Astatula (Final Edition) : Resentment - Part Two by Brett Matthew West Artwork by Lilibug6 at FanArtReview.com |
Somehow Mark and I managed to maintain our bonds of friendship through our high school graduation. We laughed at the same films, dated each other's girlfriends, and even obtained our first employment together at Rita's Rose Petal Diner.
I poured sodas for spending money and Mark washed dishes. A job he told Rita "Was below his dignity as a member of Portland's Elite." He quit an hour after we started. Walking off the floor in the middle of a busy shift was typical of him. Since this occurred on a Saturday night it placed the rest of the crew in a precarious position. Mark just shrugged the incident off on his way out the door saying, "Oh well!" His "I'm the only thing that matters attitude" evident. I graduated in the Top Five percent of my class. This achievement presented many golden opportunities to me. I chose to enlist in the Army as a Military Police Officer because I desired to see the great big world out there I knew waited to be explored. After completing Basic Training in Alabama I was shipped to Ansbach, Germany. Bavaria became my extent of traveling the globe. However, I did visit Rome and Greece while I resided in Europe. Mark remained in Portland. He did not achieve much of anything during these years except as he constantly complained to whoever would listen to him moan the blues about as he put it, "Managing to get himself permanently estranged from his family." He also lost all the financial benefits that came with being a Bannister in the blossoming Portland rose industry. Coincidentally, his father now owned three mills processing timber around the clock as well. Upon completing my military enlistment obligations I returned to the City of Roses taking a Summer sabbatical. I used my GI Bill benefits to attend the University of Oregon in Eugene. There this Duck, which happens to be the mascot of the University of Oregon, discovered his hidden passion for criminal justice. While I was in Eugene, Mark attended clown school because as he said, "Everything to him was a big joke any way." It was then the disparities between us widened and unbeknown to me, Mark's resentment of all I accomplished through hard work, significantly compounded. He squandered every opportunity to make something out of himself he was ever allotted. Mark never accepted the responsibility. The blame always had to be placed on somebody else. Whoever he could target. As Mark saw the situation, "Life owed him a living. All he needed to do was sit back and collect the premiums that came his way." Unfortunately, Mark missed the boat. He rapidly learned that is not how life works. Broke, Mark accepted a job with the Turner Traveling Show and found his calling. Much to the chagrin of those around him he became Bee-Bo the Clown. This character provided Mark a new identity and a costume to hide behind. "Who would ever believe a clown could be as heartless and cold-blooded as Bee-Bo turned out to be?" I have often wondered. After graduating from college, and the Police Academy, I became a Deputy Sheriff for the city of Portland. On the last night before the Turner Traveling Show departed the fairgrounds where they were performing, Bee-Bo robbed his first Convenience Store, shot his first clerk, and swiped his first boy in a long line of commodities he traded in. Bee-Bo could not resist the easy money that was offered him for the child. The twelve-year-old boy, Roger Quinland, was snatched from the parking lot of the fairgrounds property after attending the circus performance alone. He was never recovered. I would hate to know what the lad's demise was? With Bee-Bo I can only speculate. Knowing Bee-Bo's history it may well have ended inside a wood chipper. In no way would Cody's future be the same! As I detailed these scenarios to Beth I realized how much I needed to have my Sheriff's badge returned to me. Especially since I decided it was Open Season on one not-so-funny clown. A telephone call to Mayor Duncan resolved that matter. Now the playing field was much more level. I watched the ominous dark storm clouds forming on the horizon. A State of Emergency had been declared and Bee-Bo was the target. My first act upon resumption of my position as the Sheriff was to place an all-points bulletin on Mark Bannister. My second act was to maintain Vernon Brewer as my new Deputy. He would not shoot Cody. At least I did not believe he would. That by itself was an improvement. Astatula was in for a fight between two long time arch-nemeses. I was ready. Was Bee-Bo? He started this conflict and drew first blood. One way or another I would end it. And to me it did not matter how the cards fell! Then Cody flatlined!
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Brett Matthew West
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