Glory Glory Rebels

Chapter 10 Temporary Home

Rudy wasn’t sure what made him do it, he was not the kind of person to kidnap a child, but he offered to take Curtis back to his apartment. He did not mean anything by it, even if this kid wasn’t the future football star that Rudy was thinking about he was only thirteen and there was no way that Rudy could leave the kid out on the street.

Rudy and Curtis seemed to get along well, it was easy to be in each other’s company, their passion for football creating a common bond. They slowly made their way to Rudy’s apartment on Faulkner Street in the city.

The area around Rudy’s apartment was known for the American style diners and restaurants. Rudy and Curtis waited at the lights to cross, Curtis looked wide eyed down the street enthralled with the American atmosphere surroundings the district. He could hear people talking in the shops and they all had heavy American accents.

“Wow! I have never… you live here?” Curtis asked in surprise.

Rudy laughed and nodded, he felt comfortable and at home here, hearing the American accents.

Curtis was clearly excited, he looked at everything he could as they passed the shops and babbled excitedly;

“My dad told me that American food is really good, but I have never had the chance to try it. Do you know how to cook any American dishes?” Curtis asked in a familiar tone, as if they had known each other for a long time, as if he thought that he would be staying with Rudy permanently.

They came across a supermarket that was being renovated, the inside had been gutted and the workers were now taking apart the outside signage. Rudy stopped and looked at the workers struggling with the massive sign reading ‘SILVER’.

Rudy just stood and watched them take the sign down, he thought to himself ’He was a true supporter of the game, a passionate maniac that loved Manchester United to the core.’

Curtis stood silently next to Rudy and wondered if Rudy was a bit crazy, why on earth was he standing there looking at the sign?

Curtis looked at Rudy and realized that he seemed… sad? Wistful? But then suddenly he remembered seeing the same sign in a newspaper article. Rudy had made it into the papers at this time because he had led the Red Devil Knights fan club in protest against Manchester United, he had announced that he would establish a new club.

Of course the media had jumped on this, the fact that Rudy was throwing all his money in to establish a new club had caused shockwaves through the football community. So the newspaper dug around and found every little scrap of information they could about Rudy.

Some people said he was a true fan of the sport, others had said that he was crazy and would send himself bankrupt. Curtis had never thought that what Rudy did was a stupid move, he thought it was a sure sign of his passion for football.

“I know who you are.” Curtis said, his excitement building. “You’re the leader of the Rebels!!” Curtis practically shouted.

Curtis had decided that the idiotic American standing in the street staring at the sign was not an i***t at all, he was someone to be respected if for nothing else but his passion for football.

Rudy had no idea what Curtis was thinking, he laughed and said;

“You make it sound like we are terrorists! You know we are different…” Rudy said.

“I know that!” Curtis said defiantly.

Rudy didn’t say anything, he just raised his eyebrows and Curtis continued.

“When you truly love something, you will do anything to protect it even become a traitor in some people eyes. Well, that’s what my dad said anyway…” Curtis finished.

Rudy really appreciated Curtis’s comment, he patted the kid on the shoulder and took him to the apartment on the third floor above the supermarket. As they walked up the stairs, they could see evidence of the interior renovations that were taking place. The supermarket on the first floor was already empty, the second floor was well on the way to being completely demolished as well. Only the third floor remained intact for now, as soon as Rudy moved out in a few days they would start the renovations there as well.

“Well, just make yourself at home kid!” Rudy said as they entered the apartment.

Rudy showed Curtis where everything was and then made his way to the kitchen. If his memory was right, there was Coke in the fridge.

Curtis looked around at the apartment, it was absolutely putrid.

“Oh s**t! Do you ever clean up man?” Curtis exclaimed.

It looked like a bomb had gone off, there were magazines open all over the table and floor. Empty beer bottles littered every available surface.

Mountains of dirty washing were stacked in all the corners, dirty socks hung limply from the top of several bottles, the smell was almost overwhelming. How could someone live like this Curtis wondered.

“I’m sorry about the mess, I have been so busy these past few weeks I haven’t had a chance to clean up much. I’ll get to cleaning straight away.” Rudy said, he knew it was a mess but to have a thirteen year old boy, who were not known for their cleanliness, make a comment embarrassed Rudy.

Rudy walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge, he found that there was not only Coke, but several other drinks as well.

“Hey Curtis, what do you want to drink?” Rudy called out.

“Umm… I’ll just have some cold water if you have it. I don’t really drink anything else.” Curtis replied.

Rudy immediately understood, this kid was an athlete with self-discipline. He was serious about his career and watched his diet closely.

He got the water for Curtis and went back to the kitchen to see what he could find to eat. He found some pasta that he could make tonight, but he seriously needed to get to the shops tomorrow and stock up or he would be paying for an awful lot of take out. He didn’t want a future star going hungry.