Revamped!

[Okay, so, I recently finished reading Wires and Nerve Volume II and my Wolflet feels just skyrocketed to the stars. Ugh, they make me so happy.]

Act of Kai-ndness: Part Five

"We shouldn't have walked home from school," Wolf states.

"No," Scarlet interjects, "we shouldn't have taken that short cut. Walking home was fine if we went a different way."

Scarlet, Wolf, Winter, and Cress were on their way home from school. They decided to take a walk and enjoy the nice breeze Commonwealth had to offer on this fine day. It was peaceful for the start. Then, they collectively agreed to take a short cut. The alleyway and its associated stereotypes should've alerted some red flags but they walked through anyways. The growing noise was nothing to them because they thought it was traffic within regular city sounds, but when they all saw the cacophony that was before them, they held hands in fear because they didn't want to separate. The vibe they got from the chaos is that once someone was lost, they would be gone forever.

It was an election rally for Torin's opposition. It was loud and chaotic. People were marching and screaming everywhere, painting their faces and hoisting up signs and each other. There was music blasting so loud that their eardrums were about to burst. Their teeth were already chattering and their skins were all trying to crawl away from this setting.

If a college fraternity party was a cult running an election for a new leader, this would be it.

"I'm scared," Cress whispers. Even if she said that at a normal talking voice, nobody would hear her. Her friends end up reading her lips to see what she said.

"We got this," Winter says, "just blend in."

Like a brigade, the four of them make their way through the crowds because their destination was on the other side and hopefully still there despite this mess. After a lot of pushing and shoving, being in the background of ridiculous selfies, and being yelled and cursed at, they just make it out alive. They're panting, relieved that they can finally breathe again. They almost lost Cress in there but thank the stars they still have her alive.

And they didn't expect to be covered in stickers, paint, beer, and other various propaganda items when they reached the other side. Immediately, they try to remove what they can from their bodies because they weren't in support of this at all.

There were many reasons why they were on Torin's side and it wasn't only because he's running on behalf of Kai's father. There was the promise of a continued increase in the minimum wage, a decrease in post-secondary costs, stricter driving-under-influence rules, and most importantly, no chaos like that. He ran a calm campaign and if Mayor Rikan can do that for decades and win every time, Torin should be fine (even if the fluctuating numbers say differently).

That experience solidified their voting choice isn't them… if they could vote.

"I don't know where this came from," Cress says, holding up a pin from the opposition in her hands. She's shaking, still traumatized from the battlefield she came out of.

"I'll get rid of that," Wolf says. He clamps his hand on top of Cress' and the sharp part of the pin pokes him. Wolf jumps back and curses as he holds his poor hand. "And to think he'll screw with my health care. Well, screw him."

Winter takes the pin and clips it to some random person's backpack as they pass. At least that was now out of their sights, but some stickers, paint, and beer were still present on their bodies.

"You can all vote, right?" Winter questions. "Cinder and I aren't citizens."

"I'm old enough and technically here on a study visa so I can," Scarlet states. "Kai and Thorne are birth citizens who are old enough."

"I can vote," Cress says with a hint of patriotism in her voice.

Wolf scoffs. "If only I was born a month earlier."

-o-

Cinder walks into the dining room with a bowl of cereal in her hands. She doesn't care about the time because although it's almost the evening, it could still be a cereal time. She could have cereal for dinner and nobody will care. However, when she enters the dining room, she sees that Levana has her paperwork all over the table. Clearly, her desk didn't have enough surface area for her to work.

"So…" Cinder says as she takes a seat in a vacant chair. "How's it going?"

"Torin and I are trying to think of a convincing strike to give us that edge," Levana responds.

Cinder nods. "Good luck with that."

Levana narrows her eyes at her. "So much for being Channary's offspring."

Cinder rolls her eyes. "But hear me out, why are you losing if your platform is finishing off what Kai's father wanted? I mean, if Commonwealth loved him so much, wouldn't they want that?"

"They want Mayor Rikan. I mean, look at us, we're still calling him the mayor."

Cinder nods as she takes another bite of her cereal. She still has her mouth full when she continues talking. "If you and Torin lose the election, you'll still work in the office as whatever positions you were before. So, what's the point of all this?"

Levana sighs frustratedly as she looks at Cinder. "You don't understand how politics work, do you?"

"You worked at a federal dictatorship. This is a municipal democracy. And even then, I have no idea."

"It's all the same but on a different scale." Levana steps back from her paperwork and circles around the table to get closer to Cinder. "Let's do a hypothetical case study - Torin and I lose the election and the opposition wins. Yes, we will still have power but not to the same extent. Nothing we want will go through. Nothing that Mayor Rikan would've wanted would go through. Cinder, I know that your only real exposure to politics was what you heard from your mother and now it's not like that. The mess your mother made is still present in Luna and who knows how long it'll take to clean that up. Think about the consequences if that were to happen in Commonwealth."

"But the people won't let that happen even if they voted the other guy in."

"That won't matter because they have no power. Cinder, your generation is the majority. That is, those of you who can vote."

Cinder scoffs. "Populations are stupid."

Levana shrugs a little. "Their mayor is gone and they're lost and confused. Most times, when a city is in chaos, they elect the wrong people because they want someone to save them. People innately want to be led."

"That is how dictatorships are formed."

Levana beams. "You're truly Channary's daughter."

Cinder rolls her eyes again. She and Levana turn around to see Winter coming home, covered in propaganda and whatnot. None of the women in the room look pleased, especially Levana.

"Why do you look so hideous?" Is all Levana could ask.

Winter takes a seat beside Cinder at the table. "My friends and I were trying to take a shortcut home and there was an unexpected rally happening. It was like a cult recruiting ignorant and impressionable minds."

Levana cringes before she shakes her head disgracefully. "Politics is supposed to be a sophisticated democratic sport, not a barbaric tyranny."

Winter shrugs as she leans back in her seat. "People don't hide things that don't matter to them and these people care a whole lot about being seen. How's campaigning going for you?"

Levana takes a quick glance at her papers. "The numbers keep bouncing back and forth. One moment, we're leading and the next we're not. We need some leverage to give us even the slightest win."

"Well, we're the majority. I saw that at the rally. We want excitement."

Levana doesn't look the least bit convinced. "You want pop-sockets and selfie backgrounds."

Winter nods. "More or less."

"We'll need more substantial leverage than that. So, Winter, what do you suggest?"

"No offence to you or Torin, but we don't want a boring adult telling us their rules. We need someone who we can relate to."

Levana nods, seeing where Winter is going with this. "You're saying we need Kai on board."

Winter grins a little. "I was trying not to but thanks for saying it for me."

Cinder moves some of Levana's papers before setting her bowl down on the table. She sits up and clears her throat. "Whoa, whoa, whoa … hold on a second. Kai won't be able to stand up straight and give some words of wisdom. You may think we young people are all the same with our headphones in all the time so we're not aware of what's happening and that's only partially true. So let's say Kai gets involved. Sure, it looks great on Torin's end. He'll have a gen z-er who so happens to be the late Mayor Rikan's son. Amazing. But not only would Kai get roasted alive by the opposition but because it's already so late into the municipal election, Torin and Levana will look desperate. They'll look like they're exploiting a grieving kid to gain power."

Winter sits up and turns to face Cinder. "Anyone who attacks a grieving kid who decided to overcome his intense sorrow to help his father's city stay in its current state will look like a real jerk. At the end of the day, anyone who comes after Kai will look bad. He's already being hunted by the press so he might as well come out already and say something so they'll at least leave him alone."

"Kai will to say no."

"Kai may need some leverage of his own before could say yes and help."

Cinder sighs, a little irritated with this conversation. "Winter, I get that you're playing devil's advocate - or better yet, Levana's advocate - but I'm not manipulating Kai into being a part of the election. He's already in it enough and it's not by choice. Either way, he loses."

"What matters is how much he wants to lose."

Cinder stares at Winter with nothing more to say. Winter nods, resting her case but not feeling content with her arguments. They may have been valid but she was only playing the role of the opposition. They didn't necessarily match up with her values.

Levana alternates her view between the two girls, thinking over both of their reasonings. "Two sides of a political spectrum presented without any preparation. This is the sophisticated democracy I was referring to. My, my, I'm finally proud of my Blackburn girls."

[When did this story become political and why do I like it so much? I mean, I think I started planning this arc when my provincial elections were happening and, as I'm typing this, my university is having elections so I guess it's all relevant (at least, in my life now).] [2020: Now the States are preparing for Election Day. What a time.]