The more he thought about it, the more he realized there may be some value to Mayor Lucas’s offer that he join the advisory council. He certainly held strong opinions about the operation of the new government. For Theo holding strong opinions about anything was a new sensation.
The next week was the best fun Theo had had in a while. Bill was back with the construction crew and he seemed more like his old self than since before the Event. Theo suspected Bill’s lifted mood was not only because of his sentence being changed but also because of something brewing between him and Jamie.
Theo tried to broach the topic of Jamie but Bill would do everything he could to change the subject. On Bill’s third day back on the job Theo decided to take a more direct approach. The crew was working on the west side of the deconstruction zone along Ventnor Avenue and Theo and Bill were enjoying lunch consisting of some kind of fish sandwiches (courtesy of what Theo assumed must be the “fishing crew”) and canteens of desalinated ocean water.
“So what’s going on with you and Jamie?” Theo asked.
Bill tensed defensively. “What do you mean?”
“I’m not blind, buddy, I’ve seen the way you two look at each other. I saw how upset she was when you were convicted and how excited she was when you came home. I know there’s something between you.”
“Okay, I’m gonna stop you right there. Jamie’s awesome. We get along great and she’s hot and like, yeah, in another lifetime maybe. But Theo there can’t be anything with me and her. She was with Mark. She’s still with Mark.”
“Mark’s in a coma,” Theo said. He knew that speaking so harshly would hit Bill hard and he knew from the wounded flash in Bill’s eyes that he was right. Theo decided to press on. “Mark’s in a coma and we don’t know when he’s getting out or if he’s going to get out. I think Jamie’s been pretty amazing the way she’s stayed by his side. But let’s look at the facts. They only knew each other for one night, and you have to think that some of her dedication comes from the fact that he saved her life. They weren’t in a relationship and if the Event hadn’t happened for all we know it might have just been a one night hookup.”
Bill looked incredibly conflicted. “So you’re saying that I should move in on Mark’s girl while he’s… knocked out.”
“I’m saying that happiness since the Event seems to be in short supply. If you’re lucky enough to have found someone who makes you happy… I think you should go for it. I honestly think Mark would understand… will understand.”
Bill wasn’t entirely convinced. “I’ll think about it, man. But you know she has to agree to be my girlfriend, it’s not all up to me.”
“Yeah, I get that,” said Theo. “The fact that you’ll think about it is good enough for me.” They sat silent for a while.
“I think you should join the mayor’s group,” said Bill.
“Really? Why?”
“You’ve got a great way of looking at things. You help all of us see stuff we wouldn’t figure out on our own.” Bill picked up a small piece of gravel and hurled it into the water. “I think this place needs somebody who can figure things out.”
“I don’t know,” said Theo, “isn’t Ry’s science team supposed to be the ones doing all that?”
“It’s different,” said Bill, “Ry’s geeks are trying to make contact with strangers and study the Event and get TV and all the other stuff we miss… but you know that. It’s the other issues. You know, like the ones where people get thrown in jail for the wrong reasons?”
Theo laughed. “Okay, I see your point. I told Mayor Lucas I’d consider his offer when the time came. Right now we’ve got our jobs to do here and school is starting up soon.”
Bill’s eyes widened. “Oh crap! I totally forgot about that. What do you think they’re gonna expect us to do?”
“No clue. I’ve been thinking about it. If everything here is all tied to working in these different departments then what we need is more like on the job training or internships or something. School isn’t going to do much, especially for those of us who are old enough to already know how to read and do math and whatever.”
“So why make us go to school?” Bill asked.
“I don’t know, I think part of it is to keep up the sense of order and normal life. I also think maybe Mayor Lucas still holds out hope of rescue. He’s a reasonable man and I think he knew what had to be done to prevent total chaos but I doubt any of this Atlantic Island stuff was his idea, or that he likes it all that much.”
“What about Tiberius?” asked Bill. “He didn’t strike me as reasonable at all.”
“No, I don’t think he is,” said Theo. “The mayor keeps him in check as best he can but I’m nervous that overturning his ruling offset some kind of balance, some agreement they had in place. Tiberius was furious and he doesn’t seem like a guy who can let things go.”
“So he’s like an angry dog that Lucas keeps on a leash,” said Bill
Theo considered this. “Something like that. But if he’s a dog, he’s a pretty damned smart one. He’s incredibly dangerous, and the only thing Atlantic Island has going for it is that Sam Lucas knows how dangerous he can be.”
Chapter 10
Theo and his friends walked into the auditorium in the heart of the casino that was now being casually referred to as “the Palace.” In Theo’s last trip here to see Mayor Lucas, he had bypassed much of the casino and so had missed the extensive construction that was taking place to renovate spaces on the lower levels for the new Atlantic Island school. He and the others were shocked to see the array of classrooms that had been carved out of ballrooms in anticipation of the new school year.
The auditorium remained unchanged from its previous life hosting a range of acts from musicians to comedians to Broadway-quality musicals. Now the stage was bare save for a podium with the Atlantic Island seal, the same logo that adorned banners to either side of the room.
The students filed in. Signs demarcated areas for each grade, from grade one to grade twelve. Theo’s group entered the area reserved for the twelfth grade. Theo knew there wouldn’t be many students in his section. He hadn’t seen many people his age around the island and he knew that students were allowed to drop out and return to full time work responsibilities upon turning eighteen. Jamie wasn’t there for that very reason. Theo thought sadly that Mark, who turned eighteen in June would have enjoyed getting to skip out on school.
Sitting in the section set aside for the eleventh grade, the tattooed kids Theo kept noticing around town were looking miserable, like they would rather be anywhere else but school. The one in the middle, tall with a bald head, seemed to be the leader of the gang. He had his feet up on the seat in front of him, and on the whole didn’t seem nearly as annoyed as his friends. In fact, Theo thought, he looked like he didn’t have a care in the world.
As the seats continued to fill with students of all ages, Theo tried to do a rough head count. Doing some quick multiplication told him that there were at least three thousand students, maybe more. He shared this fact with Kylee. “Pretty big chunk of the population, don’t you think?”
“Actually,” she said, “it’s less than I’d have expected. I mean lots of kids were at the shore when the Event happened. I guess many of them were in Ocean City though so… they’re not here.”
She blushed with embarrassment at having brought up the whereabouts of other shore visitors from before the Event. In the months since, though discussing families and friends on the mainland had been discouraged, talk about those who died on the island or had been on the neighboring islands had become practically taboo.