The Conflict Algorithm, Chapter 3
Chapter 1 | 2 — (Write your own overly-ambitious novel in November as a part of National Novel Writing Month!)
Leo sat in Nyla’s office. He wore his best talking-to-HR-face. She was smiling at him. They’d shaken hands and exchanged greetings.
“I’m sure you know why you’re here.”
“Actually, not to be contentious, but I’m not sure,” Leo said.
Nyla’s well-groomed eyebrow raised. She shifted forward in her seat. “You don’t know what you did at the bar last night?”
All of a sudden, Leo felt like he was falling down a tunnel. “One second,” he said. “I’m not sure what narrative you have heard, but I’d love a chance to tell it as it happened.”
“That’s why you’re here.”
Leo took a deep breath and described the events from right after the presentation to the time he got kicked out the bar.
“Thank you for sharing that,” Nyla said with gravitas, “As you know, we have a strict policy against harassment.”
“Yes, but I’m not going to charge her or anything for slapping me. It was…an emotional day.”
“Mr. Griffin, I’m not talking about her, I’m talking about the allegations against you.”
“What!? What is she saying?”
“There were several witnesses to the incident, and I’m sorry but their statements don’t match your version of the story.”
Leo had lost all cool. “This is ridiculous, I told you exactly what happened.”
“Sir, I need you to lower your voice.”
“My voice is low.”
“Please wait outside, I’ll be right out and we can discuss next steps.”
Leo hesitated.
“Please exit my office immediately, Mr. Griffin.”
He got up slowly and walked out of the room. He sat down on the uncomfortable couch in the hallway, feeling like a kid outside the principal’s office.
He checked his phone. No emails. He saw a missed call from an unknown number, worried about it for a second before he realized it was Sara’s number from this morning. He smiled and felt a little warm tingle as he started to add her name to his contacts.
Nyla’s door opened. Leo looked up. From his left, he saw Jack, the campus security guy walking towards them. Sprays of sweat flowed from Leo’s underarms.
“What is happening?” Leo asked.
Nyla handed him a stack of papers. “Please review this. You are being escorted from the building. Your personal items will be sent to you.”
“Wait, this is…Jack, you know me.”
“Leo, please come with me.”
Leo felt time slow down. He took in Nyla’s makeup, her forehead mole, her perm, her subdued earrings, her grey business suit and maroon silk shirt, the worn industrial carpet, the inadequate lighting, Jack’s gung-ho hand reaching toward his arm. In that moment, he wished he could explode everything around him to nonexistence.
Leo got stuck in himself and felt his body walking toward the exit, Jack shadowing him. People stared as they made their way through the building, but it was all a blur. He stood outside in the courtyard.
“Off the premises, sir. Don’t make me call the cops.” Jack said.
Leo looked down at the phone in his hand and was struck with the urge to punch Jack in the face.
“Leave. Now.” Jack said.
Leo shuffled away, looking down, and breathing shallowly. He wasn’t sure where he was headed. He found himself Queensbound on the F. He paid no attention to anyone waiting for him to gallantly offer his seat. He thought about starting over and what that would look like. He entered his house in the daylight and it felt incredibly strange, like he was out of place. He sat down and let the noise in his mind take over, swiping his phone on autopilot.
Sara had just gotten to the dojo when her phone rang. It had to be her mom, and something was probably wrong. “Hello?”
“Hi, Sarah? This is Leo from the coffee shop.”
“Oh, hi.”
“Is this a good time?”
“Yeah… well, I just got to my brother’s dojo.”
“Dojo?”
“Yeah, he has that small dojo on Linden…”
Chickie walked up, “Small dojo? Who you talking to?”
“The place on 225th and Linden?”
“Yeah,” Sara said to Leo, and covering the phone, quietly to Chickie, “it’s just a guy.”
Chickie looked amused and intrigued.
“I live right around the corner from there.”
“Tell him to come here so I can meet him.” Chickie said.
Laughing, Sara said, “it’s my brother’s dojo, he wants you to come so he can meet you.”
“Okay.”
Sara had to pause for a moment. “Right now? Aren’t you at work?”
“I got fired.”
“Shit.” Sara thought for a moment, “I’ll be here for two hours then we’re going to Chickie’s house for the party.”
Leo showed up 25 minutes later, sweatpants and all. Chickie saw him from across the room. A small group of kids, including Edwin, were stretching on the floor.
Chickie glanced over at Sara who was sitting on the couch looking at her phone.
“Your boyfriend is here.” Chickie said loudly.
“Hi.” Leo said, feeling out-of-place and dorky.
“I don’t know how to fight.” Leo said, facing Chickie, surrounded by a circle of Chickie’s students…and Sara.
“How are you going to protect my sister, then?”
“I don’t believe in physical aggression.”
“Oooh,” Chickie said. “So you’d let someone beat her up and take her rent money.”
The room suddenly felt very hot. Leo felt a burning in his chest he didn’t understand.
“Look, there’s always a way out,” Leo said and headed to exit the circle, “it was nice to meet you.”
“No,” Chickie said, with a weight of sadness and experience that froze Leo in place, “No, there isn’t always a way out.”
Chickie kept on, “But we have a lot of control over what happens. It starts with control over yourself, your emotions. It’s not about learning to fight. It’s about learning who you are.
“Let’s play a game. A silly one. Hands behind our back, no headbutting, no striking, let’s see who can get the other out of the circle.”
Leo was short, about 5'9", but Chickie was probably only an inch taller. He was a lot stockier. Leo folded his arms behind his back, quite aware of the feeling of determination that had settled over him.
“Okay, let’s go.”
Predictably, Leo charged at Chickie. Chickie sidestepped just as Leo stopped suddenly, revealing his feint.
This dance went on for a long minute. It ended suddenly when Chickie pivoted, dipped, hooked his thigh behind Leo’s and used his hip to propel Leo out of the circle. Leo hadn’t even realized he was that close to the edge.
Twice in two days Leo had found himself at the whim of other men’s bodies and he did not like the feeling. He looked around the room, cheeks ready to fill with embarrassment, but the kids didn’t even chuckle and the adults didn’t smile.
He stood up into the practicality of having lost a physical contest, and the complex mental math required to cope with it.
“Do you think it makes sense to be better at using your body?” Chickie asked.
Part of Leo wanted to rage out against this cocky bastard, and another, much more sensible part told him how futile that would be. Those two parts clearly struggled on his face.
“Want to try again?”
Three more times Leo found himself outside the circle, once on his ass. He felt like he might have pulled a muscle in his groin. He stood there, panting, winded, and in pain.
Chickie hadn’t even broken a sweat. “Usually I have to deal with cocky people who I have to break down, but you’d make a great student. Would you like to sit?”
Leo looked around at the room, and at Sara’s face, hoping for a clue as to what to do. “I don’t have a job.”
“Have a seat”, Chickie said.
The next hour was spent doing footwork, stretching, and working in pairs just circling each other. His feet kept doing the wrong things, especially when Edwin was paired with him, and seemed to only want to move on fast forward.
His clothes were soaked and he hurt everywhere, but was filled with a strange buzzy sense of well-being. He walked over to Sara, more present than ever. She looked him in the eyes silently.
“You’re coming to the party, right?” Chickie said.
“Yeah, if that’s okay?”
“It’s cool,” she said, cracking a smile.
Chickie said “good” and walked off.
“You suck,” she laughed, “but you did good.”
“I’m going home to change. Where and when is this party?”
“I’ll text you.”
