“He knows
who I am,” she yelled at me, returning the outer edge of our group. “There’s
more to me than my element!”
“But your
element is still a huge part of who you are,” I calmly rebutted, moving to
stand before her. I didn’t want to push her too far, just enough to see what
Ian, Jake, Mikael, and Xenia already saw. “You can’t deny it exists; trust me…I
tried. And it ruined every plan I had for myself.”
Kora didn’t
say anything; she didn’t look at anyone. Caroline had gone to stare out a
window, still prickling, though I wasn’t sure why. I’d find out in a moment,
once Kora had made her decision.
“It may not
seem like a gift at times, maybe not even most of the time, but we were born
this way for a reason. We’re different for a reason. And there’s a good chance
that our children will be like us.” I didn’t know if Kora wanted children, but
I knew she could relate to being an elemental child and the challenges it
created. “Growing up, didn’t you ever wish things could be different?” I
squeezed her shoulder gently. “We could make things different; we could make
them better.”
A glimmer
of hope entered the mix of doubt, anger, and fear enveloping her. Unspoken
arguments and questions flew around her mind as she tried at first to talk
herself into leaving and then transitioned to all of the reasons she should
stay. “Fine,” she said softly, returning to her seat.
“Caroline?”
I said, going to stand before her. “Are you in?”
She huffed,
staring hard at me, her bronze eyes searching my face and those of the others.
Caroline wasn’t warring with fears and other emotions as Kora had been; all I
felt from her was…petulance.
“Say yes,
Caroline;” Ian sighed, rolling his eyes. “She’ll play unsure as long as you let
her…just for the sake of playing devil’s advocate.”
Shrugging,
she smiled in her mischievous way. “Of course I’m in. I always love shaking
things up a bit.”
“Any more
objections or concerns?” I asked as Caroline and I returned to our seats. Kora
was still mostly in her thoughts, but everyone else seemed content. “Then onto
jobs.” Picking up the folder on the table, I passed a stack of papers around.
“This is the general timetable Caroline and Ian drew up for us.” Passing out
the next sheet, I explained, “Right now I have two different teams. Mikael and
Xenia, can you two set up a website?”
“Those are
easy,” Mikael assured me and Xenia agreed.
“Fantastic.
Caroline said she’ll pay for the server space; you two are webmasters. Whenever
you need the space, talk to her.” Turning my attention to the other, I
continued, “Kora, Jake, Ian, and Caroline, you’ll be responsible for the
commercials. Ian already has some story boards I believe;” he nodded. “Valetta
and Mitchell, you’ll be ambassadors.”
“What for?”
Mitchell asked, cocking an eyebrow at me.
“You’ll see
soon enough. Nick, I wasn’t expecting to have your help,” I admitted.
Laughing,
he said, “You should have.”
“I know,
but it works out great anyway. I don’t have a sheet for it yet, but you’ll be
the head of my security detail.” At his confused look, I added, “I won’t need
it until later, so you can help with either the website or the commercial for
now.”
“Definitely
the commercial;” he grinned, his eyes sparkling with relief. “I think I’d be
more likely to crash the site than help set it up.”
“Perfect.
And Drei you’re helping to oversee everything.” Drei nodded, though I could
sense he wasn’t happy with his assignment. I’d talk to him about it later; I hadn’t
known where else to put him. I needed him here with me, and I wasn’t sure how
much use he’d be with either of the technical options. “Before we adjourn, any
final questions?”
“I think
we’re good;” Caroline began munching on one of her cookies.
“Before you
leave, make sure to meet with your group and figure out when you’ll be meeting.
I’ll e-mail everyone about the next group meeting, and help yourselves. There’s
still plenty of food left. Meeting adjourned.”
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