Madam President ✓

2. There's A First Time For Everything

Tanya

  After what feels like hours of twiddling our thumbs and watching members of government trickle out to their seats, some congressional aide informs us that the president and Vice President will be out soon.

  This inauguration will be like none before it.

  With how crazy this year has been- natural disasters, a pandemic, a short lived war, the inaugural committee decided it would be best to swear in members of congress first- incase Gretchen or Darrel falls ill or is somehow a victim of a natural disaster or assassination attempt. The secret service approved the plan, because, ya know- if you're not in the presidential line of succession, fuck you all.

  I notice the senate majority leader and house speaker take their seats, the best ones there are- right next to the cameras filming this for every media station. It was no surprise that Darrel Lowe won a second term, given everything that's happened and the support he carries even among the Republican Party.

  The marines voices echo outwards, bouncing off of every possible surface- since this inauguration is closed to the general public.

  "The president and First Lady of the United States!"

I bite the inside of my mouth hard to keep from rolling my eyes.

  Like a reflex, the current serving members of congress stand up. It takes me a few seconds, and by then they're announcing his daughter.

  "The first daughter of the United States!"

  The fourteen year old receives nearly as much applause as her father. Despite him having multiple talks with her about not participating in protests while he's in office, she's done it anyways. He's also said that- while he doesn't agree with everything she believes or does, he does support her making her own decisions and speaking up for herself.

  Cook and her family come next, joining Lowe. From where I am I can't read their lips- I guess I should stop doing that anyways.

  Somebody whispers something in the house speaker's earpiece, and then she's stepping up to the podium with a forced smile on her face and pain in her eyes. I narrow my eyes. Something is wrong.

  Something is very, very wrong- but nobody around me seems to notice. I try to shrug it off. Maybe it's just my paranoia.

  "I became the house speaker two years ago-" I suddenly tune in to her speech. "When less than half of the house was female. Now- I am happy to say that the ratio of men to women, for the first time in our history- is 1:1. This marks the end of an era of sexism. We still have a long way to go on the other equality issues, but I believe this current congress will work tirelessly to fix them, as they've already shown they will in the months following up to now. Before I swear in this new congress I have one more thing to say: Always.... Always expect the unexpected. Because at the end of the day, not one will ever be the same. One day you might be... trying to pass a bill on animal cruelty and then a natural disaster comes along and destroys any hopes it had of getting passed. Now.... I invite all of my new members to stand up."

  We do. My heart beats a thousand miles an hour, with no sign of stopping. This is what I've been working for, so why do I feel sick?

  Breathe in, Breathe out. Breathe in, Breathe out.

  You cannot have a panic attack right now, I tell myself. You will get through this, and later- when you're alone in your office, you can do whatever you want.

  "Please raise your right hand and repeat after me." The house speaker says.

  And with every passing sentence of the paragraph everyone in Washington has grown to memorize, my heartbeat grows louder in my ears, to the point I can barely hear the last one, even as I say it: