White Niggers
Chapter 33
Friday, September 6th, 2019, 19:30
Tim's flat, Helmut-Qualtinger Hof, Daringergasse 12-20, 19th district of Vienna
Timur comes to a party organized by some of Lisa's fellow students. It takes place in a flat in a Gemeindebau – an eight-story municipal housing building. It is near the "divorce haven" hotel in the Sieveringer Straße.
It reminds Timur of the prefabricated concrete buildings that dominate many residential areas in the Eastern Europe. The contrast between both buildings is as striking as that between tourism and immigration.
He sees Lisa talking with someone in a remote corner of the living room. He starts walking towards her, when Zoe stops him.
"Good evening, Timur," Zoe says.
She holds a glass of champagne in her hand, but seems sober and in a better mood than at the meeting in "Capital City Lights."
"Hello," Timur says.
"I think you should let Lisa talk to her classmates," Zoe says.
"Don't they have time to talk outside of parties?" Timur says. "They study together, don't they?"
"Still, let them talk whatever they want to talk about," Zoe says.
She takes Timur by his arm and gently moves him away from Lisa.
"Here, have some wine," Zoe says.
She gives Timur a glass of red wine. He takes the glass. Zoe points at a young, probably Turkish woman, wearing a hijab.
"That's the kind of woman you should be going after, not Lisa," Zoe says. "I think you two would fit together."
"No way," Timur says.
"Why not?" Zoe says.
"First, there is nothing to talk about with her," Timur says. "I know nothing about Turkey, she knows nothing about Chechnya."
"That's very patriotic of you," Zoe says.
"And second, there is no indications she is smart," Timur says. "There is no indications she is a free thinker."
"How can you know if you haven't even talked with her?" Zoe says.
"If she is a free thinker, she would not wear a hijab," Timur says.
"I didn't know you are an Islamophobe," Zoe says. "You hate your own religion."
"I am going through the Muslim motions as much as you are going through Orthodox ones," Timur says. "Except twice per year, during big holidays."
"By the way, how things are going on the love front?" Timur says. "Did you patch up things with Andrew?"
"Kind of. I'm officially divorced now. And I found a new boyfriend," Zoe says. "Faster than expected."
Zoe smiles, and Timur can't help but feel disgusted by this kind of smile.
"Just make sure that Andrew is not a shapeshifter," Timur says.
"What?" Zoe says.
"I read in an article that in America, there is a big problem," Timur says. "A lot of shapeshifters."
"Shapeshifters, that's nonsense." Zoe says.
"It's science, Zoe," Timur says. "It goes like this: A woman is dating a man who treats her poorly. She dumps him and finds another boyfriend. But this new boyfriend is not really new. It's the same old jerk who just took the shape of a different man. And this happens multiple times, over years, sometimes decades."
Timur takes a couple of sips from his wine glass.
"This is a big problem," Timur says. "Contrary to vampires, shapeshifters do not fear light, silver, and garlic."
He goes silent and looks at Zoe. The grindstones of her mind are slowly turning. Very slowly.
Zoe is not the sharpest tool in the shed, Timur thinks. And alcohol does not help, either.
"This is a joke, right?" Zoe says after a couple of minutes.
"No-o-o-o," Timur says.
"You did not talk like this before," Zoe says slowly.
She looks in Timur's eyes with the bitterness of a slaver towards a white nigger she cannot whip.
"It's Lisa who made me this way," Timur says.