Rick's Joke

Chapter 1

Rick felt the hard, cold hit of his father's hand, pushing him to the ground. He lay there, cuts across his face from his father's rings. Rick knew he couldn't cry, as that would lead to his father getting upset. He stayed silent, trying to look at his devilish father. His father drank the last drop of his stale beer and dropped the bottle on the floor. " Happy birthday, Ricky. " His father dropped onto the seat in front of the tv, and slowly fell asleep with the news blaring. It was Rick's 12th birthday, and it wasn't going to be a great start. In blurry vision, he looked at the clock. " I'm gonna be late. " He thought. He quickly, but quietly, got dressed for school. He left the house in raggedy gray clothes, too poor to afford anything else. Rick Torres was one of the skinniest kids you'd ever meet. He had long, shaggy black hair, and blue eyes, and was as pale as he could be. He got onto a bike he stole from a kid, and started riding to school. The wind was cold, but he wasn't able to afford a jacket. He only fought when he needed to, and only stole things he needed. He knew he wasn't in an ideal situation. But every day, he tried to smile through it all. After 30 minutes, he arrived at the school. In school, He was a loner, his grades were passing, but low. Just like many aspects of his life, he was trying the best he could. He walked into class and sat down at his desk. He was in the back corner of the room, away from everybody. Though it wasn't his choice, being alone wasn't that bad for him. " What happened to your face? " Some kid asked, noticing the cuts on Rick's face. " Nothing, I just fell on my way here. " He said. The way he spoke was off-putting to just about everyone, including his father. The Teacher walked into the class, everyone got to their seats. " Alright class, it shows and tell day. " Rick panicked. Like every other aspect of his life, he couldn't afford something good enough. After all the students went up, Rick was called as the last student. " Do you have anything this time, Rick? " The teacher asked. They all knew his situation, and Rick had a habit of not bringing anything. " No Sir. " Rick said, timidly. " The teacher sighed. " Alright then, Class dismissed. " Rick picked up his books and walked out. On his way home, he noticed a classmate following him. It was one of the kids that constantly tortured him. Rick started pedaling faster, and so did the bully. He Turned into an alley, but another boy blocked it off. There he was, trapped by two of the people who made his life horrid. " What do you want?! " Rick yelled, trying to keep his composure. Both boys walked closer, closing him in. One kid grabbed his shirt, But Rick punched him in the face. " You're gonna pay for that, Torres! " He pulled out a knife and rushed Rick, but something in him snapped. He was thinking about how horrible his life was, and all the people that made it worse. He grabbed the blade and pulled it out of the kid's hand. Rick kicked in his knee and tackled him. He started stabbing his chest, over and over again. The other boy tried to pull Rick off, but he reached behind him and stabbed Him in the eye. He hit the ground, dead. The other boy though was still alive. " Please, don't kill me! " He was able to mutter, spitting blood. Rick got only a few inches from his face and said " Screw you. " Rick quickly slit his throat, blood splattering all over him. Rick limply stood up, holding tightly onto the knife. He walked over to the wall and sat down. " This is bad. " He said to himself, looking at the two corpses. He just sat there, waiting for nighttime. Once the sun went down, he finally stood up, picked up his bike, and rode home, still holding the knife. He opened the door, and before he could even breathe, His father yelled " Where the hell have you been?! " His father looked at all the blood and saw the bloody blade. " You monster! " He took a swing, but Rick stabbed him in the arm. " Not today. " Rick took it out and pierced his father in the neck, multiple times. " R-Rick. W-Why. " His father stuttered. He fell down, and Rick left the knife in his dead father's throat. He walked to the bathroom. He took off his clothes and got in the shower. He washed all the blood off, and just stood there for a couple of hours. He got out, got dressed, and just looked at his father, half of his face submerged in his blood. " I guess I should call the police. " Rick said to himself. He grabbed the phone and dialed 991. " 911, what's your emergency? " Rick tried to sound sad, but he couldn't do it. " I came home, and my father was on the floor, dead. " He said. After talking to the operator, he sat down on the driveway and waited for the police to show up. He thought about his whole life, and how it might become slightly better now.