The President of the United States signed the Nuclear Disarmament Treaty, surrounded by cabinet secretaries, congressional leaders, and the media, on Friday morning at nine a.m. Senator Michael Buchanan, by then rested and properly attired, stood off to one side, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.
He felt very drained, in a way that would not be cured by sleep or a vacation. He knew, deep inside, that this was his moment, his crowning achievement, but he felt no desire for the limelight. Perhaps he would continue to be a senator from Pennsylvania for a long time, but he was already considering ways in which he could gracefully step out of some of the leadership roles he held.
He was especially glad of one thing. Now that the Treaty vote was over, he and Liberty were probably out of danger. It would be of no benefit to anyone to kill either of them now. And indeed, although he didn’t know it, his daughter was at that moment, while watching the signing ceremony on the small screen in her room, preparing to dye her hair to as close to her natural black as she could, looking forward to the day when her own hair color and length had completely returned to normal.
Even as her father was thinking of vacations and fewer responsibilities, Liberty Buchanan, a member of an international service organization dedicated to facilitating the work of the United Nations, was painfully aware that many more countries had to ratify the Treaty in their congresses or
parliaments before their delegates could all come together in the General Assembly and make it a reality. She had been working with Sister Ruth and others for almost five weeks to see how the attempt on her life could be turned to good. That assassination attempt had become general knowledge in diplomatic and governmental circles, and the symbolic meaning of her name had not been overlooked. Lyceum had waited until the stories were well circulated, and had then sent offers to fifteen countries, those who were still in the treaty ratification process, for Liberty to come and meet with them, and address their leadership in either English or Russian, or in other languages through interpreters.
Seven governments had accepted, and even though Lyceum did not know it at that moment, five more requests would closely follow the ratification of the Treaty by the United States. Liberty had less than a week before she would be leaving.
Early the following week, Liberty had made up her mind about something.
She quickly finished feeding and brushing the horses, and was waiting in the corridor when Shawn came out of Christianity class.
“Hi, Liberty!” he said, sensing that something strange was afoot.
“Hi, Shawn. I have a very big favor to ask.”
“Well... I’ll do whatever I can,” he said as they wandered into a small nearby lounge.
“You know I’m about to leave for a bunch of foreign countries...?”
“Seven of them. I bet it’ll be exciting!”
“It’s up to nine. And I’m scared shitless.”
Shawn realized by the tone of Liberty’s voice that she was very serious. He hadn’t considered the possibility that the trip would be hard for his friend.
“Gosh... people are going with you to help out, aren’t they?”
“Yeah. A whole team is going, including two U.N. people. And Sister Ruth said I should take a special friend, someone I really trusted, someone who would be there just for me. I need you to come with me, Shawn.”
Shawn’s mouth opened, but no words came out for a moment. “Um...
but... what about Jason?”
“Jason is really busy with animals this time of year, and... how do I say
this...” she said, looking at the carpet, “...I love Jason very much... but... this is going to be a very hard mission, and... I need a friend along, not my boyfriend.
Do you understand?”
“I think so. You need someone who won’t make any demands of you,
‘cause you’ll be putting all your energy into the mission.”
“I know I’m being selfish...”
“You are being anything but selfish, Liberty! You almost gave your life for the Treaty, and you still might. I could never do what you are about to do!”
“I still don’t know if I can do it. I’m just going to go, and try.”
Shawn could see the pleading look in Liberty’s eyes as she waited for his answer. He swallowed, and then said a silent prayer. The feeling of courage that filled him was unmistakable. “You’re my dear friend, Liberty. If you need me to walk down this road with you, I will, just as Ashley and Sarah were called to protect you.”
“Thank you. I know I’m not thinking very far ahead right now. I can’t afford to. I just have to concentrate on surviving this mission. We’re going completely unarmed, and if anyone wants to shoot me, they’ll be able to.”
After a few minutes, they joined hands, and walked together to Procedures class, not caring what anyone thought, not even sure themselves what they were doing, but knowing it had to be done.
Two days later, it was a solemn group of four Lyceum members who made ready to depart. Sister Keiko was along to interpret French, Italian, and Japanese. Brother Caleb would provide German, Hebrew, and Arabic. The diplomats who would join them in New York would cover Hindi and Chinese, and help Liberty with Russian.
In one part of the Residential Lobby, Jason held Liberty tightly, and she promised to call often to let him know that she was still alive. In another part of the room, Shawn and Sarah sat beside each other.
“I think it’s really great that Liberty had the courage to ask you to go with her,” Sarah said.
“I hope I won’t be just excess baggage. The only thing I can speak is Greek, and they’ve already ratified the Treaty.”
“You’re going to be very important to the success of the trip, I just know it.
Be brave, Shawn. Do whatever you need to do to help Liberty, and don’t worry about what anyone else thinks.”
“I’ll try. Wish me luck!”
“We’ll all be thinking of you!”
By the end of the day, they were in New York, and Liberty spent the evening with her father, talking over dinner, and just being glad of each other’s company as they strolled back toward the United Nations from Park Avenue. The night was warm and muggy, and the city around them was alive with lights and sounds of all kinds.
The next day was spent in planning and briefing meetings at U.N.
Headquarters. Liberty tried to pay attention, but it all started to sound the same after awhile. The number of countries that had accepted Lyceum’s offer was up to ten, and Liberty started crying right there in the briefing room when she heard that news. Shawn comforted her while everyone else took a break.
If anyone could have replaced Liberty on the mission, they never would have asked her to endure the stress. But on this occasion, no one else could fill her shoes.
At the diplomatic reception that evening, at which Liberty was the guest of honor, she did a very good job of being gracious and polite with everyone. But every fifteen or twenty minutes she went to find Shawn, and just laid her head on his chest and trembled while he held her tightly.
Liberty was fine the following day as they flew across the Atlantic, seeming to be a carefree teenager again, enjoying the movies and the meals, playing cards and reading magazines. But the following day a routine began that was to last for the next twelve days. Starting with the British Parliament, she would speak at the allotted time, answer a few questions, try to enjoy the exclusive tour of the capital city that was almost always provided, attend a reception or state dinner, and then in the evening, catch a plane to her next destination.
She was glued to Shawn between each activity, and sometimes had to take breaks during a long question and answer session when things became too heavy, too personal. Sometimes when they were together, she would talk rapidly and nervously and he would just listen. At other times she would curl
up in a chair next to him and stare into space with glazed eyes. He found that at those times, it helped to tell her a story, some silly little thing from his laboratory shifts or his Children’s Program work. But there were plenty of occasions when she was already crying as he wrapped his arms around her and guided her off to a relatively private corner.
Every time Liberty had to retreat from the diplomatic spotlight, she would bounce right back after five minutes, ten minutes, at most half an hour, and be ready to speak, answer questions, or shake hands again.
France, Germany, and Italy came and went. They continued on through Israel, Saudi Arabia, and India, and Shawn noticed that the stress was starting to wear on Liberty more and more, especially after they received word that two more stops had been added to the list, bringing the total to twelve. As they dragged themselves through Australia and Japan, Liberty’s tendency to burst into tears at odd moments was becoming more and more obvious.
They were in Australia when Shawn first woke in the middle of the night to find Liberty standing beside his bed, trembling like a leaf even though the room was pleasantly warm. She managed to say something about a bad dream, and then started crying. He took her hand and gently drew her into his bed, where she curled into a fetal position and whimpered as he pulled the blanket back over them and wrapped an arm around her. Ten minutes later she was fast asleep.
In Japan and China, they both put aside their discomfort and accepted the fact that they were going to sleep together for the rest of the trip. Liberty needed the closeness, even when not troubled by strange dreams of private jets with smoking engines, and Shawn was experiencing one of his deepest fantasies come true. He lay awake many hours during those nights, cherishing the fact that he was, for the first time in his life, sleeping next to a girl, one who was his dear friend, and who was, to him, very beautiful. They both noticed that her moods were somewhat stabilized by their new closeness.
When they finally arrived in Ukraine, Liberty was living very much in the present. If she had been asked, she would not have said that she was unhappy. She had grown used to the daily stress, the speeches, the questions, the diplomatic receptions, the trembling and crying in back rooms, the
comfort of Shawn’s arms around her at night. Lyceum, the United Nations, and even her father, seemed distant memories of things far away and long ago, things that she wasn’t sure were real anymore. The only things and people who were real were those around her, and the only completely reliable thing in her life was Shawn, always there whenever she needed him.
That evening at the reception, she looked at him, and he was so handsomely dressed, so gentle but at the same time so strong, that she let her feelings run freely. She stood there grinning like a silly school girl, allowing herself to become completely infatuated. Doing so let her completely forget the stress and the seriousness of their mission, and she felt wonderful for the first time in... she had no idea how long.
As soon as she felt no one else had expectations of her, she pulled Shawn off toward their room, and he wondered what was up, because she was in such a happy, giggly mood. She joyfully got ready for bed, and as he was genuinely very tired, he did the same. And as soon as he sat down on the bed, she sat down beside him and starting kissing him.
It wasn’t what he had imagined. It wasn’t the slow, sensuous kisses of a lady with many romantic experiences. It was the clumsy, spontaneous pecks of a young girl in love, and he quickly found himself drawn into the moment and kissing her back just as clumsily, just as spontaneously.
Their bath robes fell from their shoulders, and they didn’t notice or care, and were soon touching each other’s warm bodies with craving hands. And soon Shawn heard the words he had dreamed of hearing for more years than he could remember. And he was so happy those words were coming from someone who was his precious friend, someone he knew, someone he cared about.
“Love me, Shawn. Take me. Do anything to me you want!” Liberty said even as she laid down on the bed and pulled him onto her.
And Shawn did love her, again and again and again. He gave her everything he had been saving up for a long, long time. And they loved each other yet again with complete abandon, not worrying about who might care, or what might happen tomorrow. Only the present moment existed for them, only their need to feel completely loved, completely accepted.
Finally he had no more to give, and he lay with her and they were both
quiet, with an occasional whisper or giggle passing between them. As Shawn lay there enjoying the contented feeling that filled his body, he knew he loved Liberty, as he had for most of the year he had known her, but he somehow also knew he couldn’t keep her. She was too beautiful, too perfect. He could comfort her now, and perhaps for the rest of the mission, because she desperately needed it, and he, for a different reason, needed it too. But he couldn’t keep her, and he realized with surprise that he wasn’t sure he wanted to keep her. As best he could discern, it was God’s will that he had come along to comfort Liberty, and he was glad he had been able to do that in all the ways she had needed. But he had a strong hunch it wasn’t God’s will that they be more than dear friends in the end.
Even as Shawn pondered these things, Liberty fell asleep. He joined her after rolling many questions around in his head for which he had no answers.
Liberty was up before Shawn the following morning, and Sister Keiko was in the room helping Liberty with her dress when he awoke. He hurried to shower and dress, and was barely ready in time for the state breakfast. It was their next to the last stop, and Liberty seemed to be refreshed and re-energized. Shawn was glad. He too felt happier than at any other time during the mission.
After completing the usual routine of Liberty’s speech, state receptions, guided tours, and fancy meals, they said good-bye to Ukraine that evening and headed for Moscow. After the entire team shared a pleasant evening walk with snacks at a street cafe, Liberty took Shawn to bed and made love to him in ways he had never imagined possible, and he soon fell into a deep sleep in her arms.
The following morning, Liberty prepared to give her talk for the last time.
Although it had common threads with the words she had spoken in other countries, it had been specially prepared to take into account the history and culture of one of the greatest nations on Earth. She needed no interpreter to deliver her message there in the Russian Parliament, and she was glad, for she had felt more at home in Moscow ever since they had landed than anywhere else in the world they had been.
“Zdrastvuitia! My name is Liberty. My name means ‘freedom,’ and I have
the great honor of being a small part of this moment in history. But the freedom to live and act also brings with it the freedom to die.
“And so it is that those who want us to continue pointing nuclear bombs at each other wanted me to die. But with the help of many people, who now carry wounds and scars for my sake, I am alive for a little longer so that I may humbly enter this great hall and share with you a few words from my heart...”
Ashley stepped off the last evening van to Lyceum and stood on the curb gazing at the sight before her, that magical place nestled in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains that she had come to think of as home. Lights twinkled in many of the trees, and the illuminated walkways invited exploration of the Theme Gardens, while signs beckoned toward the Playground and the Petting Zoo and the Amphitheater where, her ears told her, some musicians were playing. Children darted up and down the walkways and across the lawns, adults strolled quietly or sat on benches gazing at the glorious sunset colors in the sky, and members were out making sure everything was clean and presentable.
She felt fresh and rested, and she saw the campus with renewed sight, noticing things she hadn’t paid attention to for months: the color of new growth on the fir trees, the way reflections played in the Welcome Center’s glass walls, the patterns of different colored bricks that made up the passenger loading area.
“Good night, Sister Ashley!” the driver said as he prepared to take the van back to its garage.
“Good night, Brother Jeff! It sure is great to be back!”
The van drove off, and Ashley picked up her suitcase and walked through the Welcome Center’s archway. She stood looking at the fifty or sixty people who could be seen in the Plaza, or on the steps to the Main Lobby, or going in and out of the gardens. They had come to Lyceum for many different reasons, but they all looked relaxed and happy. And she realized she was a part of that happiness every time she danced in an inspirational service, worked in the kitchen, coached gymnastics, or helped with the Children’s Program. She was a part of that happiness when she worked in her garden or interpreted for French-speaking people. She was even a part of that happiness every time she
answered a question for a visitor, or helped someone with their luggage.
During her vacation, it had been hard for Ashley to get used to the fact that no one needed her to do anything. Her mother was so used to making all the meals, that she would seldom let Ashley cook. Her father wasn’t comfortable with Ashley doing any heavy yard work, as he felt it was his responsibility. So she had planted a few flowers in a forgotten corner of the yard, done as much of the house work as her mother would allow, and spent much time going on short walks with Julie and long walks alone.
Ashley walked across the Main Plaza, suitcase in hand. The members who saw her smiled and waved. Most of the adult visitors ignored her, just as most people generally ignore each other in public places. A teenage boy looked at her and began to smile, but when she got close enough, he quickly turned away.
She had gotten used to that reaction during her vacation. Never again would she win people over just with her pretty face and her irresistible grin.
Her face wasn’t pretty anymore, it was as simple as that. She knew that cosmetic surgery would help a little, allow them to get closer before turning away, but most of them would still, at some point, turn away. The most painful example had occurred at the grocery store in Rapid City. She had attempted to help a lady who was dropping her bag, only to have the lady scream and accuse Ashley of trying to steal her groceries. That was when she had started going on long walks alone.
Suddenly Ashley became aware of someone running up behind her. She turned, and saw a skinny little girl of about eight years standing there.
“Aren’t you Ashley Riddle?”
Ashley searched the girl’s face. It showed no negative reaction to her scars. “Yes. How did you know?”
“Gymnastics Championships. I was there in San Francisco. We just moved to Portland. I want to be a gymnast. Who’s the best coach around?”
“I don’t know the coaches in Portland. Coach Faelan’s the best here, but he doesn’t do public classes.”
“Who
does?”
Ashley felt refreshed by the girl’s courage. It made up for all the adults who didn’t see her, and even the boy who turned away. “I coach one class,
and Tabitha does another. Sister Shannon helps us out.”
“Could I be in your class?”
“Maybe. If you want, I’ll get you the papers about our public classes.”
“I do, I do, I do!” she said, jumping up and down.
Ashley grinned, and they entered the Main Lobby together.
There was an incredible amount of news to catch up on, and Ashley started that very evening. Reading through the messages in her computer files, she learned that Liberty and Shawn would be back in three more days. She smiled when she read that Liberty had discovered she was fully telepathic. Other messages referred her to reports that filled her in on the rescue of Senator Buchanan, and the increased security for Marty. As soon as she felt sufficiently enlightened on recent happenings, she dashed over to Fantasia Hall to see what Karen was doing, and if she would like to go on a walk or get a late snack.
Ashley was very happy to get back into her routine on Monday morning.
She had already started conditioning again, and was looking forward to feeling the mats under her feet and the bars in her hands. After an unexpected hour of interpreting and helping a French Canadian family get settled in the Lodge and Dining Hall, she and Tabitha were crossing the Main Lobby on their way to classes. Ashley spotted Brother Chad pushing a large cart stacked high with hundreds of disk cases.
“Hi Chad. I just got back from vacation!”
“I’m going to take one soon myself. I think I finally got this disk production business going smoothly.”
“What are these?”
“You haven’t heard, have you? Well, we did some basic advertising of Jenny’s Back To The Stars... press releases, catalog listings, and the like. We always do that for Hospice Center materials, to whatever extent is appropriate based on the subject matter. It seems that word started spreading like wildfire. Radio stations are playing it, music clubs are offering it, and critics are talking about it everywhere. We’re shipping out over five hundred copies a day now, and rising.”
“Wow! That’s fantastic! Can we copy it fast enough?”
“Just barely, and we had to buy some new equipment recently to keep up.
Several members are working on it as a special project. It’s going to be a long time before Jenny Clark is forgotten on this planet! Thank you again for bringing her into the Hospice Program.”
“And thank you for everything you did, Brother Chad. We have to head for class.”
“You young ladies take care!”
They were halfway down the passage to the Education Center when Tabitha said, “There’s something else happening that you seem to have started by getting that silver medal.”
“What?”
“We’re getting bunches of applications from gifted kids who want to do gymnastics.”
“But I didn’t get it that long ago! I bet some of them saw us at the Chunichi Cup, and so Karen and you get more credit than me.”
Tabitha smiled. “Let’s call it even. There are a couple in the evaluation group next week, and I’m on the team.”
“Great! That reminds me... I have to do my one-year evaluation next week.”
“Scared?”
Ashley thought about it for a moment as they approached their classroom.
“No. Compared to going through glass windows, it sounds pretty tame.”
Tabitha burst out laughing, put her arm around her friend and fellow gymnast, and together they entered the classroom.
Liberty and her support team arrived back at Lyceum on Wednesday afternoon. Many people were in the Residential Lobby to welcome them when the van pulled in from the airport. Ashley had taken a break from the gym to greet her two dear friends. Jason was in the room, and Ashley could tell that he had really missed Liberty. Sarah was there too.
As soon as Liberty and Shawn walked in the door, Ashley could tell that something had changed. They weren’t holding hands, but they might as well have been. And they kept glancing at each other longingly, and then glancing away with worry in their eyes.
Finally Liberty saw Jason. She froze, trying to hide behind Shawn without actually moving. Jason smiled at her, and she took a step toward him, but an invisible tether stronger than steel would not allow her to leave Shawn’s side...
not yet.
Ashley knew. Their pain was similar enough to something she had experienced. She guessed that the mission had been very stressful, and that Liberty had needed Shawn to comfort her in more ways than she, or he, had imagined when they had left. Ashley was sad for them, not for their love, but for the pain they now had to endure.
Liberty was moving toward Jason again, but glancing back at Shawn.
Jason was beginning to guess what had happened, and he was no longer smiling. But Ashley knew he was about the gentlest boy who had ever walked the earth, gentler even than Shawn, if that was possible, and would not react with anger. Liberty knelt down at his feet and bowed her head. Ashley felt for her, but would not have taken her place for any amount of money.
Shawn was left standing in the middle of the room alone. For a few moments his eyes followed Liberty, but finally he looked away. Ashley was glad. Liberty and Jason would need plenty of privacy and respect to begin their healing process. Then Ashley happened to see Sarah, and could tell that tears were on her cheeks. It occurred to her that Sarah probably knew everything that had happened, as she could hear all of Liberty’s thoughts.
And a few moments later she witnessed one of the bravest acts she had ever seen, far braver, in her opinion, than the deed she had done in that same room a few weeks before.
Sarah stood up, as tall and confident as she could make herself, dried her tears on her sleeve, and walked to Shawn, facing him at an angle that caused him to look even further away from Liberty.
“Would you like to see the new flowers in my garden?”
“Yes, very much,” Shawn said in a tone of desperation, glad for anything that would give him a good excuse to leave the room.
Ashley smiled to herself as Shawn and Sarah turned and walked out the door. Their hearts were both young, Ashley thought, and they would soon heal. But she wasn’t so sure about Liberty and Jason.
Ashley wiped away a tear that had somehow gotten onto her own face, and
headed back to the gym.
Two days later Ashley was eating lunch with Liberty. She knew that Liberty and Shawn had been avoiding each other, and wondered if their days as three friends were over. She hoped not, and had a hunch that the question lay in Jason’s hands, in his ability to forgive Liberty, and accept the fact that her feelings for Shawn predated their own relationship, and were never going to go away entirely, especially now that they had been lovers.
“How’s it going in the gym?” Liberty asked.
“Good, but I have a lot of work to do. Faelan thinks I’ll be back at my skill level in about another month and a half. Then I can start getting ready for the Olympics.”
“Can you have a nice floor routine ready in three weeks?”
“I suppose, except I won’t be able to do some of my hardest tumbling skills.”
“That’s okay. An emphasis on dance would be fine.”
“What’s
up?”
“A little something I’m putting together. I’ll tell you about it next time were out in the gardens. I want to keep it a secret for right now.”
“Okay. What sort of music do you want me to use?”
“Something bright, triumphant, hopeful...”
“I know just the thing! I’ll play it for you this evening.”
“Thanks!”
“Are you and Shawn going to be friends anymore?”
Liberty was silent for awhile, biting her lip. “Um... I guess I gambled, Ashes. I wasn’t sure Jason could give everything I would have to ask for on that trip. I wasn’t sure it was fair to ask him to try. And I knew Shawn could do it, except I didn’t know I would have to ask for...”
“That was your mistake.”
“Yeah. I see that now. But by the time I realized it, we were halfway around the world. I don’t think I’ll make a very good diplomat. I can’t take the stress, like you can. On the way home, I was really torn. I might have been pregnant with Shawn. And he’s such a sweet guy. But then I remembered what I felt like last winter when I learned I wasn’t pregnant with
Jason when I thought I might be.”
“You were devastated!”
“Yeah. And that told me something. I found out at our stop in New York on the way back that I wasn’t pregnant. And on the flight back to Portland I made myself a promise. I was going to ask Jason to forgive me, and if he wouldn’t, I was going to ask Shawn if we could stay together, and either way, I was never, ever going to gamble like that again.”
“Even if an important mission was at stake?”
“Even! It’s starting to hurt too much, even though I lucked out this time and Jason is trying very hard to forgive me.”
“So... what about you and Shawn being friends?”
“Jason and I need some more time. Someday soon, I want to build that bridge again. But I can only do it if Jason and him can be friends too. Of course it will help when Shawn finally realizes that someone is in love with him, someone who doesn’t have anyone else.”
Ashley
chuckled.
“If we can’t all be friends again,” Liberty said, “than we will have lost something very special.”
Some of us have already lost, my friend, Ashley thought. Some of us have already lost.
Shawn was nearing the end of his tale. His mentor had listened intently as Shawn had described how Liberty’s emotional needs had become greater and greater as the mission progressed. He finished by describing the scene in the Residential Lobby from his point of view, and finally how glad he was that Sarah had asked him to look at her new flowers.
“Well, well,” Brother Jacob began, “it looks like the Nuclear Disarmament Treaty has claimed yet another victim, at least in an emotional sense.”
“I do feel closer to Ashley and Sarah now. But I hope I haven’t lost Liberty and Jason as friends.”
“I imagine they need some time to sort out their own feelings about each other. I have a hunch that Liberty chose the more difficult path. By going back to Jason, she risked winding up with no one.”
“I see what you mean,” Shawn said. “I never really expected her to choose
me, unless she was... you know...”
“I think the decision was probably a lot harder for her than you realize, even not being pregnant. She’s not the only female at Lyceum who’s had designs on you, I trust you know.”
“Really?”
Brother Jacob smiled at Shawn’s naiveté. “They usually come to the conclusion that you’re already taken.”
Shawn assumed that was because he spent so much time with Ashley and Liberty. He wondered who his secret admirers were, but he knew Jacob would never tell. “I guess it’s about time to move on to other topics.”
“Okay. You have now been a Lyceum member for a year. The same team that admitted you will be meeting next Wednesday to re-evaluate you, and your appointment is at ten o’clock. This is your self-evaluation booklet,” he said, handing Shawn the thin workbook. “The team wants it by dinner time on Tuesday. If your evaluation team feels you should remain a member of Lyceum, and I have no reason to doubt that they will, and you decide you want to stay, you will incur some additional responsibilities.”
“As I remember, I have to start doing something to earn my own money for spending or savings.”
“Right. Roughly equivalent to one day of employment per week. But it can be anything from running a mail order business to singing at a night club, and we have members who do both.”
“The homeless shelter downtown is always needing people, especially for night shifts.”
“I didn’t think you’d have much trouble with that new responsibility.
Lyceum members seldom do. Also, a new class will be added to your schedule that will prepare you to teach and to be a mentor.”
“Wow. That will be challenging. Do young members like Sarah do all these things?”
“At Sarah’s age, they’re not a requirement, but she sells crafts at a mall booth and makes more money than I do, and I’m sure you know she teaches two different classes. You have to be eighteen to be a mentor.”
Shawn smiled. “I know I want to continue to be a member of Lyceum. I’ll do my self-evaluation booklet this weekend.”
“Excellent! Can we move on?”
“Yeah. I still like Physics, but I think I’d like to add Chemistry. Sister Mary said I could start in August...”
When Shawn went looking for a quiet corner in which to work on his self-evaluation booklet that Saturday, he had a little trouble. The first place he approached was already taken.
“Hi, Shawn!” Ashley said, looking up.
He could see that she was still wearing the broken coin necklace that she and Tim shared. “Hi, Ashley. How’s your booklet going?”
“Slowly. I hate tests. Especially this part about things that are wrong in my life. I’m not sure where to begin.”
“Do you want to stay a member?”
“For the rest of my life if I can!” she said.
Shawn smiled. His spirits were always lifted by Ashley’s confidence and cheerfulness, which she seemed to have even when making hard decisions.
He just wished... that somehow that necklace wasn’t there.
“Well... I’ll see you later,” he said. “I have to start working on mine.”
The second place Shawn went was also taken.
Liberty looked up from her booklet, smiled, and waved shyly.
Shawn wasn’t ready to have a casual conversation with Liberty, and figured she probably felt the same way about him. He waved, and headed down another corridor.
The third place he tried was free. He picked a comfortable chair and low table, somewhat screened by potted plants from the rest of the lounge, spread out his Lyceum reference books and his personal notebooks, and went to work.
Three hours later he had a draft of all his answers completed... all except his answer to the question about his emotional happiness.