Inescapable History, Inescapable Fates

Bad Debt Part 3

Alex paced alone in Raf's hotel room. The doorman had let him in as soon as he had seen Alex's student ID. He was holding a law book but not reading it.

The student is a bad debtor threatened with credit. The student runs from credit. Credit pursues the student, offering to match credit for debt, until enough debts and enough credits have piled up. But the student has a habit, a bad habit. She studies. She studies but she does not learn. If she learned they could measure her progress, establish her attributes, give her credit. But the student keeps studying, keeps planning to study, keeps running to study, keeps studying a plan, keeps elaborating a debt. The student does not intend to pay.

"About time," Luna greeted him, dropping his briefcase by the door.

"I screwed up, but I think it's ok but I don't- I need a break from these fucking rich white murderers. And Henry thinks I'm homophobic," Alex's hands were flying everywhere, and Raf was already mixing tequila with something and handing Alex a glass.

"Woah, ok, take a glass and start at the beginning." Alex took a deep breath and a long sip.

"Henry locked me out of OUR room to fuck some guy." Alex started, sounding personally offended.

Raf smiled teasingly, "Would you rather have been in the room..."

"Can you be on my side," Alex hissed, making Raf jump. Alex had obviously missed what he was trying to imply, but he nodded for Alex to continue. If he wasn't ready, he wasn't ready.

"And the guy was like, this white dude who has never seen a public school in his life," Alex downed his tequila and started pouring himself a new one. He was holding his glass so tightly, Raf thought it might break, "His name is Hunter, and he says that poor people should die because they don't matter. And I said he was horrible because he is, and he grabbed me and told me to shut up..." Alex trailed off, tracing a finger around the rim of his glass.

Raf, extremely nervously, prompted him, "And then?"

"I punched him?"

"Alex!" Raf, admonished, "Is he Ok?"

Alex blinked like he hadn't considered it, "He's fine. And then me and Henry argued and he said I punched Hunter because I was homophobic, which isn't true." Alex took another gulp of tequila and started counting on his fingers, "You're gay and Nora's gay, and Liam just came out. All the people I choose to hang out with are gay." Raf bit his lip hard and then carefully said,

"Ok, first, you need more friends,"

"I ha-"

"Who are your age, who you don't work with, and who you still talk to."

"A lot of qualifications" Alex mumbled,

"And..." Raf needed to be very, very careful about his next question, "have you ever thought about why you hang out with so many queer people?"

Alex blinked like he had never considered it, "Marxism is very gay."

"That's not what I-" Raf took a long drink of tequila, "An ideology can't be-" Alex gave him a look and he took another sip of his drink, "Ok, Marxism is pretty gay. What happened after he called you homophobic."

"I came here." Alex looked at him with puppy eyes and Raf sighed,

"If you need a break, you can stay here a few nights, until I leave."

Alex grinned like he always did when he got exactly what he wanted.