The Bathwater Brigade by Jefferson J Shupe

Author:Jefferson J Shupe [Shupe, Jefferson J]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781736012109
Publisher: Jefferson Shupe

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Danica left and the group set up for the day’s discussion.

“I still can’t believe it,” Mari said. She leaned forward in her chair and gazed at the whiteboard.

“Maybe someone here wrote it as a joke,” Jace said.

“No. T.J. was the last one out last week, and the first one in today. He’s the only one of us with a key.”

“Oh. What’s the worst that could happen, we find a new place to meet?”

“We’re pretty much out of options.” She glanced around the room and sighed. “The Bathwater Brigade has been going for over forty years. Look at all those photos. That’s Danica’s mom over there. Twenty-five years ago. I wish you could have met last year’s Bathwater seniors.” She shook her head. “We won’t let the flame die on our watch. The thing that’s confusing is why there isn’t a crowd of Zero Supremacists here right now. They’ve been hunting us.”

“It could get scary if there were a bunch of them in the stairwell,” Jace said. “The only exit.”

“They haven’t gotten very violent with us directly. But you’re right. We couldn’t even call 911 from down here.”

“So how do they know T.J.?”

“He used to be one of them. When he was a freshman.”

Jace stared at her. “Whoa.”

“It’s a cool story, actually.” Her eyes lit up. “He was on his way to a protest about climate change, got a flat tire, and realized he didn’t have a car jack. Another student, who happened to be a Brigade member, stopped to help. They got talking. T.J. liked how the other guy listened, and was super friendly. He told T.J. they’d had a meeting that touched on the same topic as the protest just two weeks before, and that he should look it up on the website. He came to a few meetings, and he was hooked! He eventually brought Amber along, too.”

“I would never have guessed he used to be a Zero.”

“Want to hear something crazy? He still believes a lot of the same things that the Zeroes do.”

Jace chuckled. “What? How is that possible?”

“I know. The main thing he changed was his tactics. He saw the value in listening, thinking, and talking in the ways that Bathwater teaches. For two years he’s been one of our biggest supporters. I mean, obviously. He’s the president.”

“Hm. Well, I hope nothing else happens with the Zeroes. I’ll do what I can.”

Mari frowned. “What do you mean? What could you do?”

Jace held up his hands and cleared his throat. “I don’t know. If I see something that I can do, sometime, then I’ll try to do it. I guess.”

She eyed him curiously. “Thanks for that.”

T.J. started the Bathwater discussion. Health care. Specifically, about government getting more involved with it.

Mari and a visiting Bathwater member named Hunter took the two seats at the front. Hunter wore cowboy boots and had thick brown hair, the shape of which indicated the recent removal of his hat. He spoke slowly, with a native Texas drawl.

“All right. What’s the bathwater being thrown out when we involve more government?” asked T.

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