How I Became Emperor Ch. 04: Saturday

Saturday

No politician is a singular entity. By nature they need to be creatures of society, whether it be to appear popular, or it be to make sure sufficient funding is presented. But at the same time, no-one ever really gets to know a politician but their closest confidants, their inner team. The public persona, or even the private person you might meet at a closed-door fundraiser, these are not the person themselves. Only those whom the politician trusts implicitly will ever get to see the mask-less identity.

A good politician has a team that accepts that identity, and still works together for his or her benefit. A team that trusts not only the politician, but each other.

I was awoken the next morning by the sun shining on my eyes. This already told me that it was past one in the afternoon. When I awoke I lay splayed clear across the bed, it wasn't until I had blearily sat up and pulled on the nearest pair of pants that I realised that I hadn't gone to bed alone last night. I found Cindy's clothes neatly folded up on a chair, but their owner was nowhere in sight. After a brief moment of panic I reasoned that she probably had absconded into the shower, where she would have to be naked, though why she would have chosen to brave the hallways naked was beyond me.

I finished dressing and went to listen at the bathroom door, but I couldn't hear any running water inside. Ever more curious about where my elusive bed-mate had gotten to, I headed back to the living room to survey last night's damage with fresh eyes. I met Alex just closing the door to the living room. He saw me, standing there with disheveled hair, a bleary look in my eyes, an untucked and only half-buttoned shirt, and Alex just started laughing without remorse.

"You, my friend, are so totally, royaly, utterly screwed. You know that right?" He chuckled, clapping me on the shoulder and giving me a little push towards the living room. Apprehensively I opened the door.

The first thing I saw was Abby, sitting regally with a cup of tea flipping through one of my picture albums idly. Not what I had expected. The room had been meticulously cleaned again, and the furniture rearranged into a small circle around the coffee table. Not what I had expected either. Irina sat furiously taking notes to one side of Abby, to the other sat Cindy, wearing a shirt of mine buttoned loosely, and nothing else. Definitely not what I had expected. With their backs to me were Matt and Keisha. As you can guess: my expectations were being upended entirely. Freddie was nowhere in sight - I would later gather that he'd been excused to go home.

"Keisha," Abby said coolly, hardly sparing a glance for me, "you're up."

Keisha jumped up almost excitedly and like the cheerleader she appeared to be twirled her way around the couch. "Got it. I'll be back soon." She grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the living room before I could say anything. On my way out I saw Cindy give me a wink and blow me a little kiss, and heard Matt mutter "...dude" under his breath, sounding stunned and jealous.

Keisha pulled me upstairs and back into my room. "You sit there." she commanded, pointing to my bed. I complied not knowing any better. Keisha started humming to herself as she started rummaging through my closet. "No. No. No. Ugh, no." She declared as she looked at my identical black shirts one after the other. "Seriously? No. No. Nope. Never. Honestly, do you have ANY wearable clothes."

I took her momentary pause for an answer as an excuse to ask, "Uh. What is going on?"

Keisha of course did not explain. But when she turned back to me she knocked herself in the forehead with her palm. "Doh! Keisha you idiot, you're forgetting the most important thing! Right." She declared focusing on me again. "You, go take a shower. I will iron a shirt. And some pants. Do you have a tie? And a suit perhaps?"

"On the top shelf, to the left, but I hardly ever use them." I answered. "Keisha, what is going on?!"

"Shoo! Shoo!" Keisha replied, flicking her bright red locks out of her face and turning back to the wardrobe.

Still flustered, I went to take my shower. I took an extra long one trying to figure out what was happening, but couldn't come to any rational conclusions. I was still towelling my hair dry when the closed door to the bathroom opened and Keisha strode in. "Stop!" She exclaimed horrified. "What are you doing?!"

"What am I doing?! What are YOU doing?!?!" I countered trying belatedly to move the towel to cover my junk.

"Good lord, do you know nothing? Here," Keisha pulled a chair into the bathroom. "Sit."

I sat, in part because it was an easy way to preserve my modesty, allowing me to drape the towel across my lap. Keisha didn't let on, but she later told me that she had quite clearly seen more than she should have that day.

I was commanded to leave both my hands in my lap, and to close my eyes. Not really willing to oblige, I only complied with the first request. Keisha tsked at my stubbornness but as I opened my mouth to ask again what the hell was going on Keisha flipped the switch on Irina's hair dryer muffling anything I might have wanted to say. With a comb and a brush and the hair dryer Keisha set to work arranging my hair. She really massaged my head as she worked, kneading her fingers into my scalp. It felt wonderful, and so I grew a bit complacent. Keisha even worked some of Alex's hair gel into my roots to give my hair more body.

Before I knew it my eyes were closed, so I hardly noticed when the hair dryer was turned off, but my eyes flew wide again as Keisha sat down on my lap facing me.

"No no." She murmured and placed two fingers over my eyes, "for this part your eyes are going to have to be closed.... Your mouth too." She added as I opened my mouth. Soon I felt the ministrations of brushes and waxes on my face, lips, cheeks, eyelids.

Keisha scooted closer twice, the second time planting herself on top of my hands that I still had folded in my lap. It seemed like she was doing intricate work on my face, but I was suddenly concerned with the rub between my wrists and her crotch. To be fair there wasn't much rubbing, just a gentle contact that amplified with each movement, and even through my closed eyelids I think I heard Keisha breathe more heavily.

I tried to ameliorate the situation somewhat by spreading my legs apart a little further, thereby sinking my hands a little further and away from Keisha's private parts, but somehow this tactic served only to provide more firm contact and a slight rub between my wrists and my slightly erect penis.

"Hold still." Keisha admonished me, but I may have imagined a catch in her breath as she said it.

To finish off Keisha took a small dollop of lip gloss on the tip of her finger and ran it along my lips. Somehow I toughed through it. Keisha took a moment to finish inspecting her work, lips pursed. Setting her final tools aside, Keisha placed her hand on my lower abdomen, and pushed herself onto her feet. As she lifted her hands the right one very deliberately rubbed up against my penis. "Mhhh" she sighed, "that's nice..." deliberately leaving out whether she meant my cock or my make-up.

She ordered me to get up, and marched me back to my room. There she had laid out a full set of clothes for me, all ironed so that it looked newer than if I had just bought it. With a sneaky grin she commanded me to "get dressed" and leaned against the door with arms folded making it clear she was not going to leave.

I however, out-manoeuvred her little ploy by sitting on the bed with the towel across my lap, and slipping my underwear on underneath the towel. Keisha pouted a little, but did not mention it further. When I had put on the shirt, trousers and socks Keisha threw a red skinny tie over my neck and tied it for me, using the excuse to again lean in a little closer than maybe she should have. She also gave me my suit jacket to put on, and marched me downstairs. "From now on," she instructed as she prodded me down the stairs, "you're going to dress like this every day. Make sure you always have a spare outfit neatly ironed and folded away, and a new tie handy. We'll discuss getting you a new suit at the earliest opportunity as well."

I was frogmarched into the living room again where an analysing eye was passed over me by everyone in the room.

"Excellent work, Keisha." Matt lauded her, "I've never seen him look this decent!"

"I have." Alex countered, "but only once at our prom night."

Cindy came over and put a hand on each shoulder, then stood on tiptoe to give me a light kiss. "You look very good." She smiled.

"He does." Abby's authoritarian tone cut through, "but it's still missing something... Something to make it uniquely... Him...."

"I figured the black clothing would cover that." Keisha suggested, hovering over her large bag in the corner.

"I agree, and it can be a powerful symbol that we can use, the black. But there's still something too... Conventional to really get people's blood flowing." Abby replied. "I know, Cindy, fetch the hat."

Cindy hurried out into the hallway to return with my old beaten up western hat that she carefully placed on my head. Another appraising once-over look was made by everyone else in the room. "Yes." Abby decided. "That works. Keisha, do your thing."

Keisha roped Alex and Matt into helping her hang a white bed-spread between the end of our curtain rail and the door jamb. Then she placed me in front of it and whipped out a camera and started clicking away like mad. Occasionally she would call out instructions to me, such as "more to your left!" or "tilt the hat a bit less!" I complied on auto pilot listening to the conversation going on in the background trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

Abby was speaking: "Irina, where did we leave off? Oh yes. We have excellent penetration into the sports, the geeks, the art students, the history and English students. I am guessing that you, Irina, and you, Alex, can get the IT students on our side?" They both nodded confidently. "Which leaves you, Matt. D'you think you can convince the politics students to join?"

"I don't know," he replied cautiously, "we're a queer bunch to begin with, and many of us dream of becoming politicians ourselves. It might cause resentment. On the other hand they already know him well and the general impression seems to be favourable. I will work on it and report back when I know more."

"Do it soon. We'll need to know ASAP where to expend our resources." Abby instructed. "That still leaves a large number of academic circles that we don't have any penetration in. Particularly the sciences. We're going to need a point person for that, and I don't think Chris or Rose are going to be much help. Either they're unlikely to be friends to our cause, or they're not popular enough to get the movement we need in those circles. All of you keep an eye out for good candidates there.

"Also, I think we should get the professors and admins on our side. They might not have a voting say in the matter but they could be useful in facilitating our cause."

"Not to worry," Cindy said with a smirk, "I've got an idea how to get the professors on our side."

"Very well. Then I want to get a finalised schedule done. We have just over a week to make this happen, people, so we have got to start today. By the end of business tomorrow I want to see his face on every wall, column, door and flyer. Alex, you see what the IT techs can do about getting me merchandise. I'm particularly interested in lapel pins and buttons. Cindy, you get a podium and a crowd together for Monday, noon in the quadrangle. Matt and I will hash out a good speech by then I'm sure. Make sure that we get prominent faces in the audience. The politics department profs at least, and as many team captains, group presidents and social activists as you can. Do NOT forget to invite the school newspaper!

"That Monday speech is going to be the lynchpin of our campaign. If we are going to get this done all other things flow from there. I want volunteers to start pacing all major walkways on the university handing out flyers and going door to door in the dorms. No more than 100 of each flyer should be the same, and Irina, since you're going to be in charge of that, you'd better see to it that they are all catchy and intriguing. I don't want people to get annoyed by the flyers, but to be coming back for new ones each time because they make people laugh, or think, or inspired. See to it that Keisha helps you out with that. I'm sure the two of you will have some good ideas.

"We're going to take Tuesday to assess the situation. Come Wednesday, however, I want to be ready to issue our challenge for a public debate on the issues. Matt, I'm going to have you run the prep with Cindy for that. Keisha will also need some time to talk about appearance. I will see to it that our opponent or opponents show up, and arrange the venue.

"At that point, Alex, you should have any manufacturing we can achieve well on the way so I am going to be moving you over to be organising the grass roots things. Make a website and plaster it large in the students guild. Get a meme going. Do whatever it takes to make sure every conversation I hear on campus includes his name in a positive light.

"Matt, you are going to go into full spin-doctor mode. I am going to need you to line up interviews with the student media, with the local paper and be looking out for our message, got it?

"Irina, you're getting the counter-research job. Keep close tabs on our main competitors and what they are up to. They are going to be shocked by our first few days, and we want to keep them off kilter after Wednesday right up to Friday.

"Keisha, you are going to be the image control person. See to it that he always looks like he's ready for it, that he can do the job, and that he's on top of everything.

"I'll take care of all other major planning and event organisation."

"What about me?" Cindy asked.

"You, m'dear," Abby replied with an evil smile, "are going to have to keep him sane and on top of everything."

"Oh goody." Cindy giggled, "but does he have to be on top?"

Everyone but me and Abby gave a small laugh, and Abby smiled. Bastards. All of them.

"That's almost everything for today. We'll meet here again tomorrow at six in the evening. Bring beer and food. I want to have a daily meeting from now until Election Day with all of us right here to discuss our plans.

"Keisha? You done?"

"Sure," Keisha turned away from me, "let's take a look."

She swiped the memory card from her camera and pushed it into her laptop. A few moments later we were all looking at surprisingly professional pictures of me. There were admiring comments on Keisha's skill all around from everyone but me who was still trying to play catch-up, and Abby who simply nodded her approval. Some few were selected and Keisha promised that with a little photoshop they would look much better.

"Good." Abby declared. "Then get that done as quickly as possible and work with Irina and Alex to get the first prototype posters and flyers done. I would like to see early drafts before this evening and finalised versions early tomorrow morning. Here is a list of the pictures from that photo-album I think you'll want to use, and a list of the possibly good ones on Facebook. Make sure to take a look.

"Matt, get started on that speech. We're going to have that tight by Monday. I'll be back in about two hours to help you. Cindy should be back sooner.

"Cindy," she commanded, "let's go. You, me and him," she pointed at me, "have something to discuss."

We left the living room hard at work at their various tasks, four laptops surring as their owners worked furiously.

I was led back to my bedroom by Abby and Cindy. Abby took a quick look around my room with an arched eyebrow, and plonked herself down on my bed. Initially she ignored me, but spoke directly to Cindy in a much softer tone than she had used downstairs.

"Cindy, you've been an excellent friend to me, and I really appreciate that your first thought went to me. But..."

"What?" Cindy asked brazenly "you don't want to? You seemed completely in control downstairs!"

"I want to - and I had to appear in charge downstairs because that's what this team is going to need from the organiser. But... You know what I've always said about this kind of a job, right?"

"Yeah, I remember that essay." Cindy chuckled sitting down on the bed beside her friend. She continued in a quoting tone: "throughout history, the most effective and most successful leaders have been those who not only have the complete trust of their immediate staff and personnel, who can then carry his or her message to the rest of society, but who knows at least his primary staff so well that no single secret is kept between them. Such intimate knowledge deepens the bond between these persons and enhances and further increases their chances to come to a unity capable of achieving greatness. Only by allowing someone to fully know you can you trust them to keep secrets from others, and thereby to present you to a populace in the best light.

"Did I miss something?" Cindy concluded.

"No." Abby admitted. "But you realise what I have got to do now if you want me to finish this thing, right?" Abby seemed downright nervous about this situation.

"Yup." Cindy replied giving her stiff friend a big hug "and don't worry. I promise, no jealousy, no repercussions. I trust you. I trust him. There's no easier way to prove that to you than letting this happen. I'll go take my shower now."

With that she jumped up, grabbed her clothes and hopped up to me. "Do me proud." She murmured to me, "do HER proud." And with that she pranced out of the room without looking back.

Abby stood again and locked the door behind Cindy. My girlfriend's friend seemed to take a very heavy breath, as though steeling herself for something, but when she turned back she was again completely in command.

"On the bed." She commanded. I complied meekly. "If this project is to work, then you are going to have to inform me of your wishes and thoughts without impunity. Even if you don't think it important or relevant, I will need to know everything. Every secret and every private thought. I will need to know even those things that your best friends downstairs don't know. I am going to need to know the secrets that you don't tell Cindy. Are you clear on that?"

I took a moment to think about this. "Look," I tried to explain, "I think I've finally worked out what is going on here. You're trying to get me elected to the student president's job, even though I didn't ask for any of this. I don't even really know that I want the job! On top of that we met two days ago, and since then you've been studying me for some unknown reason. Two days and a really confusing - if brief - history of interactions and conversations between us doesn't really incline me to trust you."

"You're right," Abby agreed, "and you're wrong. If we do this we can't have any secrets between us, and that goes for me as well. So let me try to explain." She took a seat next to me on the bed cross-legged facing me. "As far as I know, Cindy overheard you and Irina talk about some guy who is running for student president. Some 'Roger' guy. Anyway, it sounded like you two were less than pleased with him being a candidate. That got Cindy thinking, and she talked to Irina about perhaps getting you the job. Irina agreed that would be an excellent deal."

"She did?"" I asked flustered.

"Not just her, but Alex as well when they asked him." Abby countered scooting a little closer. "And so the three of them hatched the plot to organise your campaign for you. Cindy apparently felt that I would be good at this, probably because electoral history and the development of modern marketing are my specialties. She sent me a text that evening asking me to run this thing."