Nobody Cares

The kid is passed out on a display swing two feet from the entrance of Harris Teeter. His head is slumped over and his tongue hangs out. Hundreds of people walk past, but nobody cares. The manager sees him in the chair and pays little attention. Six hours later she walks out and sees he is in the exact same position. Now she fears he's dead.

EMS get the kid awake. His pupils are constricted and he's trying to explain to them that he's not on drugs and doesn't know how he passed out at the grocery store. He sees me approach. I recognize him. I've arrested him before....for selling and using unauthorized prescription medication. The last time I saw him he was lying in a ditch with his stupid friends. Their Jeep was burning, flames no less than twenty feet high, in the wrong lane of Leesville Road with a set of two hundred plus feet skid marks. They tried to tell me nothing happened. I wound up arresting the whole lot of them for first degree lunacy.

Today he sees me and stops his explanation. He just sits there with his stupid mouth open.

"Is he going to die?" I ask.

Nobody answers. The paramedics look confused.

"How much did you take, Ryan?" I ask.

"I...uh...didn't"

"Shut up," I interrupt. "How much did you take?"

"I took four pills. I was only supposed to take one. It was anxiety medication."

The paramedic looks pissed. "Then why are you lying to us. We're here to help you, man."

I leave immediately. If he wants to get blasted in the parking lot of Harris Teeter and spend the afternoon baking in the sun like a lizard, what do I care?