The Adventures of Dish Man

How it all started was always a mystery to me. There are things about me and my lifestyle that I’m afraid I’ll never understand. To everyone around me, I could be classified as a loser, or worse. They’ll never know the truth though. They’ll never know who I really am.

Actually, I still don’t really know who I am. I’ve inherited many things from my parents but they were never around to help me learn how to use what they gave me. They were killed right before my very eyes two years ago. I can still remember every sight, sound, and smell from that night; I know it will be something that will haunt me forever.

Life hasn’t been easy since then but I’ve managed to survive. I just graduated from high school a couple months ago and rather than going to college, I decided just to go out and get a job. I found one too, a really great job doing dishes and cleaning up the kitchen at a local restaurant. I won’t tell you where it is or even what restaurant. The fact that I’m even telling you this much is too great of a risk anyway. At any moment my arch-enemy could find me and I fear that if he does, I won’t stand a chance.

I may be a superhero but I have no idea of what I can actually do. I don’t know the extent of my powers. I know I need to learn, but I feel so lost. I could use some guidance…

Jebediah Mason walked into work several minutes early for his shift. He went straight back to the kitchen, washed his hands, put on an apron, and went to the sink. As usual, the day shift had slacked and the dishes were piled up. Jebediah quickly began to stack the dishes in the sink to allow for more room to wash. Then he began the never-ending job of washing dishes.

By the time his shift started fifteen minutes later, he was almost finished with the dishes in the sink. He placed the last plate on the stack of clean, dry plates and turned to look around the kitchen. His watchful sea green eyes caught the gaze of Garen Manahan, one of the restaurant’s waiters. Garen was tall, athletically built, wavy dark hair, and had captivating blue eyes. It was easy to see why he made the most tips; all of the girls loved him.

Jebediah thought back to when he and Garen had been friends when they were younger. All throughout elementary school they had hung out together; they had been inseparable. Now though, Garen just looked at Jebediah with disgust. It was almost as if he was sickened by the thought that they had once considered each other to be friends.

Jebediah came out of his thoughts as a bus boy brought back a stack of dishes. Instead of washing them instantly, as he usually would have, Jebediah continued to look at Garen.

“Are you going to wash those or just stand around and daydream all day?” Garen’s icy voice cut through the air.

Rather than answering, Jebediah just turned back to the sink and began to wash the dishes.

Jebediah worked silently for six hours. By ten o’clock, he was finishing up with the final dishes. A few minutes later, he emptied the sinks, dried his hands, hung up his apron, and walked out of the kitchen area. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he told his boss, who just nodded in response. Jebediah sighed and walked out of the restaurant.

He unlocked his bike and began the ride home. At night the town was almost completely desolate. There were very few lights in town and most of the businesses had already closed up. Occasionally Jebediah heard some people down in the alleys but nothing of any significance.

Or so he thought. He was halfway home when he heard a voice screaming out for help from one of the alleys; it was a girl. She sounded frightened. At first Jebediah started to ride past the alley without even considering stopping. But he finally decided to stop anyway. It was unlikely that he would be able to do anything but he had to try.

He got off his bike and walked down the dark, dingy dead end alley. Towards the end he saw a big man holding onto a teenage girl. One of the man’s hands was in the girl’s shirt while the other was wrapped around her midsection, keeping her from running. “Hey!” Jebediah yelled. “Leave her alone!”

The man turned to look at Jebediah and laughed. “And if I don’t, what the fuck are you going to do about it?”

“Ummm…” Jebediah responded.

“I thought so,” the man answered. “You’re just like those other lousy no-good shits in this town. Listen kid, I’m kind of busy now, so I think you should leave before you get hurt.” The man just looked at Jebediah, who wasn’t turning or leaving. ‘Look at this kid…thinking that he’s oh so tough. I could obliterate him without even breaking a sweat.’ The man turned back to the girl.

It was true; Jebediah looked nothing like anyone who could do anything to stop something he didn’t like. But unbeknownst to the man, Jebediah wasn’t like any normal guy on the street. He knew that he couldn’t take on anyone like Garen but Jebediah knew he couldn’t back down to a creep that was inappropriately touching a girl.

He began to get mad as the man continued to feel up under the girl’s shirt. “I SAID…LEAVE HER ALONE!” he growled at the man.

The man turned back to him. “Look, kid, if you want to fight, I’m sorry. I’m not interested in fighting little peons like you.”

Jebediah walked closer to the man, now sure that he had to do something to stop the man. He didn’t even care if he was hurt in the process. Without even thinking, Jebediah reached the man punched him in the face and then began to kick him again and again. The man grunted in pain as Jebediah continued to kick him. Jebediah felt all of his frustration begin to leave him and he stopped kicking the man. “I don’t ever want to see you touching a girl like that again.”

The man nodded frantically, struggled to stand, and ran away from Jebediah. After the man ran away, Jebediah walked over to the girl. When he escorted her out towards the light he saw that she had short blond hair that was fashioned in a bob and brown eyes that gazed up into his own eyes. “Thank you,” she said. “I’m Sue, Sue Patton-Riley.”

“Jebediah Mason.”

“Well, it was nice to meet you Jeb.” Then without another word, she turned and walked away.

I don't really know where I got the idea for this but I thought I would try to write a short story. I'm hoping that this will be 5-10 chapters, but no longer than that. Then again, if people like it, I may turn it into a full novel.