There is a point in which positive and negative join together. This point is in a human and it is in appearance. Where a modest character, to timid to call on integrity, acts on somebody's else stage. And humble, even if talented, on that stage the most up-beat of persons will dance like a marionette the gloomiest dances for some body else's satisfaction. This dance was for Malika, on the stage that her older sister, Angelica, built.
The two of them shared a damaged relationship marred by rivalry, and they showed their affection by cutting each other down. "I'm doing it for your own benefit" Angelica had said years back when they moved here to be closer to the industry, "Because I don't want you to harbor any illusions. To make it you have to be perfect, and to be perfect you must not accept imperfections." When highlighting shortcomings became the status quo of their exchanges Malika was simply playing by the rules that were already in place, on that stage. She had played the little sister role in commercials in the beginning, and now in B films and had been typecast, even played within her type, in life.
There the Nichol sisters were, under the right angle of a neon advertisement, tapping on the table with their extension nails in down town Hollywood. They were waiting. The sinews of stream that rose out of the third coffee reminded Angelica of her sister's hair. She stared at the volume of Malikas' curls. The sheer quantity had frustrated her ever since she had seen dethroned at the beauty pageant by that golden crown. Yet, she had never let it show. "He is supposed to be here by now, damn, he is never on time," she said flicking cinders into a ashtray fashioned from a licence plate.
Malika filched a slim from her purse." Another smoke. God I have to quit these things one day."
"I hate when people talk about smoking. If you are going to smoke just do it and a quick yakking on about it!" Angelica said as they sat there in the booth. Her fingers were tinged saffron color from unfiltered cigarettes.
"I was just trying to create a conversation sorry."
"Yeah that is your problem. You are always sorry." Angelica snapped.
"Hey I am reading an article you might enjoy. It is called The cum also rises. It is about gossip from groupies in the 60s."
"Isn’t there already enough gossip in the world without having to write about it, to add more to the scrap heap I mean?"
"Well according to the author, he likens gossiping to storytelling. He says that the world is full of facts and full of truth but no one is concerned with either of them. He says humans only understand beauty. Gossiping is like making little things beautiful, because they are blown out of proportion and humans enjoy playing a part in creating stories. He says it's like making art, you create something out of nothing. Ex nihilo I think it is in in Latin"
"People will say anything to justify their art, like saying things in Latin for example" she said looking down at her watch.
"Excuse me if I try to widen my vocabulary. Ok what are you reading?"
"It is a bout misogyny. It's called the Bible. No just joking it's called All the Kings' Men."
"Misogyny is so, so easy, so cliché." Malika said as she began to draw in the condensation that had collected under the heat of her five dollar menu. She drew her thin frame with a line widening out from behind her. She was so intensely bored she almost took the ketchup and reddened that line, so as to make of it a carpet.
"Yeah exactly, and clichés are not right but they are certainly not wrong." Her sister felt like erasing the drawing. She needed her little sister's attention, despite the fact that she feigned the cardinal opposite.
"But you don't think it is to be expected? I mean we have already talked about guys in bed right? Have you ever seen a guy after he finishes, how he is just as helpless as a puppy. They are all curled up with their cracked toes and bent elbows, then pooof! they nod off. No wonder they fear women. We kill them just by spreading out legs! Misogyny is not the hatred of women it is the fear of women. The only hatred there is the hatred of their own weakness in front of a woman, " she said, somewhat content with the show of intelligence, spruced up with an actual example from life, even if the show was somewhat contrived.
"Yeah that's basically what the author says, but it doesn't take a genius to know that, but he does talk about misogyny throughout history, starting with Pandora all the way down to writer's like Nietzsche and Kant hating women."
"They were such jerk-offs anyway!" Malika blurted out. They both had a laugh and for an instant the animosity subsided between them.
"Speaking of jerk-offs how long have we been here for? Adam is such a schmuck," Angelica confessed. Adam was her choice and although he came through less and less these days, she had to stick by her decision. By her guns she would say. But the truth was this: she was riding Malika's coat-tails and she knew it. Malika had more talent, but because they passed as twins she figured some of her sister's skill would rub-off on her. Angelica only cooperated when she was losing.
"Since ten" Malika responded. Suddenly, a man with slick backed hair approached them. From behind bleach white teeth he said:
"Good news and bad news"
"Good news first" they said in unison.
"Good news is I got the part for you, the bad news is that it will only be for Malika."
"What? Why?" Angelica said and she wanted to rip those curls out again.
"They said that although both of you nailed the bitterness of the character that it goes better, at least for this role, on Malika. They said they needed a youthful bitterness because it goes better with the revolutionary aspect of the character. They said Malika's acted bitterness well, that yours was...
"Was what?"
"Too real."
AT
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