Facade

by Jordan Faris

She has a Medusa-head of dirty dreadlocks and she walks back and forth between the study aisles, spitting out threats and profanities at the bookshelves. The students in their first year of community college ignore her; after all, what will she really do? I remember a story about an ancient king feigning madness to escape his enemies, drool glistening on his royal beard. I watch her weave her way around the chairs and computer desks, spewing her tirades at oblivious targets. I think about that king and his ploy, how it bought him life to fight another day. For a moment, she stops and takes a deep breath, a second to meditate on where to go from here.

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Jordan Faris is an artist and writer. He's served as writer in residence for Mascara Magica, a prominent multicultural theater project in Southern California. His work has been published in Slipstream, The Wormwood Review, Xib, Puck, The Quarterly and others. He's currently developing projects in the graphic fiction genres.