Buildup

by Terrence Orson

So many people commit the crime. Not many consider it that, but it is really a capital crime, and the punishment slowly builds up from within until it's ready to strike. Delve into Richard's past for the love, struggle with life, family, and maybe more in this mostly friendly story in which suspense, I believe, is minimal, if present.

2. Chapter Two

2

Even as a little boy, Richard had a voracious appetite, especially when it came to meat and sweets. Sweet meat. Meaty sweets. Okay, that sounded so wrong. Richard had eaten his first double hamburger at four years old, and he'd been introduced to candy at two. His mother, Josephine "Jojo" Watterson, a single parent, had been his provider.

Jojo wanted Richard to be safe from danger, so she chose to keep him inside the house or close to her as much as possible. She didn't buy vegetables for him because she felt knives were too dangerous for him. She only used one once to demonstrate this and discourage him from using them. Ironic, to say the least, but she used a fear tactic to dissuade him—pretending to cut off her arm as she cut a carrot while under the guise of using knives safely.

Jojo had gone to the length of danger-proofing the whole house, adorning it with various safety precautions such as corner paddings, electrical socket covers, and stair guards, and all items made of materials Jojo deemed unsafe were made of plastic or rubber. A good mother prevents the incident before it happens, she thought to herself.

"All you'll ever need is right here," Jojo told him in her guttural voice. Sitting on the coffee table in front of the six-year-old rabbit were his favorite foods—candies, beef products, sugary cereals. Nothing seemed immediately dangerous about that.

Richard devoured every bit of food on the table, but he didn't feel full, so he asked for more. Jojo got more food, and Richard promptly ate it. The cycle continued until he was finally full, and not once did he leave the couch.

This became habitual for Richard to the point that by high school, he was considerably overweight, weighing 240 pounds at 16 years old. He also was getting mostly D's and C-'s in all his classes due to poor work ethic—absolute laziness. His worst class was phys. ed. He couldn't proficiently do any of the activities required, and his worst performance was in the final mile-run. Of course, Jojo didn't care. As long as he was out of danger, he could be the biggest idiot God ever made, and she couldn't care less.