An Excerpt From Ne'er Do Well

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Today I will share an excerpt from my current work in progress, A book titled: The Town of Ne'er Do Well:
 

S

teve was a bit odd. He never really left his home and he disliked the company of others. It was not as if he didn’t like people; it was actually quite the opposite, they just didn’t like him. One day, when Steve was with his friends, they asked him,

“Do you ever dream of being with that ‘perfect woman’?”

He answered as simply as ever,

“No.”

This must have bewildered them, because Steve was not necessarily interested in anybody. They knew this. But still, his idealistic buddies could never imagine life without their precious dreams of the opposite sex. To them, it was simply a desire that yearned to be fulfilled, and they had always dreamed, so that they might bring peace to their troubled minds. But, you see, Steve was incapable of dreaming.

“Ha! A Full House!”

Steve expressed his loss as blatantly as ever,

“Nothing.”

After many lost games, Steve decided he would leave and head elsewhere.

It was 3:30. A.M. A thousand small, sparkling snowflakes fluttered in the sky, making their delicate landings on the various surroundings in the rather spacious city of Ne’er Do Well. Steve was not wearing the most sensible attire for this type of weather. He was not cold, not even bothered in the least. Perhaps he knew the truth; yes, that a cold feeling was merely a reaction from the senses.

After walking for about two hours in the snow, Steve finally arrived at his favorite location in all of Ne’er Do Well: The Library. The front door read ‘Liray’ and the cracks dispersed across the wall exuded a dark green slime. The entire building, both inside and out, was unkempt and seldom visited.

He pushed the squeaky door open and entered, still unaware of the condition of the building. He must have believed it to be a sultry establishment. There were books scattered about the floors and many of the shelves were left empty. It was then, that he saw her… about 25 years old, dark blond hair, with an attitude that any normal man would find repulsive. She was a nitpicker, couldn’t enjoy the finer things in life, only the flaws; the missing puzzle pieces. When she noticed the usual (and only) visitor, she responded with the usual snarl she threw at everybody. He disregarded the snarl, threw a slight smile in her direction, and made his way past the desk.

Strolling to the far rear of the room, he came upon his favorite, a book titled: ‘The World: Where Are We Going?’ which contained numerous passages and quotes from the long past famous inhabitants of Ne’er Do Well. Many brought grins to his face. Sometimes you could hear him utter a chuckle that echoed throughout the desolate rooms. Perhaps he felt it humorous that these people had even achieved fame at all in such a ‘normal’ society, or, maybe he was so exhilarated and inspired that he could not contain himself.

  Soon after, he closed the front cover and hurriedly made his way toward the front desk. The counter was covered in a large array of books, which made it challenging for him to notice the young clerk. All he could really see were her eyes, which were dark grey clouds of disgruntlement. Of course, she gave him the usual look of dismay. He said,

“You know, when I think of you, I imagine some of the finest chocolate in all of Switzerland. You know, it is something that titillates the senses. Almost like a spiritual experience; an everlasting beauty.”

She was not interested in the least.

She replied “I know what you are doing and it won’t work. Not on me. Not on anybody.”

“What are you talking about? I was merely highlighting the beauty in you.”

“There is none.”

“I see.” he loved that.

She stamped his book and returned to dawdling with her usual toy: her hair. She had toyed with it for so long, that it was starting to fall out.

As he made his way out, he did what anybody in Ne’er Do Well would have done with a book, He licked it. Odd you say? Of course not. How else would you obtain knowledge? He felt the words tingle on his tongue. He was in love. This was far better than Swiss chocolate. With this, he received something everyone but the gods were missing out on: power… with the exception of the head master who was the dictator of the city. He was the one who stopped funding for the library and encouraged the widespread hatred of books. If there was anything that Steve did not like in this world, it would have to have been him.

When he finally made his way home, the pages of ‘The World: Where are we going?’ were dripping with saliva. He should have checked out more. All of the information was crawling across his eyeballs, like a wall of computer code. It was as if he had just completed an upgrade. He believed he was on his way to achieving a perfect, complete form. His friends were wrong. Steve does dream and he can love as well. He loves books, knowledge, and power. Was Steve really going to achieve a sort of perfect form?