The Odd Couple 2:

Election Rivals

Maddie Fitzpatrick stomped the corridors of city hall until she reached an unfamiliar door. Normally she avoided going to this part of the building because she tried to avoid unpleasantness as much as possible. She preferred to leave those moments at the conference room during the regular councilors meetings. But not today. Oh no, she was too mad and someone had to answer for it.

She paused by door and glared at the nameplate:

Trevor Gregory Morgan

City Councilor

It was made of plastic.

Hmmph… it figures. He doesn't even use recyclable materials. Her own nameplate was made of recycled paper and decorated with preserved flowers. It just goes well with her principles.

She pushed open the door and found the office just as she expected. Papers everywhere: stacks and stacks of it in neat folders on top of shelves. All of them are probably made of virgin pulp. This room practically contains an acre of forest.

It was a small room but it was crowded by his staff who were too busy talking noisily around his desk. None of them appeared to notice her. Her eyes fell on the trashcan half-full of balled up paper that didn't appear to have been used at all. And that was a poor tree just thrown in the trashcan, she thought angrily and it made her shout louder than she intended:

"Morgan!"

The room was suddenly silent and six different heads turned to her. Their eyes immediately widened in horror and they stepped aside to offer her a clear view of him. He looked at her in surprise before he raised an eyebrow at her in annoyance.

"What is it Fitzpatrick?" he spat. "What are you doing here?"

Maddie marched forward and as she did, his staff filed away hurriedly to the door, leaving them alone. Maddie couldn't blame them. The two of them together had a reputation for having the most horrific arguments. His staff was probably too scared to witness the blood when it spilled.

If it wasn't a human rights violation to decapitate your co-councilor, Maddie would have spilled his blood on the walls of his office a long time ago. After that she would wipe out the stains using his barely used virgin-pulp paper. That would teach him and his staff to recycle. As it was, the only thing she could do was scream at him from across the table.

"The ordinance on the small parks preservation!" she shouted. "How dare you file a bill for amendment!"

He smirked at her and lay back in his seat. "There are several foreign investors willing to develop idle lands of the city into commercial areas. They can bring good revenue to the city. That ordinance is in the way," he replied nonchalantly.

"That ordinance is preserving the small parks in Boston! Parks where little children can play in! You're taking away people's places to enjoy themselves."

"What are you worried about?" he retorted. "When the developers come in they can build a mall, where those same children can hang out. And we raise revenues and generate more jobs at the same time. It's a win-win situation."

"Oh yes, a concrete park," she said sarcastically. "That's your ideal hangout place for kids, isn't it? Where kids can enjoy plastic little tyke toys in an enclosed mall lobby made of steel and glass. There they could breathe the artificial oxygen from air conditioning because there are no more trees that produce them naturally!"

Trevor crossed his arms. "Look if it's nature you're worried about, there is such a thing as indoor landscaping. A lot of malls will still have plants inside."

"Oh yeah the artificial palms that probably don't even get any real sun and are loaded with fertilizers. What a way to teach kids to appreciate natural environment!"

Trevor finally got up to his seat and glared at her from across his table. "Look, why are you pestering me about this? I just filed the bill. That's my job as councilor in this city. You're one too. So vote against it in the first reading next week if you don't like it. Besides I'm not the only councilor here. There are five others, go lobby to them if you want."

Maddie glared back at him. "You very well know three of them are idiots that come from your political party. They only vote according to how you vote, those suck-ups!"

Trevor smirked at her. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear how you just insulted our co-councilors because I know you're bitter that I have the majority vote in this council."

"You won't for long," she challenged. "You know elections are coming up. After next week, session will end. I'm going to derail that bill of yours until the next assembly council when my party-mates can win new seats. After that, let's see how you'd fare then."

But Trevor didn't look fazed. "I know you would do that. But I'm afraid you won't be sparring with me in council anymore by the next term. You see, I'll be too busy vetoing your approved bills and making executive orders… from the mayor's office."

"What?!" Maddie exclaimed, confused.

Trevor grinned evilly. "Oh haven't you heard? I just filed my candidacy. I'm running for mayor next term."

"But you still have a term as councilor."

He shook his head. "I'm not finishing it. I'm moving up to better things. I like to fast-track my career."

Maddy raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot… mayor, governor, senator, president and then talk show host. Wow, I didn't realize you can't wait to replace Oprah so soon. But don't set your hopes on getting a slot on the NBC just yet. By that time you might not have an audience anymore because you would probably nuke the country when you become president. That is, if you even get there."

"Oh I will get there," he said confidently. "And I still don't need your vote to do it. You can always write 'abstain' on the ballot. Because guess what? I have no contender."

"What do you mean no contender? Mayor McGuire is running for re-election."

Trevor shook his head again. "Nope. He's retiring. He says its family reasons. But I got the inside scoop. He has prostate cancer, stage three. He just wants to take it easy and spend as much time as he can as a private citizen."

Maddie's mouth hung open and felt an overwhelming sadness. The current mayor was a decent man. He didn't always see eye to eye with her but he did support several of her causes and he made some difference for the city during his term. Everyone expected him to win hands-down if he ever ran for a second term. It wasn't as if anyone was popular enough to run against him.

Of course Trevor Morgan was a different story. He was a top-notch lawyer before he ran for public office. And even before that he was a popular young civic leader as early as his pre-law days. Maddie knew because she read about him often in the local papers. And he was in them almost as often as she was.

Maddie would never admit it to him, but ever since that disastrous day at the art gallery when she was 16, she couldn't help but be interested in whatever news about him came her way. After they shared that passionate kiss, they walked away from each other without another word. (In Maddie's case, she ran and left London there. She was just too confused and too scared to be near him because she couldn't trust herself). They never saw each other again until years later though she read every single article that was ever written about him.

Their first meeting in a long time surprisingly was again at the Tipton, during the oath-taking for the bar-examination passers. Trevor topped the bar exam and Maddie tied with him. She remembered stiffly shaking his hand while desperately trying to appear calm when she felt a sudden surge of electricity go through her at his touch. He didn't smile, only nodded at her so she returned his coldness with her own.

That was the re-start of their feud. They met in court often enough. He served in a law firm whose biggest clients included oil companies and real estate developers. She, on the other hand, worked to defend the environmental cause-oriented groups. He had his victories, she had hers and if she kept count (which she did) they were just even.

Last election, they both ran for city councilor and won with almost equal votes (Trevor got more by less than fifty but Maddie chalked it up as product of political machinery). Now Maddie realized that same political machinery can certainly put Trevor into the mayor's position if he ever ran. And then what would happen to all her causes? Even if she can make pro-environmental bills left and right, Trevor would be vetoing them all. Plus, he gets executive powers to start developmental projects. She couldn't let that happen!

"You won't win!" she cried.

He gave a tiny laugh that twinkled his blue eyes. "But I can't lose. No one's running against me. And besides who would even dare? You?"

The moment he said the last word, his face fell. Maddie knew he suddenly realized he said the wrong thing. At the same time she thought for the first time that he was absolutely right. Her lips widened in a grin.

"Y-you're not thinking of running…" he began. "I mean, come on, you still have a term as councilor…" he stammered. Maddie felt triumphant. So he was scared of her, was he? Her grin grew even wider.

"I wasn't actually thinking of it," she said. "But now that you suggested it, I think it's a brilliant idea."

She turned her back to him and marched to the door. But he suddenly felt him grasp her arm. For a moment she froze. It was the first time he ever touched her since that cold handshake they had at the Tipton during the oath-taking. She met his gaze and was sudden lost in the sea of blue in his eyes. He stared back at her before his gaze moved down to her lips. But then he let her arm go and stepped back.

"You can't run," he said. His air of aloofness was back and Maddie shook herself from the spell she was in.

"Why? Afraid you're going to lose to me?" she said haughtily.

"Of course not," he retorted in his usual confident air. "I can win against you hands down."

"We shall see," Maddie replied before she opened the door and walked out. But when the door closed behind her, Maddie realized she was walking faster and faster. By the time she rounded the corridor she was on a full run towards the exits of the building, so much like how she ran out of that art gallery years ago.

A/N: This is just something that came to me one night after re-watching the Suite Life Odd Couple episode. I wrote it in one sitting out of an idea for a sequel to the episode. Tell me what you think of it.