"Out." The officer barked out as he pulled Alfie out of the automobile parked just in front of a very depressing looking building.
One could call it an Asylum, but it was more than that. It is a residential treatment center for children and adolescents.
It was also an institute for delinquents, a Juvenile Detention Center where Alfie will be spending quite a long time in.
Though it might not be as different from the Boarding School his parents mentioned just a while ago before officers came knocking.
Though there are a few differences, for one he won't be going home for a long time even during holidays and such, but his parents can always visit.
And second, this Asylum for troublemakers is more strict than a boarding school could ever be.
But at least he has a chance to learn some things here considering they have education programs here.
"I got him." The other officer stepped up, one Alfie was quite familiar with.
"Hello, Uncle Harold." Alfie greeted.
Officer Harold is a local officer of the neighborhood, the father of one of Alfie's teammates.
"Hey, kid." He looked down towards Alfie with a sigh. "You've come quite far from your usual neighborhood rebellions."
Alfie chuckled from his statement, Officer Harold looked quite disappointed.
"Well I didn't expect myself to be here either."
Officer Harold raised a brow at the kid's words, did he think he would have gotten away with it? He thought.
He had an idea of why this kid was stripped from his home and dragged to this Juvenile Detention Center.
When he got the call and a few visitors from the police HQ outside of the neighborhood to guide them to one Alfred "Alfie" McBride, he was surprised.
It surprised him even more that the kid in question had traveled out with a bunch of greasy kids and started fights, resulting in broken bones and concussions from the other side.
Officer Harold knew immediately what caused Alfie to take this kind of action as it wasn't the first time.
It wasn't uncommon for his son, Emmet, who was part of Alfie's crew and baseball league team, to come home with bruises every once in a while.
He learnt from other parents about what's been going on with their kids as they stay connected as a tight-knit community…mostly. It also helps that some kids like to ramble on about their crazy days so most parents stay informed of the Cubs day-to-day events.
Officer Harold heard that other teams from nearby neighborhoods have been frequently visiting and starting fights with the Cubs since Alfie, their captain, hasn't been around.
And now he learns that Alfie went about and broke a few boys bones, it wasn't hard to make the connection that Alfie went for revenge.
The only difference is that Alfie led a crew of greasy Italian kids instead of his usual crew.
Despite all the troubles they caused, Alfie and the others protected the younger kids in Morris, there are times where he leads them to help other families in the community, which is why Alfie was tolerable to the parents of Morris.
"What's this place called, anyways?" Alfie asked.
"It's New York's very own training school for boys like you, it's called The Children's Village…" He then turned to Alfie with a cautious expression. "You must be careful, McBride. Keep your head down and do your time quietly, behind those doors are kids worse than you've ever seen."
"Aww shucks, come on Uncle Harold, don't tell me you don't have faith in me to knock these boys down like I always do."
"I don't." Officer Harold declared unamusedly. "The punks here are way older than you, and have done worse."
"Well, there are always those that are better than you." Alfie said to the old man's annoyance.
Officer Harold guided Alfie into the door where they stood in front of the counter as he registered Alfie in the system.
A man wearing gray scrubs came down from one of the stairs, and stood intimidatingly against Alfie.
The kid in question remained unfazed, he turned to Officer Harold. "Tell Emmet that I'll see him soon."
"Sure, kid…" Officer Harold seemed unwilling to leave him. "Your parents should be here soon to check on you soon, they're allowed visits every week to see how you are doing. I'll do the same, I'm sure the kids would wanna know how you're doing as well."
"Sure, thanks unc."
The social worker wearing gray scrubs pointed towards the linen and white overalls on the counter. "Take them." He said simply.
Alfie complied and followed the man who didn't wait for him.
They went up the stairs to the 2nd floor, passing through many doors that had locks on the outside.
They soon stopped where Alfie saw the metal door with one little opening hatch, and on top of the door was #68.
Alfie turned towards the door just beside it, #69. "Can I take that one instead?"
The man didn't answer, nor did he look amused.
"Tough crowd."
*Kroosh*
The man moved the metal door's latch, unlocking the door before speaking.
"You are to remain indoors unless it's during meals, school hours, daily tasks, free time or scheduled time with the psychiatrist or counselor. Other than that you are to stay in your assigned room at all times."
"How about potty time?"
"Change, your guide will arrive soon." The social worker said dryly before closing the door and locking it.
Alfie sighed, proceeding to put his things on the simple bed and looked around.
It's very much like a prison, at least from what he's seen on television, the only difference is there is no toilet in the room.
A simple small room with a squeaky bed.
*Thonk* *Thonk* *Thonk*
*Kroosh*
Just as Alfie was halfway into his white overalls, a knock came from the door before it opened.
"Hello, there."
Alfie turned to see a teenager standing at his door, dark hair with olive-like skin, definitely Italian.
"Buonasera." Alfie greeted back.
"Ah…yes." The kid looked taken aback with Alfie's Italian greeting. "I'm Enzo, I'll be your guide."
"Alfie."
"So…what'd you do to end up in the village?"
"I robbed the national bank."
"…sarcasm, nice. Won't last long though, follow me."
Alfie, after quickly putting on the upper part of his overalls, followed after Enzo.
"During your time here, you'll realize that everything you do is strictly being monitored, but after a while you'll understand what to do and what not to do. It also helps if you show progress in changing for the better, they won't be on your ass as much."
"So kiss some ass and be good?"
"Exactly." Enzo emphasized. "Now, early in the morning around 6, you are expected to be up and ready for breakfast, if not then you'll be having quite the bad day for yourself."
"After breakfast, schoolwork starts and ends at 3, but that's for the majority, depending on how special and good you are you'll be given tasks and responsibilities."
"Like you?" Alfie asked, considering every door was locked and someone like Enzo is doing guide work.
"Yessur, newbies like you don't come everyday, but whenever they do then that's when I can show you around."
"Other than that, there are others who have tasks and responsibilities, like the clean-up crew or laundry crew. Those who clean up the buildings are more active around the end of the day while those in the laundry are busy throughout the day and night."
"What kind of education does the school system offer?"
"…the basics? I don't know, I just know it's more strict than schools outside, other than that it's not that different, boring and a waste of time."
"How strict? Do they offer college-like courses?"
"…" Enzo turned towards Alfie with a deadpan look. "You a bookworm or something?"
"Do they have courses that offer a chance for a certificate on certain subjects?" Alfie ignored Enzo's question and asked again.
"Brother, I don't know but I don't think you're in the right place if you're looking for education. The teacher cares little about your education, all they do is teach you the basics and get on your ass if your grades fall below average at most."
"If you really wanna know, then you're asking the wrong person, you'll have a chance to know more tomorrow but I'm only supposed to show you around the building."
Enzo continued to guide Alfie towards the 4 story buildings.
The bad side of this place is there is no fun and there is no privacy in the bathrooms.
The showering area had no walls so they are expected to line up and shower while bumping into each other's ass, the same goes for the toilets and urinals.
Alfie expected such things, but he hoped he was wrong.
Another thing is that there is a bathroom schedule, meaning you only have three chances to go to the bathroom. Morning, afternoon and the evening, worst of all their hygiene is closely monitored as well.
It really left no space for those residing in this asylum with free thoughts and dignity, but then again it is a place of correction and punishment rather than comfort and privacy.
The building Alfie and Enzo were currently in, are for those at the age of 13 and younger, also referred to as the Southern Hall.
There are 4 buildings all together including the Southern Hall, on the Eastern Hall, it contained those at the age of 14-16.
The Western Hall had those at the age of 17-18 while the Northern Hall had the most infamous delinquents no matter the age.
The Northern Hall is basically a building of confinement, Enzo stated it was for those who had no hope.
By the time Enzo's tasks were about finished, the social worker that brought Alfie in a while ago appeared before them.
"Come say your goodbyes." He said dryly.
"I'll be seeing you tomorrow, I'll be waking you early now so you better get some sleep." Enzo said before walking off.
"So, where are we going? Mister…?"
"…"
The man didn't speak, simply taking Alfie down the stairs and into a hall, but on the way there they stumbled onto another staff guiding a few familiar faces.
"ALFIE!!"
"You fucker!"
"This is all your fault!!"
Giovanni and a few of his crew dropped their new uniforms and linen before attempting to tackle Alfie.
*Thudoosh*
The staff before them suddenly held his hand out, grabbing a few of them and throwing them "gently" onto the ground.
"Agh!"
Alfie, surprised that they got here, walked up close before looking down towards them.
"Oh dear, hello my partners in crime." His smile widened annoyingly.
Angelo who stood behind the rest frowned towards him.
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Short Story…?
It was morning when the Cubs found out about Alfie's situation, thanks to Emmet, who was informed by his father, Officer Harold.
Nina had decided to call out for the next few days, as she planned to check on Alfie every day to see if his stay at the 'Children's Village' was comfortable.
Doris didn't have the luxury of calling out of work, he owned the shop and he had to show his presence and make sure everything was okay.
Last night, on their visit to the Children's Village, they noticed how dark and drastic the place is, yet they couldn't do anything.
Alfie didn't show how uncomfortable he was being in that place, but they knew.
They felt despair and disappointment for the fact that they couldn't do anything for him, at least not now.
If they knew their child would end up this way, they would have sent him to a boarding school sooner.
The news that he violently broke a few kids arms was alarming, it was disappointing. Doris couldn't discipline or scold him enough and say everything at that moment, he almost started beating Alfie down in that Asylum for being so stupid.
Maybe they should be thankful that those families didn't come after them legally.
He believed Alfie knew better, with how smart he had been since he was born, he should have known better. In fact, Doris sometimes felt Alfie had moments where he was more mature than him, he didn't know what to say or do about that, he just knew he was some kind of genius, an idiot genius.
When the visiting time was over, they both returned home, sat down and talked, they even poured alcohol to ease the stress and find out how they could deal with this mess.
Nina woke up with a banging head before realizing that Doris was gone, off to work no doubt. He usually doesn't go to work early but Nina suspects that her husband is trying to stay busy instead of wallowing in the failures of their child.
*Thonk* *Thonk* *Thonk*
As Nina got out of the shower preparing to make some breakfast and drop it off to her husband, a knock came to the door.
With a spatula in hand she opened the door and her visitors gave her quite the shock.
"Whaaa…"
At the doors, the entire kids in the neighborhood surrounded the front lawn of their house.
She knew many of them, the Cubs along with the few younger kids in the community, but what shocked her was the few teenagers accompanying the little rascals.
"Auntie, where is Alfie?!" One of the kids yelled out.
"I…" Her words were lost. "…I'm sorry, Billy, but Alfie is not…here, at the moment."
"Is he in jail?!" Billy, who took the lead, asked gravely. "Tell us so we can break him out!"
""Yeah!""
"Tell us, auntie, tell us!"
"This is gonna be a prison break!"
The Cubs shouted in unison, agreeing with Billy's plan.
Though the older kids seemed to be perplexed, as if they didn't even know about the plan. Most of them came to see what's going on after hearing about Alfie being detained and caged.
Though it seems that the rally boosted Billy's confidence and thoughts, completely making his own plans involving them all.
Nina's sad expression disappeared, her brow twitched in annoyance by the chubby boy's declaration.
*Thwack*
The magic spatula on Nina's hand found its way onto Billy's head, prompting the others up front to step back in fear and surprise.
"Don't be a fool, Billy. Alfie has already caused enough trouble, you rascals better not follow in his footsteps, especially you." She said, eyeing Billy. "A negro like you would have it way worse than Alfie, so don't even think about it or I will spank you myself."
"Y—yes ma'am…" Billy's previous confidence deflated and he turned back into a scolded child.
"Is he going to be okay? How long will he be gone?"
Nina turned towards the redhead, who had her own questions with a worried face.
Now that Nina looked around, they all had worried faces, she knew Alfie had influence over the kids in the neighborhood but she didn't expect them to all rally and gather in front of their house.