Watching, Waiting: A SHORT Story by Shaw Matt

Author:Shaw, Matt [Shaw, Matt]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
Published: 2015-04-23T16:00:00+00:00

12:35

I had gone home to talk to Kathy but she wasn’t there by the time I got there. I presumed she’d left for work. There were no notes so clearly she was still in a mood with me. Otherwise she’d have left something like ‘hope you have a good day’ or ‘love you’ and a little picture of a heart. She left them for me, I left them for her. Stephanie was never impressed when she found them and nor was she impressed when we left them for her, just to creep her out. That was back when times used to be happier.

I spent the morning on the Internet, looking up various News Reports on the Internet and getting myself more and more wound up with how I felt about the world today. I remember, growing up, it used to be a question of playing outside in the streets with your front doors open. Not a care in the world. And if your mum (or dad) popped out to visit the next door neighbour, they never worried about locking the door. Sometimes, even though you were in the street playing, they still didn’t bother closing the door. The house would be completely empty. And wars - they never happened on our own turf. Bad crimes, wars… It was always somewhere else. Nowadays though it’s all you hear about; people dying, fights breaking out, corruption. The world has gone to shit and we might not be on talking terms right now but my wife knows it too. So does my daughter. Hell, back when I was younger, the News Programmes often ended with a funny story to lighten the mood. They’d talk of this and that in countries overseas and then end on something like a piano-playing cat. Now the programmes end with just more shit to stress you out with.

I left the house in plenty of time to drive back here, to the school. I didn’t want to miss the kids coming out for lunch-time; the older children being allowed to leave the premises and the younger ones being forced to stay in and play ball games on the field. Hopefully he will come out again. The weather is good, the sun is shining now… I’m sure he will be tempted back to the park with his friends. Better yet if he decides to pop home. Without the morning traffic, it wouldn’t take long for the bus to take him there. I doubt that will be an option though.

Sitting here, looking at the school, and I feel puzzled. It’s an expensive place to send your children. Kathy and I couldn’t afford to send Stephanie here, not that we were unhappy with where we sent her. Kids got in here thanks to rich parents or earning a placement through a scholarship, or some similar scheme. Travis can’t be bright. He can’t be. Which means his parents, whoever they are, must be rich. I wonder whether they’re as proud of their son

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