The Damnation of Johnny Boy

1

The man in the television grinned widely at John, staring with such intensity that it seemed to pierce right to his soul. John was half-asleep then. He had been using the telly to lull himself to sleep over the past few days. When he noticed the man on the television, he assumed it must have been some problem with the network. After all, it was pouring outside. He got up and headed for the bathroom. He had an urgent need to piss. It was thundering outside. He needed to have the telly lead him to sleep, and having a man on the screen look at him with such a grin wasn't gonna help him either. He switched the channels and came upon one music channel, Queen's Killer Queen was playing. He decided Queen was good enough for him to fall asleep with.

'...Caviar and cigarettes

Well versed in etiquette

Extraordinarily nice

She's a Killer Queen

Gunpowder, gelatine...'

He closed his eyes but soon had to open them again to the sound of harsh static, upon opening his eyes to his disbelief he noticed the grinning man was back on the screen again. He couldn't take it anymore. Something really was the matter with the telly today. He decided he'd just try to sleep without it, he got up to switch off the telly but now his eyes fell upon the eyes of the man on the screen again. It seems the eyes of the grinning man was following him. He knew it was back again. He was angry, furious even, and at the same time, filled with dread and again, tired of the stuff that has been happening with him lately. He screamed in a devilish sort of way, and went to the television to pick it up and fuckin' smash it on the floor! The television smashed, it made a loud noise and combining that with his scream which didn't cease during this whole process was enough to wake up his Mom. John had now smashed the family's television. Last week he had crushed his phone and the week before that he had broken his laptop into two.

John's Mom came running to the scene of John sitting over the ruins what used to be their only television. He had his head covered with both of his hands, and he was wailing, growling even, loudly. The scene looked like he had just gone mad. John's sister Mary came from upstairs too, she went upto John, sat beside him and she started crying too. John's mother could hardly take it anymore, she was on the verge of losing it too. She knew whatever explanation he tried giving at this point would hardly make sense, as it was the same case before. So, she sent both of them to their rooms and she cried herself to sleep on the couch, just before dawn.

Thankfully the next day was a Sunday, John's mother overslept and Mary was the one who came down to wake her up. "Mommy, wake up! I'm hungry!". John still hadn't come out of his room. Who knew whether he was still sleeping or even slept at all? "Honey, go wake your brother up. Before, I can cook anything let's clean this mess up."

John was in fact, not sleeping. The door was left open so Mary just walked in and found him sitting in his chair backwards and looking out the window. "Hey, John, mommy's calling you downstairs - says she wants to clean the broken television." John didn't respond, he stared ahead, possibly into nothingness. After about a minute, he responded "Tell her I'm coming". Mary rushed down the stairs and told her mom "He said he's coming" who was alrady collecting the broken pieces and throwing it in the trash. John came lazily down the stairs and looked if there was anything to eat. There wasn't. "Come here, and sit down!" The television had finally been cleaned up and possibly been taken away by the dumpster. "So, what was last night about?", asked his mother. "MOM! You know, I've been telling you, something's been after us! I don't know if it's a ghost, the devil or dad's gh-", "SHUT UP! I won't listen to anything you say from now", said his mother, grasping the broom she held on her hand as hard as she could. "Now go on- get ready both of you... we have to go to the church in an hour", she said wiping away a tear which had fallen out of her left eye. "But Mom, I'm tired.. I don't wanna go to some church to pray to someone who doesn't exist." "I said enough!! Now go and get ready both of you, or else both of you are grounded for a week and..and, I won't get another television for a year!" "But Mom...", little Mary tried to raise her voice in protest, who had herself tangled in with her brother's punishments though she had no fault. But before she could complete, her mom had already gone away.

John eventually got ready for Church, "...just this one day", he thought to himself, because otherwise he'd be nagged at by Mary the whole week, and most of all, now he needed some alone time. The family attended the church that sunday.