After midnight, two voices are heard regularly from the street. At about two o'clock you hear the voice of the road sweeper, and then on dawn the cleaning carriage comes, and you can hear the cleaning coachmen shoveling the garbage that has been piled up by the road sweepers.
None of the boys on the street wanted to be sweepers. But if you ask a boy what he wants to do in the future, he'll say, "I want to be a coachman." ”
Driving a blue carriage is certainly an attractive thing. Those people were simply aristocratic. They only work early in the morning and are idle the rest of the time. They had nothing to do, so they often went on strike. The demand for a strike is not high, just to add a penny a day. Or, if someone is fired, they strike. The war began, they went on strike; when the war was over, they went on strike. India became independent and they went on strike; when Gandhi died, they also went on strike.
Edos was a cleaning coachman, which most boys were envious of. He said that his father was the best cleaning driver and told us many stories about how skilled the old driver was. Edos came from the lower classes of India and was not very good at telling lies. His ability to drive is family heirloom.
One day I was cleaning the sidewalk in front of my house when Edos came over and tried to get the broom away. I like sweeping the floor and don't want to give him the broom.
"Little fellow, how much do you know about sweeping the floor?" Edos asked with a smile.
I said, "What, is there a lot of learning about this?" ”
Edos said, "That's what I did, little fellow. I have experience. You'll have to wait until I'm older. ”
I gave him the broom.
I was sad for a long time after that. I felt as if I would never grow up to be the size of Edos, never to have what he called experience. I became more envious of Edos and wanted to be a cleaner driver.
But Elias was not such a boy.
As those of us who make up the Miguel Street Junior Club crouched down the sidewalk and talked about things like life, cricket and football like Hart and Bogart, I said to Elias, "So you don't want to be a cleaner?" So what do you want to do? Do a sweeper? ”
Elias simply spat into the gutter, looked down, and said very seriously, "I want to be a doctor." ”
If this had come from Boy or Errol, we would all have laughed. But we know that Elias is different, and Elias is very intelligent.
We all feel sorry for Elias. His father, George, didn't kill the child at all, but Elias never cried or talked back to his father.
One day I was going to Chien's shop to buy three cents of butter, and I invited Elias to go with me. I didn't see George at the time, and I thought there would be no accident.
But we had just walked two houses that far away when we bumped into George. Elias was scared. George came over and snapped, "Where are you going?" With that, he slapped Elias the chin.
George loved playing Elias. He used ropes to tie him up and then pump him with the ropes he had soaked in the gutters of his own cattle shed. Even Elias wouldn't cry. Soon afterwards, I would see George and Elias talking and laughing together. George used to say to me, "I know what you're thinking. You must be wondering how he and I reconciled so quickly. ”
The more I disliked George, the more I liked Elias.
I believe he will one day become a doctor.
Errol said, "I bet you guys will forget about us all when he becomes a doctor." Hmm, Elias? ”
A smile appeared at the corner of Elias's mouth.
"No," he said, "I won't do that." I'll give you, Boy, and all of you a lot of money. He said as he waved his small hands. It was as if Elias had become a doctor and owned things like Cadillac cars, black handbags, and televisions.
Elias began attending the school on the other side of Miguel Street. The school didn't look like a school at all. In my opinion, it is no different from other houses, except that there is an extra signboard outside that reads:
Titus Hoyt, Bachelor of Arts (Correspondence Education, University of London)
Guaranteed access
Cambridge Secondary School Diploma
Strangely enough, although George beat Elias at every turn, he was proud that his son was educated. "This kid has learned a lot. He can read Spanish, French and Latin, and can also write Spanish, French and Latin. ”
Elias took the final exam at Cambridge High School a year before his mother's death.
Titus Hoyt came to the end of the street where we lived.
"The boy will pass this exam with honors." Titus Hoyt said, "He's going to get good results." ”
We watched as Elias walked into the exam room in clean khaki pants and a white shirt, all looking at him in awe.
Errol said: "Everything that Elias wrote will not stay here, you know, every word that the guy wrote has to be sent to England." ”
That sounds unbelievable.
"What do you think?" Errol said, "Elias's brain is good." ”
Elias's mother died in January, and the exam results came out in March.
Elias did not pass the exam.
Hart looked at the list in The Guardian over and over again, looking for Elias's name and saying, "Maybe they went wrong." This is a common thing, especially when there are so many names. ”
Elias's name was not in the newspapers.
Boy said, "What else are you counting on?" Who changed the exam papers? It's British, isn't it? Are you counting on them to let Elias pass? ”
Elias was also present, his face ugly, and he didn't say a word.
Hart said, "What a fucking shame. If they knew how upset the child was, they would let him get through as quickly as possible. ”
Titus Hoyt said, "Don't worry. Nor was Rome built in a day. this year! Things will certainly be better this year. We're going to open the eyes of those Guys. ”
Elias left us and stayed with Titus Hoyt. We rarely see Him. He studied day and night.
One day in March of the following year, Titus Hoyt came to us in a car and said, "Did you hear that?" ”
"What's the matter?" Hart asked.
"That boy is a genius." Titus Hoyt said.
"Which boy?" Errol asked.
"Elias."
"What happened to Elias?"
"This kid passed the final exam at Cambridge High School."
Hart exclaimed, "Cambridge High School's final exam? ”
Titus Hoyt smiled, "It's all up to him." He got a third class. His name will be reported tomorrow. I always say, and I still have to say, that Elias is such a good brain for this child. ”
Hart later said: "Unfortunately, Elias's father is dead. Although he did not have any skills, he hoped that his son would receive a good education. ”
That night, Elias returned, and all the people, adults and children, gathered around him. They talk about everything, just don't talk about studying, and Elias talks about movies, girls, and cricket. He still looked serious.
Hart said as the conversation interrupted, "What are you going to do now, Elias?" Looking for a job? ”
Elias spat. "No, I think I'm going to take the test again."
I said, "Why is that?" ”
"I want a second class."
We understood that he wanted to be a doctor.
Elias sat down on the sidewalk and said, "Yes, man, I'm going to take the exam again, and this year I'm going to let the Cambridge gentleman read my exam papers and shoot them." ”
We didn't say a word, but our hearts were muttering.
"The biggest headache for me is English and wenxue (literature)."
The word "wenxue" that came out of Elias's mouth was the most beautiful word I had ever heard. The word sounds like it's edible, as delicious as chocolate.
Hart said, "You mean you're going to read a lot of female songs (poems)?" ”
Elias nodded. It was unfair to let Elias learn wenxue and female songs at a young age.
Elias moved into the pink house, which had been unoccupied since his father's death. He's starting to learn again. He returned to the school run by Titus Hoyt, not as a student but as a teacher. Titus Hoyt said he paid Elias forty dollars a month.
Titus Hoyt added: "He deserves this salary. He is one of the smartest kids in all of Port of Spain. ”
When Elias came back to us, we found that he had become better. He became the cleanest boy on the street. He bathed twice a day and brushed his teeth twice. He stood in front of the tap in front of the house when he bathed and brushed his teeth. He had to clean the house every morning before going to school. He was the diametrically opposite of his father. His father was short and fat, and particularly dirty, and he was tall and thin and particularly clean; his father was an alcoholic, swear, he was not drunk, and no one had heard him say a dirty word.
My mother used to say to me, "Why don't you learn Elias?" I really don't know how God could have given me such a son. ”
Every time Hart or Edward hit Boy and Errol, they always said, "Why are you hitting us?" You know, not everyone can compare with Elias. ”
Hart used to say, "Elias, this kid not only has a brain, he's a good man." ”
So knowing that Elias failed the exam for the third time, I honestly felt a bit of schadenfreude.
Hart said, "You have all seen what virtue these Englishmen are. No one here would dare to say to me that this kid won't pass the exam, but if you think they're going to give him a high score, you're dead wrong. ”
Everybody listened and said, "Shame on you." ”
Hart asked Elias, "What are you going to do now, kid?" Elias said, "You know, I've got to get a job." I want to be a health inspector. ”
We then talked about him wearing a khaki uniform, a khaki hat, a small notebook in his hand, and going door to door to check.
"Yes," said Elias, "health inspector, that's exactly what I want to do. ”
Hart said: "I want to be rich in this business. I heard your father, George, say that he would pay him five dollars a month to keep the health inspector's mouth shut. Suppose there are ten or eight such people, that is to say – let me calculate, ten times five equals fifty, eight times five equals forty, so that you can get at least forty to fifty dollars a month. Listen, that's not even your salary. ”
Elias said, "I'm not going for the money. I do love the job. ”
This is well understood.
Elias said: "Just to get this job, but also to take the exam. ”
Hart said: "They're not going to send the exam papers to England, right?" ”
Elias said, "No. However, I was afraid. I had no luck in the exam room. ”
Boy said, "I thought you were going to be a doctor." ”
Hart said, "Boy, you keep your mouth shut or I won't cut off your little tail." ”
But Boy didn't have any ill will.
Elias said: "I changed my attention. I want to be a health inspector. I do enjoy the work. ”
Elias took the health center exam for three consecutive years, but failed each time.
He began to say, "What else can you expect in Trinidad?" Even if you ask someone to cut a nail, you have to pay a bribe. ”
Hart said: "I met a man on the boat that day who said that the exam for health inspectors in British Guiana was much easier. You can go to Guyana for the exam and come back to work. ”
Elias flew to Guyana to take the exam, but failed, and flew back.
Hart said: "I met a Barbados man who told me that the Barbados exams were easier. He said it was easy. ”
So Elias flew to Barbados to take the exam, but still failed, so he flew back.
Hart said, "I met a Grenadian that day..."
Elias said, "Shut up your stinky mouth, or I'll be done with you." ”
A few years later, I also took the final exam at Cambridge High School. The cambridge examiner gave me a second class. I applied to customs for a job and passed it without much effort. I received a khaki uniform with brass buckles and a hat. That uniform resembled the overalls of a health inspector.
The first time I put on that uniform, Elias wanted to beat me up.
"What did your mother do to get you that job?" He shouted. I was about to punch him when I was stopped by Edos.
Edos said: "He is just sad and jealous, and has no other meaning." ”
Later, Elias became one of the nobles of the street and drove a cleaning carriage.
"There's no reason here," said Elias, "to face it." I really like the work I'm doing now. ”
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