The Lone President

• Ella Gill
• Short Story
• 2019

Can you hear the laughing? The bellowing laughter of great ambassadors as they pass The One in the hall. They laugh at his squashed eyes and his tiny spectacles as they do not recognise his significance and what it means to the country. They call him brainless although he is the complete opposite of the word. The One ignores them, his mouth twisted into an upright curve despite his unpopularity. He entered the meeting room where he is greeted by stifled laughs coming from the mouths of everyone apart from Charles De Ruyter. The solitary president had been alone until he met him. Charles De Ruyter is his only companion, his only colleague who respected him as he is in life. The happiness excreting from Charles was felt by everyone in the room. The One smiled wider than ever before when he adjusted his gaze to his fellow friend but it shrunk when he averted it to Catherine Howe. Catherine Howe has known The One for as long as they could remember and they were the opposite of friends. She's the worst of them all, taunting and teasing him and competing against him in every way possible. She is the typically competitive rival that most people have.
"How good to see you, Mr. President!" she salutes, pretending to respect him. The One nods his head and sits down on his seat. Catherine sits down opposite Mr. President and smirks at his long, bony arms. Suddenly, there's a shuffle of feet and a cocking of gun coming from outside the meeting room door. Charles looks up and smiles reassuringly at the president. Catherine looks up with a not-so-reassuring smile but a wide, sinister grin. Meanwhile, two people were talking outside the door and the conversation ended in laughter and a gunshot. The door suddenly banged open, startling The One causing him to fall to the floor in a state of shock. He heard a bang then a loud piercing noise ringing in his ears. The last thing he heard was Charles De Ruyter crying out as Catherine Howe cackled like a witch. The world turned dark and everything was quiet.