If last week Charlie and Maddie were just entering the delicate phase of a partnership, this week saw a gargantuan struggle for the reins of power in the back corner of Robinson Hall.
Charlie couldn’t shake his feeling of emasculation — a feeling with which he has become all too familiar — once Maddie lucked into her place at the top of the masthead with a fortuitous last name.
“Why, why was I born to a person with the last name beginning with ‘R!’” he moaned all week.
This feeling of uneasiness paired with impotence continued throughout the week. (And every week.)
So Charlie attempted to reassert dominance whenever possible. What happened when Maddie attempted to type out the note in Courier size 14? Charlie insisted on changing to Times New Roman size 12. When Maddie wanted to type out a bit of this note? Charlie grabbed the computer so violently that Maddie — hoping to protect her valuable electronics — was stunned into submission.
Certainly, onlookers might not observe the complex interplay of mind against mind when the two were snuggling on the couch penning this note (raising weighty questions about office decorum). But Charlie and Maddie felt certain that power was slipping from their fingertips, and they were determined to prevent it from happening.
Still, perhaps who calls the shots doesn’t matter much. While the editors were grappling for control — engaged in sleights so subtle that sociologists will be forced to parse the dynamic for decades — the writers constructed and produced an entire edition of The Mirror. This week’s issue, with every article pitched and brought to life by the writers, discusses DJs, young professors and Unitarian Universalists.
Charlie and Maddie will hopefully become accustomed to working with their worst enemy.
In the meantime, enjoy the issue.
