Friends and Family Series

Kip & Kyle

By: Ron Robbins
(© 2011 by the author)
Editor: Frank Perry

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

Chapter 1

Kyle turned off the computer monitor and rubbed his eyes.  He had been sitting in front of the computer screen for hours without a break.  His neck muscles were sore from sitting in the same position.  He had ignored the warning window that popped-up every hour reminding him to take a break.  Finally he swiveled around in his chair and stretched.

Picking up his coffee cup, he walked out of the library and down the hall into the living room.  The French doors were open at the far end of the room letting the fresh air circulate through the apartment.  Kyle walked out onto the narrow balcony and peered across Fifth Avenue.  He looked down to check the entrance to Central Park fifteen floors below.  It was 12:05, the usual time his young friend would walk into the park entrance.  Kyle smiled as he spotted the teenager crossing Fifth Avenue as he was making his way into the Park. 'Right on time,' Kyle thought.

Kyle turned around and quickly walked to the front door.  He had been observing this lad for some time now; however, today he decided to speak to him.  He reasoned that the lad was attending a school nearby as he never visited the park on weekends, or during the summer when the schools were closed.  They had a nodding acquaintance for several months now.  The young man, like himself, was a creature of habit and you could set your watch by his punctuality.

The young man looked to be in his late teens and carried himself well.  He was handsome with broad shoulders, tall, and well proportioned.  He had dark brown hair with blond highlights, and dark brown eyes.  He had perfectly chiseled features and an open friendly smile, when he smiled, which was not often.  He showed a serious look on his face, as if he were carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.  In appearance and mannerisms he reminded Kyle so much of his brother, Paul.

After riding his bicycle around the park for ten minutes, Kyle finally spotted the young man seated at a table in the food pavilion.  Kyle locked his bike to the rack and walked over to where the teenager was seated.

"Hello, my name is Kyle Petersen.  We've been nodding to each other for some time now and I thought an introduction was in order.  Mind if I join you?"

The teenager stood and extended his hand saying, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kyle, my name is Christopher Schmidt, but my friends call me Kip.  Please join me, I would enjoy the company." Kip smiled, "I'm glad that you made the first move.  I have often been tempted to approach you, but I learned from experience that many New Yorkers prefer to be left alone.  I expect this is true with most large cities.  Anyway, it would be improper for me to make the first move."

"Let me grab something from the food counter, then we can chat for a bit, that is, if you're not pressed for time," Kyle said.

"Please, go ahead; I have no classes this afternoon.  I have plenty of time to chat if you'd like."

"Great, what are you drinking there?" Kyle asked.

"A cup of coffee would hit the spot, thank you."

Kyle returned with his tray and handed Kip his coffee.  "You know you bear a striking resemblance to my brother, Paul.  We were very close and I miss him terribly.  Paul was more than a brother to me; he was also my best friend.  I didn't mean to share my personal grief with you, Kip, but I felt I owed you an explanation.  Now that I've cleared the air, tell me what brings you to the park every afternoon."

"Did Paul move away?"

"No, he was killed in an automobile accident."

"I'm sorry to hear that.  I can empathize with your loss.  I've recently lost a loved one.  Maybe one day you will tell me about Paul.  To answer your question, I'm here every day during the lunch hour to get away from that zoo they call a high school.  My school is just a few blocks away.  I usually have lunch here daily at this time, weather permitting.  It's nice to relax and to recharge my batteries.  Thank God this is my last year.  I'm graduating this June.  I don't think I could take it for another year."

"It is that bad?"

"Yes, I haven't been attending this school long enough to develop any close friendships.  Anyway, I've found it safer to keep to myself.  To them I'm an outsider, so they don't mess with me."

"So what do you plan to do after you graduate in June?"

"I will be working full time at the Plaza Hotel until my classes start at NYU in September."

Kyle chuckled, "It's a good thing I took the initiative today, or I might have lost the opportunity to meet you at all.  I don't suppose you'll be dropping by the park after you graduate in two months?"

"Oh, I'll still come to the park, but not during the lunch hour anymore.  More than likely it will be later in the day.  You're right about one thing, though, once I start classes at NYU, I'll spend my lunch hour in Gramacy Park.  Central Park is my escape from the shabby rooming house I live in just off Ninth Avenue.  I rent a small room that’s big enough to accommodate a single bed, desk and a small wardrobe.  It has a one by four foot window that faces the alley.  I have to stick my head out the window and look up to see what kind of day it is because the sunlight never reaches my level."

"Let's walk a bit," Kyle said.  "This is the only exercise I get until my workout at the gym this evening."

"That's fine with me.  What do you do for a living?"

"Actually, I'm what they call an entrepreneur.  I dabble in many different businesses, from the import/export market, to the food industry.  My work keeps me glued to my computer screen ten to twelve hours a day.  That's the reason I take a break at lunchtime.  If I don't, I’ll get a headache, or a stiff neck."

"It sounds like you lead an interesting life.  Do you live nearby?"

"Yes, I do.  I live in that apartment building on the corner of Fifth and 66^th Street."

Kip smiled, "How convenient."

"Do I detect a trace of a foreign accent in your speech?" Kyle asked.

"Not many people pick up on that.  I'm a German-American.  My parents lived in Germany when I was born and I spoke German as a child.  We returned to the United States when I was nine years old, when my father accepted a teaching position at MIT.  I learned English in Germany, but it took me a while to speak the language as a native.  My parents were fluent in English so they helped me a lot.

"When I arrived in this country, I attended public school in Boston.  My classmates treated me as an outsider.  I think they resented me because I was a foreigner and because of my scholastic record.  The private schools I attended in Germany were further advanced than the public school in Boston.  I couldn't believe what a breeze the curriculum was here.  I guess I inherited my brains from my parents, who were super intelligent.  The principal was delighted that he had me in his school and did everything he could to help me fit into their program.  My teachers were very understanding and helpful.

"My fellow classmates were another story.  They treated me rather shabbily and made me feel like an outsider.  I felt rejected and was deeply hurt.  I began to despise them as much as they did me.  I never understood why the school system allowed the students to be so hostile to each other.  The system allows too many gangs to run roughshod over the student body.  I didn't fear them mainly because I was taught how to defend myself in a fair fight.  Of course the gangs didn't fight fair, as I was to find out.  After a lot of fights, and as many black eyes, and bloody noses later, my dad pulled me out of public school and enrolled me in private school.  After that, things began to improve, I began to like Boston."

"You lost me somewhere Kip.  Didn't you tell me before that you were living in a dumpy rooming house in Hell's Kitchen here in Manhattan? How did you end up here?"

"My father died of cancer two years ago.  He lived for almost two years after he was diagnosed with the disease.  Things went downhill shortly after his first operation.  MIT was good about paying his salary for the first year.  After that his disability insurance kicked in.  We couldn't afford to maintain the same life style after my father's income took a nosedive.  My folks had to sell our home and car and we ended up renting a two-bedroom apartment.  Shortly after my father died, my mother and I had to move again only this time to a smaller one-bedroom apartment.

"Our only source of income at the time was my mother's savings account and Dad's $100,000 dollar life insurance.  Mom only received a small amount from the Social Security because my father hadn't work in this country that long.  My mom couldn't afford the tuition to keep me to private school any longer.  So it was back to the public schools again.  Only this time, the school district I was in was in a very bad section of town.  For sure, the gangs ran that part of town and they were well organized and brutal.  I still kept a very low profile and tried to avoid any contact with them.

"The strongest gang in my school, and in our neighborhood, was called the Black Devils.  The leader of the gang was a big black dude, Leroy Jackson. Unfortunately, for me, he liked to rape good-looking white boys.  Of course, I knew nothing about the gangs.  The outcome would not have changed anything, in any event.  What I didn't know, was that Leroy Jackson, the leader of the Black Devils had a thing for me and considered me his private property.  The word was out on the street that no one was to touch me.

"One afternoon, during lunch break, I was cornered in the lavatory by two of his gang.  They shoved me around a bit and locked the door.  A few minutes later, Leroy arrived.  That's when I came face-to-face with the biggest, ugliest black dude I had ever seen.  I'm 5 foot 10 inches tall, but this guy was couple of inches taller and well over 200 pounds.  He walked over to me and wrapped his arms around me so I couldn't move.  He was strong and had my arms in a vice grip.

"He looked me up and down and said, 'God, you are one sweet looking thing, white boy.  I'm going to have you right now.  Sweet thing, you can do this the easy way, or the hard way.  It don't make any difference to me.  I'm going to have that pretty ass of yours, make no mistake about that.  So you better get used to that and make it easier on yourself.'

"With that grabbed both my wrists with his powerful hands and pulled them around so they were behind me.  His hand was so big, that he was able to span both my wrists.  He grabbed the waistband of my slacks and shorts ripping them off my body in one swift stroke.  He fondled me for several minutes and then lifted my chin up and kissed my face and neck.  He was so quick I couldn't believe what was happening to me.  I was so revolted by his actions that I became sick and without warning I threw up all over both of us.  His reaction was swift and painful.  He hit me so hard that I blacked out from the force of the blow.

"I don't know how long I was out.  All I could remember after I came-to was the pain.  I was lying face down on the floor, naked and alone.  They must have given me something because I didn't remember anything.  That animal had his fun and left me lying there.  I felt as if my insides had been gored by a bull and my body was covered with urine and semen.  I tried to get up but I almost fainted from the stabbing pain that racked my body.  I couldn't move my legs.  I really began to panic; I pushed up on my arms and turned my head to see what was wrong with my legs.  That's when I saw the pool of blood and feces on the floor and all over my bare legs.

"I started screaming and didn't stop until two students came to my aid.  I told them I had been raped and to call 911.  I must have passed out again, because the next thing I remembered was waking up in the hospital recovery room hours later.  My mother, a doctor and two police officers were standing around my bed.  I told them the whole story before I fell asleep again.  They were back the following day,  this time with the Assistant District Attorney.  They went over my statement once again until they were satisfied.  The ADA asked if I would agree to testify.  I told them I was afraid of the revenge that the gang members would take if they found out I would testify against them.  Anyway, I thought it would be my word against theirs.

"The ADA said they had taken samples of the semen from my rectum and matched it to the DNA of the gang members I picked out from the photos they showed me.  He said I would have to identify them from in a lineup when I was released from the hospital.  The doctor's report was gruesome.  According to his examination, three men repeatedly raped me.  They didn't go into detail, but he did say they did a good job of tearing me up internally and it would be some time before I healed properly.

"They placed me in the witness protection program.  The DA agreed with me that the rest of the gang might try to get to me.  Fortunately, the City of Boston has deep pockets and would pay to protect me from the gang.  They would also help me to relocate to another area where the gang could not find me.  That's when my mother decided we would move to New York to live with my aunt and uncle until we could return to Germany.

"The day before I was to be released from the hospital, my mother had a massive stroke and ended up in the hospital.  The doctors said it was from all the stress she has been under for the last two years.  As it turned out, my mother ended up in a nursing home.  The three black dudes were convicted and sent to jail and I was shipped off to live with my aunt and uncle who own a rooming house here in New York."

"You've really had it rough," Kyle said.  "I can see why you like to come to the park.  Look, Kip, I think you could use a friend or a big brother right now.  Maybe we can help each other.  I know you'll meet some decent people in college, but for now, let's see how it works."  Kyle opened his wallet and took out his card and handed it to Kip.  "Here's my card, if you get into trouble or you need to talk, call me.  Let's plan to meet here on Monday, or if you want to get together over the weekend, give me a call and we'll take in a movie or something."

"I'd like that; we'll have to make it Monday since I'm working the entire weekend.  I'm really glad we met.  If it rains on Monday, I'll see you Tuesday.  I've got to get home and change for work.  Thanks for spending so much time with me this afternoon."  They shook hands and parted.

To be continued...

Posted: 08/03/12