“What are you doing on the computer, Ryan?” Ryan’s mother asked.

“Just looking at our Parliament’s website! We learnt about Parliament in school today and I wanted to do some more research about it.” Ryan replied, not caring to turn his head and face his mother. “Nothing seems to be happening today.”

“It’s nice that you’re learning these things in school. And about nothing happening, I did hear that they want to change the name of our province.”

“They want to change District 4? Can’t we all just agree to call it something else?”

“We could, but we would still have to keep that in records somewhere. Making a bill, suggesting a law, is the more professional way of doing it.” Ryan’s mother replied, trying to see if what she said had made sense to her son.

“Oh, okay!” Ryan replied.
 

---

As the day came to an end, Angela made her way home from work. As she walked, she looked around; she looked at the buildings around her, at the trees with their bright green leaves rustling in the gentle summer breeze, and the shores of Lake Natans. It was a beautiful evening.

“Hey Angela!” a man’s voice called from behind her. Angela turned back and saw Edgar, an old friend of hers, trying to catch up with her.

“Hi, Edgar. How have things been?” Angela asked politely.

“Not much going on with me. I just wanted to tell you some news I’ve been hearing,” Edgar replied, slightly out of breath.

“Oh, what is it?” Angela asked, wondering what Edgar was about to tell her.

“I’ve heard that District 4 is going to change. Let me be more precise, the name ‘District 4’ is going to change.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. From what I hear, someone’s going to introduce a bill to rename District 4.”

“Why though? Of course, ‘District 4’ has always been a bit of an awkward name but it makes us unique!”

“I know as much as you do on the ‘why’.”

Angela rarely bothered to find out what was going on in the Parliament of District 4. However, her home province being renamed was something else. She asked Edgar for more information but, unfortunately, what he had told her was all that he knew.
 

---

Marco Fairvale opened the door of his home and found his wife, Alexandra, playing with their daughter. Alexandra walked to the door to greet Marco and asked him how his day was. He ignored the question.

“I think the bill’s ready,” Marco said with a serious look on his face.

“To be introduced?” Alexandra asked.

“Yes. It may take months to pass through both the House of Assembly and the Legislative Council so, the sooner the process begins, the sooner it will end.” Marco placed his hat on the hatstand and walked to the kitchen to get himself a drink.

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31st July 2020
House of Assembly, Natans, District 4

“In summary,” Marco Fairvale continued, “This bill, one, changes the name of the province and, two, changes the official demonym of District 4. Thank you.” As Marco sat down, Laurena Blossom, the Clerk of the House of Assembly, stood up.

“First reading; a Bill for an Act to Rename District 4 and for related purposes,” she said and sat down again.

“I move that this bill be read a second time,” Marco said. A deafening silence followed. He looked around and it seemed like nobody was going to second the motion. Anthony Meadowstar, the Speaker, broke the silence.

“Is there a second?” asked the Speaker. There was no response. Marco scanned the House one last time to see if anyone was going to second his motion and, unfortunately, there seemed to be none.

“Th-” as the Speaker began, Eleanor Thornesmith, a member of the House of Assembly stood up.

“Second,” she paused, “I second the motion.”
 

---

The House adjourned and Marco felt that he should thank Eleanor for supporting the bill. He managed to catch up with her outside.

“Hi, Eleanor,” Marco said.

“Hello! Please, call me Ella,” she replied.

“Ella, I just wanted to thank you for supporting my bill.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“Seriously, no one, not even the people who worked on the bill, seemed like they wanted it to get a second reading.”

“Maybe they realised how trivial the bill was.”

Marco at first looked confused, then he looked at the ground.

“It’s...trivial?” he finally asked but as he looked up, Marco couldn’t see Eleanor anywhere.

“Hey, Marco!” someone’s voice called. Marco turned around and saw Matthew Russo, one of the people who worked on the bill with Marco, waving.

“Hi, Matt,” Marco replied.

“I wanted to apologise for not seconding your motion. My head was in the clouds but hey, the bill’s getting a second reading!”

“It’s fine,” Marco said, not fully paying attention to the conversation. “Is it trivial?” he asked.

“Is what trivial?” Matthew asked back.

“The bill. Is it trivial?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I just talked to Eleanor Thornesmith and she said that the reason that no one else seconded the motion was that the bill was trivial.”

“I mean...I don’t think it’s trivial. Last time I checked, the name of a province was pretty significant.”

“You’re right.” Marco sighed. The two said goodbye and Marco began making his way home.

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10th August 2020
Eleanor Thornesmith's Home, Natans, District 4

Eleanor looked at the phone in her hand. She was still wondering whether she should call or not. She thought it through one more time in her head and made her decision.

“Pick up,” Eleanor said impatiently, the phone against her ear. Eventually, she put the phone down. Nobody answered.
 

---

Marco Fairvale's Home, Natans, District 4

“I’m forgetting something,” Marco muttered to himself as he left his house in the morning. He stood in the doorway, thinking of what he could have forgotten. “It’s probably nothing,” he concluded and closed the door behind him, leaving his phone on the table.

Marco’s phone began to ring.

“Do you hear that?” Alexandra asked her daughter.

“Yeah. Sounds like dad’s ringtone,” Luca replied. Alexandra looked all over the house to find out where the sound was coming from and she eventually found Marco’s phone on the dining table.

“Hmm. Unknown number,” Alexandra mumbled to herself, “I’ll let it ring.”

Alexandra began to walk away when she realised that the person calling might have had something important to say. She quickly picked up the phone and answered.

“Hello. This is Alexandra Fairvale. Who am I speaking to?” Alexandra asked.

“Hello. I am looking for Marco Fairvale,” a woman’s voice replied.

“Who am I speaking to?” Alexandra asked again, starting to lose her patience.

“Eleanor Thornesmith, Member of the House of Assembly of District 4. Is Marco Fairvale around?”

“Not right now. Why did you want to talk to him?”

“I wanted to talk to him about his bill but since he isn’t there, I’ll hang up. It was nice talking to you.”

“Wait. The renaming District 4 bill?”

“That’s the one.”

“You’re a member of the House of Assembly, right? What do you think about it?”

“The bill? I think it’s a bit, what’s the right word?" Eleanor paused, “Trivial.”

“In what way?” Alexandra asked, waiting to hear Eleanor's opinion on Marco's bill.

“Mainly because it’s an amendment to the Constitution of District 4, and constitutional amendments are always a complex process. The whole process is just very costly and those funds could be directed elsewhere.”

“So the process is what makes the bill trivial? I mean, all bills to amend the Constitution of Phanama or the Constitutions of the provinces would seem a bit trivial if you looked at them that way. Shouldn’t the main concern be the content of the bill?”

“Not exactly. Of course, the bill’s content matters, but you have to look at the long term effect. The main effect of the bill that I see is renaming everything that has the name ‘District 4’. Anyway, I need to leave for work so this conversation needs to be cut short. It was nice talking to you, Alexandra.”

“It was nice talking to you too.” Alexandra ended the call. Suddenly, Marco burst in through the front door.

“Left. Phone. Table!” he said in between deep breaths.

“Here it is,” Alexandra said while handing Marco the phone. He thanked Alexandra and walked out of the house, still slightly out of breath. Marco checked his phone’s call history and noticed that an unknown number had called twice, however, the second call was answered. “I wonder who that was,” he said under his breath.

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21st August 2020
House of Assembly, Natans, District 4

Marco took a deep breath and cleared his throat.

“District 4,” Marco began, “is the only province in Phanama to have a name that is two words long, yet this ‘unique’ feature neither represents nor shows the unique culture of District 4. The Natans Renaming Act proposes a new name for the province, Natans, which is the Lacian name of District 4. The bill also proposes that the official demonym be changed to ‘Natani’, to be consistent with the new name.”

Marco looked up and concluded, “I believe that these changes, in particular the name ‘Natans’, represent the culture of District 4 effectively and sufficiently.”

The second reading debate began.

“While this bill seems to emphasise culture, we cannot forget about history,” Priscilla Moreno of the Liberal Party began, after being called to speak, “The name ‘District 4’ is as old as the Commonwealth of Phanama so changing the name of the province is almost like throwing forty-four years of history down the drain. I’d also like to add that if this bill passes, the transition period from District 4 to Natans could end up being very costly. Nonetheless, it is important to note that even if the Natans Renaming Act passes, due to its nature, it will not only be members in the House and the Council making the final decision.”

Priscilla Moreno took her seat and Social Democrat Robert Thyme stood up to speak. “Declevis is named after the Declever River and Actora after the sea; these names represent something. You could say that the name ‘District 4’ represents former administrative divisions, however in Phanama, the term ‘district’ is no longer in use. The new name of this province should represent something meaningful - something that will still be relevant many years in the future; and I think that the name ‘Natans’ fits those criteria.”

“I’ll keep my comments brief,” Harris Hawktide of the Green Party began, “we could do with or without this bill. Since Phanama was founded, the name ‘District 4’ has worked just fine. We could change this name and all that would change are the names of a few buildings and what people call us. All in all, whatever decision we make, the difference may not be as significant as we think it will be.”

There was more support than opposition this far; Marco and Matthew Russo were content.

Chester Vitale, another Green, said “It’s quite frustrating to see that we are putting more focus on bills like these when the environment is yelling our names. The beaches could be cleaner, the streets nicer and we could use a bit more greenery around District 4. Why do we all of a sudden feel the need to change something that has worked perfectly well for over four decades? What happened to if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it?! We shouldn’t try to change something that works, especially if no major problems have arisen due to its existence.”

The House processed Vitale’s words and Eleanor Thornesmith began speaking. “I must agree with what other members have said. The long title of this bill is ‘A Bill for an Act to Rename District 4 and for related purposes’. What are those related purposes? Quite frankly, I believe that the long title ‘A Bill for an Act to Waste Money and Other Important Resources’ would suit this bill just fine. Why do we want to dip our hands deep into the treasury just because someone thinks that District 4 is an awkward name? Greenville is an awkward name but do you see Delegetsrat engaging in a debate about it? No, I didn’t think so. I’m not sure how they do things up there but I’m pretty sure that if a bill like this was presented, it would be shot down before it could be introduced.”

“I would like to remind us that just because someone feels strongly against a bill, they do not earn the right to mock it, make fun of it or insult it,”  Veronica Brightwillow shot a glance at Eleanor Thornesmith and took a deep breath, “In regards to the bill we are debating, it has my full support.”

Marco calmly addressed the issues that had been brought up and, afterwards, Eleanor Thornesmith stood up to speak.

“Thank you for clearing things up, however, my position has not changed. I would also like to remind us that just because someone feels strongly against a person, they do not earn the right to mock them, make fun of them or insult them,” she shot a glance at Veronica Brightwillow.

“Please,” Russo interrupted, “This is a House of Assembly, not a House of Pettiness. Keep your issues outside of the chamber. There Mr Speaker; you’re welcome.”

“Says the person who is showing passive aggression towards the Speaker,” Chester Vitale remarked.

“Says the person who is showing passive aggression towards another Member,” Russo snapped back.

“Oh please, don’t start. I could do this all day-”

“Order!” Anthony Meadowstar boomed. Vitale and Russo both apologised and silence followed. Thornesmith broke it.

“Who made you Speaker, Russo?” she asked, pretending to scratch her head. Russo was unimpressed.

“I don’t know. Last time I checked, the Speaker was at the front of the House and,” Russo pretended to gasp in shock, “I’m not at the front of the House!”

“Cut it out,” Brightwillow said curtly.

“Don’t act like you’re better than everyone here, you started this mess. So why don’t you finish it?” Vitale asked.

“You know what, maybe I will-”
 

---

All she could hear was shouting. She looked out of the window, expecting to see a riot, but no one was there. Her head began to throb. Where was that noise coming from?

She walked into the living room and the shouting became louder. Ryan was sitting in front of the TV, but his lips were sealed; the noise was not coming from him, or the outside, but from the television.

A full-blown argument was going on in the House of Assembly, with insults flying all over the chamber. The Speaker was trying to calm everyone down but was failing miserably. One Member yelled, “I will never understand you, you-”

She quickly covered Ryan’s ears.

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22nd August 2020
Natans, District 4

Marco Fairvale was wearing a plain black hoodie with the hood up. It was a misty morning and this part of Natans had barely woken up, but you could still hear the bustle from the city.

He headed over to a newsstand near his house and looked at the newspapers. Each one was criticising a different MHA; Spiritus Times focused on Veronica Brightwillow ‘starting the madness’ and was condemning Eleanor Thornesmith, while the Lake Natans Latest criticised the argument between Matthew Russo and Chester Vitale. Marco Fairvale was not exempted.

He picked up a copy of Phanama Now and began reading the article on the District 4 House of Assembly.

“Trei, syettanta,” the newsvendor snapped. Marco looked up at the newsvendor. The newsvendor looked down at the newspaper. Marco opened his wallet.

“Sorry, I didn-” Marco began, but something bumped into him and he fell to the ground.

“I’m so sorry, let me help you up,” a voice said. Marco looked at the person behind it and realised that he recognised them.

“Thanks, Eleanor,” Marco replied and took the hand that Eleanor held out to him. She was visibly confused and, when he noticed, Marco lowered his hood, then searched his hoodie pocket for his glasses, and put them on. They were surprisingly intact.

“You look very...different in that...attire,” Eleanor remarked.

“Good morning to you too,” Marco said, sarcastically. “Do you often come by here? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in this part of town before.”

“I was going on a run and just happened to pass by this area.”

“Oh, okay.” An awkward silence followed.

“So...your bill? Still against it.”

“Still wonder why.”

“I thought I had made myself very clear yesterday; the cost for it to be implemented is just not worth it. Those funds could be directed elsewhere and, even if the bill passes, the effects won’t be as significant as you think.”

“Going by a completely different name isn’t significant, to you?”

“That’s all that’s changing - what people call us. Only the official Austral name of District 4 is going to change so only a handful of Austral-speaking people will even care about it.”

“So, you care about it?”

“How did you get that from what I said?”

“I mean, you’re an Austral-speaking person.” Marco shrugged and remembered to pay the newsvendor 4 pesos. He let the newsvendor keep the change.

“Wh- you know what? I won’t even try to counter that. My position hasn’t changed.”

“There’s still a bit of time between now and the actual Second reading. Maybe your position will have changed by then.”

“Ah, Meadowstar seems to have a liking towards your bill. I don’t.”

“His opinion towards the bill doesn’t matter, what happened yesterday wasn’t a debate.”

“The opinion of the most powerful man in the House of Assembly doesn't matter?” she asked mockingly.

“Well-” Marco sighed. He began to walk away.

“Out of curiosity, do you intend to withdraw your bill?”

Marco smirked. “Does Phanama have eight provinces?”

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