Joey (standard:drama, 1440 words)
Author: Wax	Added: Mar 11 2005	Views/Reads: 3388/2469	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
A ten year old boy is approached by the "Perver"

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

was the right motivation. Ten minutes later he was jingling the change 
in his hand as he exited the Loblaws store. His heart was pounding as 
he put his legs into high gear and raced towards the Downtown Theater. 
This was Saturday afternoon for Joey, and though he hadn't the 
slightest notion of what philosophy was, all was right with the world. 
He stood looking up at the marquee and read the movie titles to 
himself. 

“I Was A Teenage Werewolf,” he felt a shiver rise on the back of his
neck. “The Incredible Shrinking Man.” He ran over to the display 
windows to get a close-up look at the preview pictures about each 
movie. He stood there with his legs crossed tightly together; an urgent 
need to pee came over him. Scary movies always did that to him. There 
were black and white pictures climbing the wall far above his head, and 
each one was more gruesome than the next. Joey had to squeeze the 
cheeks of his bum as he waddled side to side. When the discomfort eased 
up he sighed noticeably and spun around, and froze. Towering above him 
was the last person in the world he wanted to see. 

“Whaddaya know, my little buddy! Joey, ain't it?” 

A real life monster was talking down to Joey. Every muscle in his body
started to turn liquid and warm. He held his breath without the 
slightest awareness that he was doing so. All traffic sounds and 
sidewalk clamor faded, and a pounding began to stir from somewhere; he 
thought it might be his heart. This time he was sure he would pee his 
pants. 

“Thought I might see ya here today. You like the scary stuff, doncha?” 

The monster shuffled a step forward. Joey was rooted. A word he was
trying to catch was swirling in his head. If he could slow it down he 
might recognize it, and scream. Another step. The largest hand that 
Joey had ever seen was reaching toward him; it blotted out everything 
in his direct vision as it approached his face. Another second, another 
heartbeat, and Joey knew he would simply fall forward. The monster had 
come to get him; Joey was going where all the lost boys go. 

“The Perver! The Perver!” the squeak that snuck out of him turned into a
wailing howl. 

“Help!! He's here, the Perver!!” over and over he yelled. 

Time stood still for the two figures facing each other in front of the
Downtown Theater on a warm summer Saturday in 1957. Heads turned and 
cars stopped; pigeons took flight from rooftops; a cloud crept across 
the sky and blocked out the sun. The doors to the theater swung open 
and an alarmed crowd raced into the street. Eyes flashed from the boy 
to the man in the expensive suit. The boy was frantic, throwing arms 
and fists at the figure standing before him. 

In quick succession order was achieved. A female employee of the theater
began consoling Joey, calming him, stroking his head, drying his tears. 
Concerned citizens apologetically restrained the man in the expensive 
suit. Sometime later that day he answered some serious questions by 
serious people, and either they resolved the incident or they didn't. 
Joey never found out. 

Within twenty minutes he had forgotten the whole episode. He sat in his
aisle seat close to the screen, watching Michael Landon chasing people 
around. Joey just loved monster movies. The pointy teeth and the foam 
on the furry face terrified him, but that's why he sat in an aisle 
seat. He would be up and down to the lobby a dozen times before the 
movie was over, and this was a twin bill. Joey knew he could hop a 
Queen street car and be home for supper by five o'clock. That was just 
dandy with his mom and dad. The family always sat down together for 
supper; that was one rule his dad insisted on. Tonight was Saturday 
Suspense Night on the radio. Joey's older sisters would be out on 
dates, or maybe their fellas' would visit. Joey liked Diane's boyfriend 
a lot. He talked about hockey to Joey. Tonight they would all listen to 
Inner Sanctum, and Joey would sit right next to him. Years later, Joey 
would always think of him as Sam Spade. 


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