"No plans involving other people," I say, exhaling a little bit because it seems like a shame. Now, I'm not the biggest social butterfly in the neighborhood, but I definitely work better and faster when I have people to bounce my ideas off of. When you leave me alone for too long, I end up needing to talk out loud and at the wall, because at least that feels like I'm getting a little bit of feedback.

I'm not like those people who can close themselves off in a room and emerge a couple hours later with their whole life sorted. Even though I really wish I could. It would make everything easier.

"But lots of plans involving the upcoming election. I met someone from outside of Darrow who works for the government; she works for the mayor. And I talked to her, asked her what it would take to run for the city council, and it doesn't sound impossible. Except I'm building my way up from scratch. I don't know much about policy or writing platforms."