Alexis had high hopes the day he turned 16. He had it all planned out. He was going to get a part time job for the weekends, saving half of what he earned for himself and the rest to help out his mum. She didn’t earn a lot being a cleaner in the local primary school, but she tried her best.
Alexis remembered his mum helping him go through his wardrobe and finding something that looked smart enough for him to go job hunting. He distinctly remembered looking in the mirror and being ashamed. All he had was a plain white shirt from his school uniform, a pair of blue jeans and his new trainers.
His mum had excitedly rummaged through her cupboard to find a tie his Dad had left behind. It was black with a white paisley design. She had tears in her eyes as she watched him put the tie on. Alexis didn’t like it, but could see the pride in his mother’s streaming eyes.
He had become a man.
When Alexis came home later that day he walked through his kitchen with a smile on his face and his head held high. His mum who was cooking jumped to conclusions and hugged him exclaiming enthusiastically “you got a job!” His little brothers stopped playing with their car toys and jumped up and down with delight holding onto Alexis’ jeans.
Alexis couldn’t look at them. He remembered turning his attention to the hand-me-down toy cars on the floor and reminiscing back to the days when he used to sit playing with them while his mother cooked. He looked at his mum and calmly said