The State of Us

by Shaun David Hutchinson

  “It was some profile they did on him,” Tamal said. “He had a lot to say about everything. He called McMann a dick, and said you’d be too scared to debate him.”

  My eyes must have been bulging out of my head because Tamal added, “I know, right? The balls on that kid thinking you’d be scared to go up against him.”

  “Are you serious?” Why hadn’t Dre told me anything about it? It didn’t seem like the kind of thing he would do, but maybe he’d had a reason for it. It would have been nice if he’d told me. Maybe that was what the message was in regards to. If I could only slip away to read it. Speaking of reading, while I was lost in thought, Tamal had been pulling up the article, which he began to read aloud.

  “Though Dre doesn’t have a background in debate, he showed no hesitation when asked if he would be willing to accept one of the many invitations he’s received to debate Dean Arnault at a local high school. His only fear seemed to be that Arnault wouldn’t attend, and when I asked him why, he responded that Dean would be ‘too scared of being shown up.’” Tamal glanced up from his phone. “You’re gonna debate him, right? He should do it, right?”

  When Mindy realized he was asking her, she said, “I honestly don’t care.”

  Now I had to read Dre’s messages.

  DreOfTheDead: where u at

  DreOfTheDead: need to talk to you

  PrezMamasBoy: Hi, Dre.

  PrezMamasBoy: I’m in the greenroom.

  DreOfTheDead: can you get away???

  DreOfTheDead: im in a supply closet next to the mens room

  I stood so abruptly that Tamal and Mindy both turned to stare at me. “Restroom.” I pressed my hand to my stomach. “We had tacos for dinner last night.”

  Mindy wrinkled her nose and looked away. Tamal said, “Didn’t need to know that.”

  I left before I could embarrass myself further. The problem with Dre’s directions was that the UNLV arena where the debate was being held was huge, and there were multiple men’s rooms. I checked two supply closets and still hadn’t found Dre, and I was getting frustrated. I turned the corner and ran straight into Jackson McMann.

  As a young man, he had been slightly awkward and long-limbed, but becoming a billionaire had changed him. He was now famous for his commitment to fitness and strength training. Running into him was like running into a wall.

  “Dean Arnault, right?” McMann had a soft New England accent that was difficult to place. It was noticeable but just barely.

  “Mr. McMann. I’m sorry. I was looking for the restroom.”

  McMann pointed over my shoulder. “Seems like it’s right behind you.”

  “Right,” I said. “I mean, I was looking, but I found it and I went. I feel much better.”

  There was something about McMann’s expression that made me think he knew I was lying. It was the smirk or the little crinkle around his eyes. I don’t know. Either way, it was unnerving.

  “You debate, isn’t that right, Dean?”

  “Yes, sir.” Just because I couldn’t stand McMann didn’t mean I couldn’t be polite.

  “This is my first, and I’m not ashamed to admit I’m nervous. Any tips for a newbie?”

  Jackson McMann was asking me for debate tips? Maybe if he’d been anyone else or if I hadn’t watched him give an interview where he had insinuated that my mother wasn’t a real soldier and had only been allowed to serve to fill a quota, I might have given him some actual advice. Being polite didn’t mean I had to be helpful.

  “There’s no shame in admitting you’re outclassed and conceding. Debate isn’t for everyone.”

  McMann let out a belly laugh that echoed down the hall. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “I should go.”

  McMann stepped aside so I could pass. As I was walking away, he said, “Say hi to Andre for me if you see him.”

  I didn’t know why he would have said that, but I put it out of my mind and focused on finding Dre. It took another couple of minutes, but I finally located the right closet. Dre was waiting for me surrounded by cleaning supplies and a mop bucket. The closet smelled like bleach, but I didn’t care. The second I shut the door, Dre grabbed my face and kissed me, and I sank into it without fear or shame or any thoughts at all other than that this was where I was meant to be.

  Dre

  I FELT LIKE I’d been drowning. Like I was a thousand feet below the surface with nothing but my last breath burning in my lungs, and I was going to die without ever tasting the sweet air again. And then I kissed Dean, and he breathed life back into me. I didn’t care that we were making out in a supply closet or that there was a dirty mop touching the back of my hand or that everything smelled like ammonia. I. Was. Kissing. Dean. The whole world could vanish so long as we two remained, and I would be happy.

  Dean’s hands rested on my hips. He rested his forehead against mine. “Hello to you too.”

  I laughed. “Sorry. I was kinda suffocating.”

  “Hyperbole? From you? I’m shocked.”

  “Are you, though?”

  “Not really.”

  “I did miss you.”

  Whatever Dean was gonna say, words seemed like a waste of time, so I pulled him into another kiss, letting go of my fear and anxiety. This was where I wanted to be. Here and nothing else.

  Dean finally pulled away, but he was still smiling. “I read your interview in Teen Vogue. You challenged me to a debate?”

  “My parents are gonna wonder where I am, and we don’t have time to talk about all the dumbass things I said during that interview, but if you find a way to say yes, it might mean we can see each other again.”

  Dean laughed and stroked my cheek with his thumb. “I’ll try. And I missed you too.” He might not have been the kind of person to dramatically and boldly declare his feelings for me through an impromptu song or interpretive dance, but his emotions were so plainly etched in his eyes that he might as well have been shouting them.

  My lips brushed the side of his cheek, and his eyelids fluttered. “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to message you, but my parents found out about Boston—”

  “What?!”

  “Not about you, just that I was there. And they took away my phone. I have it back now, but I’m also kind of grounded and I can’t stay because my parents are all over my ass right now, but I don’t want to leave you. I just want to stay here and kiss you until your lips fall off.”

  Dean looked like he was trying to process everything I’d told him but was having a tough time, and I couldn’t blame him. It was a lot. “I don’t want you to go either, but I understand.”

  I kissed him again. I held on to him like we were lost at sea, even though I knew one of us was going to have to let go. “Okay,” I said. “You go first and then I’ll wait and follow after.”

  “You’ve been gone longer,” Dean said. “So you should probably leave first.”

  “But I like the view when you leave.”

  “Dre!”

  “Fine,” I said. “I’ll go first.”

  I reached for the door, and Dean stopped me and said, “Dre, there’s something I have to tell you,” but my phone buzzed, cutting him off.

  “Shit. It’s my parents asking where I am. I have to run.” I kissed his cheek one last time and dashed out of the closet to get back to the greenroom before my parents sent Secret Service to find me.

  As I made my way back to the greenroom, navigating the hallways, I wondered what Dean had wanted to tell me. Probably that I was the best thing to happen to him in his whole life, and he was right about that. Or maybe he’d decided to come out to his mom, which might have made life easier but probably wouldn’t have. I didn’t like hiding, but I also wasn’t naive enough to believe his mom was gonna be happy her golden boy was dating a problem child. The press might get focused on me and Dean instead of on my dad’s immigration reforms or Governor Arnault’s views on abortion or Jackson McMann’s shitty views on everything and his lack of actual political experience. And rathe
r than voting for the person they thought would be the best president, people might cast their vote based on whether they thought me or Dean was cuter or whether they approved of us dating or some other nonsense.

  I must’ve gotten turned around because this was not where my greenroom was. I was texting my mom that I was kind of lost and trying to find the room and not to worry when I spotted a sign on the wall outside a door that read “McMann.” Curiosity got the better of me, and I crept to the door. His room was the same size as the one my dad had been given, but his looked like a secret hacker hideout. Every table had a laptop on it, it seemed, and there were people working, oblivious to me. No one was talking, no one was shouting into their phone the way Jose always was. It was a little freaky. I got out my phone to take a picture so I could show Dean. When I opened the camera, it was set for a selfie and I spotted McMann creeping behind me.

  I shut the camera app and turned around quick, trying to look more annoyed than surprised. I’d never met him in person before and he was a lot taller than I’d expected and, okay, decently attractive for an old dude. Objectively speaking. Not that I thought he was attractive. He was a little too Tech Billionaire Supervillain for my taste. Moving on. “Uh, can I help you?”

  “This is actually my greenroom.” McMann didn’t look startled at being caught. If I had to guess, he actually looked pleased. “You’re Andre Rosario, aren’t you? Or do you prefer Dre?”

  “I prefer old dudes to not sneak up on me, but Dre’s fine.”

  “Jack.” He held out his hand, and I let it hang there. “I liked your profile in Teen Vogue. You certainly have a lot to say.”

  Holly had included that I’d called McMann a dick. I’d expected my father to be more upset by that, but I think he would have actually laughed if he hadn’t still been pissed at me about Boston. Well, that was fine if McMann knew what I thought about him. It would certainly save me having to be polite. “Yup. Just not to you. See you around.”

  “If you see Dean, tell him his girlfriend is looking for him.”

  I froze midstride and turned back to McMann. “Dean doesn’t have a girlfriend.”

  McMann’s curious expression morphed into a smug, self-satisfied smile. “I suppose she didn’t explicitly say they were dating—however, he did bring her to the debate tonight, so certain assumptions could be made.”

  My brain was a shattered wreck, trying to piece together everything McMann was saying. It was like I’d been riding a roller coaster and the operator had slammed on the brakes while we were traveling at top speed. Was that what Dean had wanted to tell me? If Dean had a girlfriend, why the hell was he kissing me in the janitor’s closet?

  I did my best to recover, but all I could come up with was, “You really are a dick.” My voice dropped an octave and all the happiness I’d felt while holding Dean had vanished.

  But instead of looking offended, McMann’s seemed mostly amused. “Enjoy the debate tonight, Dre.”

  I should have walked away. I should have walked away the moment I saw him and not engaged him at all. But I didn’t because there was something about McMann that sparked an ugly, angry fire in me. The last time I’d felt that way was when Mel had found out this guy Karl she was with was dating two other girls in addition to her, and he’d tried to convince her it was her fault for not being enough to satisfy him, so I’d made up a fake set of test results showing he had super chlamydia and then left them all around school so that no girl would ever want to get with him again. He’d found me after school and given me a black eye, but it had been totally worth it.

  Mouthing off to McMann didn’t leave me with the same fuzzy feeling, but I couldn’t stop myself.

  “There’s no way you’re winning this election.”

  “There’s still a month between now and Election Day,” he said. “A lot of time for secrets to come out. Secrets that might tip the election one way or another.” McMann clapped me on the shoulder and smirked. His eyes were cold and blue and dead. “I’m willing to bet you have some secrets, don’t you?”

  McMann brushed past me, walked into his room, and shut the door.

  What had he meant about secrets, and why had he looked at me that way when he’d said it? There was no way he could’ve known about me and Dean. There wasn’t even much to know yet. All he could know was what everyone else knew unless he had tiny cameras mounted on tiny drones following us everywhere we went, and that was ridiculous. The stuff of bad movies. But still, there was something in the way he said it that worried me. And what had he meant about Dean having a girlfriend? McMann didn’t seem like the type of person who did anything without having a reason; I just couldn’t figure his reasons out.

  “Dre, there you are.” My mom came around the corner and waved for me to follow her. I wanted to find Dean and tell him about McMann. I wanted to know more about his supposed girlfriend, because, yeah, even though I trusted Dean and we had potentially bigger problems, I was still a little jealous. But it’s not like I could run from my mom. All I could do was wait and hope Dean and I could find a way to see each other after the debate.

  Dean

  THE NOTIFICATION COUNTER on my Promethean app was growing, and I couldn’t get away for five minutes to check the messages. I should have explained Mindy to Dre while we were in the closet, but I’d been so happy to see him and all I had wanted to do was kiss him that I’d let the opportunity slip away. And then I’d seen the jealous glint in his eyes when he’d spotted Mindy sitting beside me. Mindy might not have wanted any more to do with me than I did with her, but she had certainly played it up for the cameras. Or possibly just for her parents. Either way, I needed to explain the situation to Dre and reassure him that there was nothing going on.

  Doing so, however, would require finding a way to sneak out of my parents’ suite in the hotel.

  “It didn’t go very well, did it?” Mindy asked.

  “Not unless your name is Jackson McMann,” I said.

  The debate had been something of a disaster, and McMann had been the clear victor. Everyone who worked for my mother was doing damage control from the hotel where we’d gone after leaving the debate. Nora was juggling multiple phones, Mom’s communications director was working on a statement for her to release, Dad was fetching Mom tea and possibly something stronger if she needed it, and Mom was standing in the center of the storm, a little battered and bruised, but still in control.

  None of them were paying attention to Mindy, Tamal, or me, but they were my guests, so I couldn’t just leave them.

  “How was that even a debate?” Tamal asked.

  “It wasn’t.”

  Mindy snorted.

  “What?” I asked. “McMann didn’t answer the questions. At least, not the questions that were asked.”

  “Just because he didn’t perform the way you would have, doesn’t mean he didn’t crush it,” Mindy said.

  Tamal’s expression was somewhere between appalled and impressed. I didn’t think he liked Mindy, but he definitely respected her willingness to speak her mind. “You don’t actually like the guy, do you?”

  Mindy shrugged. “He’s a narcissist and possibly a sociopath, but at least he’s interesting. Besides, maybe it’s time we elect someone who doesn’t play by the rules.”

  Not only had McMann not played by the rules, but he had seemingly not even bothered to read them. He had laughed at them and set them on fire. “Okay,” I said. “I understand you might think it’s cool that he’s not like other politicians—”

  “Because he’s not one,” Mindy said.

  “Right. But have you actually listened to some of his quote, unquote, solutions?” I gave Mindy a chance to withdraw her support for McMann, but she said nothing. “School shootings,” I said. “Rosario would probably ban guns if he could, my mom has a detailed plan for better mental health training for school counselors, but McMann? He actually suggested letting the kids go Battle Royale on one another. How is that a solution?”

  Mindy was laughin
g, but I didn’t find it funny. “He wasn’t serious.”

  “Sounded serious to me,” Tamal said. He was only half paying attention as he traded messages with Astrid. I admit I was jealous that he could talk to her openly while I had to hide my conversations with Dre.

  “He wasn’t.”

  “Was he serious when he said the answer to climate change was to colonize the moon? Or when he said that maintaining our nuclear arsenal was a waste of money if we weren’t going to use it to eliminate the competition? How about when he said the answer to our failing infrastructure was to invest in prison labor and have them rebuild our bridges and roadways?”

  In the time allotted, McMann had made so many ludicrous statements that it had been difficult to remember them all. But Mindy didn’t seem bothered.

  “He’s pointing out how ridiculous and broken the current system is. He wouldn’t actually do any of those things.” Mindy seemed so certain, but I wasn’t.

  “Then why say them?”

  Mindy rolled her eyes. “Because they’re ridiculous. Because they make people underestimate him.” She paused a moment. “Your mom and Rosario spent the entire debate ignoring McMann and tearing into each other over the same tired solutions everyone’s heard before. Then McMann comes in and maybe his solution is totally bananas, but it’s different, and maybe different is what people are hungry for.”

  I threw up my hands. “Sure, why not just burn everything down. That’s different too.”

  Mindy nodded, smiling. “Now you get it.”

  Except I didn’t get anything. McMann hadn’t offered a single solution that a rational person should have thought was reasonable, but I also couldn’t deny that he had beaten Rosario and my mother, though only because their own messages had been lost in the chaos.

  “The two-party system is trash,” Mindy said. “And America is a failed experiment. McMann was the only person on that stage tonight who didn’t pretend otherwise. I think he’s basically one rung above three rabid raccoons standing on each other’s shoulders wearing a trench coat, but if he’s willing to tear everything down, then he’s got my hypothetical but useless vote.”