Rotten Kids

Posted by Kooshmeister 3 years ago

 

So lately I've been having some problems with the kids who live around here. On Monday, I went out to check my mail, and a group of six or so kids of various ages, though none older than their preteens, happened to be going in the same direction, walking away from the dumpsters. I heard them whispering behind me. Finally, two of them, a boy with glasses and a somewhat overweight girl, spoke up and got my attention. I turned. I didn't really recognize any of them. The girl, who was the oldest and the obvious ringleader, asked me if I'd ever given her friend (the boy with the glasses) "the finger." I did recall an incident involving a particularly obnoxious boy a while back who was shouting things at me from a window, and I did in fact flip him off (I probably shouldn't have, but that's beside the point). Not wanting any trouble from them, I gave a non-committal answer and said I "gave the finger" to lots of people, provided they pissed me off. With that, I turned and went on my way. Although I heard them laughing and doing this weird thing where they loudly counted (the hell?), I figured that was end of it.

At the mailboxes, I didn't get anything. Nothing worthwhile, anyway. Not that I remember. Anyway, on my way back, I passed the same group of kids going in the other direction. We didn't acknowledge one another. Then a few moments after I'd passed them I heard the insults. They mostly pertained to me being gay, or, in their words, a "faggot." There were also accusations of other things I'd rather not go into. I ignored it. It of course hurt my feelings, but I figured it was best not to rise to the bait, even though I was confused as hell about why in God's name they were shouting these insults at me. I returned to my apartment and again figured that was the end of it. The conclusion I came to was that because I live alone and rarely leave my apartment, I'm the local weirdo and the kids assume I'm some kind of sicko pervert. There's one in every neighborhood, don't you know.

What followed rattled my nerves. I heard voices outside my front door. It was the kids. It was obvious they were trying to talk quietly and failing miserably at it. Then all of a sudden... WHAM! Something hit my door. I went to the peephole. Nothing. I remained there, and watched in a mixture of confusion and anger as the kids returned a few more times and hit my door. A few years ago, some kids (probably the same ones) would ring my doorbell and run off, but this was not that. This was different. Violent. They hit the door hard enough that I felt it despite not actually touching it. First it was the kid with glasses and another boy. They discussed what to do if I opened the door and came out. One of them (the kid with the glasses, I think) said something about how he could handle himself. He had "skills" and "experience." Then they proceeded to basically jump-kick the door and run off. A minute later, the fat girl came, banged on the door with her first, and ran off, laughing. Then some of the boys returned and kicked and pounded the door again.

I took my trash out. They watched me from some distance and then I returned to my apartment and the process repeated. I forget how many times. At one point, they banged on my back door and even hit my windows. I resolved that the next time I observed them coming through the peephole I'd open the door. This happened with the girl. As she approached, I flung open the door, went "Yes?" politely and she took off screaming and laughing. I shut the door and locked it. They didn't bother me any more that night. I assumed, once again, that that was the end of it. The way the girl had run away laughing even as she shrieked made me think it was just kids having fun. Apart from telling a couple of friends about the matter on Discord and later discussing it with my mom when she came to see me yesterday (Tuesday), I took no action.

After my mom left, though, I spent some time on Discord with friends again. I had to leave one because the owner kept spamming pics, and for this unpardonable sin, he has banned me on here. When it rains it pours. Anyway, I went to get my mail, dreading encountering the kids but, y'know, needing to get my mail. I'm awaiting a book (the novelization of Re-Animator by Jeff Rovin), a Star Wars comic (Return to Vader's Castle, kindly provided by a friend) and an audiobook (Darkfall by Dean Koontz). About halfway there I saw the fat girl and another girl sitting in the gazebo out of the corner of my eye. I resolved to ignore them.

"Rapist!" (or, again, possibly "Racist!"). Feeling my temper boiling, I made the stupid decision to confront her. It was the fat girl. I didn't recognize her friend from the other day and she seemed not to want to get involved. I asked her why she was calling me those things, and she said it was because I was, because I'd given her friend, the boy with the glasses "the finger." She insisted "You don't do that to a kid!" Evidently, flipping a mouthy kid off in a moment of heated anger is the equivalent of assaulting them somehow. I sighed and said I was sorry and to tell her friend I said so, hoping to end it. More interested in her phone, she said she didn't accept my apology and curtly dismissed me ("You can go now," she said in a tone of supreme aloof smugness). When I persisted, insisting we resolve the matter now, she started walking off, going on about how I was a "white racist faggot." I should mention she, her friend and all the kids from the other day are black, but only since it matters now. I asked how she knew I was a racist or a homosexual. She didn't answer the former, but as to the latter, she said I looked, dressed, walked and talked "like a faggot." I retaliated by calling her fat (I know she is just a kid, but she's at least in middle school and she was being extremely mouthy and testing my patience and making me lose my temper) and also called her a coward for just hurling insults at me instead of directly confronting me and discussing the matter civilly.

It also came out that in addition to flipping her stupid friend off, I had apparently, according to him, also called his two younger sisters "bitches." That I never did, and I denied it. She refused to believe me, insisting that her friend was telling the truth. Then as she walked away she started in on the faggot stuff again and told me I was going to hell for being gay. When I took a step towards her to follow her, she said she was going to call the police. She never did, as far as I know. Throwing my hands up in defeat, I resumed my trip to the mailboxes. Again, I got nothing of substance, and again I encountered the kids on my way back. I swear I wasn't going to do anything, as angry as I was, until, as we passed each other, the fat girl asked me sarcastically if I'd called the police yet.

I didn't. Not right away. First I called the apartment manager's office to complain that I was being harassed. But of course nobody was there (even before the pandemic, there was almost never anyone in the damn office, and, if there was, it was one of a rotating series of temps who never knew up from down about this fucking place), so I left a message. Then I called the cops. First I tried the city cops but was told that, my mailing address aside, I wasn't in their jurisdiction, so they handed me over to a woman over at the sheriff's department. Very shortly, a deputy was around and I explained everything to him. He seemed surprised that this was all over he having flipped a kid off a few years ago. "That's a long time to hold a grudge," he said. He then mentioned that my description of the one girl sounded familiar. Evidently, this won't be her first rodeo with the cops. Anyway, the deputy told me he'd look into it and to call them back if the harassment continued.

The kids threw a rock at my door later that night while I was on the phone with my mom. 2021 is not off to a great start for me.