Page 4 of The Artist
Summer Summit
8 Months Later
The Motherlands – August 2454
Mason
The sun shone through the rounded windows, lighting up the wooden floorboards of the room. Around me sat fourteen other chosen teenagers with serious faces. Our attention was fixed on Councilwoman Sheana Rene Summers, who stood flanked by Jonah Cervici, my brother-in-law.
“As chairwoman for the council here in the Motherlands, I’m honored to officially welcome you to this historic event – the first summit for future leaders of the world.” Sheana paused with a soft smile on her lips. “It’s no coincidence that we’ve chosen Nostalgia Park as the setting for this gathering. This park was created for entertainment. But as you walk through the imitation of different eras in time, you’ll see the constant changes that humanity has faced and will continue to face. Natural disasters, viruses, famine, and other crises will test us and when they do, competent and compassionate leadership will get us through.
“It is our hope that when it’syourtime to lead, we will have made your job easier by helping you form strong alliances and friendships in this group. To do so, we’ve arranged for a number of fun bonding experiences that will give you a chance to get to know each other. Hopefully, when you leave in a week, you’ll be excited to see your new friends again next summer.” Sheana Rene met our eyes one by one before continuing.
“Let me introduce you to my colleague, council member Jonah, who is part of our cultural inclusion committee.”
My cousin Freya and I shared a look of understanding. The wordinclusionwas a reminder that the Motherlands had always aimed at integrating the Northlands, but we would never give up our sovereignty. Crossing my arms, I leaned back in my chair and while listening to Sheana Rene carrying on about the importance of mutual respect and understanding, I studied the other participants.
From the Motherlands there were three females and two males, and from Old Europe there were three males and two females. One looked significantly younger than the others with her small frame and large doe eyes.
“Where will we be sleeping?” Thor’s question brought me back to paying attention.
“In tents,” Jonah answered. “There are five tents and you’ll have three people in each one.” He raised a hand to silence the questions when several spoke at the same time. “I know. It means you won’t be sleeping with the people you arrived with, but that’s part of the plan to help you make new friends.”
“How will we know who we’re sleeping with then?” one of the Europeans asked. He looked to be the oldest in their group and had thick brown hair and lips so red that it made me wonder if he wore lipstick.
“That’s easy, why don’t we have all of you stand in a line. We’ll have the Northlanders to the right, the Motlanders in the middle, and the Europeans on the left,” Jonah instructed.
“We prefer to be referred to as French,” the red-lipped guy said before he placed himself with the rest of his group. It was clear that he was the alpha in the French delegation.
“All right, we’ll all remember that,” Jonah said with a friendly smile and then he started from the right and counted, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, while tapping on our heads. Standing in the middle of my group, I was number three. After doing the same thing with the Motlanders and the French, Jonah instructed. “Now, please fold this line until you form a circle.”
We did as he asked and the fifteen of us now stood facing each other.
“First, let’s have you all introduce yourself by sharing your name and age. Later you’ll be doing a ton of fun things where you get to share more about yourself.” Jonah pointed to Aubri. “Why don’t you start?”
“Fine.” She spoke loud and clear. “My name is Aubri and I’m fifteen, but I’m turning sixteen on Wednesday.”
Indiana was next and held his chin high and pushed his dark hair back. “My name is Indiana and I turned sixteen in May.”
Next I was up. “I’m Aubri’s twin brother, Mason.”
“How old are you?” one of the girls from the Motherlands asked before clasping a hand in front of her mouth. “I’m sorry, that was a stupid question.”
Several laughed but Aubri shot the embarrassed girl a smile. “I’m older than Mason by six minutes, so technically he’s my younger brother.”
Freya continued the introduction round. “I’m sixteen too, and my name is Freya.”
“How come you’re all sixteen?” the French leader asked with a frown.
“We’re not.” Freya nodded to her brother Thor, who stood next to her.
“I’m Thor and I’m the heir to the Northlands. I’m thirteen and eight months.”
“Oui, but four of you are bascly sixteen,” the French guy said like that was a weird thing.
“I think you mean basically, not bascly.” Freya replied with a friendly smile. “You’re right, though. We did have a bit of a baby boom in the Northlands back in thirty-eight. If you’re interested in our history, I’m happy to tell you about it later.”
The group from the Motherlands made a quick presentation of their names and ages that spanned from fourteen to eighteen. After the Motlanders came the French. I had never been fond of remembering names and hearing ten at once was too much for me to remember. The one that stood out to me was the outspoken guy with the thick brown hair and red lips. His name was Victor. He was eighteen and the leader of that group. And then there was Belle, the young girl, who was twelve years old and seemed so out of place that I felt bad for her.
