Living the Life of Riley

Whenever Kids Incorporated would get a hankering for ice cream after a long, hard day at school, or need to cool down with a soda after rehearsing, they could always turn to their friendly neighborhood soda jerk, Riley. Actually, he was more like a friend, seeing them through the best and worst of times and keeping a watchful eye on them while forcing them to be guinea pigs for his latest crackpot invention. He’d been with the P*lace for as long as they could remember and, as far as they knew, always would be.

He looked so at home in his apron and little hat mixing malteds and wiping down the counter. He even had their favorites ready for them when they wrapped for the day. “Remember, the P*lace is closing down tomorrow, guys.” he reminded them. “The exterminators are coming in.”

“Thank goodness.” said Stacy. “The bugs are starting to outnumber the customers.”

“They’re big, too.” added Richie.

“I think I saw one having a hot dog yesterday!” joked Kenny. He was thoroughly enjoying his place in the band.  Performing as a duo with Devyn had been fun, but there was just something about being in a group. He hoped Devyn felt the same way.

Right now, she was chastising him for his joke. “Kenny! Gross!” Sometimes it seemed to her that he tried too hard to please the other kids. She was just as grateful as he was for the opportunity to be in the band, but if they ever kicked her out it wouldn’t be the end of the world. They’d never needed Kids Inc’s reputation to draw a crowd. She sighed and tried to get the image of a roach having lunch out of her head so she could enjoy her shake. At least she had made a friend in Connie, while Kenny seemed to get along with Richie. They all even spent time together away from the band, as they probably would tomorrow.

“Joke if you want, but I’m actually looking forward to having a day off.” Riley said.

“What are you going to do tomorrow, Riley?” Connie asked him.

“Oh, the usual.” he replied. “Actually, I’m gonna be pretty busy tomorrow since I haven’t had a day off in a while.”

“Busy doing what, polishing your ice cream scoops?” said Ryan, and they all laughed. “Yep, must be pret-ty time consuming counting all those sprinkles.”

“Is that what you guys think I do all day?” Riley asked, getting angry.

“Isn’t it?” Devyn said innocently.

“NO!” he yelled, ripping off his apron and throwing it down. “I have a life just like the rest of you. This soda jerk stuff, it’s just my job. A-And I’m tired of being taken for granted by you kids.” He stormed off, but returned just to add, “You know, if you spent just one day in my shoes, you wouldn’t be so quick to judge.” Then he left.

“Whoa!” gasped Richie.

“You said it.” Ryan said.

“I didn’t realize Riley was so sensitive about his personal life.” Connie said.

“We shouldn’t have teased him.” said Devyn, to which everyone agreed.

“He’s right, though.” Stacy told them. “We do take him for granted. It’s funny, but I can’t picture Riley anywhere but here.”

“I used to think he lived at the P*lace.” said Richie.

“Kinda makes you wonder what he does do when he’s not working.” Ryan said, beginning to come up with an idea.

Kenny thought of it first. “Hey, you know what we should do? We should follow him!”

“He did say we should take a walk in his shoes.” Connie pointed out.

“Yeah, but it’s not right to go sneaking around spying on other people’s personal business.” argued Stacy.

“C’mon, Stacy, aren’t you curious?” Devyn asked her. The others did their best to persuade her.

“Okay, count me in.” she sighed. “It’s not like it’ll take long, anyway. I mean, how much could Riley possibly do in a day?”

Luckily, the next day was Saturday, so the Kids could tail Riley easily. They met outside of the P*lace bright and early to strategize.

“I still think this is a bad idea.” Stacy said. “What if Riley sees us? What’re we gonna say? ‘We were all in the neighborhood…?”

“He won’t. We’ll keep far enough back.” Ryan reassured her. “Did you bring your sunglasses?”

“Sunglasses?” echoed Devyn quizzically.

“Long story.  Shh, you guys, here he comes!” They ducked behind the corner.

Riley and a man with a bug-adorned uniform were talking at the doors. Riley handed him a ring of keys, and they shook hands. Then Riley left. The Kids let him get about two feet before they trailed slowly behind.

“I can’t see! Where’s he going?” complained Connie.

“It looks like the school library.” Kenny said, confused. They snuck in. Some children were sitting on the floor in front of a big rocker.  Riley came in and sat in it. He was holding a stack of books.

“I think he’s gonna read to them!” Ryan exclaimed. They were stunned. He was a natural, holding the book out so everyone could see the pictures and keeping them all at bay. Everyone clapped at the end.

“Well, that wasn’t what I expected.” Richie said.

“C’mon, I think it’s sweet of Riley to volunteer like that.” said Stacy.

Riley’s next stop was a big, ordinary-looking building none of the Kids had ever been to before. They had to carefully sneak in while Ryan held the heavy metal door so it wouldn’t slam and give them away. They followed the sound of voices to a room full of people. A series of sharp bangs caught their attention.

“Hear ye, hear ye.” Riley called. “This meeting of the local chapter of the Soda Jerks of America will now come to order. First order of business – guys, we seriously have to change our name.”

After that, the Kids were sure nothing Riley did would surprise them. They were wrong. After giving a pint of blood at the local clinic, he served lunch at the soup kitchen. On the way back, he passed the bank just in time to collide with a man in a ski mask. Imagine his mother’s reaction when he told her during his visit! By the time he was finished grocery shopping, doing his laundry and stopping by the post office, it was well into the afternoon.

“I’m bored!” said Connie.

“I’m hungry!” said Richie.

“Well, I’m getting tired of running all around town!” Stacy snapped.

Ryan glared at Stacy. “It’s not like it’ll take long.” he said in a falsetto voice. “How much could Riley do in a day?”

“Whose bright idea was this, anyway?” asked Kenny.

“YOURS!”

“Sorry.”

Fortunately, Riley was out of earshot. When they turned the corner, they noticed the little girl sitting on the stoop before he did

“Riley!” she said, leaping up. “I thought you weren’t coming.”

“I know, Robin, I’m sorry. I meant to swing by earlier, but the meeting ran long, and the kids were angling for another story.”

“That’s okay. I was busy practicing.”

“Oh, yeah? What ya got for me?"

The Kids were pleasantly surprised and equally awestruck when the girl burst into song. She was pretty good!

“All right! Encore, encore!” Riley applauded. “You should come by the P*lace. I bet the guys would be really impressed.”

Robin’s face lit up. “Do you really think Kids Incorporated would listen to me?”

“Sure! They’re good kids.” Of course, that made them all feel incredibly guilty.

“Well, I better go clean my room before my mom gets home.”  Robin said. “Bye, Riley. See you.”

“See you, Robin.”

The Kids chose not to follow Riley this time. “You know, guys, I think we really underestimated Riley.” Ryan said sadly.

“Yeah, shows what we know, doesn’t it?” added Devyn.

“Can we go home now?” asked Richie.

“I think we’ve seen enough.” Stacy agreed. They left without noticing that Riley had come back and was now spying on them.

No one really wanted to go to rehearsal the next day, because they were too afraid to face Riley. When they got there, though, Riley seemed to be in a much better mood. He actually waved!

“Hi, guys!” he said.

Relieved, though a bit confused, they settled at a table. Riley finished the sign he was making out and stood it on the counter with a sly grin. It read, Today’s Special: Humble Pie.

“Uh, Riley?” said Kenny. “We have something we wanna tell you.”

“Really? Well, what is it?”

The kids looked at each other. “We’d like some pie!” they all said together.

“I thought so.”

“No, really, Riley, we realize now that there’s more to you than meets the eye.” apologized Stacy.

“A lot more.” emphasized Richie. Riley didn’t seem surprised.

“Why do I get the feeling you knew this was coming?” asked Ryan suspiciously.

Riley shook his head. “Did anyone ever tell you that you kids are the lousiest spies?” he teased. “I mean, did you really think I couldn’t tell you were following me?”

“I told you we needed the sunglasses!” Ryan muttered to Stacy. She hit him.

“You’re not mad at us, are you?” asked Connie.

Riley let them sweat for a while. Then he chuckled. “I don’t have time to be! I’m graduating in a couple of hours!”

“Can we come?” Devyn asked him.

“You know it wouldn’t be the same without you guys there.”

“So Riley, are you still going to college?” wondered Ryan.

“Yeah, I hope to. In fact, I’m gonna register for the fall semester if it’s not too late. It’ll make it pretty hard to keep working here, but I might have to in order to pay for it. I don’t know yet.”

“Oh, you can’t leave!” Kenny told him. “You make the best malteds ever!”

Riley smiled. “I’m sure there’s someone else out there who can make ‘em just as good as I can.” he replied.

“The P*lace definitely won’t be the same without you.” said Stacy.

“I won’t be the same without it, either.” he said as his smile wavered.  “Serving you kids has been the best experience of my life.” Suddenly he looked up. No one had noticed it was already time for that day’s set. “And here comes my favorite part,” he said, “introducing you guys!"

“Well, gee, I don’t know if we can make it to the stage!” Ryan joked. “That humble pie sure was filling!” They all made a big show of getting up out of their chairs and lumbering to the door.

“Oh, go on, before I charge you for it.” Riley grumbled playfully.

“Won’t miss that!” Kenny quipped.

Riley’s graduation ceremony took place at the basketball court. The graduates came out the gym doors single file to accept their diplomas. When Riley came out, the Kids made so much noise that for a moment there, Riley wasn’t sure the professor would give him his. But it was all in fun. While the guest speaker was at the podium, one of the graduates leaned over to Riley. “That’s a rowdy bunch of kids you’ve got there.” she whispered. “Are any of them yours?”

To her great confusion, Riley replied, “Yeah, they’re all my kids.” He moved his tassel over and sighed. “They’ll always be my kids.”

The End