I.
“Joshua can be a handful sometime. He really doesn’t listen to me. Like, he won’t put his toys away or stop running around the house or anything like that. Sometimes he’ll scream and cry for hours. Literally for hours! Did that since he was an infant. I can’t take it most days, especially when he’s hitting me. I’m just so tired. I’ve tried stuff liking giving him candy for behaving, but that didn’t last long. He won’t stand in the corner either. Paul had enough one day and grabbed him and whopped him. Like, really bad. I don’t like that but I don’t what we can do? All of our family is back in Illinois and you’re the only friend I have out here. Josh’s doctor told me he’s behind but I don’t know about all that. Paul’s always hated doctors. Says they make stuff up so insurance can get more money out of people. I asked Paul about whoppings messing up Joshua but he told me I was overreacting. He was spanked as a kid and he’s fine, right? Said that boys need a firmer hand.”
II.
“Sorry about that, yes, I need to talk to you Mrs. Fletch. Joshua got in trouble today again. I put the kids down for a nap and when I thought everyone was asleep, I stepped out to the kitchen. I heard a yelp and I thought it was one of the kids, so I rushed back. Luckily, it wasn’t a kid, but Joshua had done something to my dog. She seems okay so I’m not sure what he did. I asked him about what had happened but he kept saying he didn’t do anything. I put him in time out for lying, though he didn’t seem very phased by it. I don’t tolerate lying, you know that. You know, I’ve been doing this for fifteen years, eleven of them out of my home, and I’m not sure if my daycare is going to be a good fit for him. Joshua seems like he needs more one on one attention. I think he might need some extra help, if you know what I mean? Please don’t cry, Mrs. Fletch. I know the wait lists can be long but they have waiver programs that maybe you can get him into? Find an affordable place before he starts school?”
III.
“Hi, Mrs. Fletch, this is Ms. Singh, Josh’s teacher. I’m just calling to let you know that Josh got another write up today. We had a situation where some girls sitting in Josh’s pod were asking to move away from him. I had talked to Josh and told him to leave the girls alone. One of the girls came up to me during lunch, however, and had informed me that Josh had been touching them inappropriately. I sent Josh to the dean’s office and Mr. Miller talked to him. I sent a note home with Josh which should explain the situation a little more. Mr. Miller will be giving you a call about his write-up but I’m very worried with his behavior in my classroom. His test scores are also concerning and I would like to schedule a conference with you, if I could? I know your husband was against testing but I really think our specialized classrooms or even an IEP could really help him out? I have 24 kids in class so I can’t give him all the one on one time he really needs and I’m worried he’s going to fall even more behind, especially before he starts middle school. Even just talking to Mr. Clark, our school counselor might help. I’m open Monday and Thursday next week. Please call me back and let me know if you are able to come in. Thank you.”
IV.
“Teens go through a lot of changes and teen boys can really be bad at this age. It sounds like the boys were just roughhousing and Josh just got a little too rough. You remember how it is, Mr. Fletch; I was the same way in high school. He’s a big guy and probably doesn’t know his strength. I don’t think it’s anything to worry too much about, but I know the school wants to have him talk to a school counselor, Jesus. Josh is one of my best boys, though. I can see him taking us to state this year and we really need that right now. It’s a great opportunity for him, especially if a college picks him up. He’ll need that to get in since his grades aren’t so hot plus if he gets a full ride you won’t be the one footing the bill! Have you sell your house these days to send your kid to school! But I won’t let them bench him over something like this and ruin things for him. I don’t need some guidance counselor telling me how to run my team!”
V.
“Nice to you meet you Mr. Fletch. I’m Officer Bowler. Thank you for coming out so fast. We caught your son Josh and some other kids underage drinking. We were called on a noise violation by a neighbor and busted the party. He said you didn’t know he was here and that he hasn’t done anything like this before. He blew a 0.06 which is better compared to his girl. Found her practically naked and passed out on the lawn having sex with him, ha! Lord almighty, who’s raising these girls? The good news is that he won’t have anything on his record, though. He’ll just need to do a few remedial substance sessions through his university and pay a fine and that’ll be it. He said he’s on a scholarship and he was scared to lose it but normally they take it easy on the first offense. He seems like a good kid and hopefully will stay out of trouble now. Let me finish this paperwork and then I’ll get him out of the drunk tank for you.”
VI.
“Josh, we’ve talked about this several times already and I’ve documented each time we talked about it. There’s a process to this whole thing and we gave you months to improve your targets and you haven’t reached them. Not once. We also had complaints from customers and we won’t even get into the HR stuff from earlier this year. You can’t joke about that kinda stuff at work. Once you failed the drug test, though, things were out of my hands. I’m sorry to hear that you’re struggling but I think it’s better if you resign than for us to fire you. This job just doesn’t seem like it’s a good fit for you. I’m sure you’ll find something else soon enough.”
VII.
“Well, last episode we talked about how harmful this feminist rhetoric has been. It used to be that men had power and place and now, because of these women, men no longer have that power. Now men, especially alpha men, have taken the black pill and have rightly turned their back on these women. What can they offer us outside of sex? So, you just spin those plates and she’ll keep riding the cock carousel until she hits the wall! But something needs to be done. Men need to wake up from this woke bullshit, stop this beta pussification, and re-take their throne. I see we have lots of comments in the chat, so let me get to that. I have a question here from a Josh from Indiana. Nice to talk to you, Josh!”
VIII.
“Josh, I just dropped off your shit on your apartment porch so stop fucking calling me. I’m blocking you AGAIN so quit creating new accounts and messaging me. You need to fucking stop. We are done! I’m done with all your shit, hear me? DONE! This is stalking and I WILL get a restraining order if you don’t stop! Don’t you dare come back to my house again. I’m calling the police if you do. My brother is also there now and he says if he sees your face near my place again YOU’LL be the one with a gun to your head this time. So LEAVE ME ALONE!”
IX.
“I say these things, Josh, because I am concerned for you. You have a tendency to put yourself and others in danger without ever thinking of the consequences. I think this car accident really demonstrates that. I know you told everyone that it was an accident but I don’t know if that’s true. I’m have no idea how you weren’t arrested but I know the only reason you weren’t hospitalized is only because every inpatient in the area is on diversion right now. I know you don’t want to be here, but I just don’t know how seriously you’re taking this. I really implore you take your medications. I understand it’s expensive without insurance but it could help. It can take up to a couple of months for the positive effects to outbalance the current nausea and migraine side effects, but I think this would really help you out in a lot of areas. I know our time is almost up, so let’s finish this contract for safety before you go-
X.
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XI.
“Hi, yes, I’m still here. This is Luis. I’m in unit 250? But, yeah, sorry to call again but I just wanted to let ya’ know that I think something is up again with the dude across hall from me. I haven’t heard any more yelling for a while now. I think his girl is gone since I haven’t seen her for a little while...but I’ve seem him coming in and out with what looks like what seems to be guns. It’s a long bag, like a rifle? I don’t know but I just wanted to let someone know.”
XII.
“And now a look into the trial of Josh Fletch, the accused Indiana park shooter who killed seven people, including a three year old girl. Fletch has been officially charged with seven counts of first degree murder among other charges but is pleading not-guilty. Fletch used several firearms, one a hand gun which he obtained from a private seller just a few days before the shooting. Fletch had a disheveled appearance today, showing a very stoic face throughout the hearing. Sources described him as a ‘clean cut’ kid and from a good family. In high school and college he was a star football player. No one was expecting this from him, his loved ones shocked and confused. What made this hopeful young man crack? Tonight we’ll talk with psychology experts and dive into the complex mind of mass shooters.”
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M. A. Dubbs is an award-winning Mexican-American, LGBT, and neurodivergent poet from Indiana. For over a decade, Dubbs has published writing in magazines and anthologies spanning across 7 different countries. She is the author of An American Mujer through Bottlecap Press (2022) and served as judge for Indiana's Poetry Out Loud Competition. Her poetry has been archived in Indiana’s Poetry Archive (INverse) and she has performed several readings across the Indy area. She recently won the 2023 Holden Vaughn Spangler Award from River City College MUSE.