"Take Your Kid to Work" Day

It was "Take Your Kid to Work" Day,
and the morning sun reflected
on the little boy's
kiddie-sized aviators
as he rode shotgun
in his father's jeepney.
He was very excited,
and he dressed for it -
a blue ball cap
to match his new blue shirt,
with paper bills sharply
folded around his fingers
like wolverine claws.
He was already in third grade,
yet he had never seen
his father at work,
ferrying passengers around the metro
like the nice man that he is.
All he did was
take the passengers's fare
while his father gave the change,
because the boy didn't know
the different fares
for the different stops.
But he was quite good at math,
this little boy,
and as the sun rose higher in the sky,
he noticed his father
starting to shortchange his passengers.
First 25 cents,
then 50,
then one peso,
then two.
When he looked up
into his father's eyes,
and saw his father
refusing to look back,
the little boy
did not know
what to make of it.


*conceived Sat, 13 Apr 2013