(A dream. A parable)
They are all light skinned blacks in America. They hold each other in social contempt. All they care about is power over each other.
Two of them are behind the counter at the fast food restaurant. I watch. He is trying to be reasonable, correcting her behavior. She shows him the hand, turns her back, curls in her hair swinging, in her tight fitting brown uniform. She doesn’t even speak, and walks off the job. I watch. I was about to get my order taken. I was hungry.
He follows her through the dining room.. He faces a large man with freckles and stubble, short hair and dark eyes who stands up. The man leans over like an ape, his large fists on the table. It’s his Cadillac parked outside.
He tries to explain to the large man that she was being unreasonable, I stand with him. She was unreasonable, and I am hungry. The large man is not impressed; he leans into our faces and tells us to fuck off. We press. He gestures to an even larger man standing behind us at the door, as the girl goes out.
I don’t respect the large man. I want to push as far as I can without a fight. But it’s too late. His associate attacks me with a staple gun. He staples my fingers on top of each other into random knots, but none of this dissuades me until he aims at my face. Now my lips are stapled together and I retreat to a quiet corner and untangle myself.
The girl is gone. I am not hungry any longer. It could have been my eyes.
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