Ep. 2 - The Switch - Rusty’s Lesson

You Don't Say...

You Don't Say...
Ep. 2 - The Switch - Rusty’s Lesson
Feb 05, 2026 Episode 71
Drew Zagorski

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Some legends shout; this one learns to whisper. We walk Bridgeport with Billy, a kid handed a nickname meant to break him, and watch him turn it into cover, leverage, and eventually a code. What matters isn’t the punch—it’s the pause after: timing, restraint, and the price of making things right without making a scene. At home and in school, pressure teaches cadence as much as consequence, and a small, almost-forgotten library incident becomes the first entry in a ledger that values clean outcomes over noise. Problems end quietly. The room resets. A reputation takes shape.

Then it deepens. A summer away, a woman who understands limits, and a cat that can’t help being a cat introduce the rule that governs everything after: instinct needs mercy, and power needs aim. That lesson echoes through games, hallways, and side-street conversations with men who don’t smile much. Favors turn into currency, and the neighborhood adjusts to having a quiet custodian of balance. Not a hero. Not a bully. Just someone who knows how to end a problem before it becomes a headline—and knows there’s always a ceiling waiting.

© Drew Zagorski. All rights reserved.
Published under the pen name Drew Glass.
The Make Right Man – The Legend of Billy Shitpants is a work of fiction and part of You Don’t Say… Stories from the Drew Zagorski Files, produced by LeftBrainRightBrain Marketing.

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