David Hernandez recites his speech in his head for the thousandth time in the last hour. He was at a convention with some important leaders from other states and now is gonna stand and make a speech about the two years of his mandate and what he has yet to do.
Oh, did he forget to mention he is the youngest president to be elected in the United States at 32?
Oh, well.
After being a prodigy in Harvard with a full scholarship it wasn't hard to get into politics with the help of Gerald - his favorite teacher who also happened to be now his vice president - and once he was in it wasn't hard to gain popularity due his good looks, charisma and great capacity of giving speeches and winning debates without ever being disrespectful.
Gerald Blystone who agreed to be his vice president was a big help thanks to many years being one of the best teachers in the country before moving to politics.
All those factors helped him to win a historical yet tight election against Matthew Stone, a republican who was known for his unhappy comments about minorities and devoted patriotism.
Matthew Stone got to the point where he attacked David and his family mid elections, bringing a painful memory of his father being deported when he was only two years old due to being undocumented, leaving his mother and him alone. He did that to make David somehow look bad in the public eye but the it ricocheted right at him because it actually made him win empathy from a lot of people, especially after they found out his father died in his home country.
As much as this fact was extremely painful and the wound was still open, Latisha - who was his deputy chief and the woman who always took care of everything involving the media and his safety - convinced him to use it to his favor so he wrote a powerful speech about how Gloria, his mother, is a strong woman who raised him to be the man he is today when his dad was deported and he was competing as president of the United States to make sure what happened to him don't happen to any children ever again, despite him having a strained relationship with the woman who rarely participates in his life.
He didn't really liked doing it but it was a huge success. He saw people crying and his popularity grew more and he truly believes it was decisive to him winning.
Two years passed since the election and his government is showing great results and approval of most population.
Of course there's republican patriotic people, who despise being minority, weren't few and were very loud about having a mexican president and of course David is aware of that but he's here and ignores them and chooses to listeen and see those who are for him.
But it gets hard to ignore a assassination attempt in a publich space.
It actually happened so fast David doesn't even remember it, a white short man screamed something and he heard a loud bang and felt a burnt on his left shoulder and heard screams in the crowd in front of him and next thing he knows he's in the hospital, Latisha, Gerald and Gloria on his side while some nurse applied stitches on his shoulder.
David thanked his high pain tolerance and thought about making a joke to try to lighten the heavy atmosphere of the room and the terribly preoccupied expression on his mother's face when Latisha received a phone call and picked up in a rushed tone, excusing herself to leave.
The nurse finished her stitches, prescribed some medication for pain and said he was good to go. He followed Gerald who kept quiet and they got out from the back of the hospital where four muscular man were waiting for them. David noticed at least four cars following them and sighed trying not to freak out.
At least until they get home.
Which was soon, he noticed the place more protected than usual and almost rolled his eyes thinking too little too late.
— Are you okay? — The raspy voice of his vice president came quiet when they entered his office, place where he spend most of his time.
— Yes. — He lied though his teeth, he was pretty sure he was in shock and hadn't proceeded what happened but he knew his therapist would heard about that.
— It could've been a lot worse. — The man answered in what seemed to be a attempt to comfort him and he appreciated his calmness and ability to always comfort him. Gerald poured some whiskey to two cups and gave one to him which he drank at a embarrassing speed, appreciating the burn on his throat and ignoring the ugly look his aunt gave him. — They already got the guy. — Blue misty eyes met him and he felt reconforted at last. — Young, confessed everything pretty quick. Gonna be locked up for the rest of his life.
— How did he manage to even... — David stopped mid sentencing already thinking in the ways the security team could have let that guy in on purpose or how they could've been the ones to plan this...
— Stop overthinking.
— I wasn't...
— He was alone. A sore loser who spend most of his time on the internet or hunting animals who couldn't defend themselves and thought too highly of himself. He confessed that he did this after spending too much time on far right forums and was all alone. The police didn't find anything in his cell phone, computer, anything. — A comforting hand squeezed his shoulder. — And it's not going to happen ever again.
— I could've died. — David said and in that moment it's like he realized how bad it was. He still in his third year and there's still so much he hasn't done yet.
— But you didn't. And you won't. We'll make sure this won't happen again. Hey, look at me. — David lowered his gaze a bit as he was a head taller than the man who stood in front of him. — You're gonna finish your mandate. You're gonna keep on doing great as you already are and you're gonna apply again and then you're gonna win again, do you hear me? Then you will do anything in your reach, which is large, to make this country a better place for those who need it. And this old man is gonna be here with and for you.
He nodded dumbly, feeling too drained to even make a joke about Gerald dying of old age before the reelection, feeling oddly emotional about his cheesy speech as he felt himself getting embraced in a tight hug by the shorter man and hugging him back immediately.
If he let one or two or much more tears fall down isn't anyone's business.
Nadia Perez
