Off Message by A C Fuller

Author:A C Fuller [Fuller, A C]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Vivid Books
Published: 2018-03-07T06:00:00+00:00

After an hour of dancing and two white wine spritzers, I need a break. I spot Steph chatting with a guy across the room, and I don't want to interrupt, so I head back to the table and order another spritzer.

Last I saw him ten minutes ago, Peter had been dragged into the center of an impromptu, low-energy mosh pit after Malcolm put on Metallica's "Enter Sandman" mixed over a high-speed nineties hip-hop beat. I look out at the dance floor, but I can't see Peter.

I can see Malcolm, however, who's staring at me between changes on his turntables. Once, he seems to nod me over. But he's busy mixing the rock hits of the early nineties with booty-shaking beats, so I must have misinterpreted the gesture. As I ponder this, my phone chirps in my purse. A text from Malcolm.

He's got his phone in one hand, and I figure he tapped out the message between changes.

Malcolm: When Steph texted me the other day, did you ask her to?

Not what I expected.

Me: No. Sorta. I told her about the argument and then she texted.

He doesn't reply right away, and I see him changing a record and fiddling with a silver laptop. The music changes again, this time to a slow song with a distorted guitar opening. Bush's "Glycerine." The mood on the dance floor changes, too. Some people begin slow dancing, others just sort of rock back and forth on their own. I look for Peter, but can't find him, even as the mosh pit disperses.

Malcolm: You didn't hear anything more than what she said?

Me: No.

Malcolm: I want to tell you what the fight was about but it's kinda private.

Me: That's fine. It's no biggie.

I stare at my phone, where the three dots indicate he's typing a response. It sucks to know your friend is about get fired and not be able to tell him, but I promised Peter I wouldn't say anything.

As I wait for the incoming message, my phone rings and Gretchen Esposito's name appears on my caller ID.

"Hold on," I say as I answer, weaving my way through the crowd. I step into a hallway and the music fades behind the closing door. "What's up?"

"Did you see the piece?" The connection is choppy, Gretchen's voice hard to make out.

"What piece?"

"About the lawsuits. Check the homepage of the Times, then call me back."

Five seconds later I'm on the homepage of the New York Times. The headline jumps out at me.

Lawsuits Against Ameritocracy Dropped. "Mistakes" Cited.

Without reading it, I run into the hall to find Steph bumping and grinding on Benjamin. "I need her," I say, dragging Steph into the hallway.

"What's the four-one-one?"

I hold up my phone, and we read the piece together.

Lawsuits Against Ameritocracy Dropped. "Mistakes" Cited.

By Gretchen Esposito

Over a dozen lawsuits filed last week against the online political competition Ameritocracy have been withdrawn. The lawsuits took aim at the website for a host of alleged violations of election and campaign-finance laws, and caused a public uproar among Ameritocracy supporters, including founder Mia Rhodes and Executive Director Stephanie Blackmon.

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