Page 37 of The Reverse Cinderella

Chapter 6

The next couple of weeks were hectic. Piaget became the center of attention for a number of classes who submitted platform ideas for the campaign, social media ad ideas, and how to polish her image for the public. Piaget was glad she had enlisted Mrs. Brown. The woman was a drill sergeant and seemed to know exactly how to proceed. Piaget was consulted but that was about it. She had a photo session with the art class and the next thing she knew, there were posters all around campus telling people to vote for her. It was crazy.

Adam, Sasha and Mariah set up a booth, taking turns manning it and trying to educate students by handing out flyers. She suspected Adam was responsible for the sudden ads she saw of herself on Facebook. Total strangers were coming up, asking for selfies and wishing her luck against Mayor Johns.

Mrs. Brown gave her a spot on-air every single day for a half hour show. Piaget couldn’t believe her luck. She was going to graduate with an amazing amount of practice. It was during one of the shows that she came up with an idea.

“I’d like to talk to you today about the homeless issue in our city. We all know Mayor Johns’ plan to ship them away to other cities so that they aren’t our problem anymore. And that would be the easy thing to do. However, I happen to think that sometimes the easy way isn’t the right way.”

Piaget swallowed and put down her notes. She was going to say this from the heart. She leaned forward to the microphone. “I happen to know a few homeless people. I’ve shared a sandwich and tea with Ed. Ed is an elderly man who lives in the Elm Park. He doesn’t want to live there but our local shelters only allow a man to stay for one month before they need to move on. They can return after another thirty days. The thing is, a lot of our shelters are full, so even if a man like Ed wanted to stay, there isn’t always room.

“Ed didn’t choose to become homeless. He had to sell his home, his car, everything he owned. He did it because his wife Colleen had cancer and he needed to pay for her treatments. He took care of her until she passed. They were married for sixty-five years.

“Ed is saving up his pension so that he can move away and find cheaper housing. He has no children to take care of him.

“However, someone from the community has been looking after Ed. Max is homeless too. I don’t know his living situation exactly, because he hasn’t told me. Yet he has a job and he uses some of his earnings to help Ed and many others. He buys breakfast from a local café and distributes it to a number of people who live under the bridge near Edgemont. Max is a generous, kind man who takes care of so many others.

“Anyone who knows Max is very lucky,” Piaget swallowed the lump in her throat. “I dated Max for a short time. When I found out he was homeless, I broke up with him. Not exactly because he was homeless, I hope I’m not that much of a snob. I broke up with him because I felt he had lied to me, he hadn’t been open to me about his situation. Being homeless has a stigma attached to it. Max doesn’t have a mental illness, he’s not an addict. He just is in a situation where he finds himself unable to afford a place to live. How many people have to choose between groceries, rent or utilities every month? They juggle their finances until finally, they can’t juggle anymore. Yes, there are people who are in need of services, mental and physical health services and they are on the streets. There are even some very scary people out there. Yet there are amazing people like Max.”

Piaget sighed. “I can understand why he didn’t want to tell me. When the common reaction is to just shove these people away, like what Mayor Johns wants to do, or just to ignore them, how could he expect that I would be okay with him living this lifestyle?

“I propose we try to find funding to help these people in any way possible. No one should have to live on the streets if they don’t want to. I know that it means we’ll have to cut other programs or figure out a way to raise the funds. However, I don’t feel it’s right or fair to simply send these people away. They have names, they have stories, they are important too.”

Piaget could see Melanie grab a tissue and wipe her eyes. Piaget gave her a watery smile. “I know all of our budgets are tight. Sometimes I don’t know if I’m going to make my rent too. But I would like for us, the students of this college, to come together and put on a dinner for the homeless people in this city. I’d like us to make and carry warm meals to the hundreds of people who don’t always get them. I’d like us to talk to these people and understand that they are nice, they care and they have hopes too. I’ve put together a sign-up sheet and a donation sheet. If you can’t give money, or food that we can use, then please give your time.

“And Max, I know you’re probably not listening, this being a college station, but I’m sorry and I’d like a second chance if you’ll give me one.”

Melanie came on the air. “We’ll be opening the phone lines for calls. If you have a question or would like to volunteer or donate to Piaget’s feed and talk to the homeless campaign, please call.”

She put on a commercial and smiled at Piaget. “That was good. You’re a natural.”

“Thanks,” Piaget said wryly. “I just hope we don’t get in trouble from the Dean when he hears about this.”

“Oh, I think Mrs. Brown can handle him,” Melanie winked.

Piaget gave her a confused look. “What do you mean?”

“Rumor has it, Mrs. Brown was spotted in the Dean’s office doing some extracurricular activities? I think she’s looking to change her last name,” Melanie grinned. “His comb over was a little mussed when she came out.”

“No…” Piaget breathed. She couldn’t believe it. Lydia and the Dean? “Really?”

Melanie nodded. “Hey, we’ve got calls!”

“Isn’t that normal?” Piaget asked.

“Not really,” Melanie laughed. “Students tend to listen to other more popular mainstream stations.”

They took calls and pledges. Piaget was really surprised and happy with the level of enthusiasm and participation that was happening from her simple speech.

Then she saw Melanie get excited. The student producer made a motion for Piaget to wrap it up quickly with her current caller. Piaget did and gave Melanie a confused look.

“We have a caller on line five,” Melanie spoke over the airwaves like it was any other caller but she was practically dancing in her seat.

“Hello?” Piaget asked, hitting the button. “This is Uni 5, Piaget here.”

“Hello beautiful,” said a familiar sexy voice.

There was a hitch in Piaget’s voice as she replied. “Hi Max. I guess you were listening.”