Chapter 26: In Nam-Shub Only (Part II)

Howie was doing something he usually didn’t do: skipping class.

In spite of his devil-may-care attitude about his scholarly aspirations, he knew that he couldn’t let his grades slip if he wanted to keep his free-ride from his family to go to the best party school in Arizona. He just couldn’t take that fear far enough to approach classes like Roger and become a book zombie. No, college could be fun and he’d be damned if he didn’t find some between the assignments and lectures. He could count on one hand the things that could cause him to endanger his good academic standing by blowing off a class.

So if someone were to ask him what he was doing avoiding class to hand out fliers to students about a concert happening that same day he would have to shrug and roll with the punches. He just couldn’t put his finger on it, and at the moment it didn’t matter. He had a thing to do and things were doing well. Beaming faces—mostly college age girls—flickered past him as people took his fliers and slowed to read them.

“Dude,” he said to his partner—another bemused worker conscript named Andrew. “Did you just see that one? She looks like she could be related to Emily.”

“You’ve said that about every other girl who walks past,” griped Andrew. For someone working for the campaign, he really didn’t have a positive attitude. In fact, Howie considered, his partner didn’t seem to want to be there at all. A girl named Julie had put them together with a stack of fliers, instructions on where to stand, and a brief instruction on how to get more if they ran out. Most people walking along the palm lined sidewalks already wore Vote Early buttons—Howie knew not to try to flier them; Andrew seemed to have missed that subtle hint—but those that didn’t quickly had a paper foisted to them.

“Can I help it if she looks sweet in that tight business skirt and lacey blouse?” Howie said. Andrew seemed like a real bummer, but Howie could probably get through him on the subterranean level he figured that every guy could sympathize with: the fact that beautiful women were beautiful. Just to cover his point, he glanced back at the stage where Emily Early stood surrounded by her loyal fans center stage. Proud and tall, she was talking to them, hands gesturing, probably directing them to their duties. She can direct me anytime, he thought to himself before putting his mind back to the task at hand.

The day seemed a blur. The important thing right now would be to hand out as many fliers as possible, from the number Andrew had managed to move, he would be able to mooch extras off him when he ran out (which would be soon) before having to find Julie to get more. Most people thanked him when he handed out the fliers; some gave puzzled looks, but most nodded and exchanged a casual smile and the “Vote Early!” mantra as praise. The concert would be rocking with so many people attending. Handing out the fliers, doing his part made Howie feel good. Like he was part of something important, good, and bigger than himself. As if the papers or the people gave him a contact high.

His eyes hooked onto another pair of bare thighs, and an equally bare shirt. The girl took the flier from him and slowed to read it and he felt a surge of accomplishment. Another patron to visit the concert. Today would be an excellent day.

“She’s not answering her phone.” Roger’s voice caught Howie’s attention; he was passing within arm’s reach—and wasn’t wearing a Vote Early button. “Is that her on the stage? Maybe we can get close enough to shout—.”

“Dude!” Howie said, holding a flier out to him.

“Oh, Howie,” Roger said, dismissing the paper with one hand and closing his cell phone with the other. “Strange to see you here, did your class get cancelled?” He started to say something else, but then shrugged to himself. “You know, I have someone who wants to meet you. Are you busy?”

On autopilot, he almost started to tell Roger about how he needed to pass out a few more fliers for Emily, but then he noticed the small knot of people who stopped with him. The one that caught his attention looked like she’d just stepped out of his fantasy movie, wearing an outfit that stretched in all the right places, and showed off her extremely long legs. Her dark green hair, pulled up into a high pony-tail, flicked as she turned towards him and raised both eyebrows.

She didn’t have a button either, so he handed her a flier, when she took it he leaned close to Roger. “That’s the girl with green hair I saw wearing the swimsuit,” he said with an urgent hushed tone. “How’d you manage to score to hang with?”

Roger glanced at her for a moment, then over his shoulder at a small girl wearing a funky outfit before turning his attention back. “Come along with me and I’ll let you do all the talking,” he said.

Howie only had that one flier left anyway and the tall chick had it now. The spell broke. “Got room in your club for a chilly party-hound like myself?” He patted Andrew on the shoulder. “You can cover for me, can’t you dude? Sure you can. Thanks and keep up the good work.”

Andrew just gave him a “whatever” look and went back to pretending he didn’t notice.

“Elaine,” Roger said and stepped to the side. “I found Howie. Remember, I mentioned that he’d gotten into this stuff with Emily.”

Now that he got a better look at her, Howie could see a tiny girl with dark hair wearing cargo pants and what looked like a leather harness, like gun holsters with no guns—and atop her head a pair of goggles. Her face remained blank as only her gaze moved to scan him. He faintly recalled Roger mentioning a girl with goggles earlier in the week, this could be her. He felt a tease for his friend form in his mind, but found himself glued in place by the eerie way that she stared at him—like how someone might stare at a butterfly pinned to a backboard. That didn’t last, of course, because the green haired girl crinkled the flier he’d given her as she folded it in half and quirked a smile at him. Perhaps he’d ask for her number.

“Excellent,” she said into the phone,. “Roger has secured our apolitical specimen.”

Howie heard her, but didn’t register exactly what the petite girl said; he simply tried to smile confidently back at the hot girl with the green hair and nice bod.