Simone pushed the vacuum down the hall and into the living room. I had just bought the thing at the Last Call Pawn. She stopped behind the couch where I sat staring at a white blank page.
\n\u201cYou know what you\u2019re going to write yet?\u201d
\nOn the television before me some baboon with a microphone was dishing out dishonor to some parties on a popular news outlet.
\n\u201cPolitics.\u201d
\n\u201cWhy politics?\u201d
\n\u201cPolitics gives me a 50-50 shot. Half the people are gonna read it and think I\u2019m a comrade of the antichrist, and the other half are gonna read it and think I\u2019m a sensible son of a\u2026\u201d
\n\u201cWhat do you know about politics anyways?\u201d
\nBefore I could answer, Simone\u2019s friend Katie and her boyfriend Raul blew through the front door.
\nRaul spoke first.
\n\u201cJesus its cold out there. That wind could blast the b***s off a bull elk!\u201d
\nI wasn\u2019t sure whether to investigate the source of his comment or laugh, so I did neither and unmuted the TV.
\nRaul laughed like a hyena and helped himself to some leftover pizza in Simone\u2019s fridge.
\nKatie asked what we had been up to and Simone told her all about her week and how she had a physics exam coming and a haircut lined up, and then she turned the conversation my way.
\n\u201c\u2026And Tiger over there is writing something about politics.\u201d
\nEveryone exclaimed.
\n\u201cOOOOOHHHHH!\u201d
\nRaul sat beside me on the couch.
\n\u201cWhat do you think about politics?\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t really think about them all that much. I didn\u2019t even vote. I understand their significance, but haven\u2019t given it the time,\u201d I said and pointed at the TV. \u201cThat\u2019s why I\u2019m doing research.\u201d
\nKatie cut in.
\n\u201cMalarkey. You\u2019re just apathetic. My dad used to tell me that people who didn\u2019t care about politics were normally liberals in disguise. And he HATES liberals.\u201d
\nI could tell by the way she said it\u2026she hated them, too.
\n\u201cExactly the opposite Katie. Like I said, I understand the importance, but between 17 hours worth of classes, studying, showering, shaving, showering and sleeping I don\u2019t have a whole lot of time to dive into the happenings in Washington D.C.\u201d
\n\u201cYou can still vote. It\u2019s our American duty to vote. When I turned 18, I told my mom I didn\u2019t want to vote, and she said only cowards and children didn\u2019t vote.\u201d
\n\u201cHow can I vote for something I know nothing about? How can a judge reach a verdict if he hasn\u2019t heard the case?\u201d
\n\u201cYou can\u2019t write about politics if you don\u2019t pick a side!\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019ll see about that.\u201d
\n\u201cAre you taking a liberal or conservative stance?\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019d say liberally conservative.\u201d
\nThey were annoyed.
\n\u201cRED or BLUE?!\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m gold and blue. I\u2019m a Javelina.\u201d
\nI grinned at myself.
\n\u201cA JAVELINA! BLUE and GOLD! RED and BLUE and GOLD! YOU\u2019RE A TECHNICOLOR JAVELINA!\u201d
\nI shot them half a scowl, and Simone put her hand on my back.
\n\u201cDon\u2019t listen to them baby.\u201d
\nRaul jumped up.
\n\u201cYou\u2019re a COWARD! You wont even pick a side!\u201d
\nI shot out of my seat for fisticuffs.
\nBut before I could lean into my jab, my pawnshop vacuum cleaner entered stage left, smashed into Raul\u2019s head and landed on the floor beside his limp body.
\nEyes wide I turned to see Simone pointing her finger at Katie.
\n\u201cGet this SCUM OUT OF HERE! NO ONE speaks to me or mine that way!\u201d
\nKatie nodded and said ok, and looked like she wanted to cry or scream or pass out or maybe all three at once. Raul didn\u2019t stay comatose long, but had trouble finding his feet so I helped Katie get him out the door before his senses all came back to him.
\nI locked the door behind them and turned back to Simone who was still standing in the same place.
\nI closed the distance, but didn\u2019t know what to say so I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her for eternity.
\nShe pulled away.
\n\u201cI\u2019m going to bed Tiger.\u201d
\nWithout saying anything I watched her walk away and close the bedroom door behind her.
\nI sat down to confront the blank page, and I heard the bedroom door open behind me.
\n\u201cYou write whatever the hell you want to! Then get in here!\u201d
\nI closed the computer and took off down the hall.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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