Samuel by Grace Payley

I don’t feel sorry for what I did. That boy deserved the consequences of his actions. He should have been sitting down on the seat inside the subway car, not jumping and wobbling on the connector.They knew that it was a dangerous stunt. They were just being irresponsible and stupid. I am sure their moms had no idea where they were. She would never have let them be out there if she were here. If they were with their parents, they would have behaved how I always acted as a boy. Calm and responsible. I never behaved like that. If those women told me to sit down, I would have. I always did what I was told and was rewarded to by adults for my good behavior. I was never like those boys in my junior high who fooled around all the time. I wasn’t like Bobby Jackson, that’s for sure. Always drinking and staying out all night. Never taking no for an answer. I wonder what he’s doing now. Those kids should have listened to that woman in the red sweater. None of this would have ever happened. But I can’t be blamed for his death.