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@ellette-giselle @elishavet-pidyon @hybridlore @anyone-interested…
A new chapter. Quite short, actually.
CHAPTER 1
March 4, 2016
Walt Jefferson XXIII was not a stranger to the government or their meetings. He knew more about the state than any boy his age. His family was prominent in Extroit. Their ancestors had a hand in the building of the nation, so King Williaam agreed that the family would always know about government decisions.
In the back of a musky office room sat Ira—that’s what everyone called Walt XXIII. He sat quietly, his pale face framed by dark hair and his grayish-blue eyes staring down at the floor. He listened as Walt XXII and two representatives conversed about the recent government decision to build parks in Burne’s city of Fremir.
Makai, the young recently elected Representative of Fremir, rubbed his hands together to hide his nervousness, “We let the people of this city decide where the parks would go, and the placements are already secured. We want a new city park, between Heritage Community Center and Heritage Mall. A park for Greencoin’s children will be constructed on Hawthorn Street—that’s walking distance for them. And a third will be built close to the Long Institute of Education.”
Walt set the glass of wine he was holding down on a side table and ran his finger along the edge, “Are you aware of the cost estimate for a project this large?”
“Improving quality of life for Extroitians is important.” Makai stated, “You’re an Extroitian as well, Walt.”
“I’m not arguing against the value,” Walt said, his voice measured, “I’m saying that we can’t ignore the financial condition of the city or the nation. Burne isn’t overflowing with money, and neither is the rest of our country.”
“We’ve already completed the financial review.” Sasha leaned forward. He was the representative of Burne.
“Then tell me—how do you plan to fund this?”
“Burne’s council has approved a temporary levy. The increased revenue will cover construction until the parks are completed.”
Ira tilted his head, suppressing his growing frustration. Parks… placed everywhere but where they were needed. It seemed the funding was a bigger deal than placement. He ruminated over the best way to present his question, when the moment would be right.
The conversation carried on for a little longer, but it eventually came to close. Sasha and Makai stood up and left the office, their conversation continuing as they left down a hall. Walt stood up and removed his suit jacket, laying it over the back of his chair.
There was a knock at the door, and it opened as Walt’s assistant stepped into the room. The assistant bowed slightly, “Sir, the cases are loaded in the car. Your things are ready to go whenever you are.”
“I will be there shortly,” Walt waved the assistant off. He walked to a closet on the eastern side of the office, retrieving a different suit jacket.
Ira waited a moment and then asked, “Father, are the taxes for everyone?”
“Most likely,” Walt slid into his new jacket and made a couple final adjustments to his appearance. “Everyone is benefiting, so everyone contributes.”
Ira tapped the tips off his shoes together, “The placements for those parks are weird, if everyone is supposed to benefit.”
“Why do you think?”
“They’re building parks near a school, naturally. Hawthorn Street is walking distance from Greencoin, the families there will use it…” Ira began, “But a big portion of Fremir’s population lives in Needslight. Does the city need another adult park when kids in Needslight—”
“Needslight had a park, Ira.” Walt interrupted, “In fact, they had a few. Walt XVIII even funded one himself—Shaubury Park, he built it for the kids on Daughan street. The problem…”
Ira tilted his head.
“…is upkeep. You see, when the king found out how much money the representatives were dumping on park repairs and construction back in ‘73, he and the council stopped approving so many of the requests. They shut down all the parks except one on the outskirts, and as long as that one is not unsafe,” Walt rubbed his goatee and then turned towards his son, “it’s sufficient for their needs.”
He lifted a suitcase from beside the couch and started towards the door. “I’m leaving now, but I will be back in a few months. Before your fourteenth, I promise.”
Ira sat for a moment, even after the door shut behind Walt and the sound of footsteps down the hall faded into silence. He furrowed his brow and bit his lower lip.
“Sufficient for their needs…” He muttered, standing up and stretching before he left the room. A poor excuse for trying. He ran several calculations through his head, comparing his father’s words to things he’d read. “Dogs have more parks than kids in Needslight.”
Ira made his way to the mansion’s library, down halls lined with paintings of Jefferson ancestors and tall windows, through arching doorways and rooms furnished with passed-down antiques. He paused on a balcony that overlooked the main living room. His mother, Belle, and her few friends lounged on the couches surrounding a glass coffee table. Their excessive dresses and glasses of wine sparkled beneath the chandelier. They all chatted in light voices, and their laughs rose in the air—polished and identical.
They did not look up.
He preferred it that way.
Ira continued walking and reached the library after a short while. He ran his fingers along the shelves, breathing in the smell of books and the stillness he enjoyed. He found a thrill in starting a new book, eagerly opening the pages like a hungry child eating a meal for the first time. Sometimes Ira would close his eyes and read the first book his hand landed on. The library had every book one could imagine, thanks to Walt’s obsession of collecting signed copies.
With a book in hand, he started towards a couch on the northern side of the room, in front of three large windows that overlooked a garden. Ira would spend his whole day on this couch.
_____________
1992 rolled around like a race car—fast.
Cookie’s eyes drifted open, starting the day with sunlight beaming down on her round nine-year-old face, the smell of bacon drifting through the crack in the door, and the sound of her neighbor’s arguing over a clothesline through her window.
“Give me a turn with the line, Amanda.” One neighbor said, setting her basket down while she pinned her hair up, “You had it yesterday, so today’s my turn!”
“Those were your clothes hanging out yesterday, you witch!” Amanda retorted. Amanda threw a couple tee shirts on the line and pinned them with one of the clips she held in her mouth, “Maybe if you didn’t hog the line every single morning, we’d all get a fair turn!”
Cookie leaned up and stretched, wincing as the argument escalated.
She went to the bathroom to get ready for the morning, and then went to the kitchen and sat down at the table. Her sister bustled around the counters, plating breakfast. She slid a plate in front of Cookie and sighed, “Hurry up and eat. I need you to come with me to the laundromat. The laundry needs to be cleaned and I don’t wanna miss the bus.”
“Okay. Thank you, Marley.” Cookie’s eyes lit up. She lifted her plastic fork and wolfed down breakfast.
wa wawawa waaaa
ack… if there are word typos where it’s combining two words/missing spaces, ignore them. My actual doc has spaces, I don’t know why its not translating over properly…
wa wawawa waaaa
That was hands down the best chapter yet, and Ira is my favorite character. I just feel like I really know him! The opening paragraph is amazing and you really get hooked in. You also gave us enough info that a 13-year-old talking politics, economics, and government as reasonably as he was is not surprising.
The only thing I caught was the king’s name was spelled with two “A”s. Not sure if that was a typo or on purpose.
Anyways, very, very good chapter!
And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who couldn't hear the music
Oh yayy!! I’m so glad. lolol Ira is one of my favorites.
Yeah, that was on purpose heehee.
I can’t help but be weird with names…lolwa wawawa waaaa
alright then, that works.
Yes, I am really looking forward to hearing more about him. I have to dig up that drawing you did…….
And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who couldn't hear the music
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