Scarry Night Challenge: The Janitor

Three weeks ago, Patti Abbott called for stories around 800 words containing the line, "I really don't mind the scars." My contribution is below, followed by some notes and links to other stories in the challenge:


The Janitor

by Gerald So


I didn't know the kid's name.

It didn't matter.

Twelve years of preppies had smirked at or ignored me. I hated it, but I also understood. I was a walking example of what you didn't want to be when you grew up.

Fat Boy leaving a trail of candy wrappers for me to sweep was a break in the routine. As I caught up to him, he bolted out the door and jumped on a bus.

A million laughs. Friend of his probably caught it for YouTube.

I had to work against a tide of fleeing boys to get back to the janitor's closet. Not as hard as it sounds. Like I said, most kids give me a wide berth so as not to catch any viruses I might have.

The janitor's closet is locked by default. You can only get in if you turn your key and the knob at the same time. When was a kid, I thought the closet was really a lounge, like with a TV and vending machines. It's just a closet with barely enough room for two people.

Which is why she always surprised me.

Beth Townsend, eleventh-grade English teacher. Also Beth Townsend whom I'd known since I pulled her pigtails.

When the door locked behind me, Beth said, "How was your day?"

I grinned. She was the talker in the relationship. When we did talk. Mostly we groped and banged each other's brains out.

Speaking of groping, I was getting to it when Beth pulled back.

"What is it?"

"Nothing."

Something in her voice told me exactly what it was.

"Hang on," I said. I flipped the light back on and reached for her hand, gently. Moved my fingers up her arm, gently.

She grimaced, and I felt it, saw it. The purpling flooded my eyes.

"Who did this?" I asked.

I already knew. I could smell him on her.

"Who?" I asked again.

She told me who, and what, and when. And then she said, "Don't go up against him. He's stronger than he looks. He doesn't know about us."

I didn't say anything. Just held her and danced to the silence until I knew we were the only ones in the building.

I took her to my place and asked her to stay.

She agreed.


* * *


I can't remember the last time I slept between two and six A.M. In high school and college, it was the term papers. Since then, it's been the nightmares about term papers. Even as a kid, though, I had a hard time sleeping when I might see Santa.

All those term papers got me an English degree, but burned me out by graduation. Janitor was the only job insomnia would allow. But the job was how Beth and I reconnected. The job was how I entered Principal Jennings' house at one A.M. (I'd duped his key years ago.)

He put up a fight. Scratched, kicked, bit. Beth was right; he was stronger than he looked.

I hauled his body to the dump and left it in one of the cars to be compacted.

When Beth saw me, she'd say, You shouldn't have.

But I'd tell her, I really don't mind the scars.


###

Notes

I've never been a night owl. If I had a paper to do, I would nap when I got home from school and start working after midnight. I often work in the wee hours today, when there are no distractions. "The Janitor" was inspired by everything that happens while most of the world is sleeping.

I first saw the narrator driving back at dawn, having buried a body. To lessen the likelihood the body would be identified, burial became mutilation by trash compactor.


###

Others Take the Challenge:

(Links updated throughout the day.)

Patricia Abbott, "Burnt the Fire"
Absolutely*Kate, "Oh Soul O'Mio"
Cameron Ashley, "Robbie V Wants a Job"
Kevin Barker, "Somewhere Around the Time They Fell"
Jack Bates, "Karaoke Ain't for Wussies"
Eric Beetner, "Scars"
Fleur Bradley, "Restraining Order"
Paul D. Brazill, "The Endless Sleep"
Cormac Brown, "Stone"
Salvatore Buttaci, "The Mote in Thy Brother's Eye"
Jimmy Callaway, "Nueva Localización"
Chris Deal, "The Body Marked"
Chad Eagleton, "The Pit"
Loren Eaton, "The Curse of Nature Aflame"
Matthew C. Funk, "Growing Scars"
Christopher Grant, "A Lou Ford State of Mind"
Glenn Gray, "Scar"
Alan Griffiths, "Razorblade Kisses"
Jerry House, "The Romanian Witch"
Grant Jerkins, "A History of What Happened"
Dana C. Kabel, "The Eye of the Beholder"
Rosemarie Keenan, "Break Up to Make Up"
R.L. Kelstrom, "Scars"
John Kenyon, "Countdown"
Dana King, "Slump Buster"
Rob Kitchin, "Insurance"
Jo Neace Kraus, "Our Scandal"
K.A. Laity, "Miss Lonely Heart"
Allan Leverone, "The Savior"
Evan Lewis, "Skyler Hobbs and the Fate Worse Than Scars"
Veronica Marie Lewis-Shaw, "Penance"
Brian Lindenmuth, "My Brother's Keeper"
Heath Lowrance, "Gator Boy"
Julia Madeleine, "Celeste"
Todd Mason, "I really don't mind the scars."
Matthew J. McBride, "Flood"
John Norris, "I Carry It With Me Wherever I Go"
Anita Page, "Don't Be Afraid"
Eric Peterson, "Scarred but Smarter"
Anthony Policastro, "Scars"
Graham Powell, "The Tale of the Tape"
Keith Rawson, "The Lesson of Blood"
Richard Robinson, "Give and Take"
Stephen D. Rogers, "Punished is Never Past Tense"
Randy Rohn, "Special Days"
Chad Rohrbacher, "Open Heart"
Kathleen A. Ryan, "Beholden"
Sandra Seamans, "Scar Tissues"
Kieran Shea, "The Shift Change"
Gary Stevens, "Jenny"
Malachi Stone, "Hardass"
Liam Sweeny, "Trophies"
Katherine Tomlinson, "Scarification"
Albert Tucher, "The Ancient Fucking Mariner"
John Weagly, "Customer Service With Myron the Mauler"
WellesFan, "Second Act"
Michel Williams, "Midnight at the Onyx Club"

Prepare to Be Scarred

On Monday, I'll post my contribution to Patti Abbott's Scarry Night Flash Fiction Challenge, "The Janitor". I'll also have commentary and links to the other contributors' stories. See you then.

Drawing Canceled

The drawing for a signed, personalized advance copy of The Lineup #4 is canceled. No entries were received, despite as much promotion as Twitter followers and I were willing to give over the four-day entry period.

We've tried to keep The Lineup affordable at Lulu, but the contest results show that a 20%-Off coupon and chance to win a prize weren't enough to make one sale. I still believe in The Lineup and am looking for believers to keep it going. At some point, though, belief has to meet practicality. If we don't have the sales, we'll need to cut production costs somehow, or call it a day.

The Lineup started with four people willing to help an idea become reality. In that same spirit, I look forward to working with anyone who has ideas for The Lineup's future. I'm only an e-mail away.

Lineups 1-3 Now Available in PDF

The co-editors and I have explored releasing The Lineup in eBook format as well as print. The major obstacle has been that poem text doesn't flow like prose. It is sometimes laid out in nonstandard ways, and if that formatting is lost, the poem is lost.

Looking to the future, to our prospects of growing The Lineup by working with a more established press or distributor like Consortium or PGW, we need a more complete picture of the demand for The Lineup. As such, I've made Lineups #1-3 available as PDF downloads from Lulu.com.

These PDFs preserve the full interior text as originally published, but may not be the optimal format for your particular e-reader. In any case, they are another way to get The Lineup, and if they sell well, The Lineup #4 will be released in PDF as well as print on April 1.

The PDFs are also eligible purchases in the drawing for an advance signed and personalized copy of The Lineup #4. The contest ends tonight at 11:59 Eastern time, so get to it.

Go West, young mag.

On the recommendation of Lineup #4 contributor David Corbett, I sent a sample copy to M is for Mystery in San Mateo, and they've ordered five more copies. We cut production time by month this year, allowing me to sign the copies. I'm also sending six signed copies to NYC's Mysterious Bookshop, and four to Once Upon a Crime in Minneapolis.

Co-editor Sarah Cortez is signing ten copies for Murder By The Book in Houston.

Bursting with anticipation? Enter the weekend contest for an advance copy of The Lineup #4 signed and personalized by me.

Crimespree #40

The Jan./Feb. 2011 issue includes my Blu-ray review of the surprisingly good A-Team movie and a profile by Jeremy Lynch of Once Upon a Crime Books in Minneapolis—which carries copies of The Lineup: Poems on Crime.

Enter to win an advance copy of The Lineup #4

Today through Monday, February 21, you can enter for a chance to win an advance copy of The Lineup: Poems on Crime #4, signed and personalized by Gerald So.

Purchase The Lineup 1, 2, and/or 3 from Lulu.com and forward the thank-you e-mail you receive from Gerald So to g_so AT yahoo DOT com.

The winner will be drawn Tuesday, February 22 at noon Eastern time and notified by e-mail.

Feel free to use the coupon code HAPPY305 at checkout to receive 20% off your purchase. Best of luck.

The Lineup 4 Blog Tour

I'm organizing a blog tour to promote The Lineup: Poems on Crime each day of April, National Poetry Month. If you're a fan or curious/open-minded/excited about our concept, there are thirteen dates open. E-mail me or comment on this post to sign up.

Another Valentine's Day

...and I ain't got nobody,
I got some money ‘cause I just got paid,
But how I wish I had someone to talk to,
I'm in an awful way.

Apologies to Sam Cooke. I'm not really in an awful way. By now, I've accepted that perhaps I'm attracted to people who aren't attracted to me. Or anyone attracted to me hasn't so much as mentioned it more than once. Once may have been teasing. How was I to know? Strong verbal hints, please.

In any case, my unluck in love has yielded much poetry and fiction that, uncannily, I have never collected. Until now.

Poetry

When Jamie Phoned
Realizing the wet dream is about you,
Watching Julie's Boyfriend
In Love with a Stripper Named Lynn
Gotta Wonder
I Ask Ronni to Arm Wrestle
Enchanted
Wet Dream

Fiction

Call Me Cupid
The Luck of the Irish
Sweet Child O' Mine
Connect The Dots
Once Upon a Wedding Cake
So Long, Stevie

And just to rub it in, two actual exploits:

The Stuff of Legend
Love is in the air, so I'm staying indoors

Happy Valentine's Day, all you lovers.

Back in The Fez

Issue 31 of Red Fez went live tonight, featuring my poem "In The Zone". My thanks to everyone on staff.

Scarry Night Flash Fiction Challenge

Patti Abbott has come up with another flash fiction challenge:

On Saturday night, we passed a young woman on the street who was talking to her male companion and said, "I really don't mind the scars." A good startup line for a little challenge perhaps. I looked for a picture to go with it but 1) they scarred (make that scared) me too much to post and 2) I felt like the pictures steered the story.

So how about a 800 or so word story that contains that line in it. How about an end date of February 28th? What do you think?

If you don't have a blog to post it on, I'll post it with mine. Just give me a few days' notice.

Obligatory Super Bowl XLV Post

While my football fandom can't touch my basketball or baseball fandom, I do root for the Giants. So last night's Super Bowl was simply a tight game between two teams. I watched the game over Italian food with with my friends John and Kelly Ricotta, and someone's friend was from Green Bay, so there was our rooting interest for the night.

I also think Brett Favre hung on too long in Green Bay, and played with the fans' passion, not to mention ultimately betraying them by going to the Vikings. (Would Jeter join the Red Sox?) I'm happy for Favre's perennial backup Aaron Rodgers (soon to be called Captain America?) and Mike McCarthy, the coach who cut ties with Favre.

I didn't notice that Christina Aguilera flubbed a line of "The Star-Spangled Banner", but who hasn't? I was too distracted by her uncomfortable facial expressions to hear most of her words. I'm pretty sure one doesn't need to make those expressions to form those words.

Bonuses: I finally got to exchange holiday gifts with John. I gave him Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry, and he gave me an Amazon gift certificate. We also helped John's six-year-old daughter write an acrostic about her favorite animal, first a unicorn, but eventually a dog.

Mat Black Online Magazine #1

The inaugural issue of Mat Black Online Magazine is live today. The poetry section concludes with my poems "Four Weeks Before The Wedding", "I Should Be", and "Utterance". Once again, my thanks, congratulations, and best wishes to editors Sam Campbell and Chloe Zola.