The Summer Job - 19. Meet the Press

Mr. Campbell had Phillip ushered into his office and asked him, “So Phillip, how are you going to answer what qualifies you to be a counselor?”

Phillip replied, “Absolutely nothing. I don’t even pretend to have all the answers but, unlike some of the boys, I’m not afraid to ask. I have a huge advantage over the guys with degrees and training. I’m not much older than the kids and don’t intimidate them like an adult might. I know the easy answers. When I get a tough one, I can talk to the staff here or call an expert and find out.”

Mr. Campbell nodded and said, “Great answer. We have a conference room but, it’s not much. We’ll have Stacy Scott of the Banner and a couple of guys from our local ABC and Fox affiliates. If you’re ready, we might as well get this over with.”

He stood and followed Mr. Campbell down the hall to a small, threadbare conference room where several reporter types waited. Mr. Campbell motioned for Phillip to have a seat and said, “This is Phillip Wright. We hired him for the summer to take care of the building and, he’s done an outstanding job. We didn’t plan for it to turn out this way but, the kids love him. They tell me he’s like having a good, smart big brother around. He’s really good with them and they follow him around like puppies. We’ve changed his job. He still has duties keeping our facility running but, he’s got more time to talk to the boys.”

Stacy Scott was a pretty early twentyish young lady. She asked, “How did this come about Phillip?”

“I’m not much older than they are and, I don’t intimidate them like an adult might.”

One of the TV guys asked, “What kind of questions do they ask?”

Phillip responded, “One of the big ones is how do I keep my little sister or brother from bugging me?”

The other TV reporter asked, “How do you keep your little sister or brother from bugging you? I wish I’d known that in middle school.”

Phillip grinned and said, “That’s an easy one. When they’re bugging you, they want attention. Talk to them or, play with them. If you’re too busy, tell them you’ll play with them later.”

“That was an easy one. I get hard ones too and, I’ve got some good trained staff here to help. The question yesterday was medical in nature. I’m no doctor, so I called my friend’s Mom who is a nurse. She talked to Rodney on the phone and decided he needed to be seen right away. I conferenced Rodney’s Mom in on the call and, with her permission, took Rodney to the hospital.”

Stacy Scott asked, “So, you’ve got help answering their questions?”

Phillip replied, “Very good help. I’m quite aware that I don’t know all the answers.” Indicating Mr. Campbell with a gesture, “We do have people here with the right degrees and, I have a little network of people with specific knowledge that can help when the questions go off into deep water.”

The other reporter asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up Phillip?”

Phillip answered, “I’m not sure yet. I think I’d like to be a doctor. The Navy is kind of a tradition in our family, so I’m probably going to do that, at least for a while.”

Stacy Scott asked the one question Phillip desperately wanted to avoid, “How did you learn to be such a good big brother?”

Phillip paled at the question. His distress was obvious to the adults but, he owed it to Javier to answer. He rallied himself and answered, “I learned from the example of my best friend Javier. He lived next door and, was two years older than me but, he always had time for me. No one could ask for a better big brother or, could one have been more patient. Growing up, he was always there. I mean, he could have blown me off but he never did. I could talk to him about anything. Growing up with him around was... amazing.”

He didn’t want to say it. No one here knew. It took everything he had to continue: “One Saturday last March, my Mom and Javier’s Mom Angelica needed to go shopping. I had the flu and couldn’t go. Javier went with them. All three were killed in a bad accident.”

Stacy Scott put her hand on Phillip’s arm and said, “I know this is hard for you. Do you need to stop?”

Phillip shook his head and said, “Not yet. Everything I learned about being a good big brother, I learned from Javier. Even now I think, jeez, I wish I could talk to Javier about this or that or, just talk to him at all. If I’ve been any good here, if I’ve done well here, it was Javier’s influence.”

“Javier taught me to treat everybody like I was glad to see them. It’s amazing how well that works.”

“He told me something that always stuck with me: ‘Just try to be a good person. There are so many people that don’t even try; the attempt alone makes you stand out.’”

“I haven’t talked about this much. It’s hard and, I’m still grieving over it. Now, I’d like to ask a question: Miss Scott, are you any relation to Kelly Scott?”

Stacy Scott twitched and said, “He’s my little brother. Please tell me you’re taking him under your wing.”

Phillip grinned and said, “I know him. He’s around here quite a bit with his friend Casey. I like them.”

Surprised, Stacy said, “Really? He’s a little hard to take.”

“They’re a little different but, they aren’t bad. Another thing Javier taught me is that kids are always right where they’re supposed to be. We’re all a work in progress. With teens, have patience they’ll resolve or grow through whatever is on their mind.”

Phillip talked about lighter matters for a few minutes and, excused himself and went to hide in his office for a little while.