AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Hello! If you're reading this, there's a strong possibility that you're coming here from one of my other works: Welcome to World Academy. Thank you for stopping by, I hope you like this!
First, let me clear something up: I will not express any political opinions here. Inspiration to write this struck me during History class today, so I decided, why not?
Anyway, enjoy the story! Remember to stay safe and healthy! If you'd like me to continue this, drop a message in my inbox. I'd be happy to do it if people like it :)
Alfred felt as though he had been staring at the TV screen for days. The bright letters and numbers and colours managed to burn their way right into his skull. A half-empty can of soda sat in his left hand, with its contents having lost its fizz hours ago. His phone was clutched in his right hand, seemingly glued onto the skin of his palm.
This was a choice. "YouChoose2020" is what it was dubbed. It was a choice, alright. A choice for America to make.
But he was America. A human personification of America, to be more specific. Every country on the planet had one. England had Arthur, Canada had Matthew, France had Francis.
And America had him. Alfred F. Jones. The hero.
But nobody knew. Nobody except for those within the proper government rankings to be allowed such classified information as the existence of these nation-people.
Things have been especially hard on all of them. The pandemic had reportedly started in Wuhan at the end of December in 2019. Alfred (along with Feliciano, Francis, Matthew, Antonio, and Gilbert) had thrown a huge New Year's Celebration in New York City. It was one of the most exciting nights of the year, alive with anticipation of the year to come. 2020, the new decade.
And with a new decade came new problems. Alfred should have known there was something off when Yao refused to attend the party.
Now, about eleven months later. The virus had spread, marking a global pandemic. The Italies had taken a massive hit from it at the beginning, but the new lifestyle took a little more getting used to as it appeared.
The U.S. had the most number of reported cases so far, followed by India, Brazil, and Russia. Alfred was devastated. How could he allow things to get so bad? The citizens—his citizens were suffering. Dying. All because he couldn't be more careful. While the immortal personifications themselves were at no risk to the disease, their people were. And if their people were hurting, they were hurting too.
Leadership was necessary. Good leadership.
And it all came down to this.
The United States Presidential Election, 2020. The two competitors leaning on either side of the political spectrum had a very fiery debate in September. It was almost like watching a reality TV show, except there was so much more at stake.
Whoever got elected into office would influence the well-being of America's citizens, whether it be for the worse or the better.
Currently, Alfred was watching a news station describe the current status of the election.
"As you can see, we've got a spread of blue in the New England area. Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, and New Jersey are all confirmed wins for Biden," said the news anchor, a middle-aged woman wearing a navy blue dress and bright red lipstick. "However, if you look at Pennsylvania, it's too early to call definite results, but we have a lead for Trump."
Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, and Nevada were all swing states in this election. People were placing most of their attention to Nevada, which was leaning blue.
"And regarding the senate, so far, the seats are—"
The lady was cut off, and the screen went black.
Alfred whipped his head around. Standing behind the couch was a mirror image of him—well, almost.
"Al, you're getting way too stressed out over this," Matthew commented, sitting down next to his brother.
Alfred pouted. "Of course I am! This is the fate of my people, Matt! My country! What's gonna happen for the next four years… it depends on this!" He gestured to the TV screen, only to realize that it had since been switched off and then pulled away.
"Remember the reason you came here in the first place?"
He has a point.
Shortly after placing his own vote, Alfred had hopped the American-Canadian border to stay at Matthew's place in Ottawa. The stress of being in the capital during the election period was crushing, so the decision was made for the sake of his own mental health. A decision that he was now beginning to doubt
"Yeah… I guess," was all Alfred could really think to say.
Matthew nodded sympathetically. The administration between 2016 and 2020 hadn't been very well-received by the majority of Americans. Patriotism was growing less rare, even on 4th of July.
Now, people wanted change. But would it happen?
They were yet to find out.
"Did you call Arthur? He rang about half an hour ago. Said he wanted to talk," Matthew said.
Alfred shook his head. "Not yet. Matt, I dunno if I'm really up for a conversation right now." He offered a weak laugh to hide his anxiety. "Knowing that old man, he'd probably just lecture me about how irresponsible I'm being by leaving D.C." He placed three fingers on top of each eyebrow, mimicking the Englishman's bushy ones. "You twat! I thought I raised you better than this! You're the United bloody States of America, and you're taking a vacation during one of the most important times of the year?!"
Matthew began to laugh uncontrollably at Alfred's imitation of Arthur's British accent, as well as his impression which was surprisingly convincing. "Like father like son, I guess."
Alfred crossed his arms over his chest, feigning offense. "I'm nothing like him! For starters, I'm not a bitter limey who has a stick up his ass 24-7."
Matthew's giggles slowed until they came to a complete stop. "You can say that again."
Alfred opened his mouth to say something else (which was guaranteed to be another offensive remark about Arthur) but was interrupted by the noisy ringing of Matthew's cellphone.
"Alo?" Matthew waited for a few seconds, and then received a response from the other end of the line. "Ah—Salut, papa! ...vraiment? Oui, mais... Okay." He put the phone on speaker mode and placed it between himself and Alfred. "Francis wants to speak to you."
Alfred couldn't help but get a little suspicious. What exactly did Francis want to speak to him about? A new international location for a lingerie company in New York?
"Hey, dude!"
"Bonjour! Alors, how are you holding up right now?"
Alfred thought for a moment. How was he holding up? It's not like he could just stroll down the hall to ask the president for a comprehensive economic report. Not that he needed one. It was pretty clear to see that nobody's economy was striving at the moment.
"Alright, I guess."
Francis sounded taken aback, gasping theatrically. "Alright?! Where is your enthusiasm today, Amerique?" Alfred imagined if they were talking face-to-face, Francis would be striking a dramatic, woeful, pose, one typically reserved for soap opera actresses. "But I'm under the impression that you have escaped to Canada for the time being, non?"
"I didn't escape! I just needed to get away from all the tension. Besides, the area white house is swarming with press right now. Couldn't risk being discovered!"
Social distancing be damned, the journalists and reporters were all fighting tooth and nail for exclusive interviews from the capital. Alfred wanted to be as far away from it all as possible.
"Je sais. Matthieu told me that Angleterre has been trying to get in contact, too."
"Mhmm."
"Did you pick up?"
"Nope. Didn't feel like it."
Alfred felt a bittersweet tingle down his spine. He missed Arthur. They hadn't seen each other since around February or so. Overseas travel was becoming increasingly harder as the pandemic continued rising. Suddenly, his excuse of "I didn't feel like it" felt flimsy and weak.
"Allez! I'm sure Angleterre is desperately wanting to speak with you, right now. After all, it's not like he has many other friends to talk to."
Classic Francis. He and Arthur had a love-hate relationship, with Arthur providing most of the hate. Even if they were just bickering, the two spent a lot of time with each other. At least, they were friends, no matter how much they denied it. One could argue that there was something else between them, but that was still a disputed topic.
"Yeah. I guess so."
"See! I just solved another one of the world's problems. Big brother France is always ready to help! Ohonhon~"
Alfred cut off Francis by hanging up.
Matthew gave him an odd look.
"What?"
"Are you actually going to talk to him?"
"No."
Yes. Yes, I am.
Alfred got up from the couch for the first time that evening and left to his room. Once the door was shut, he scrolled through his contacts to find one.
The phone rang once. Twice. Thrice. Finally, a voice could be heard from the other end.
"America?"
"It's me. But… today, I'm not America." He thought about the election that was still going on, as well as the thousands of other problems piling up on the world. "I'm just Alfred."
Arthur chuckled. "Alright, then, just Alfred. Why were you being such an arse and not picking up the phone, hm?"
"I.. don't know. I was just distracted," Alfred admitted.
"By the election?"
"By the election."
"Well… the choice is in America's hands. Whatever happens, happens."
"Yeah. It's… it's a choice to make."
