eight-ing

Me and Eight are very good friends.
We have known each other a long time.
She is lovely.
Sometimes predictable and sometimes not.
I know her as quick-witted and full of energy;
I have seen her scuffing her heels lazily, too, almost late.
Sometimes Eight drags extra limbs around with her.

Eight plays tricks on me.
She will find two halves of her
self and try to confuse me with them.
Or worse, four selves.
Eight has split-personality disorder.

She is extremely resistant to outsiders.
She insists on being the centre of attention.
She is not happy about having to adjust to Nine types.
She thinks they are awful.
There is no particular reason
they are OK sorts
but she just doesn't get on with them so well.
Eight is okay with Sixes.
If she must compromise, she would prefer to be around Sixes than Nines.
Tens are ok too.
But she would prefer to stick with other Eights.

Eight knows she has charm.
She shamelessly flaunts her charisma.
She flirts with everyone and has multiple long-term relationships.
She seduced me.
As I said, we've known each other a long time.
Quite a long time,

For a while I almost forgot that there were other people around.
I ignored them all.
It's difficult.
Everyone else is flirting with Eight too and she is flirting back.
You know you are part of this massive polygamous family but you think it is good.
You like it.
You like it lots,
the family's rhythm is so enticing.
You will go to see Eight every hour
and become obsessive and
demand her company every minute.
Even though she is flirting with everyone, she seems to have
eyes only for
you.
She gives you instant gratification, if you get her right.
You can't miss her.
She is stealing from rainbows and borrowing from Beethoven.
He's been dead for ages anyhow.
There's no rights on his property anymore.
Besides she doesn't take much from him, only what he can afford to give.

I like Eight. I do.

Sometimes I leave her face but then I see her looking at me
Guilty guilty guilty
It's not as if she has no other company,
plenty of other people like her but
I can still feel her insisting I stay with her.
She's very obsessive. She's not infatuated but
she definitely wants all the friends she can get and also
she gets jealous easily.
Especially if you start hanging out with those Ten types.
They are so similar, you see.
Eight is almost human and knows what it's like
to be replaced by something she almost could be.
She is almost human and she is almost ten but
Eight is neither.

Whereas I am human.
I am not Ten at all, but you know, sometimes opposites attract.
Maybe we could strike up a friendship, Ten and I.
Then I wouldn't be so reliant on Eight.

The problem is, you still need Eight.
The other types, they are like smoking.
If you just give up -- suddenly
You can avoid cigarettes forever.
But Eight is like eating.
You can't quit Eight because you need her.
You still need to eat.
You and Eight are locked into contract.

I like Eight. I do.
But she is best in moderation.