helpless (Lams)

James Madison's Interlude

...

JAMES MADISON

THURSDAY, JULY 7

Thomas walked back in and sat down. I looked over at him, expecting the box of M&Ms I asked him for. "What happened to your face?" I gasped.

"Ask that asshole," he said, and chipped his chin to John.

John whipped his head toward Thomas. "If you weren't shoving your tongue down my boyfriend's throat, I wouldn't've broke ya face."

"I'm sorry, what?" I asked.

"James, he's exaggerating," Thomas said.

"You were practically sucking his face off, you imbecile!" John practically yelled.

"I was not sucking his face off!" Thomas defended loudly. "And how do you know Alex didn't kiss me first? Huh?"

John turned to Alex, who just held his hands up. "I'm a victim," he said.

John turned his attention back to Thomas, angrily. "I'm gonna kill him." He scrambled across my lap and grabbed Thomas by his hair, trying to choke him out. Thomas screamed, trying to swat John away.

John's knee hit my groin and I cried out in pain, trying to push John off of me, but he was pretty much 6'3, two hundred pounds of pure muscle, and really set on preventing Thomas from breathing.

Two security guards finally pulled Thomas and John apart and led them out of the theatre, despite them still trying to attack each other.

The movie continued to play and the whole theatre fell into awkwardness. Alex moved into John's seat next to me, and leaned over, whispering to me, "So, uh, you get why I don't like him, right?"

"No, I don't," I muttered, sarcastically, my body still in pain. "But I'm pretty sure John started all of what happened just now." Alex fell quiet for a moment, not knowing what to say. I sighed softly, and looked over at him. "I'm not even sure what's happening in the movie now."

"Me either," Alex admitted.

"Thomas never did tell me how you guys broke up."

"Thomas's parents don't want him dating a jew, and because Thomas is a momma's boy, and desperate for their acceptance he broke up with me. All because I'm Jewish. It's funny because Thomas doesn't even have a problem with my religion, it's just his asshole parents. Anti-Semitic motherfuckers." He shook his head and pursed his lips. "People, amiright?"

I opened my mouth to say something, but he cut me off and continued to talk about Anti-Semitism and Thomas's parents. As Alex talked, the movie continued and soon ended. The lights turned on and the credits played and I tried to suggest that we could leave, but Alex just continued on with his rant. I was listening, but I wasn't entirely sure what he was talking about anymore.

Finally, he stopped talking and looked around. "Oh, hey, the movie's over," he said. He stood up. "Let's go see if Thomas and John have torn each other to shreds."

I followed him out of the theatre and we both paused in the lobby, looking to see if we could find John or Thomas. And there they were, over in the little arcade section. John was playing the claw machine, trying to swat Thomas, who was shaking the machine, away. Yep, that's my boy.

I was hesitant to walk over, embarrassed that I was actually here with these people. Alex just rolled his eyes and walked up to them.

"Guys, really?"

John smacked Thomas's face, pushing him away. "Hey, Alex. Tell this asshole that I'm trying to win you a stuffed animal so he needs to stop shaking the damn machine."