to have a guest tonight. Once he made sure everything was clear, he breathed easily again and looked at Skylar. She was sitting with her chin over her knees. Clearly she was still scared and wasn’t trusting him. He could understand that… it’s hard to trust someone you barely just met, even if you’re neighbors. Hoping to put her mind at ease, he moved slowly and avoided making any sudden actions. John then went to the fridge and took out two bottles of cold water. He approached Skylar who immediately looked up and held on to herself tighter. Without getting too close to her, he placed one of the water bottles on the table in front of her and stepped back to sit a few feet away from her.

Skylar was still wary of John, and she was not about to lower her guard. This was exhausting for her… but she couldn’t help it. When she saw him bring her a bottle of water and sit further from her, she realized he was respecting her boundaries, even inside his own home. She saw him open the water bottle and take a deep swig from it which had the desired result to refresh the tired officer. Sky took and opened the bottle he gave her and took a sip as well, grateful, for once, that she could have a drink.

“...Thank you…” Sky managed to say silently. John simply smiled softly and nodded.

“May I ask you a few questions about what Mr. Gonzalez told you after you spoke to him on the phone, Skylar?” John leaned forwards to look at Sky in the eyes. For a second she felt a bit intimidated, but there was something odd in his look that made her feel safe.

“Why do you want to know…?” Sky was trying to be defiant. She didn’t know why she was trying to be that way towards a guy that was helping her. Turning her head to the side a bit, she averted her gaze from John’s eyes.

“I just want to make sure I know the whole story.” John’s expression remained stoic even after Sky’s defiance. “In the best case scenario, he’d be arriving in only a few more minutes. Worst case scenario would be he doesn’t show up until tomorrow. And tonight is a school night, so…”

Now Sky was feeling worried! John was right! If Mr. Gonzalez didn’t show up tonight, then she’d have no other choice but to ask a friend to give her shelter for the night! But she didn’t have her purse, so she didn’t have money for a cab and her parents were constantly monitoring her use of Güber-Lift if she used the app to ride outside of her curfew hours to make sure she didn’t misuse this privilege. So… she’d be forced to ask Officer Weirdo for refuge in his barracks-of-an-apartment! If he could come up with a better idea, might as well tell John the whole story.

“Well… when I called him about being locked out of my apartment, he said that he’d try his best to come here because his car had broken down and would have trouble finding a ride here.” Sky’s anger was starting to grow again, but John’s sharp gaze and slow nodding seemed to calm her down.

“He didn’t say any specific timeframes? An hour? Thirty minutes?” John’s voice held a bit of an edge as he asked these questions. Sky was a bit puzzled by the sudden change in John’s demeanor.

“Errm… no? He didn’t say any specifics. Just that he’d ‘try his best’. That’s all.”

“Has this sort of thing happened before?”

“One or twice. My mom and I had locked ourselves out once before and we called Mr. Gonzalez. He arrived a few minutes later with his creepy son in tow.” Sky seemed to shudder at the memory. John took note of this in his mind.

“By any chance do you remember at what time this happened and if he took a long time to get here at that time?”

“It’s… kinda fuzzy… I do recall him arriving not that long after we called him at noon. Could’ve been about forty five minutes? Maybe an hour?” Sky was trying to think hard about it. When she caught John’s gaze, she could see in his eyes that he must be piecing things together in his head… like those super smart kids at school who look like they’re looking at nothing, but they’re actually seeing the science formulas solving in their brains! Weirdo indeed!

“Forty five… to an hour…” John muttered to himself while he took another sip from his water bottle. “You said something about the landlord’s son?”

“Ugh! I don’t even want to think about it!” Sky shouted angrily. “That creepy guy was giving me that look like he was… I dunno what he was thinking! I just felt really, really creeped out! The landlord even had the audacity to say that maybe I could date his son as a thanks! No freakin’ way!”

“I see…” John’s voice went down an octave, took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I must apologize, but I couldn’t help but overhear what you were saying to yourself after you ended the call. Something about ‘being overcharged’ by Mr. Gonzalez?”

“Errm… you heard that…?” Sky felt a bit embarrassed that her ranting was heard by Officer Weirdo. “Y-Yeah, I did say that…”

“When did this ‘overcharging’ begin? Did your parents ever voiced their concerns or frustrations about this?” John leaned forwards again, placed his elbows over his knees and rested his chin over his intertwined fingers.

“I dunno. To be honest I’m not sure if my parents even cared about it… they can afford it, so I guess they don’t worry about being scammed out of a few extra bucks while their daughter has to deal with these creeps.” Sky huffed loudly and pouted angrily.

“Could it be that this increase began after you refused to date the landlord’s son?” John kept his serious gaze and tone of voice while he spoke. This made Sky feel a bit scared… Was he interrogating her?

“I… I dunno. Maybe? I’m not sure…” Sky looked around nervously. She didn’t like to be questioned at school, now she was feeling quite nervous being questioned by a police officer.

After a few moments, John nodded, rubbed his eyes for a second and stood up. Once again, Sky saw a weird transformation in the man as he seemed to change back into the weirdo that she had screamed at a little while ago. He didn’t have that intense look anymore.

“I guess it can’t be helped. Don’t worry about it.” John looked at a clock in his kitchen and doublechecked on his smartphone. “Huh! It’s already 10:00 PM. You must be hungry. If you don’t mind, would you like something to eat? I got some leftovers from last night when I cooked.”

Sky narrowed her eyes and slowly stood up. Despite their size differences, she stood up to John and crossed her arms in defiance again.

“Now, look here Mr. Officer Weirdo! I don’t know what your angle is yet, or why you’re trying to be so nice to me all of a sudden. But I’ll let you know I don’t need someone to ‘save me’ or ‘feed me’. I can take care of myself! I’m not even hungry!” Sky stood tall and proud. She was an independent woman and a rising star in the streaming world! No way she’d need someone else’s help!

Then, in that silence that followed…

*GRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOWLLLL!*

Sky prayed that John didn’t hear that super loud growl from her stomach. But, judging by the benign smile he was giving her, she knew he heard everything… Karma has an ironic sense of humor, it seems. She covered his face in her hands trying to hide her embarrassment.

“Please somebody kill meeeeeee!” She lamented to herself as John cleared his throat.

“Help yourself to whatever’s in my fridge. It’s nothing fancy, but it’ll fill your stomach for a while.” John gestured towards his fridge.

“Thank you…” With a feeling of embarrassing humility, Sky approached the fridge and opened the door. “I’ll take you up on- eh!?”

What Sky saw inside of John’s fridge was some kind of culinary abomination! Her eyes grew round with horror at the thought of any human being eating this… this… whatever it is that John had “cooked” - this wasn’t cooking, this was some form of alchemy gone horribly wrong! Sky’s unbelieving eyes turned towards John who looked like a happy boy scout after they did their good deed of the day.

“Officer Roads, don’t tell me YOU cooked and ate this?” Sky pointed at the strange food mass inside the fridge.

“Oh yes! I’m not much of a cook, but I do get some nutrition from it. It’s not gourmet stuff, obviously, but I think I’m getting better.” He smiled sheepishly which made Sky realize that this guy had no idea that this wasn’t the way civilized human beings in the 21st century are supposed to eat!

“No…” Sky took out Frankenstein’s Dinner out of the fridge and stared up at John who was puzzled by her sudden change in demeanor again. “... This isn’t food, Officer Roads. This is a potential biological hazard!”

The shock in John’s face was made less intense by the fact that he remained somewhat stoic, but it was clear that her bluntly honest comment might’ve wounded his feelings.

“I’ll cook us something better than this John.” She opened the nearby trash bin and dumped the meal inside in front of the blank faced Officer. “Do you mind if I use what you have in the fridge?”

“Go ahead…” He answered meekly. “But, you really don’t have to do this, Skylar.”

“I do have to do this, John. As a way to apologize for being a burden to you as well as to thank you for your help.” She smiled with confident reassurance. Despite her attempts to distance herself from her father’s lectures and lessons about honor and respect, she always felt compelled to repay her debts, no matter how small they were.

John’s face showed a bit of surprise now. While Skylar was digging inside the fridge for ingredients, he was starting to consider that maybe Miss Aoi wasn’t like most teenagers he’d have to deal with from time to time. Sure, she was loud, emotional, chaotic and more than a little blunt in her honesty, but she had a good moral compass: She believed in returning a favor given freely with a kind gesture. A soft smile of approval crossed his lips.

10:27 PM

John was looking intently at the meal that Skylar had cooked like a man who was starting at the most fantastic magical trick. From the meager amount of ingredients in his fridge she had managed to cook a proper plate of curry, some rice and a few bits of beef. His mind was reeling over the fact that he ACTUALLY had the ingredients to make this meal inside his fridge! How the hell did she do that!?

Skylar was feeling pretty darn proud of herself! Since she had to live all by herself, she had to learn how to take care of her own meals. Thankfully, she had learned from her mother how to cook a decent meal. The rest was learned by watching other streamers and chefs on social media to try out new recipes. If she was going to eat all her meals alone, might as well eat all sorts of yummy foods, she thought.

What she found kind of creepy was how John was staring at her while she was cooking. For a moment she thought he was thinking bad things, but she could see it in the eyes of this weirdo that he was fascinated by how easily she was cooking some half-baked curry with only a few ingredients available.

“Has he never seen someone cooking dinner before? Geez! Officer Weirdo really seems to be hopeless.”

“I have to say, you really are a magician, Skylar! I never would’ve thought anyone could cook such a meal with my supplies.” He took a spoonful of the curry and smiled in a weird way. “Wow! This is delicious!”

For a moment, Sky felt weirded out by all these comments from John, but the fact that he was praising her skills made her feel proud and fulfilled. A smug smile appeared on her lips as she basked in the feeling.

“Yes.. well, it’s not that big of a deal. I just happened to find the right ingredients and had a moment of inspiration.” Sky flipped her hair in arrogant fashion. “Another victory for Blue Sky! Ohohohoho!” She thought inwards towards herself.

“Incredible! To be able to cook this meal. You could open your own restaurant some day and become a master chef!” John smiled broadly as he ate more from his plate.

“Oh, there’s no need for that, Officer Roads. I must admit it’s a passion of mine, but not entirely my life goal. Still, it’s good to know I could always pursue a different career.” Now Sky was beaming with satisfaction! The adulation of this weirdo felt pretty good to her.

“I’m certain you must be just as good in your studies and your schoolwork as you are with your cooking, right?” John’s innocent question suddenly made Sky’s face turn to stone.

Then came the eruption…

“IT’S ONLY A PASSING MOMENT, ALRIGHT? I’M NOT DUMB NOR DO I HAVE A HARD TIME WITH MY HOMEWORK, OKAY? I-I-I-I JUST HAVE A LOT ON MY MIND, ALRIGHT?” Skylar’s meltdown was like an explosion had just happened in front of the confused John who didn’t really understand why she was getting so worked up about something he said again.

Sky’s ego had been inflated too much only to burst by that one honest comment that she couldn’t really fight against. After she ranted again, she took several breaths to calm down after her embarrassment and her anger had met her in the middle.

“I’m not perfect, okay?” Sky looked to the side feeling offended. “I try to be a good daughter and a good student. I do my best to live up to their expectations but…” She then looked down with a wounded expression in her eyes. “I know I’m a burden to my parents and others. I’m not a good student or daughter. But I still try… you know…?”

When she looked up to look at John, she saw something in his eyes: understanding. There was no disappointment in his eyes. No judgement in his gestures or his posture. He simply looked her dead in the eyes with a calm expression and nodded at her words.

“I believe I do know, Miss Aoi. I apologize if my words or actions have offended you. I meant no disrespect.” John’s honest apology seemed to cool her anger and shame quite a bit. She hadn’t realized that she was about to cry until he said those words with such kindness. Despite his weird looks, his robot-like expressions and lack of fashion sense, John seemed to be quite more mature than she thought. Maybe she was just assuming more than she should…

John had been nothing but nice and kind to her. Maybe he wasn’t the most social guy and said things that made him seem weird. But in spite of that, he is a good person. Sky looked for her smartphone and realized it was getting pretty late! It was 11:31 PM. Where the hell was the landlord?

The sounds of footsteps outside of John’s apartment gave them the signal that someone had arrived. John noticed that Skylar was suddenly on alert again!

“Oh crap! It’s the landlord! About time he decided to show up!” She quickly set the plate she used for dinner in the kitchen sink and rushed out of John’s apartment.

John smiled softly at this turn of events since now Skylar would be able to return to her apartment and get some much needed rest. He’d be able to put the leftovers of the meal she cooked in his fridge and for a few days he’d be able to enjoy a good dinner.

However, he couldn’t help but be worried about Skylar talking to the landlord by herself. He closed his eyes, rolled up his sleeves and headed outside of his apartment…

11:32 PM outside of the Aoi Family residence.

Sky had rushed out of John’s apartment without saying a word to him, and in her haste, she hadn’t voiced her thanks to him again. She was too emotional and had been on an emotional rollercoaster all night long, and now she needed to speak truthfully to the landlord, Mr. Gonzalez who had arrived very late to help her out.

“Mr. Gonzalez! Over here!” Sky called out to the pudgy landlord who had a look like he was greatly annoyed by this visit. “What took you so long!? I’ve been waiting for hours! Where have you been!?”

Mr. Gonzalez arched an eyebrow and sighed angrily. Clearly Sky’s words weren’t enough to move this man into action without a good reason.

“Look, miss Aoi, I tried my best to come here and I rushed as much as I could. It’s not perfect, but it’s what I can do. Maybe next time you should be more careful when you step outside of the apartment and make sure YOU haven’t lost your keys. I’m sure you and your mother remember that it’s difficult even for us honest-working folks to cater to the demands of the wealthy.” Mr. Gonzalez smirked at her in triumph.

Sky was feeling frustrated by this situation. She wanted to lash out and answer back to this sleaze ball’s comments! But he was the landlord and she didn’t have the back up of her parents to speak on her behalf. Now, more than before, she hates to be all by herself…

“Now, if you’d just be nicer towards me and my family, I’m certain that these sorts of things might fix themselves faster next time. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Sky wouldn’t budge… she still had her pride and her dignity. She’d never lower herself to accept the terms of this horrible man just to spare herself some discomfort. But… she had to get inside…

Just before she spoke, she noticed that Mr. Gonzalez was looking above her head with a look of fear in his eyes. When Sky looked back, she noticed that John was standing behind her.

That look in his eyes as he stared at the landlord… it was the same when he was asking her all those questions. Like someone had flipped a switch inside of him, the weirdo she had just spent a couple of hours with had vanished and was now replaced by an officer of the law. She noticed he had rolled up his sleeves and saw that his arms had strong muscles and bulging veins. Even the oversized shirt he wore was suddenly filled by the torso of a man who most certainly worked out regularly! His eyes were starting coldly at Mr. Gonzalez who suddenly lost his smirk and became more cooperative.

“G-Good evening, Officer Roads.” Mr. Gonzalez managed to say nervously.

“Mr. Gonzalez…” John said coldly. His expression was one of frozen professionalism.

“W-What c-can I do for you…?”

“You can answer a few questions for me, Mr. Gonzalez.” John stood beside Sky who was looking up at John not able to tell what was going to happen.

“S-Sure, Officer Roads! I’ll be happy to-” Before Mr. Gonzalez could speak, John took out a notepad from his back pocket and began to write down a few things on it.

“Where have you been all this time, Mr. Gonzalez?” John asked bluntly.

“Ermm… excuse me?”

“Miss Aoi called you at approximately 9:00 PM tonight regarding an incident where she was locked out of her apartment, is that correct?”

“Umm… yeah, I think so. But-”

“And right now it’s 11:34 PM. It took you two hours and thirty four minutes to finally arrive to assist Miss Aoi. So, where have you been all this time, Mr. Gonzalez?”

Sky could see that Mr. Gonzalez felt threatened by John’s questioning. The fact that John was writing down whatever was being said meant that it could be used against him. She slipped a bit behind John, feeling more protected by his presence.

“I-I had trouble coming here! M-My car broke down! So I had to take a cab here! And traffic was horrible! You know how it is in this city, right Officer?” John didn’t answer the landlord’s question, he simply wrote a few things on his notepad, which made Mr. Gonzalez nervous.

“So!” John said abruptly which caught the landlord and Sky by surprise. “She called you at 9:00 PM, hung up at around 9:02 PM, due to a car malfunction you had no way of coming here on your own conveyance so you had to take a cab to come here and, because of traffic, it took your two hours and thirty four minutes to get here in order to help a paying tenant of one of YOUR apartments. Is that what you’re telling me, Mr. Gonzalez?” John stared at the landlord expecting an answer.

“Umm… err… t-that’s right! Yes!”

“Even though you knew that the person calling you is a minor, her parents aren’t home at this time and she could’ve been exposed to potential dangers due to your lack of urgency on this matter. So you are sticking to this story?” John’s face finally contorted to slight anger. Sky saw this and for the first time thought John looked kind of cool! The landlord was slowly feeling cornered and began to sweat profusely.

“Now hold on, Officer! I did my best to come here on time! It’s not my fault that my car broke down and that traffic didn’t make it easy for my cab to get here!” Mr. Gonzalez was trying his best to keep his cool before the presence of the imposing Officer Roads. The fact that the girl was hiding behind him made it impossible for him to try and talk to her.

“Did you take your car to the shop?”

“Huh?”

“If your car broke down, did you take it to the nearest mechanical shop for repairs?” John’s voice became more demanding to get answers the more the landlord hesitated to answer.

“Y-Yes! I took the car to the shop! Happy now?”

“That’s strange…” John pointed at the landlord’s pockets and could see two keychains coming out of his pants pockets, one of them had a tiny car ornament attached to it. “By the looks of things, you’re carrying two sets of keys with you. I’m guessing one of those sets of keys are your master keys for your apartment property. Judging by the car ornament, the other set of keys must be your car keys. Am I correct?”

Sky’s eyes looked at the keychains John was mentioning and she did notice the car ornament! John was right!

“S-So what if it’s my car keys? I-I took ‘em with me when-when… when I left my car! In the shop!” Mr. Gonzalez was suddenly feeling very threatened.

“Why would you? Every mechanic shop will take the car keys from the owner of the car they’re working with as part of the standard procedures as well as testing. If you had indeed left your car in the shop, then you would’ve left your car keys at the shop.”

Cornered and feeling caught by the judgmental eyes of the officer, Mr. Gonzalez tried to look around for someone or something to help him. His back was against the door to Sky’s apartment. There was no escape!

“You mentioned as well that it took your cab all this time to come in because of traffic. If you had indeed taken a cab at this hour, then it shouldn’t have taken you more than an hour at most to get here since it took you approximately the same amount of time to get here that time when Miss Aoi and Mrs. Aoi called you in for the same reason. According to the statement I took from Miss Skylar Aoi, you arrived here within the hour during the noon hours where there actually is some pretty heavy traffic at the time. However, at night, even between 9:00 PM and 11:00 PM, there is hardly any traffic around a four block radius or the main avenues of the city. I know this because I walk these streets every day, Mr. Gonzalez.”

Sky was now looking at John with an awed expression. He had been able to gather all this information just by listening to her complaining about this whole situation!? And Mr. Gonzalez wasn’t able to fight back everything John was throwing at him.

“I… ermm… b-but… I mean…” The landlord was about to break down!

“I also heard a very disturbing thing from Miss Aoi.” John’s eyes looked back at Sky who suddenly blushed at the attention he was giving her. But all she could see in those light brown eyes of his was the certainty of a man who was standing up for what is right. “I heard that you suggested to this young lady to date your son. Now, I’m not going to judge teenagers and their antics as long as they respect one another. However, according to what I’ve been told, Mr. Gonzalez, Miss Aoi turned down your suggestion and your son’s invitation, and because of this you’ve not been very helpful towards the Aoi family. All because of a simple rejection.”

“Now wait a minute!” Mr. Gonzalez finally grew a bit of spine and answered back. “I didn’t do anything to this family! I would never do something so shameful as-as-as… as doing something bad to a family over some childish thing like this!”

“Then why are you overcharging the Aoi family more than it was agreed upon?”

“E-Excuse m-me?”

“According to the statements I’ve taken, the Aoi family has been overcharged for rent ever since that incident happened.”

“T-That’s.. No way!”

“If you believe she’s lying then I will launch a full investigation of your business deals, Mr. Gonzalez. I will report you to the Port Seaview Department of Consumer Affairs, the Civil Rights Department and City Council to ensure that all lawful practices are being taken into consideration. If you have nothing to hide, then you have nothing to fear, Mr. Gonzalez.” John’s eyes narrowed as he closed his notepad, put it away in his back pockets and crossed his powerful arms. Paralyzed by the cold hard stare of this Officer of the Law, Mr. Gonzalez seemed to crumble under the weight of John’s pursuit of justice.

“Now, Mr. Gonzalez, I suggest you open this door for this young lady, write a formal apology to her parents and apologize for this ‘mistake’ on their rent, offer a refund for the wrongfully taken money and apologize to Miss Aoi right now! Or I will charge you with business malpractice, fraud, breach of contract, extortion and willful endangerment of a minor. Your choice.”

The Law had won. Mr. Gonzalez didn’t say another word. He hurriedly opened the door for Skylar and was escorted by John to it, making sure it didn’t close behind her again. John’s stare kept drilling into the landlord who apologized deeply towards Sky who simply nodded at him. When he looked up at John’s eyes, he saw a look of dismissal in them. With a hurried step, the landlord fled the scene.

Sky had watched this exchange like someone had just performed an Academy Award scene for the Best Crime Movie ever! While John was talking to her and giving her shelter in his apartment, he was acting like a weirdo with bad social skills, horrible fashion sense and terrible cooking skills. She had seen a few creepy actions and honest expressions from the odd man. But the moment he stepped out of the apartment to protect her from the landlord, he had transformed into the coolest police officer she’d ever seen! Was this really the same guy!?

As soon as the landlord had disappeared, John took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He rolled down his sleeve, seemed to slack his posture a bit and then turned to look at Sky with his usual stoic face and soft smile.

“Well… that takes care of that.”

“Eh?” Sky had seen the transformation again! The super cool cop she saw was gone! Replaced by Officer Weirdo again! What the heck was that all about!?

11:51 PM

Sky was still trying to make sense of what the hell just happened to Officer Weirdo after he beat the crap of that sleazy landlord - with words alone! Holy crap! Were all cops capable of doing what John just did? If so, Sky would have to rethink how she saw the police from now on!

“Skylar? Are you alright?” John’s puzzled look at her reminded her that she needed to get a grip.

“Y-Yeah! Thanks Officer Weir- I mean! Thanks, Officer Roads.” Sky fumbled with her words again and rubbed her arm with embarrassment.

“Don’t mention it. I don’t think Mr. Gonzalez will be giving you or your family any more trouble. But…” John reached into his wallet and took out a business card which held his name, shield number, his phone number and his police extension for emergencies. “... if you’re ever in a bind again or anyone gives you a hard time, don’t hesitate to contact me, on or off duty.”

Sky looked into the eyes of her unlikely protector and took his card. “I will. Again, thank you, John.” She bowed politely towards him.

“Well then… Goodnight.” John turned around to leave.

“Wait!” John stopped and looked back at Sky who had called out to him. “Ummm… t-the food… the leftovers… if you put them in a bowl and cover them it’ll help it stay good for a couple of days and it’ll improve the flavor. So…”

John smiled at her warmly which caught her off guard.

“Thank you, Skylar. I’ll do just that.”

“Also! I’d like to repay you again… for that landlord thing.” Sky looked at him with hopeful eyes. What in the world possessed her to say that!?

“If you don’t mind, do you think you could cook that dish you did for me one day? I wouldn’t want to try and make it into another potential biological hazard.” He chuckled awkwardly.

Sky remembered this is what she called John’s cooking and suddenly felt ashamed of her choice of words!

“I’M SO SORRY FOR CALLING YOUR COOKING A POTENTIAL BIOLOGICAL HAZARD!” Once again Sky was bowing towards John but this time to apologize.

“It’s alright, Skylar. Nobody’s perfect. Goodnight.” He waved at her and she waved back. After a few seconds, John went into his apartment.

12:05 AM

Sky was resting in her bed as she took in all that had happened tonight…

She was on an emotional rollercoaster all day long and the last bit of it was no different. In fact, it was the end of a VERY exhausting episode in her life. She met a weirdo who happened to be her neighbor who happened to be a police officer who happened to be a Super Cop who also happened to be a weirdo, John Roads!

“What a day…” Sky finally uttered as her eyes began to close and the weight of the entire day had finally crashed down on her.

But, unlike other nights before, she actually slept soundly… she knew she had an unlikely ally and protector living next door. Maybe she wouldn’t feel so afraid anymore. Maybe she could repay his kindness with a good meal again. Maybe she could befriend him. Maybe she wouldn’t feel so alone anymore… and with that final thought, she finally fell asleep.

Meanwhile, in John’s apartment, the officer had done exactly as Sky had suggested with the leftovers to ensure they’d last him for a bit…

He had to interrupt his routine that evening which had bothered him a bit, but knowing he did it for the right reason made it worthwhile. He had followed his usual routines, did his job as he always did and prepared as he wanted to. Then he met the emotional whirlwind that was Skylar Aoi. He had helped her out of a sense of duty, but ended up protecting her out of a sense of responsibility. She may not be as disciplined as he was, but she had a good heart… even if she was a bit loud.

John slipped into his bed and stared at the ceiling for a moment, letting the feeling of accomplishment and doing the right thing wash over him. He smiled inwards and nodded. “What a day…”

Most nights he always slept knowing he had done his duty and felt rewarded for it. But having helped and protected Sky left him feeling good about his actions. He did the right thing… and with that final thought, he finally fell asleep.

What a day, indeed!