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THE ANTICS OF ‘MICKY MOLLOY’ EPISODE II MICKY’S COMMUNITY
SERVICE |
Its 7 o’clock Saturday
morning and young Micky is having
his breakfast. He’s very quiet but that’s to be expected with the week he’s just
had. He likes to give off this little ‘hard case’ image but the family all see
through it. He
must be at the Community
Service Centre for 8 o’clock to do the first session of his unpaid
work. It’s been on his mind all week but
he would never let anyone know – anyone except his Grandad that is! Micky always has a walk down to the
allotments to see him when he has troubles.
The old man is the world’s greatest listener and he never judges Micky. He would go down and see him
after school for an hour or so. Grandad always made the young lad feel
better.
“Come on Mick! It’s 20 to 8.
You’ll miss the bus.” Mum urges him not to be
late on the first day.
“Okay! I’m off now. See you later.”
Micky arrives at the Community Service Office with two minutes to spare. There is a group of four or five older boys
smoking outside, who just stare at him, but don’t speak. Two lads, about Micky’s age, turn up and ask him his
name.
“Micky Molloy,” he replies. “What about you two?”
“I’m Jacko,” the taller one says, “and this joker is “Wilf.”
He had only been here five minutes but already he knew it was gonna
be okay!
“Molloy! Come here son.”
A very large man call’s Micky
from inside. He goes into his office and
explains what is required and also the rules.
Micky has no problem with any
of this as the guy, who is called Mr.
Taylor, seems a nice enough bloke.
Mr. Taylor and Micky
go back outside to where a group of about nine lads are gathered.
“Okay lads, minibus will be here in about 10 minutes. If you want a
brew, get one now”.
“What’s the job today sir?” asks one young lad.
“Little bit of gardening and some fencing needs repairing”
“Where at sir? Some old people’s home again?” asked Wilf.
“No lad,”
said Mr. Taylor. “We
are going to the town’s athletic track.
It needs a good tidy up.”
On that note the minibus turns up and the lads all got on and away
they go. When they arrive at the track
they are met by the groundsman and two more men who talk to Mr. Taylor about splitting the lads
into three groups. Micky moves towards Jacko and
Wilf in the hope they will be put
together on the same job. Mr. Taylor
sees what’s going on but allows it as this is Micky’s first time.
“Right, we have two groups of three and a group of four,” says Mr.
Taylor. “The four lads go with Mr.
Harrison the groundsman – you’re on gardening.”
Micky, Jacko and
Wilf are led away with the other three lads and the two men to a large
cabin behind the changing rooms. Mr. Taylor asks the two men if they
will be okay if he leaves now as he has some work to do back in the office.
“Yeah! No problem,” one man replied.
“See you later. Right then lads,
anyone done any fencing before then?”
Mickey had helped his Grandad on the allotment but, remembering what the old man once
told him, “Never volunteer for ‘owt”, he kept quiet as did the others.
“Not to worry”, said the man. Nobody knew
his name or that of the other bloke, but who cared. Each of the men took a group of three and a
bag of mixed tools. Micky and his group set off for a section of fence that had been
badly smashed. They were the panel type
which just slid into concrete pillars on the outside of the running track. The other group got the job of repairing
holes in the big perimeter fence. After watching ‘Lurch’, (the name Wilf
had given to their man), for almost half an hour, the lads felt confident
enough to have a go themselves and it was going well. They made a good job. Lurch seemed pleased with the work and,
at a quarter to twelve, decided to knock off for lunch. Micky
had not brought anything to eat and he didn’t have any money. Jacko and Wilf said they were going to the ‘Chippy’.
“Come on, I’ll get yours and you can pay for mine next week,” Jacko
said.
“Cheers mate, that’s great,” answered Micky.
“Half twelve back here – no later,” shouts Lurch.
“Yes sir,”
Wilf replies.
The lads get their dinner and walk back to the track where, by this
time, to their amazement, there are a dozen or so young people running round it
in tracksuits, shorts and vests.
“What the hell’s going on here?” asks Micky.
“Local running club,” replies
Jacko. “They train every Saturday
afternoon.”
“Must be mad! That’s all I can say,” says Micky.
“Oh, I don’t know,” says Wilf with a big
smile. “Cop a load of those two over
there.” nodding towards a couple of young girls in racing shorts and
tight vests. Micky and Jacko nearly choke on their chips!
“Right you lot, back to work,” bellows Lurch. The lads finish off
with a can of pop and get back to the fence.
The rest of the afternoon went well and they got loads of fence
mended. Lurch even paid for the cans of coke they had while having a ten
minute break, watching the club athletes train.
Jacko had done a bit of cross
country a couple of years ago but Micky and
Wilf were more for football –
athletics was for posh kids! God
only knows where they got that idea from, although Wilf seemed to be taking an interest in two certain, young
athletes. Mr. Taylor arrives and
tells the lads to start packing up. “We’ll call it a day and get back to the
office for 3.30”
The minibus arrives and the other lads finish putting the gardening
gear way. On the bus, the lads give a
last glance towards the track.
“Still don’t know what the big attraction is,” thinks Micky.
Back at the Community
Service Office, Mr. Taylor gets all the boys to sign a form to say how many
hours they had done and thanks them for a good day’s work. Micky,
Jacko and Wilf hang about for a
bit just talking and getting to know more about each other. Jacko
and Wilf head off in the opposite
direction to Micky but not before
making arrangements to meet up in town during the week after school.
Micky walks in the back door just as mum is putting the tea out. Dad
and Sally are about to sit down.
“Well, how was it?” asks Mum.
“Let him get in Jen,” says Dad.
“It’s O.K.,” answered Micky. “It’s
not that bad at all. Been repairing
fences at the running track.”
“You’ll be hurdling them next, ‘eh Micky,” laughs Sally.
“Shut it!”
snaps Micky.
All in all it has been quite a different sort of day for young Micky!
Written by: Graham Vickers
Submitted: 6th
February 2006
Edited by: Brenda Earnshaw WRR
Website/Magazine Editor
Next Episode – Testing the Water
