Short Story - The Two Neighbors

The Two Neighbors

“I came to this neighborhood way before you, Mister Jiminy Cricket!” Mike taunted Jim. Mike was a lead singer in his band; he lived with his four band members. He had short black hair, a thin body, and he pierced many parts of his body. Unlike Mike, Jim was a manager who worked for a fertilizing company. he usually wore the colorful sweaters that his blond-haired wife knitted. The houses of Jim and Mike were always noisy. They were always arguing and fighting about small problems that can be fixed easily. Until one year, everything changed.

Like everyday, Mike’s rock and roll band would replace a rooster and played all morning, afternoon, and night. Jim could hardly took his afternoon nap or sleep at night because of this loud band named Poodle. He had tried to stick cottons in his ears, changed his bedroom, slept in his basement, but nothing can stop the sound of this “dog”. Jim then complained with Mike, “Your band kept me up all night, how am I supposed to go to work and wake up early in the morning?” “I am working on my rock and roll CD, it has to be perfect, and so my band needs a lot of practicing. You got a problem with that?” Mike then shut the pink door on Jim.

Often in mid-August, Jim’s garden’s trees’ leaves started to turn bright yellow and a lot of them fell into Mike’s garden. Every morning, Mike would have to walk into his yard with his polka dot boxers and swept the leaves into a pile. Everyday he swept until one day, Mike told his wife that he had to “talk” to Jim about this problem. Both of the misters’ wives said that it was sort of a tradition that they fight every August. Mike pulled on his short shorts and socks and walked to Jim’s front door. He pushed the door bell. From outside, Mike could hear Mrs. Jim yelling, “Hang on a second!” The door was soon one minute later by Jim. Jim was wearing his pink bath robe and his bunnies flip flops. He then looked at Mike with disgust. “What do you want?” Jim asked, “You’re here to talk about the fallen leaves?” Mike nodded with a straight face. Jim explained, “Autumn is a romantic season, leaves automatically turned yellow and fell. Isn’t that right honey?” There was no reply in the house. “It will be more romantic if you keep your leaves out of my properties Jim. If this problem kept on going, your leaves will fall and it will be followed by your tree.” Mike threatened Jim. Mike left without any other word. Jim hissed at Mike as he closed the brown door behind.

Later that month, the two houses were curious when they saw moving trucks driving to the door across their house. That meant one thing: a new neighbor was moving in the neighborhood. They thought in their heads, “Oh no, this will double the trouble…” And they were completely right. The neighbor, Bob let his dog barked all day and night, Bob also let his dog popped in the front yards of the two houses. The new neighbor also invited all the people he knew and would party all night long. Mike and Jim had tried their best to convinced Bob to stop the problems he caused, but Bob wouldn’t listen to the complains of Mike and Jim. They got really mad and decided they should do something about it.

Mike and Jim both had a plan that they will annoy the neighbor until he got mad and left. They had a conversation and decided they should work together. In the afternoon, when the sky was still bright, Mike and Josh put boom-boxes on the corners of Bob’s garden and started to play the album “Kiss my Ring” by the band Poodle. While the songs were playing, Mike and Josh poured a whole pile of old yellow leaves into Bob’s garden. After that, Bob was awoken in his slept-in by the music and went out side. Immediately the bright sun ray shoot at his eyes, it took a while to take his sight again. The nightmare wasn’t over when he saw a sea of yellow leaves in his garden. The music kept banging into his ears; Bob suddenly went mad and ran outside, through the fence... Mike and Jim’s plan had been successful; the unfriendly neighbor was now out of the neighborhood.

Mike and Jim then realized that they have to need each other to do something at some point and that they could not do anything without the other. Mike and Jim became closer and closer that day. They told each others about the time they fought and how they didn’t cooperate with each other. They became friendly neighbors and best friends from that day on.