A Real Entry...

Final for writing class.

Angry Young Man Steven Timberman
1 Hour Ago
Morning light peered through the bedroom’s only open window and bathed Matthew Cain’s battered body in sunshine.
“Damn it Matthew! Open this door now! You’re already an hour late and after yesterday… just get up and open the door”.
Silence.
Marla creaked open the door half-expecting to find Matthew in another drunken haze. Instead, she found her son splayed across his bed covered in a disturbing mix of bloodied bandages and sheets. Before she could step any further in the room Matthew sat up and wearily his lips spoke a “Hi Mom” before falling back onto the bed. Marla’s motherly instincts kicked in as she headed closer to her son’s bed.
“Jesus honey…. Are you okay? What happened?” Marla spoke as she ran her fingers up and down Matthew’s back, checking for any signs of massive injury.
Matthew’s voice almost sounded self-assured, but the slight wavering gave away his doubt. “I’m fine, mom. After school yesterday I needed to relax so I headed over to Gordon’s. On the way home some guys jumped me, I guess they thought I was lost or something.” Matthew shakily stood up even as his mother’s left hand remained on his lower back.
“My god Matthew”, Marla said. “You need to get down to the hospital and get that wound checked out.
Matthew tried to reassure his mother. “Mom, I’m fine. It’s just a –“
“It looks like a stab wound. Stay here, I’ll go call an ambulance.”
The sound of Marla’s voice made her seem confident, but her hurried pace as she left gave away her worry.
Matthew felt his way around the bandages. Good, the knife had cut deep but the bleeding had long since stopped. Hobbling over to the closet, Matthew realized that he probably should go to the hospital. As he struggled to pull it over his head the clean shirt chafed against the dried bandages. No good, he thought. He hadn’t taken a knife to the back just to be sent to the hospital. He had to make sure that yesterday was the start of something new and not just another folly.
His mother’s footsteps could be heard from down the hall. Matthew straightened his jacket, took a deep breath, and opened up his window.
“Sorry Mom”, Matthew thought as he leaped out into the backyard.
Yesterday
“And that’s why a personal sense of morality is always more important than a society’s ethics.” Jenny O’Neil stood in front of the class; her stunning red hair almost took away from her always attentive and endearing smile. Almost.

“Thank you Jenny for that wonderful presentation. Now class, I know you’re all very busy with studying for finals but I’d really appreciate it if you could make it to Jenny’s play today.”
Miss Judith rambled on as she spoke about how great Jenny and her class was. Jenny took the praise and applause well, as she always did. Meanwhile, Matthew had just made the miraculous discovery that, from his vantage point in the next to last row in the room, there were 36 ceiling tiles.

“Well, just turn in your homework up here and in a few minutes I’ll let you leave for lunch.”
Matthew waited until everyone but him and a few of his under-ambitious peers had turned in the assignment to get up and walk up to her desk.
“What’s this? The great Matthew Cain finally decided to not only grace us with his presence but he also did his work?” Miss Judith said in a mocking tone. Jenny couldn’t help but let out a small smile.
“Fuck this”, Matt thought as he slammed his hastily written poem on Miss Judith’s desk and promptly walked out the class without waiting for her approval. The poem held allusions to Kant, a reference or two to Thoreau, and a Nietzsche quote thrown in for good measure. She wouldn’t understand half of it, but that was the point of writing it in the first place. At first he was excited to write more than his name on a scantron but it hadn’t taken long for Matthew to seek his excitement elsewhere.
As he rounded the corner to head back outside to the quad, the familiar sound of Johnny Steadmore’s voice in the background made Matt slow down as he waited for his close friend and confidant. Despite everything that Matthew could say or do, Johnny somehow stuck by him. As Johnny caught up and matched Matt’s plodding pace Johnny asked,
“Dude, what the hell happened to you? I walk for two seconds out of Student Leadership, all jazzed up about heading out to the rally tonight, and you look like you’re ready to throw someone through a wall. I mean granted, that’s par for the course for you…. Miss Judith spouts her usual academic song and dance, and every day you walk out like you just smelled dog shit”.
Matt’s eyes veered off into the sun as he spoke. “I guess it just gets old after awhile. Unlike you, I don’t revel in it”.
Before speaking, Johnny smiled at the nearby security guard as he walked by. “Look, Matt. It’s all about playing the game. Smile at the right people, say the right things… life’s easy once you figure that out”. With that, and the security guard now out of sight, Johnny lit a cigarette and took a deep puff off it.
As Johnny and Matt continued their small talk, Matt could hear the faint sound of David Cross’ voice emanating from the parking lot. “How fucking dumb do you think I am?” David roared out from afar. Everyone knew who he was speaking to. Jenny O’Neil, sitting at the central planter, let out a small laugh.
By now, David had gone over to her side and towered over her. David and Jenny had been off-and-on together for the past year and, despite rumors of infidelity from both of them, they remained in the eyes of their peers as a perfect couple. She was the Ivy league-bound overachiever; he was the kind-hearted if dim star water polo player.
Jenny spoke slowly, as if the BLT sandwich and in front of her deserved more attention than her muscle-bound All-American boyfriend. “Dave. I’m stressed about the play right now and can barely think straight.” Dave looked like he was about to burst out of his Polo. No no, she thought. This wouldn’t do. She tilted her head and cooed “I’m sorry if I’ve been ignoring you, and I hope I can explain whatever you’re bothered about but can’t we please have this conversation elsewhere?” Dave cautiously set down next to her. Despite what he had just found, he knew that a massive shouting match about it at lunch would not help either one of them or their reputations.
Before Matt could strain any further to hear what was said next, Karina Shaughnessy tapped him on the shoulder and flashed a rather rare grin. Matthew had known her since Kindergarden and they still had that friendship that only comes with time. “Why the smile today?” Matt distractedly asked.
Karina, still with a smile, proclaimed, “Oh, even though life and school is still a royal pain, Dr. Barthcome finally let me help out in the emergency room.”
Matt, paying little attention to Karina simply said, “So the Vet internship is going well then?”.
“Yes, fantastic. What’s got you all in trance-mode this time?” Karina tried to inquire. Johnny, never one to let a question go unanswered, conjectured “Apparently the perfect couple isn’t so perfect. And for some reason Matt’s decided to take interest in our school for the first time ever.”
Matt wasn’t listening to Johnny’s ramblings or Karina’s inquires; all his attention was focused on the central planter.
Across the quad, Scott Preston was adjusting his perfectly tailored suit when one of his friend’s strolled over to him. “Why the Armani and Rolex today?” Chris Sheshen inquired. “Business downtown, as always. This internship might as well own my soul for the next month. Anyway, any idea what the hell’s going on with Dave and his main squeeze?” Scott rarely took interest in what his acquaintances were up to, but Scott knew something had happened as soon as he saw Dave’s unusual outburst. Chris sincerely responded “Hell if I know. Rumor says she’s been sleeping around, but I don’t buy that. She’s as sweet and honest as American Pie, for fuck’s sake. Besides, who the hell would want to piss off God or Dave that much?”
Tightening his tie, Scott answered “I honestly haven’t a clue.”
Just then, Jenny’s charms finally stopped working. Dave hopped up, took her by the hand and screamed “you goddamn slut! You’re fucking Scott behind my back!” Jenny was too stunned to move. Scott headed for the parking lot. Matthew moved forward. And Dave remained entirely immobile, save for the small fist his hand was slowly forming.
“He’s going to hit her”, Matthew announced to no one in particular. Johnny stretched out his hand and rationalized “Come on Matt. This isn’t your fight.”
“I’m not going to stand here and let him take advantage of her or anyone else” Matthew said.
“This is because of her, isn’t it? Since when did you have a crush on Jenny?
“Fuck off John. This is about basic human moral decency” Matthew tersely declared. “And for your information, I’ve never said more than two words to her”. His eyes revealed a steely determination, undeterred by Johnny’s attempt to difuse the situation.
Jenny was now in tears. “I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about! I told you, I was at play practice last Tuesday! Ask Mr. Shants!” Her tiny tears gave way to convulsive sobbing. Dave was baffled by her violent denial. “But the note in your car said…” “The note?! The note in my car said that I was meeting Scott… as in Scott Shants. For rehearsal.” She was beginning to stop crying when a jolt of anger ran through Dave. He leaned in close, held her in place, whispered something threatening in her ear, and turned away from her and yelled “whore!” for all the world to hear.
“Aw, shit.” Johnny stated ruefully as he stamped out his cigarette on the concrete and watched as Matt calmly walked toward the central planter.
For the first time the gathering crowd spoke, but only in whispers. Could the school’s shining star really be cheating on David Cross? No, her tears were too real to fake. How could someone even treat her so roughly, regardless of what she may have done? As the chorus of students debated, Jenny wiped off her tears and calmly tried to leave. Dave yanked her back by her shoulder , his mind paying little attention to the watching crowd. She was struggling to leave, and his fist instantly flew up in the air. Finally, just as he was preparing to strike, his eyes glanced around and saw that every eye was watching him. Not here. He slowly lowered his hand. The onlookers had begun to turn back around.
Somehow, this wasn’t enough for Dave. Somehow, she had twisted it again. She was sleeping around, this he was sure of. And yet somehow she was now the victim, and he was the bully. He turned around, yelled a defiant “fuck you” and raised his middle finger in defiance. Before Jenny could react, Matthew had intervened. He grabbed Dave’s middle finger and swiftly bent it backward.
While Dave was still clutching his mangled hand Matthew leaned in and whispered “No one deserves to be treated the way you treat her. Leave her and everyone else alone”. Jenny remained frozen in shock. Dave attempted to hit the now smirking Matt with his one good hand but he found himself suddenly losing his balance. Matthew had twisted his arm and slammed his body against the planter. No one there said anything, but they all knew the truth, This wasn’t a fight; it was a beating. As calmly as he walked towards the central planter, Matthew headed towards the principal’s office. The security guards, too late to stop the fight, simply followed Matthew in.
***
“Matthew Cain. I see far too much of you these days. Your test scores are off the charts, you’re clearly an intelligent and well-spoken person, so why must you persist in causing trouble? Last month you threw Chris Sheshen through half the parking lot in what was an act of “self defense”. Why in heaven’s name do you then go up and maim one of our students?!” the principal yelled with surprising enthusiasm.
“David Cross was going to harm Jennifer O’Neil while your security guards were out daydreaming.” Matthew said, not even attempting to hide his disgust. “If it wasn’t for me, David would’ve done god knows what to her to try and re-assert his dominance whether it be over in the quad today or later tonight. I did nothing wrong. David is the one who should be sitting here.”
“David is an upstanding member of this school.” the principal responded.
“David is a man who would assault his girlfriend. And if he hasn’t yet, he was about to do that today. You want to place him on a pedestal and sing his praises, go ahead Discipline me, suspend me, it doesn’t really matter much. If you wanted me gone, you would’ve done that long ago. But don’t you dare sit here and pretend that you worship the law and morality equally. One look at that girl, and you should’ve known the answer.”
After being escorted out of Westpark’s front entrance, Matthew grabbed the bus and headed downtown.
Gordon’s Gym looked like a relic from a bygone era. It’s once shiny pillars were now rusted, once state of the art equipment was now considered obsolete, and their clientele went from assemblymen to desk jockeys. Matthew was probably the only Westpark student to even set foot in Westland, despite their proximity. They were too afraid that the dirt, sweat, and honesty from the blue collar heritage might somehow make them less entitled to lead. Matthew relished his time in Gordon’s, not the least because none of his peers knew where it is or how much time he spent there.
After his usual routine Matthew grabbed his bag and began to jog in and around the city. Most runners preferred to slap on their i-pods to drown out the sounds of urban congestion but Matthew always kept his ears and eyes open. Somehow, running on the old cobblestone and the remains of decades gone by gave him the peace of mind to think things out. He knew that word would travel quick over his outburst and that he’d be even more isolated than before. He knew that some would start rumors about him and Jenny O’Neil. And he knew that Johnny would proclaim this as Matt’s latest act of rebellion.
Just as Matthew was beginning to feel the pangs of regret, he saw Jenny under the glow of the stage lights, laughing and enjoying herself instead of worrying about the scowling face in the first row. He pictured Dave Cross laying in his hospital bed, howling in pain over his newest injury. Although he was quick to make it disappear, a smile crept across Matthew’s face.
His pacing was as steady as ever when his cell phone beeped the familiar ring tone that signified a new text message. It was probably just Karina checking in, wanting to “talk it out”. His body tensed up as he grabbed the cell phone that now showed that the message was from an unknown number. Instinctively Matthew flipped open the phone, unsure of what was inside. Message Received, 6:40. “Nice show today, mine is at 7 pm near the entrance to Philipe’s factory. Be there or Dr. Doolittle saves her last kitten”.
Before he could fathom what was happening his mind was already at work. Karina’s work was a thirty-minute walk away, twenty minutes if he pushed himself. He resolved to make it in fifteen. She had been working at the local veterinarian clinic for the past few weeks with Dr. Barthcome in Westland. His legs were numb, his chest was burning, but he had to reach her. Spotting the entrance to Philipe’s factory in front of him, Matthew darted in an alley to the left towards the clinic.
As soon as his body turned into the cramped alley, he knew that this was where he was to face his newfound adversary. He could run back, but what was the point? Lounging against a nearby doorframe was Scott Preston; his tailored business suit, slicked back black hair and briefcase did little to hid his fit frame.
“I had a meeting today, Matthew. As I was heading to my car I suddenly hear my name being muttered like an epithet by David Cross. Suddenly, I’m involved in a petty schoolyard shouting match.” His voice gave away nothing. He spoke smoothly, as if cradling a small child.
Matthew remained poised, ready to strike if necessary. “What does any of that have to do with me? Go threaten Dave; he should be in the hospital’s sixth floor by now.”

“I want to make this absolutely clear to you. This is not a vendetta, or revenge, or payback. This is a response. I have a name to protect. Dave is a friend of mine; this is common knowledge. Someone wanted to hurt him and I and they did so by planting a note in hopes of creating the biggest scene possible. I think it was you. Even if it wasn’t, you so brazenly created a spectacle just to suit your own ends that something must be done. Admit it.” Scott paced the alley methodically, waiting for a response.
Matthew charged him with all his weight behind him, hoping to catch Scott off-guard. Instead, Scott caught Matt in mid-attack and effortlessly flung Matthew’s back into the nearby dumpster.
“Please, Matthew, Stop. It’s obvious it was you. All this… for some little cunt?”
“It’s not about her, it’s about people like you!” Matthew’s anger drove him as he could do little but attack in a blind rage as he leapt off the dumpster towards Scott, still grinning like a Cheshire cat. Scott easily sidestepped Matt’s pathetic attempt at a counterattack and swiftly struck his side.
Matthew, bruised and bloodied, fell to his knees.
“Always the moralist. Did you honestly think I would attack Karina? She hasn’t slighted me. She hasn’t threatened me. She hasn’t attempted to turn a private affair into a damned circus!” Scott thought about charging him, but he stopped himself. This wasn’t revenge. It was a message, nothing more.
Matthew couldn’t feel his ribs or much else, but he slowly turned toward Scott and stood up.
“Sometimes a circus is warranted. And, for the last time, I didn’t place the note and I don’t know who did.”
Scott had wasted enough time. He charged Matthew like a bull and quickly threw him back towards the ground. Scott reached into his jacket’s back pocket and unsheathed a small knife. Before he could say anything, Matthew laughed and defiantly said “I bet you planted the note yourself just to feed your fucking ego”.
Scott plunged the dagger into Matthew’s back. As the blood trickled down his side, Scott ripped it out. “You’ve got ten minutes before you bleed out. Let’s never speak again.”
Scott straightened out his suit as he left Matthew Cain to die in a Westland Alley.
He was five minutes away from Karina’s clinic. Just five minutes.
***
“Yes, Dr. Barthcome. I’m just cleaning up now. Alright, have a good night.” Karina absentmindedly put the phone back down as she headed over to the cages to finish her last bit of work for the night. A knock on the door. Probably just another junkie or homeless person looking for a place to sleep that night.
As she opened the doorway, her mind still on her work, she automatically said “Dr. Barthcome’s office. How may I help---
He stood in front of her, desperately trying to keep the wound on his back from opening any further. “Hey, mind if I stay awhile?” Matthew asked as he collapsed on the floor.
After helping the half-conscious Matthew limp to a nearby table, she quickly began to bandage the now gaping wound in his back. The blood began to trickle onto the table as she applied pressure to the wound. No time to think, she told herself, just enough to act. It wasn’t the same as a shih tzu, but regardless she went to work.
The sudden blare of the car radio woke Matthew up from his painkiller-induced haze. Karina was driving and, judging by their surroundings, they were nearly at Matt’s home. As Karina pulled into the driveway, she finally spoke.
“You almost died a few hours ago. Mind telling me why?”
“Someone thought I planted the note that made Dave lose it. They wanted me to beg, I refused” Matt stated flatly.
“You’re insane, you know that? Got to protect your ego, safety be damned.”
“This isn’t about my ego. I saved Jenny O’Neil from a certain hell.” Matt retorted.
Karina’s tone turned sarcastic. “So it’s about her, then?”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. Now you’re jealous that I protected someone other than you.” Matt opened the car door.
“If it wasn’t for me, you’d be dead from blood loss. You need to get to bed, and rest.”
“They’re still out there.” Matt stated as he attempted to stand upright but merely ended up holding onto the car for support.
“Stop this, Matthew. Stop it! Let it go. You can’t save Rome from burning, least of all with a wound like that in your back.”.
They walked in silence until they reached Matthew’s bedroom.
Karina spoke softly. “Take care of yourself. I know you want to save the world and everyone in it, but start with yourself first.” With that, she walked away.
Now
Matthew has walked this path too many times to count. Walk past the overpass, take a quick right onto Cabernet, and look for the nearest cul de sac. Even as his mind begins to drift, his questions remain unanswered. He should lay back down in bed and let his wounds heal. He should forget everything and start over, but that would be too easy for him. Even with the wound sutured and taken care of, every footstep carries a sharp surge of pain to his sides. He walks on.
Arriving at 22 Chester Lane, Matthew gently knocked on the front door. Even standing in the entryway with her red hair curled up in a ball and no mascara or lipgloss, she was radiant.
“Are you okay? He hasn’t tried anything has he?” Matthew ventured.
“Nope. Hasn’t even tried to call… you didn’t have to step in like that.”
“I know,but I felt I had to do something. Regardless… it was worth it.”
She began to notice the bulges in Matthew’s clothes that were undoubtedly from the bandages.
“You sure about that?”
“Absolutely. But never mind about that. Does he have any idea that….” Matt’s words trailed off as he thought back to last year. Drunk on the sound of their own voices they were walking out of the Pandemic Trance Theater when she suddenly threw Matthew up against the wall and whispered how badly she wanted him that night.
“None.” She proclaimed with a smile as she moved forward.
“Good” Matt reassured himself.
“Besides, he still thinks Scott was behind everything.” She could barely contain her glee.
Matthew paid her a compliment as he entered the doorway. “Excellent idea, by the way. But why not just fight him off instead of crying like that?”
“Because, I’m the victim. Besides, it was one hell of a performance wasn’t it?”
Matthew, still in pain, leaned against the doorway and said “Indeed it was. I’m very impressed.”
She leaned over and put her arms around Matthew’s waist. “Mmm… shut up and fuck me already.” Jenny O’Neil said with a devilish grin as she pulled him towards her.