The Swing ©

This is a story about how I met my best friend who also happens to be my first cousin. We have been through a lot of shit together.
This is about the time we first met or rather the first week we met. He was 14 years old, four months older than me. He moved here to Canada with his brother and sister. His parents had lived here already for 12 years. In fact their sister was born here and brought to Greece and left there to be raised, while the parents remained here to make some money to eventually bring the whole family over.
Some of you may think this is wrong but it was easier for them (the parents) to work without worrying about the kids and loosing employment opportunities. There is a large support group of grand parents and aunts back in Greece so the kids would be safe.
Well here they are now in Canada. They don’t speak a word of English which is great, because I get to teach them.
Ok, go fuck yourself means: hello; got it. After a few minutes they both had it down pat. You’re an asshole means: have a nice day; they got that one even quicker. Don’t you love how fast these farm boys learn ?
Two days later my uncle asks me to take them around and show them the neighborhood. I said ok and we left.
We walked all over the place and I showed them all I could and then I decided to take them to a park that wasn’t in our neighborhood.
We get there and it’s a fair size park, with swings and a slide to play on. My cousin went and sat on a swing and started swinging.
Along comes this kid and says that’s my swing. My cousin says hello .Yup he said go fuck yourself. Then this kid’s telling him I’m going to get my brother and come back. He turns and walks away and my cousin ups and tells him to have a nice day. OI.
I said to my cousin that we better go, because the kid was mad and was going to get his brother to come and start a fight.
He asks why?
So I told him, he wanted the swing and you were in it.
Just for that he wants to fight he says. I said yes.
Ok people I’ve already said in a previous post I’m going to hell so let’s keep going.
Well I’m not going he said and I’m not scared of anyone. He’s got guts I’m beginning to like him.
I told him this was someone else’s neighborhood and they may not like us being here. But he wasn’t budging. So I figure what the hell, there were 3 of us, we can handle it.
The kid comes around the corner with this guy that was a little bigger than we were and the 6-8 others were too. Yup 6-8 others, I look to the right and golly gee 4-6 more. So I say to my cousins, ok we get back to back and we can make a stand, got it.
Hey, did you hear what I said? I look back and I could see them down the street and they were flying like 2 Gazelles, leaving me behind.
Forget what I said about liking him.
Well needless to say I got caught.
Who were the other 2 asks the kid’s brother, the ones who ran away.
I don’t know I just met them I replied. Which was true, kinda.
He came here with them says the little bastard.
Just then one of them yells out that they got them.
Down the street we could see both of my cousins beating the crap out of 2 others.
They came back for me. I’m beginning to like them again.
Then the brother tells 2 guys to watch me and the rest took off after the cousins. As soon as they were out of sight I kicked 1 in the balls and exchanged punches with the second one until he was down and I took off. The only problem was, I had to find a new way home because the cousins and the small army chasing them were in front of me and going my way. So the only thing I could do was go in the other direction and hope if I went far enough West that I could go down and get around everyone.
So I went 5 blocks west, 6 blocks south and 4 blocks east and they spotted me, 6 blocks from home. Shit I thought and the chase was on. I have never run so much in my life and as far as I was concerned, I was running for my life.
The chase went in and out of yards, over fences but I kept ahead. The only problem I had, was that there were too many of them, to out run.
At one point I thought they had me, I didn’t know what to do or where to go.
The city was working on the road and there was a dump truck there. I had nothing to loose so I climbed in and hid. They were right there next to the truck asking each other, where did he go?
I don’t know what got over me, I was scared. My heart was racing, yet I was trying not to burst out laughing. I guess it was because I was right there and they couldn’t see me.
They left and I stayed in the back of the truck for about 15 minutes, then hopped out.
The second my feet hit the ground I heard, there he is, aw fuck I thought and the chase was on again, but now I was completely surrounded.
I ran through the back end of the park and then diagonally to the back of the arena, where I bumped into a pile of my friends playing hockey.
There were about 20 of them. I ran up to Pat and he asked what was wrong? So I told him quickly what was happening and that I was in a lot of trouble.
Just then someone yelled, stop him. Pat looked at me and said go home. I said thanks to him and took off. As I got around the link fence I saw the brother of the kid walk up to Pat and say, why did you let him go. Pat just swung the hockey stick hitting him in the side and the rest of the boys went at the others coming into the park with their hockey sticks.
Now this is my neighborhood.
I ran up the street and swung around the corner and there was 1 of them standing between me and my uncles house.
He saw me and came running at me. I just ran right at him. As the gap closed quickly he stopped to take a punch at me, I just ran right though him. I ran straight to my uncles house through the door and sat down, huffing and puffing.My lungs were burning, I could barely speak I was so winded.It took me almost 2 hours to go 8 blocks.
My cousins were sitting there calm and refreshed like nothing had happened.
My cousin looked at me and said hello.
Yeah you know, Go fuck yourself.
That’s how I met my best friend.





Walker.