She stopped and turned, contempt dripping from her every pore. “You need help; you’re addicted. I made it perfectly clear that it was me or those sickening DVD’s. You made your choice, good bye.”
“So I like watching them, is that a crime? It lets me escape.” I was desperate. “I’m an adult. I should be able to choose my pleasures. I’m under a lot of stress these days.”
She unleashed more loathing my way. “Watching other people. Exploring. Seeing their adventures together. You should want to do that with me. This stuff, you love it more than me. It’s not real,” she said pointing towards my hidden stash of DVD’s, my treasure.
“I know it’s not real, but I enjoy watching it. I can’t explain; I just do. I don’t see why that is so wrong. I’m only human, and a man.”
“Where do you even get them? There must be dozens of those weird DVD’s.”
“If you must know, I got them on-line. They sell them at the video store down the street, but I’m too self conscious to buy them there.”
“Exactly. You know it’s wrong.”
“Wrong? No. It’s just that we live in a very judgmental society. More people watch this stuff than you realize. There’s even conventions. I went to one in Las Vegas last year. It was the most enlightening weekend of my life, to see that I am not alone.”
“And all those damn gadgets. That’s another thing. Normal people don’t need all that,” she paused, “all that electronic stuff.”
“I know. It’s not real. I get it.” I was beginning to get mad and felt my temper slipping. Why oh why had I not kept this a secret from her. What an idiot I am. I shared with her my inner most secret and she was beating me over the head with it, trying to make me feel like a weirdo, trying to rob me of my purest of pleasures. “You just don’t get me!” I yelled. This was a lost cause and I just wanted to vent and drive her away.
She put her hands up, turned and walked out the door. Her parting shot, “You know it’s all make up, CGI, airbrushing. They’re all just actors, and very bad ones at that. You’ll never experience that for real.”
The door slammed and I was alone. “Bitch!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. There was only one way to rid me of this aggression pent up inside of me. I felt like I was going to explode if I didn’t get it out.
With a mixture of loneliness and anticipation, I crossed the room towards my secret stash of DVD’s, my hidden pile of pleasure. I reached in and withdrew one at random. That was my routine. It adds an element of surprise. My heart pounded as I popped the disc into the DVD player and turned on the TV. My heart continued racing at the knowledge of the pure pleasure which was about to beam out of my TV.
I locked the door, turned off the lights, and sunk into the couch, readying myself with a deep breath.
Anticipation
The episode began.
“Captain's log, star date 2121.02. Dr. McCoy, Spock, and myself have transported to the surface of Antares Seven to represent the federation council in trade negotiations with a newly discovered di-lithium mining colony…..”
Matt Arnold possesses a highly overactive imagination that has to date produced
three novels and many short stories. Currently he is a paraeducator in a high
school program for students with severe developmental disorders. His novels
include Crossroads, An Open Universe, and The Shattered Silence. He lives near
Seattle, Washington and greatly appreciates anyone who has taken the time to
read any of his work. Visit his website at www.MattArnoldTheWriter.Webs.Com to
learn more about him.
5 comments:
This story cracked me up. I can hear the opening music....
Man, that was just way too obvious. No subtlety about it at all.
that was funny, a nice change of pace...
It coulda been snuff videos, porno (my guess), but instead it was something much worse....
True, the punchline isn't typical pulp style, but leaving readers wondering was fun. I thought we'd all get a kick out of it.
Oh, Matt, I absolutely LOVED this. True, it's not exactly pulp, but then, neither are mine. Yes, I knew you were using the idea of porn (most likely) to cover something else, but it works. I laughed out loud, but had to keep from scrolling to see what you were driving at. "Captain's log..." Yes, I really liked this one.
Jen
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