Platinum Rivals by Lori Yamamoto

[Verse 1 - The Arrival] The elevator doors opened and I was inside a postcard of the city. Everyone was wearing very expensive silence. [Verse 2 - The Queen] She entered like someone who has practiced entering. Her dress was the color of money after dark. The ice in my glass made a small sound. [Verse 3 - The Observation] I wanted to share a glass of ice with her. Not to fight. Just to see what lives behind the practiced smile. The cracks that the light finds anyway. [Verse 4 - The Man in White] He was there too. The man in the white suit from before. He leaned close to her ear. He was selling her something. Safety, maybe. Or a story about safety. [Verse 5 - The Performance] She is playing a role called "The Innocent Princess." He is playing "The Friend." They think I am furniture. A small piano in the corner. [Verse 6 - The Smell] She smells of Joy perfume and something else. Something that does not wash off. A Hermès bag on her arm is holding all the things she does not say. [Verse 7 - The Calculation] They are very good at this dance. They have rehearsed. But real chemistry does not need rehearsals. It just… happens. Or it does not. [Verse 8 - The Truth] The truth is not in the gold frame on the wall. It is in the way her fingers tighten on the glass when someone says a certain name. [Verse 9 - The Stalemate] They are two statues in a gallery of one room. Waiting to see who will move first. Who will blink. The city hums below, not caring. --- [Verse 10] I finished my drink. I closed the piano lid very quietly. They did not notice. "Keep the tip," I said. No one heard. Or maybe they did not want to hear. [Outro] It is funny. You can buy the painting. You can buy the name. You can buy the perfume and the bag and the suit. But you cannot buy the way the light hits a person who has nothing to hide. I think I will go back home now. The train is probably running late. That is okay. I like waiting on the platform. You see real people there. Okay.