Jealousy Is Rottenness to the Bones, Part II

This is a continuation of an article that I previously wrote, entitled, "Jealousy is rottenness to the bones." I won't rehash the entire prior article. I only want to finish fleshing out the remaining characters, and to conclude the series. So, to fully understand these characters and the entire article, (if you haven't done so), please read the first part .

Our cast of characters are: Suspicious Sam and his wife Innocent Irene, Little Bad Bobby, and his Sweet Sister Suzy. Then we have Wanna Be Model Model Mother Mary, and Model Daughter Daisy. We also added Good Son George, and his Jealous Dad Jack. Those four duos were already dealt with. Now we want to bring to life our remaining cast of characters. We begin with workmates, Diligent Danny and Slacker Steve. Then we go on to Best Athlete Adam and rival, Second Best Brian. The last two duos are, "good" friends, I Got The Best Betsy, and I Could Care Less Carrie, lastly we have Nasty Neighbor Ned, and Kind Hearted Ken. Now let's get started. Just to let you know, these are not real characters,or real events, they are all contrived by me, so if some situations seem far-fetched, they are. Although, you will find that most situations are likely, and predictable. Enjoy!

Let's begin with Diligent Danny and Slacker Steve. Slacker Steve has been top man at the company for well over ten years, due in large part to marrying the boss's daughter. He actually does not work very hard anymore, however he is hailed as the top employee in the company. His father-in-law has never really cared for him, but because of his beloved daughter he has tolerated him. To be fair, he does know his job, and he did bring the company out of the red and made it profitable. These days he's resting on his laurels, and just cruising by.

In walks Diligent Danny. The great new talent that the boss found and brought in to take the company to the next level. Danny is a very personable fellow, a real rock star, never sitting down on the job. The boss's expectations, to say the least , are met beyond his wildest imaginations. Of course you know, according to Steve, Danny is, "trying to steal the show," he says that because of Danny's hard work and diligent attention to details. Steve does everything that he can to, as he says, "take Danny down a notch." (There's been numerous attempts at sabotage). He eventually sees the perfect opportunity to do just that. The big presentation for a new contract to take the company over the top has arrived. Diligence Danny has done all the preparation for the presentation, including research and actually preparing the report himself.

Slacker Steve is up to his old tricks, of trying to discredit Danny, not really realizing what's at stake or maybe not even caring, he pulls what he calls his coup de grace, he intends to once and for all put Danny in his place. He prepares a completely erroneous report and replaces it with the correct one. Presentation day arrives, everyone is excited, Danny takes out the report and begins the presentation. All in attendance has a copy of the report, as it's opened and perusal begins, puzzled looks all around, is this a joke...........Needless to say the new contract was in serious jeopardy. Fortunately the culprit was unmasked, and for Slacker Steve the end has come for all that he's worked for, his marriage, and his career, and Diligent Danny is where his is supposed to be on top. Proving that hard work and diligence, wins out in the end every time, over cunning and conniving, . Well, maybe not all the time, but that's just my version, so go with me on this.

Now here's a good one. These two have been friends, or rather rivals throughout their lives, they actually grew up together. Best Athlete Adam has been at the top of his game his entire life, not really trying, it just comes naturally. He truly loves sports for the sake of loving sports. However he doesn't put it before everything else. To him it's just sports, not his whole life. Now Second Best Brian, has worked hard at being the best, forsaking all else, but it has not put him where he wants to be, #1. Although he claims to like his "buddy," BAA, he never misses a chance to take a verbal jab at him. Oh, he calls it good natured fun, when he's called on it, but secretly he's trying to embarrass his friend. Well during a special track meet, Second Best Brian came in first, he won, but it was later found out that he cheated. Did I mention that he was by now in college and was there on a scholarship? Well, he lost his scholarship and had to drop out of college. All of this happened because he was jealous of his friend. What a shame.

Well, now we get to, I Got The Best Betsy, and I Could Care Less Carrie. The girls met in college as roommates. Betsy and Carrie were from different backgrounds. Carrie came from a well to do family and could get anything that she wants, but "things," meant nothing to her. She never let on that she was from "money," her focus has always been on getting her education and giving back as a way of proving that money can't buy you happiness. However Betsy always wanted the best, and she got the best that her hardworking single mother could provide, no matter what her mother had to do to get it. Each time her mother sent a "care package," she'd lord it over Carrie. I Could Care Less Carrie always shopped at Kmart, and was proud of it. I Got The Best Betsy would only wear clothes from stores like Macy's, and Nordstroms, never missing a chance to wave her new digs from those stores in Carrie's face. (If she only knew). I Could Care Less Carrie was very popular and well liked by all, especially the faculty. Of course Betsy had her wanna be followers, and all concerned tried to make Carrie's life difficult, but Carrie, true to her name, could care less.

Well, meet the parents day arrived for the University, and all parents were encouraged to attend. As usual, Betsy wanted to show off and had her mother send her the most expensive outfit that Nordstroms had, for the event, of course she had to point it out for all to hear, especially, "Miss popular," (I Could Care Less Carrie). All students were asked to meet their parents at the curb and escort them into the auditorium. I'll just bet you know where I'm going with this. Okay, I'll tell you anyway. To her chagrin, Betsy's mother drives up in her 10 year old Dodge Caravan. Mortified, Betsy waits on the sidelines, until her mother exits the car, (she had asked her mother to rent a nicer car). Meanwhile Carrie's parents arrive in their Limo, of course no one knows that it's Carrie's parents. Carrie also was mortified, but for a different reason, she never really wanted anyone to know that she came from a well to do family. She always wanted to be, and was, accepted for her abilities. Well, after the limo driver gets out and waves over to Carrie, he opens the door for her parents, they jump out and rush over to Carrie, and they all embrace. You know what happens at this point, Betsy had to pick her jaw up off the ground, never realizing that Carrie only shopped at Kmart because she wanted to. Well you can just about guess what the rest of the school year was like for both girls.

Nasty Neighbor Ned and Kind Hearted Ken had been neighbors for well over 10 years. To Ken their friendly rivalry was just that, friendly rivalry. Not for Ned, he worked hard at making his yard stand out in the neighborhood, but of course Kind Hearted Ken had a green thumb, no matter what he did, his yard always came out the best. Because he did not take the rivalry seriously, he always offered Nasty Neighbor Ned tips on how to make his yard as nice as Ken's. You just know he refused any help at all, choosing to, as he says, "do it my way."

Every year the block was judged, as to the beauty and functionality of their yards. Of course, you know that Ken always won. No matter what he did, Ned could not win for the life of him. Nasty Neighbor Ned was determined to win this year, and he had a plan. He would steal into Kind Hearted Ken's yard the night before and trample down as many of his flowers and shrubbery as he could. Well, as Murphy's Law would have it, because of all the noise, Ken called the police, not knowing it was his, "buddy," Ned. Ned was caught red handed, and unfortunately both lost the competition this year. Ken vowed never to compete in this event again.

Since this article is too long again, We'll do part three next.  You do want to know what I have to say about each of the duos, don't you.  If so let me know.