Dennis Scott Larson

This story is about a man named Dennis Scott Larson, the sweetest, nicest man you would have ever met. Until his life took a turn, and in a month, his life went from a big bright ball of light to a black hole.

I post all of my stories on Commaful. You can find me by searching either The Fun Sponge or @grammarnazi. 

If you would like to chat, you can also add me on discord:

The Fun Sponge#5112

It was a bright and sunny day at the beginning of March. Dennis was on his knees in the dirt helping his neighbor Mrs. Greene in her garden. 

In exchange, she gave Dennis a variety of fruits and veggies. 

Dennis was always helping people. It was his favorite thing to do, after all. 

Every day he would go around his neighborhood asking the elders if they needed help. 

They usually asked Dennis to pick up groceries. Sometimes he got special requests. 

Mrs. Greene was his favorite, while the others always offered him money, which he always refused. Mrs. Greene was incredibly persistent. Even though he would always turn down her offer when she asked if he wanted some vegetables, Dennis knew she would have a basket-full set aside for him.

As Dennis sat in his car to get groceries for his neighbor, Mr. Sterling, Dennis called him Silver. Everything was going according to plan until he stopped at a stoplight. He sat there waiting for the light to turn green. When the light turned green, the gray truck that sat in front didn't seem to be moving.

Dennis sighed, waiting for the car to inch forward.

He felt his cheeks start to burn, starting to get annoyed by the inconsiderate person that sat in front. 

Dennis gave the truck driver a courtesy tap, hearing the horn do a loud but quick honk. 

"Come onn." Dennis muttered as a car pulled up behind.

The truck staying planted where it sat.

He looked through the rearview mirror at the newly parked car. 

Then a sound so loud made Dennis jump right out of his skin. 

The car behind him began honking. 

Giving the driver a courtesy tap once more, Dennis sat there in wait. 

The car behind him continues to wail.

Finally, the truck begins to move, and as Dennis inches forward, the light turns red once more. 

Dennis lets out a frustrated groan.

The car behind him honking the horn.

"What do you want me to do, Guy?" Dennis grumbles to himself

When Dennis peaks through the rearview mirror, he sees the car behind him backing up. 

Dennis was confused, wondering what was up with this person. 

His confusion didn't last long as he feels his car jolt forwards 

With a gasp, Dennis looks back, only to see the car behind had rammed into the back of his vehicle.

Dennis gripped the steering wheel firmly, letting out another sigh. 

"It's okay, Dennis. It's just a car." He said to calm himself down.

Once the light turns green, Dennis speeds away and to the store.

Dennis gets out of the car, holding grocery bags.

He watches as Silver walks out to help him.

"It's okay Silver I got it."

Dennis hears Silver gasp behind him, drops all of the bags, and turns around quickly.

"Are you okay, Silver? Are you hurt?" Dennis asks in a panic.

He sees Silver pointing at the dents in the back of his car. 

"Oh... That? Just some incompetent fool that got angry at me in traffic." 

"I have to pay to help fix it." Silver says

"No, No, No," Dennis replies

"It was just an accident. My car still works well."

Dennis smiled and picked Silver's bags up, toting them into the house.

"Bye, Silver!" Dennis walked to his car waving and smiling

Once he gets into his car, his phone begins to ring.

So he picks up, cranking his car starting the drive back to his home.

"Steph, calm down," Dennis said

"Take some deep breaths. Close your eyes. I can't understand what you're saying." 

In three seconds flat, Dennis's face went from smiley and joyful to filled with despair. 

"Are you kidding me?" Denni asked, his eyes welling with tears.

"O...okay." As Dennis pulled into his driveway, he sighed. Closing his eyes, he presses the back of the headrest.

"Steph, when is it?" Dennis asked, sitting up sniffling. 

The call Dennis just received was about his father. Who, as he had just come to realize, passed away.

"Sunday?! I can't do Sunday. I promised Mr. Merkle I would take him to his radiation." 

Dennis felt his face get hot once more

"Steph, can you not reschedule the viewing?"

Dennis lets out a frustrated, almost resentful sigh.

"Okay, I'll try to be there." 

Dennis hung up the phone, grunted, and laid back in his seat.

"Tomorrow will be better."

Dennis got out of his car, went inside, and went straight to bed.

Spoiler Alert, the next day wasn't better his car earned more dents

He decided he would take Mr. Merkle to radiation instead of going to his own father's funeral. The whole week turned out to be a living nightmare.

It's Monday morning. Dennis gets out of bed feeling energized and happy. He walks into his bathroom, picking up his toothbrush, only to realize that his toothpaste is empty. He had swapped it out with Mrs. Greene because her's was almost out, and he had a full tube.

Dennis sighs and walks down to his front door. When he opens the door, Mrs. Greene greets him she was dropping off his portion of the harvest.

"Thank you. Miss."

Dennis said with a smile on his face.

Mrs. Greene nods, a smile plastered across her face as she hands him the basket.

An hour later, he was walking to Mr. Merkle's house to check on him.

Dennis knocks on the door then stands there waiting. 

"Mr. Merkle. It's Dennis." He says softly, knocking once more. He heard a rustling around in the house.

"Come on out, Mr. Merkle. I'm just coming to check on you." The door slowly begins to open when Dennis knocked the last time. 

"Hey, Mr. Merkle, are you oka..." Dennis gets interrupted before finishing

"Look, Kid." Mr. Merkle began.

"I don't need you checking up on me every day. I'm fine. I've lived this long it'll be a relief when I'm finally dead." Once he finished, he slammed the door in Dennis's face.

Dennis turned around, starting back to his house. 

"Wow. Okay." Dennis muttered in shock.

When Dennis reached his house, his phone began to ring. 

He took a deep breath as he answered. He then heard his boss's voice come over the speaker. 

"What? What do you mean you're firing me?" Dennis opened his front door and plopped down on the couch, sighing. 

"I'm too nice? Really? Too nice? Since when is being nice a bad thing?" Dennis raised his voice slightly

"You know what... okay." He let out an exaggerated sigh

Dennis could feel his cheeks cooling off 

He hangs up the phone, setting it on the couch next to him. 

Dennis sighs once more. 

"You know what? Being nice What has being nice ever got me? A bucket of fruit?"

Dennis gets up, heading right to his bedroom, where he would spend days wallowing. 

Neighbors would come and knock on the door, but there Dennis stayed. 

Finally, he got tired of the knocking, so he went downstairs to tell the person off.

As he swung the door open, he sees the formation of Mrs. Greene standing in the doorway. 

Mrs. Greene looked up at him in utter disbelief. 

"Woah, what happened to you?" Mrs. Greene chuckled. 

She had never done anything wrong to Dennis, so he figured he would be nice. 

"Well, I figured that I needed a little bit of a vacation, Mary." She laughed. No one in the neighborhood had called her by her first name in a while. She had thought everyone forgot.

"Wow, are we on a first-name basis now?"

Mary chuckles

"Okay well, it seems like you're not dead have a good day, Dennis."

Dennis nodded 

"We shall see, Mary." 

As Mary walks away, Dennis walks out of the front door behind her. 

Dennis walks to his car, seeing Mr. Merkle wave at him. He gave him a nod, barely acknowledging his existence. It was a cold greeting compared to his usual "Hey Mr.Merkle, how are you feeling today?". As he looks at the back of his car, scanning the dents in the back. 

"That is what being nice got me. Now I have a daily reminder." He sighed, getting in his car

In the last months, Dennis grew colder towards his neighbors. He would only talk to Mrs. Greene and Silver. It boggles the mind how someone with such a colorful personality could become so dark in an instant. 

His neighbors didn't know how this could have happened to Dennis. They decided to send Mrs.Greene his way to smooth things over.

Mrs. Greene came around the same time every day to check on Dennis. Before she could knock on the door, Dennis already had it open and was waiting in the doorframe. 

The only time he smiled was when Mrs. Greene was walking up to his driveway. 

His grin slowly disappeared as she approached the door. 

"May I come in, Dennis? My knees are feeling terribly weak today."

Dennis nodded, moving out of the way so she can get by.

"Yes, of course." 

Mrs. Greene plops down on the couch, looking around the room. He always kept it neat and tidy. At least there was one thing still the same about Dennis.

Dennis moved to sit down beside her. 

"So, how are you feeling today, Dennis?"

"I'm... I'm good."

"That's amazing!" They communicated

"I need to talk to you, Deni."

Dennis sighed and leaned back, his back pressed against the end of the couch.

"You have changed a lot, Dennis."

"I know."

"All of us miss the old Dennis."

"The old Dennis has left the building, and he is never coming back."

Dennis snaps, getting defensive.

" Well, you need to reel him back in." Mrs. Greene replies

"The old Dennis was nice, helpful. You won't even leave the house anymore."

Dennis stands up

"What has being nice ever got me?" 

"I give you my produce." Mrs. Greene replied

"Mr. Sterling. He loves you more than he loves his own son."

"Mr. Merkle likes his privacy, but he likes when you check on him sometimes." Mrs. Greene continues

"Everyone likes the old Dennis. I liked him too, the one that helped me in my garden."

Dennis sighed. As he sat back down, he closes his eyes. 

"I'll try, okay?"

Mrs. Greene nods, standing back up. 

"That's all I ask."

It is now months later, and Dennis is back. The old Dennis that everyone knew and loved.

He is back and better than ever.