as i was going down into the subway station this kid grabbed my hand and started walking with me.

he asked me what's up and what's your name and where are you going and stuff. it was immediate red flag for a bad situation. kids don't go up to strangers like that, unless.

he started asking for my phone.

'gimme your phone or i'll break your phone.'

'oh, i don't have it. i think it's in my bag.'

but he saw the outline in my pocket and started groping it from the outside, as if confirming what it was. i feel guilty for lying.

eventually his mom or whoever said, 'D▒▒▒▒, come back here, no touching people, that's bad,' and stuff, and then i looked over to her, expecting eye contact or something, but she didn't look at me. that kinda confirmed that oh, okay, we got some shit going on here.

then i took the elevator down to the platform, still thinking about it, and then i saw D▒▒▒▒ across the platform toe-walking aimlessly. the woman supervising him was on facetime and occasionally telling him to come back.

he sat down on a bench and dropped his backpack, then immediately stood back up and walked up to the bridge connecting the tracks. he approached a guy up there, but they didn't engage much. now mom/whoever is going up the stairs, calling out to him somewhat halfheartedly. she is clearly, exhaustedly pissed.

and then i got on the uptown train.