I work alone

Because if I didn't

They would know

Then I would be busted

Other murderers cannot be trusted

I keep my line of work clean

I wash the knife

Clean the blood

Only work at the night

Others get sloppy

Start to do what they want

Take their way

Don't do what I instruct

Cease to obey

“Teamwork makes the dream work”

Well I disagree

I really frustrated

When people don't listen to me

Then more bodies

Because i get mad

They say i’m crazy

But i really like that

So i work alone

By myself

I don’t need you

Or any help

Thank you

"Missus Gale, I think we should--"

She cut him off, strangely polite despite the firm interruption. "It's Miss."

"Pardon me."

"Quite alright, Mr. King. Leo, if I may? Please, continue."

He nodded, straightening his tie nervously. "It's just that I think we should think about the ramifications. The implications. The potential for criminal prosecutions."

"They're persecutions, Leo. Even the officer with me agrees."

"Yes, well. About that. Are we certain he has legal authority? I believe we're a good distance away from his constabulary."

"He assures me that his tin star is good throughout the whole of the land. I've no reason to disbelieve him."

At this, the large, vain man behind the desk ran a hand through his thick mane of blonde hair. His nervousness was obvious.

"What you're proposing, Miss, is a bit unorthodox, you see."

"Go on." Idly, she scratched the ears of a small dog that sat in her lap.

"You're not from here. The marshal, there, he's from Quadling, unless I miss my guess as to his accent," at this, the law man nodded. King continued, pointing "That gentleman, he has the lean look of the foothills about him."

"No, I'm from the plains. Worked the fields all my life. This is my first adventure!" The tall, slender man smiled beatifically.

King leaned in to whisper to Miss Gale, "I fear he's simple."

She bristled. "Mr. King. I'd be obliged if you'd mind your manners. It is you who came to us, you'll recall."

Chagrined, Leo King, edquire looked away and picked imaginary lint from the lapel of his sport coat. Clearing his throat and continuing, the large man looked back at the motley trio. "Nevertheless, Miss Gale. You are, best I can tell, from beyond our humble borders. You travel in the company of a farmhand and a lawman, yet, word has spread of your lawlessness."

"Clearly, that's why we're open to hiring an attorney. We'd heard you're simply the best."

He puffed his chest. "Well, I don't like to brag..."

"Then you shouldn't. Do you wish to join us, or not?"

"Are manners something you're unfamiliar with in...where are you from, anyway?"

"Wamego."

"Is that near Mifkets?"

"No, it's between Manhattan and St. Marys."

"I see." It was clear that he didn't.

When she offered no further explanation, he continued. "Madam, I'm afraid I can't be of assistance in this matter. You've made quite the powerful enemy of a rather strong political player in Winkie."

"I'm afraid I've no idea where Winkie is."

"Near Ugabu. A dreadful place." He shuddered visibly.

"So, it's true then." She tried to hide her anger, but her temper was a fiery, burning thing. "You are a coward."

"Now see here--"

The law man moved to stand between the lawyer and the lady. His steely gaze halted the larger, much more physically powerful lawyer midway to standing and mid-sentence. Mr. King's puffed indignation deflated as he sank back into his leather armchair.

Leaning around her guardian, Miss Gale met the attorney eye to eye. "Any barrister worth his weight would leap at the chance to defend a wayward traveler. I'm unfamiliar with the ways of your nation, and I assure you, the allegations against me are unfounded and slanderous at best."

"My dear, you've been accused of murder. This man should take you into custody to stand trial!"

Her other companion interjected. "Everyone with eyes can plainly see there was no mens rea. No intent. It cannot be negligence, good sir, because there was not control nor any means to reasonably predict the events. Miss Gale had no idea the whereabouts of the deceased, and if she did, she had no means by which to affect the outcome one way or another. While an affirmative defense may be arguable, I think it best to present a case of natural disaster and complete lack of culpability. In any event, I'm sure you'll agree, no true purpose is served by her sitting in a holding cell and being unable to raise any sort of bond or bail, given her legal status as an immigrant and lack of information on our customs, both legal and folkway. Neverminding the stance that this, at best, is a civil tort and not a criminal matter at all." The farmhand spoke with such authority and clarity that utter silence was the only response from the room. Nervously, he broke the shocked silence, "But what do I know, really? I confess to being a bit of a dullard."

Barrister King finally fought through his shock. "I'm sorry, but did you say you're a farmhand?"

At this, the girl nodded. "Mr. King, meet Mr. Crow. I believe he's prepared a brief for you. Now. Will you help us?"

"You are aware that the family of the deceased is...connected. The matron, Elphaba, is a notoriously cruel woman. I've heard she bathes in blood! I must admit that taking your case would make me every bit the target of reprisals that you yourself have become. This prospect is unsettling."

At this, the hardened lawman nodded. "She has me."

The lawyer poured himself a brandy, quietly contemplating. His hands were shaking as he took a sip. "You have heart and mettle, I'll give you that, sir. Perhaps we can move for summary judgment. I can pull strings to get us on the docket, but we'll have to hit the road for the capital at once."

The small band of soon-to-be-friends had no way of knowing, huddled as they were in Leo King's den, that the wicked western Thropp cartel was listening to every word.

Alone.

I write

Read

Knit

Alone.

I like it that way

When someone finds my alcove, my nook

I give them the look.

Do I look like I want to talk?

When I was in school

Every desk pushed together, a cluster, a group

Teamwork! Right?

Every damn class

Forced to discuss, chat, talk.

I'm no good at that.

Schools designed for extroverts

Lessons made to engage students in conversations

How is that fair to all of us quiet folks?

Do I look like I want to talk?

Memory #1:

Six people in a group, loud and boisterous. The one who can't interject is left out; no one cares that her ideas would have given them a better grade. They simply ignore her, leave her out, cast her quiet additions off to the side.

Memory #2:

The teacher splits the class in half, declares they are two work on opposite sides of a debate. The team is overbearing; three leaders emerge over a dozen other students. Anyone who isn't comfortable in their role must complete it anyway. No objections allowed.

Memory #3:

A partner assignment, two people working separately... together. Split the project, each complete a different piece, no communication necessary. Comfortable, but the end result is awful and their lack of cooperation is apparent.

Memory #4:

A poster project. No one will contribute. Only two suggestions, one infeasible. Somehow the proposer of the winning suggestion becomes the leader. She assigns roles, but no one completes their share of the work. She does it all, with nothing to show for the extra effort.

Memory #5:

A team presentation, four to a group. Three working in tandem, each filling a role suited to her own strengths. The fourth waits until the last moment. They had planned, prepared to present without his section. A brilliant cooperation that became unnecessary. They seek each other to be the next team, awe the class with flawless combinations of their strongest abilities.

In five years in the public school system, I have had exactly one successful group. Usually, I end up doing everything myself. Or doing nothing, as people ignore my introvert self. I've been forced into roles I don't suit, pushed to complete certain parts of assignments that I didn't really know how to do. Or, in contrast, my entire team has been made up of introverts - no communication at all, the slightly more dominant becoming the leader and assigning roles, the entire project completed in utter silence; edits made without speaking. I have only had one decent group: my 10th grade English class presentation group, who later became my group-mates again in my 12th grade English class.

I love to work in teams, when the teams actually work and cooperate. So I guess, most of the time, I really would prefer to work alone... not because I only trust myself to do it correctly (although with some groups, that's true), but rather because dysfunctional teams are less efficient than just doing it all myself.

It is impossible for a deed to be undone

If the wrongdoings of others are condoned

I'd rather not take the fall for others,

I'd work alone

People are confused when I say I'd chose the latter

But the answer is simple to say

If you've been held to the flame

Someone would rather work alone,

Than be the one others blame

An old adage that’s been mostly forgotten and desperately needs to make a comeback in our time. It goes like this: “There are two types of people in the world: those that want to be left alone, and those who never leave you alone.”

I have both feet firmly planted in the first camp. Unfortunately, I now live in a time and place in history in which those in the latter camp have taken over just about everything: the government, the mainstream, Big-Pharma medical industry, the mainstream “news” information industry, the mainstream, Big-Agra food industry, government “public” education, organized religion, etc.

I should have been born a century and a half ago. I would much, much, MUCH rather put up with rattlesnakes, “Indian wars,” higher infant mortality, eating nothing but beans and meat and weeds, and having to make and wash my own britches—all of these would be a wondrous living existential blissful dream if only they came with a plot of settler’s land and a government and media and greedy, modern, corporate entities that had no way to snoop on me, no way to lie to me, no way to steal from me. I am a LMtFA-type of person. I wish there were more like me. There are some. But if the last three years taught me anything, it taught me that folks like me are hugely outnumbered at this time and in this place in history.