Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: ENVY (jealousy of another’s advantage) (02/12/15)
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TITLE: Malcolm | Previous Challenge Entry
By Jack Taylor
02/19/15 -
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Malcolm Brady kicked off his dockers and laid his auburn locks back onto the top of the porch swing. The sun warmed his smooth cheeks and he twitched his eye brows in delight. Golden daffodils jostled slightly in the breeze from their fortress in the planters on the deck. A sparrow hopped across the far railing tilting its head as if in curiosity.
Kyle Monihan, on the wooden bench ten feet away, slid off his Nike runners and tucked his feet up under him. “Malcolm, have you ever envied me?”
Malcolm half-opened his eyes and turned toward Kyle. “What for?”
“How about the way Jenny looks at me when I drive by in my Corvette?”
Malcolm shut his eyes again and soaked in the rays. “Why should I care about Jenny? Wendy loves my Honda.”
Kyle ran his fingers through his thick black curls. “How about the fact that my dad is on the city council and my mom runs her own business?”
Malcolm smiled. “I’d rather see my parents once in a while.”
Kyle unfolded his legs and surveyed the neighbourhood. “What about my house?”
“Is that why you’re always hanging around at my place?”
“Our place is three times the size of yours. We’ve got a full sized pool, a riding mower, round the clock security, pool table, eight rooms, and a dining hall where we can feed half an army.”
“What’s the use if you’re never there to invite anyone? My dog is enough security in this neighbourhood.”
Kyle took two steps and slumped down on the red tiled stairs leading toward the neatly cut lawn. “How about the fact that I never have to cut the grass, that I have all the money I want, and that our family can travel anywhere we want?”
Malcolm stretched and got to his feet. He too surveyed the lawn. “I enjoy the exercise. It keeps my mind at peace.” He moved to sit by Kyle. “Dad brings all the missionaries over after services and I pretty much hear about most places. We kind of like camping. It’s restful.”
“Did you know that Shakespeare called envy “the green sickness?”
“I’m assuming that’s where they get the saying ‘green with envy’. Did you know that Sheridan wrote a play called The Critic? He says that ‘there is not a passion so strongly rooted in the human heart as this.’”
Kyle took his new phone out of his shorts pocket and checked it. “25 messages in the last hour. What do you think about that?”
“Gives me a headache.” Malcolm pressed his thumbs up to his temple and waggled his fingers. “When are you going to have time to answer?”
“What about the fact that my Pats beat your Hawks?”
“It’s just a game. My Hawks won the year before.” Malcolm retrieved his dockers and waited for Kyle to slip his Nikes back on. “None of that stopped terrorism, saved the starving kids in Africa, or kept unborn babies from being aborted.”
“Isn’t there anything you envy about me?”
Malcolm stood up and took the last three stairs to the sidewalk. He turned and faced his friend. “I’ve got a family who likes to spend time together, I’ve got a church community that supports my dad as their pastor, and I’ve got someone who has proved that he loves me more than I could ask or imagine. And I’m not talking about you.” He shielded his eyes as he turned around. “Envy means feelings of pain and resentment at what God has given you. What good will that do?”
Kyle popped up and joined Malcolm. “I have to tell you something.”
“What’s that?”
“You make me mad sometimes.”
“Why’s that?”
“Nothing phases you.”
Malcolm started walking and Kyle followed. “Let’s stop by the community center.” He waved at a senior weeding in her garden. “There are plenty of things that phase me. Just not the same things as you.”
Kyle persisted. “When I asked you if you were scared after that armed robbery at the mall, all you said was that you trusted God with your life.”
“So, I do.”
“When I asked you how you felt about that single mom who won the Powerball lottery, all you said was that you were happy for her.”
“Yes.”
Kyle lightly punched Malcolm’s shoulder. “Come on. You didn’t envy her even a little?”
“Hey, I wouldn’t mind having a little more money, but I’m happy with my life.”
“I envy you,” Malcolm sighed.
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