Handling a Crisis

Chapter Fifty: A Little Better (I Mean, Not Quite, but We're Getting There)

I would first like to formally apologize for subjecting y'all to the previous chapter. I know that was torture. I'm going to warn you now ahead of time that I'm also going to be doing the second presidential debate.

Chapter warnings: racism, talk of injustices towards Native Americans, mention of kidnapping, mention of trafficking, mention of rape, and suggestive flirting (I will put warning around it in case you wanna skip). Also, there's a lot of dialogue in this chapter, and I'm sorry if this is really weirdly-paced

Thankfully, not everything is horrible and makes you want to die inside.

It's October 2. What is so special about the date, some of you could be wondering? Well, if you don't know, I'll tell you in a moment. If you do, congrats! Don't spoil it for the ~dramatic reveal~

It was early when the American household awakened, stumbling sleepily into the living room with the exception of Virgin Islands and South Dakota, who had gotten up to cook breakfast with America and Confederacy earlier that morning. NATO had decided to join them for breakfast and sat in the living room with the rest of his siblings.

"Day two of spooky month," Maine narrated. "What will the day bring us today? Well, let's take a look."

"No, please, not right now," Texas begged. "It's too early for 2020's shit. I ain't gonna ask you again."

Maine gave a quick nod and shoved his phone back in his pocket. "Alright, duly noted. I'm checking after breakfast."

The family was relatively silent as they waited for breakfast to finish. When it did, everyone gathered at the table and ate their breakfast, having minimal conversation. That is, until near the end of breakfast when Alabama said, "Hey, wait a minute." He looked at America. "Dad, don't you have a date with Russia today?"

"That's right!" Minnesota exclaimed. "You have a date with Russia today!"

"Wait, guys–" America started.

"Oh my God, wait, what are you guys going to do today?" Illinois inquired.

"I think I'll just take him out for coffee and have a little walk around–"

"Oh, okay, okay, we're going with simplicity first," Mariana Islands evaluated.

"'Simplicity'?" Idaho questioned. "Then what the heck was that first date? Just a chill hangout? Excuse me, but that restaurant was fancy as heck!"

"How do you know what it looked like?" America questioned.

"Ame, the Internet," Confederacy reminded him.

America smacked his forehead. "Right, right. Yeah." He took a long sip of his coffee as his kids continued to talk.

"It doesn't have to be fancy!" Hawaii chimed in. "What matters is how they spend their time with each other. As long as they enjoy their time together, it's a good date!"

"Hawaii's right," Alaska agreed. "What's important is that they have fun."

"But not too much fun," Nevada added on, winking. Utah smacked the back of his head, but Nevada didn't care.

Breakfast was a little more lively from that point, the kids eventually gaining just enough energy to figuratively kick America up the stairs so he could go change for his date-that-isn't-really-a-date-but-is-totally-a-date. While he changed, Maine whipped out his phone, getting ready to find the news for the day.

"Alrighty, everyone," he said. "Today's top headline is..." He opened up Twitter, went to the trending section, and nearly dropped his phone, gasping in shock.