The Search For Matthew
Inspired by the Spongebob Squarepants episode: "Have You Seen This Snail?"
Chapter 1
Another meeting of the Allies had ended. The usual set of events happened: Alfred energetically presented his so-called great ideas, Arthur and Francis bickered with each other again, Yao kept a safe distance away from Ivan, and they had got nothing resolved.
Matthew was the only one left in the room. He sighed sadly; no one had noticed him at all, as usual. This has been going on for a while now, and he was getting rather tired of it. With Francis as the exception, the other countries seemed to pay little attention if not none at all to him. "Will it always be this way?" Matthew thought.
He suddenly snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Arthur's voice.
"Hey, Alfred, I need to talk to about something."
"I'm not Alfred, Arthur," said Matthew quietly. "I'm Matthew." This was another thing that had been going on for a long time. The times where he was actually noticed, he was mistaken for his brother. Alfred was louder, more popular, and more recognizable.
Arthur smacked himself on the forehead. "Oh, Matthew, I'm sorry! I didn't-"
"Really, Arthur!" said Francis, coming up behind him. "Matthew doesn't look entirely look like Alfred. One would think that you would remember what he looks like by now."
"I'm not an idiot," Arthur grumbled. "I'm able to recognize some people by their appearances. For example, I can always recognize you from your flashy but impractical clothes."
"Well, what you see as impractical, I see as fashionable," said Francis smugly. "Unlike your clothes."
Arthur's thick eyebrows furrowed. "Are you implying that there's something wrong with the way I dress?" he asked.
"I would say that dressing like a punk or with no sense of style is wrong," Francis answered.
"Shut up, frog!"
"Don't tell me to shut up!"
And a second later, Arthur tackled Francis to the ground.
"Guys! Guys, please don't fight!" Matthew cried. But his voice was too quiet, and the quarrelling countries couldn't hear him. So Matthew watched them duke it out for a minute before starting off for home.
When Matthew came to the door of the apartment that he shared with his brother, he could hear shouts of excitement coming from inside. When he came inside, he saw Alfred sitting on the couch, intensely immersed in a video game on the TV. His formal meeting clothes had been replaced by a simple t-shirt and jeans. Matthew glanced at the TV. Alfred was controlling a digital Captain America, having him run around on an empty road and punch a couple of oncoming digital aliens.
"Hey, Al, what game are you-"
"Can't talk right now dude!" said Alfred, keeping his eyes on the game. "This is an awesome, new Marvel game that I ordered, and I'm trying to beat all these aliens so I can finish Level 3!"
"...Okay."
Matthew was just walking into the hallway when suddenly there was the sound of rapid knocking on the door. Alfred groaned as he paused the game and went to open the door. He was greeted by Arthur, his arms crossed and his eyes full of anger.
"Hey, Artie, what are you-"
"Don't call me that, git," Arthur growled.
"Dude, what's got your pants in a twist?" Alfred asked.
"I allow you into my house for two days," said Arthur. "And what do I come home to? Burger wrappers all over my kitchen, my personal drawers pulled out, and my secret journal LYING OUT IN PLAIN SIGHT!"
It suddenly hit Alfred. "Oh, crap! I knew I forgot to do something before I left!"
"Look, dude, I'm sorry!"
"Oh, it is TOO LATE for 'sorry', mister!" Arthur shouted. "Why the hell did I ever think that you could be responsible for anything?!"
Now Alfred was starting to get irritated. "Well, it's not like your list of instructions helped. There were too many things to do."
"I tried writing them out in a way that you would understand!" said Arthur. "But I guess I wasn't clear enough, because you're so bloody illiterate! Really, I wonder why you're the leader of all of us!"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You would a better country if you weren't such a irresponsible, arrogant, burger-loving idiot!"
Alfred's anger flared. "I'm a better leader than you ever were! You always yell, your cooking sucks, and over two hundred years ago, you raised the taxes on everything!"
"I did that so you would stay with me!" Arthur shouted.
"IF THAT WAS THE REASON, THEN MAYBE I'M GLAD I BECAME INDEPENDENT FROM YOU!" Alfred yelled.
That did it for Arthur. He turned on his heel and stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him.
Matthew stood frozen in hallway, having heard the entire argument, when Alfred came his way.
"Alfred-"
"Listen, Matthew, I really don't have time for your lectures right now," said Alfred through clenched teeth.
"But Al-"
"JUST GO AWAY!" Alfred suddenly snapped. He stormed into his bedroom and slammed the door, leaving Matthew on the other side, alone, shocked, and hurt.
Matthew sat in the darkness of his room as tears were streaming down his face. Why did this have to be his life: to live each day hardly ever being noticed and being surrounded by a family that always fought with each other? If it was going to stay that way, it was becoming clear to Matthew that there was no point of being here anymore. With a heavy heart, he made the decision to run away.
He had packed some clothes and personal belongings into his backpack and placed the written note on the bed. He kneeled down in front of his pet bear. "Well, Mr. Kumakiba, looks like it's just you and me."
The bear, whose real name was Kumajirou, titled his head and said, "Who are you?"
The question made Matthew feel worse and he answered in a quiet voice, "I'm Matthew. I'm your owner. And you're the only one I have left."
He put on his backpack, placed Kumajirou on his shoulders, and walked out of the apartment without looking back.