Chapter 12: Face Off
When I was in high school back in Port Angeles, I had a debate to make in class. My teacher, Mr. Marco, had thought of a subject that was one of my favorite things: Star Wars. He wanted the two halves of the class to discuss which side had better people on it: the Jedi, or the Sith. I was on the Dark side, but my opponent, Mack, tricked me into saying the Jedi were better, right in the middle of the debates. From then on, whenever I was stuck in fights, I would always stay vigilant to what I said, and I never trusted anyone on the other side to do the actions associated with morality. That's why I never trusted the people that wanted to save the Arcadian to do the moral actions, especially Zoey Pierson. I only expected them to save that crappy building by any means necessary.
One night, I was refilling the taps under the bar, when a customer leaned over the bar, asking for 2 beers.
"Got it." I replied. As soon as the tap was filled up, I poured two pints. Then I looked up at who ordered them, and I became a lot less friendly.
"Well, well." I sneered. "Zoey Pierson. You got some nerve showing up here."
"Do I know you?" She asked.
"No. But I know you. You ruined me and my best friend's crossword day. And I have a message for you: scrap the protesting for the Arcadian. It's lived it's life far too long."
Zoey scowled at me. "So you're supporting GNB? You a fat cat corporate asshole?"
"Do I look like I am?! I wear a black T-Shirt to work! I'm supporting Ted Mosby. He's my friend, and I'm one supporter that doesn't apply to your 'anti-fat cat' protesting: I work in a bar instead of an office."
"And yet you support the evil Fortune 500 company trying to destroy a priceless monument to-"
"Whoa, ho, ho! Lemme stop you right there, princess. The Empire State Building is a priceless monument. The Statue of Liberty is a priceless monument. The Arcadian is a run down, boarded-up former hotel, infested with rats and hobos. I think I know what it really is, and the word that comes to mind is not 'monument'"
Zoey grabbed the pints from the counter. "This is not over, jackass."
"You're on." I replied. Zoey stalked over to the booth, where Ted was sitting.
Zoey was right. This wasn't over; it was only just beginning.
"Wow." Said Juno, the next day. I had just summarized what had happened with me and Zoey. "What a bitch!"
"What's with you?" I replied, a bit surprised.
"What do you mean?"
"You're all of the sudden siding with me in this fight. I thought you didn't give a shit."
"Relax, Ollie. We're gonna take down Zoey Pierson in the most evil way possible." She gave me a certain grin I was regretting to see again.
Whenever Juno started acting like this, all hell would break loose. She once freaked out on me because I accidentally broke one of the strings on her bass. I then regretted it immediately when she tied me up, and made me watch while she ripped up a few of my older Green Arrow comics.
"Juno, listen. This is a bad idea for you to get involved. You don't know what kind of collateral damage you could cause if you got involved." Juno scowled while I continued. "When you get a crazy idea like this, complete pandemonium ensues. How about you give me ideas, and I'll do them. At least if I do it they'll have a bit focus."
"Hey! I have plenty of foc-hey! A new Fender bass is coming out!" She had just seen an ad flash on her Facebook.
I put my face in my hands, groaning. "My point exactly."
"Listen, Ollie. You may be right in some sense. You said it yourself that GNB's new builders are only doing their jobs. This Pierson can't be allowed to stop it. I'll come up with some ideas to give her a taste of her medicine, and you 'give her the dose', if you catch my drift."
I sniggered. "This is why we're friends, J: We make a great team. I can't believe that we're actually helping evil corporate America fight the protestors." I said in a false tone of seriousness.