I’ve been going to the market for my mom since I was about five. That might sound especially young but as mama says, I’ve always been a responsible kid. Now I’m eleven and I’m pretty much running the house. Mom fell sick right after dad left. I’ve been taking care of us just fine though, so don’t be feeling sorry. When mom needs her medicine she calls down to Mr. Long’s store on Elm and lets him know I’m coming. Then she ties the money in a bandana and I head out. Mr. Long knew us before mom got sick so he lets her send me. When I go in he always asks how she’s doing. I wish he wouldn’t. He looks at me with a painful expression on his face. It makes me feel uncomfortable, and I can hardly look him in the eye. I give Mr. Long the bandana and he takes a bag from behind the counter. He takes the money and puts the hanky and change in the bag. Then he staples it up and I head back home. When I get home, if it’s a good day mama’ll take her medicine in a glass and sit on the sofa watching whatever’s on TV with me. She only watches for a short time but it’s the best. If it’s a bad day, she’ll take the bag, both hands trembling and stumble into her room shutting the door behind her. Ok, you’ve got a little background. Now I can get into the real reason I’m writing this story. The cats. I don’t really get on with people and that’s fine by me. Yeah, people kinda suck but I got the cats. There’s a bunch of ‘em that hang out near the abandoned store that I pass on the way to Mr. Long’s. It’s a nice quiet spot. A small bit of parking lot with trees around it. Just a place that’s been forgotten. You know those places? They have a special feel to them. A bit of magic. So, I’ve started hanging out there. I like to take my book and sit on the roots of this oak tree. The cats come and sit with me. I talk to them a bit and sometimes read to them. I felt like the cats and I had become friends like. They mean a lot to me.
About a week and a half ago I was headed to the shop on my regular route. It was a really nice September day. The kind where the sky’s a bright blue and the sun is beaming down. I was walking through the parking lot kicking stones and thinking about being back in school. So deep in thought I was, I didn’t hear trouble coming right in front of me. Joel Patross slid his bike to a stop and smiled a nasty smile when he saw me. If I had been paying attention, I might’ve ducked behind the dumpster and Joel would’ve kept going. I’d have been saved from the pain and scars, but then I wouldn’t have my story.
Joel was sixteen and puberty had not been kind to him. He was big in the belly and had bad skin. Because Mother Nature was not being kind to Joel, Joel felt it was his duty to pass that on to everyone else. He let his bike drop. “Hey there shithead,” he said. Scared as I was, I had to choke back a laugh. Joel’s voice was changing and every now and then it sounded like it was squeezed through a blade of grass. “So this is why I hardly see you. You’re sneaking around.” Joel started to walk towards me, “what do you do back here? Jerk off?” When he said that he put his hand down by his crotch and moved it back and forth, “uh uh uh”. A laugh snorted out. This isn’t my first run in with Joe, but I’ve managed to avoid him for awhile. Now I see that he’s missed me. Joel’s the happiest I’ve ever seen him. Positively over the moon, thinking about the beatdown he’s going to give me.
So I’m standing there. I’ve a twenty in my pocket for ma’s meds. I can’t let him have that. Maybe he’ll just kick my ass and not go through my pockets. “I asked you a question fucko. What are you doing here?” Another step. Shit. I manage to get out, “going to the shop to get medicine for my mom” I tried to steel my voice to not sound scared, but I was. A smile broke out over Joe’s pock ridden face. It must hurt him to smile. Maybe that’s why he’s so pissy. “Medi-i-cinnnnn” he stretched it out into a whine. “Gimmie a break. Your mom’s a lush. Is her docs name Jack? Pathetic. Nope. No medicine today.” My hand tightened around the bandana in my pocket. Not only did I not want him to get the money, I wasn’t going to let him see it in the hanky. Mom kept doing that, like I’m still a little kid or something. “She does need it.” I said, “and I’m going to get it for her.” Joe took a step closer to me. No longer grinning. “Buying her booze isn’t going to help her. It’s only going to hurt you.” He cracked his knuckles in both hands. Another step. His fists are clenched. “The store knows I’m coming.” I kept talking. I took a step back and looked around. No matter what I did, he would catch me and I’d get a beating. I slid my right foot back and felt it bump something. I looked down and saw Sir Thomas at my feet. Purring and looking up at me with those yellow cat eyes. Gimmie a break about the name all right? I was into Thomas the Train at the time I named him. “Aw cute. Your pussy came to help you out. Maybe to help you rub one out.” Joel was cracking himself up. Thomas purred again. I looked down and gave him a weak smile. “It’s all right buddy. Go on. Get outta here.” I gave him a tiny nudge with my foot. “Yeah scram before I decide to break your scrawny neck.” Joel was leering at Thom. That was the last thing I wanted. I wouldn’t be able to handle it if Joel hurt the cats because of me. Thom walked away slowly, stopping to give Joel a hard stare before disappearing into the woods. Now, you’re thinking up til this point it’s all pretty normal kid stuff. Right? I swear to you. That cat was staring Joel down. Joel didn’t notice, but I did. Once Thom was in the woods I relaxed a bit until I turned back to Joel and his shit eating grin. “Now”, Joel squared his shoulders. “Don’t give in too easy. I want to enjoy this.” Joel rushed me and I stumbled backwards falling on my side. When Joel fell on me, I went sliding across the asphalt. Pretty much Joel riding me like a sled. When we stopped, Joel grabbed both my ears and banged my head on the ground. The world grayed out for a moment and when I saw the light again, stupid me tried picking my head up. It got slammed back into the ground when Joel’s fist made contact with my nose. A groan escaped my lips as I felt my nose move in an unusual way. “I knew you were a little perv.” This time Joe punched me in the side. The pain was intense and I felt a warm, wetness spread over my pants. “What the fuck!” Joe yelled, he jumped off me and started kicking. “You better not have gotten any of your piss on me. Are you not freakin potty trained?” I rolled to my side and Joel kicked me in the ass. I kept my eyes closed and tried to make as little noise as possible. Hoping he would get bored if I didn’t react. He kicked me hard in the shoulder and my face scraped the ground, raising a new fresh hell from my nose. Just when I was ready to let go and let the darkness take over I thought I heard something. Joel must’ve heard it too, because the beatings stopped for about a second. Then he stomped on my shin. The noise came again. This time I could tell it was a growl. It was louder. I opened my eyes. Thom was back. He nudged my head with his and licked my sweaty hair off my face. “Stupid cat. Take a hike.” Joel said and bent down as if to grab Thom. I tried with all my might to sit up and protect the cat. Thom didn’t even move. As soon as Joel bent over he let out this inhuman scream. Joel started spinning wildly, trying to grab something that was on his back. He finally got it and a black cat went flying across the lot. He landed on his feet and started right back at Joel. Three more cats were on Joel and more attacking every second. Cats were coming from everywhere. Taking any piece of Joel they could get. The screams from the cats and Joel were like something out of one of those horror movies they show Saturday nights on TV. It was insane and louder than anything I’ve ever heard. I closed my eyes tightly. As bad as Joe was, this was hard to watch. A piece of what I believe to be his scalp landed on the ground by my hand. His clothes were in ribbons and streaked with red. Everywhere there seemed to be pieces of skin hanging off him. He was mangled.
The cries had changed to loud moans and whimpers. I opened my eyes to see Joel stumbling off. Weakly kicking at any remaining attackers. Finally he was out of sight. Some of the cats were sitting and cleaning themselves or each other. I closed my eyes again. I didn’t know what to think. I was in too much pain. Not sure how much time passed before I finally tried to sit up. I sat there with my eyes closed. Finally I was able to open my eyes and slowly move about. The cats had formed a large circle around me. Thom was sitting next to me. He nudged my hand, as if to ask how I was. I scratched him behind the ears. “I sure owe you guys, don’t I?” The cats stuck around in that circle as I painfully picked myself up and started to walk. When I got to the path that cut through the woods, I turned around. All the cats had gone except Thom. I raised my hand to him and he turned and walked away. I started through the woods. I had to get ma’s meds and get home.
So that’s it. Teacher was right, I feel better writing it out. You can believe it or not. I know what happened.
Manic Everyday 