In Trunk We Trust (Ezzy's Education: Part 9) By Garrett Murch
Clad in pajamas patterned with chemistry formulas, Ezzy hopped onto to her brook-trout- print duvet cover spread over her cushy bed. Although it was getting late thatSunday evening, she figured she would check InstaTok again before reviewing her notes from AP English class about the toxic masculinity in Shakespeare’s Othello. On her own at home, Ezzy had read Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, and many of Shakespeare’s sonnets. Shewas fascinated by what the poet did with words and how the writing stimulated her mind at least as much as science did. She never expressed her fascination during Mr. Catty’sAdvanced Political English class. There would be a quiz on the toxic masculinity inOthello tomorrow. She gave the notebook on the duvet cover a somber glance.
An hour earlier, Ezzy had scolded her mother for breaking into her email. Her mothersaid she “technically” had not broken in since Ezzy left it unlocked. “I’m sorry you’re upset,” her mother had said.
Although her parents knew she had gone to bed, she heard them talking through her bedroom door. The same hickory-stained floor stretched from her room to the kitchen where they were talking. Only a few family pictures and a framed eye on the wall, similar to theone by the front door, impeded sound traveling between the rooms. That loud hallway sometimes drove Ezzy nuts at night.
“You’re always saying how strong she is, and now you’re telling me she’s fragile?” her mother asked.
“She’s both.”
I don’t want to hear what Dad says next. “I can hear you,” Ezzy said in a voice loud enough for her parents to hear. She opened InstaTok and found Trunk Langston’s video,the one she and her Dad had been entertained by on their drive. She wanted to see whatpeople were saying about it. There were over three hundred comments, mostly from students she knew but more from unknown commenters than she had ever noticed before. Several stood out.
Trendon B: Quit ur whining, Trunk Style Haters!
JesusLovesTrunk: Here’s my impersonation of Trunk Style Haters: “We don’t like how he says what he’s thinking. He’s not like a president is supposed to be.” Well cry me a bleeping river, Trunk Style Haters! We got a witch to hunt!
#InTrunkWeTrust #GodWorksInMysteriousWays
Ezzy, amused, thought, “If Jesus loved me, my school would not be insane.” She noticed a comment under a username she had not seen before.
D-Anon: It’s not Trunk’s style that’s the problem, despite the fact that it’s obnoxious and lends credibility to Lucinda. The problem is Trunk’s rotten core, as @Madison Hsaid. If Trunk remains the face of Patriots at school, Patriots will suffer there for a long time. Patriots should ditch him before he takes them down with him.
Who is D-Anon? Ezzy could not think of anyone. Trunk does make me think Lucinda may not be as bad as the Patriots. Is Trunk secretly in cahoots with her? He says he’s Ebbing’s greatest hope, but is he really Lucinda’s?
A new comment popped up.
THE Trunk Langston: @D-Anon you loser. You lie. Idiot Moron-Anon, your no Q. Patriots will never ditch me, for I AM THEM!! Lucinda will try to alter the ballots!!!She will try to control your life. It’s true I don’t like FLIES!! Never have. See, Trunk has a sense of humor.
#TrustTrunk #IWillShowYouTheEvidenceSoon
Ezzy struggled to hold herself together. It’s not funny. It’s sad. Stop laughing! Another post trickled in.
Trendon B: Earth to @KirstenC, you Justice freak. You think you’re something great but you’re no @EzzyCBello. Ezzy is a HOT LATINA who should vote for Trunk!
Ezzy had just started yawning when she read this and she laughed mid-yawn. She didn’t recall the KirstenC comment Trendon was responding to and didn’t care to go back andlook for it. This might be funny if it wasn’t real. Well, it’s still kind of funny. And sad. Tootired to get all worked up, an idea did occur to her. She could make her own anonymous InstaTok account and post a comment. It’s easy enough to do. In a few minutes, she had created “Z-Anon.”
What to post?
Ezzy looked at her Advanced Political English notebook, remembering she should study before she fell asleep. But the quiz would be easy. All she had to do was echo the negative things Mr. Catty said about Shakespeare to get an A.
Several minutes earlier, Ezzy’s eyes had fixed for a moment on the copy of Macbeth lying flat on a corner of her desk. Now, she recalled the witches’ prophecies in Macbeth. If I was a witch, I’d be Glenda from The Wizard of Oz. No, probably not. Maybe I’d be more like Hope Mikaelson in Legacies, but Hope’s a vampire, a werewolf, and a witch. Oh, it doesn’t really matter, Ezzy. Just write something.
In no time, Ezzy had come up with a line to post on InstaTok: “The witch untimely ripped from womb will win.” She realised it was possible no one would get her Macbeth reference, but she didn’t care. Ezzy published the comment. It’s in iambic pentameter! Her smile lasted a few seconds and morphed into a sigh.
A year from now I’ll be away from this. I wonder what madness will come tomorrow?