Page 113 of The Ruler
“Anytime.” Boulder placed his arm around Christina’s neck with a self-satisfied smile.
“Where’s Kya?” I asked.
“At the school with Magni and Archer,” Boulder answered. “She’s getting everything ready for the students.”
“I saw Raven in the video,” I told them. “She looked adorable.”
“She is!” Boulder placed a kiss on Christina’s head and laughed. “I had no idea little girls could be socute.”
“Boulder is completely besotted with Raven.” Christina laughed. “She already has him wrapped around her finger. I can’t even imagine what’s going to happen when eight more girls are coming.”
“You mean seven,” I said. “Raven is already here.”
“No, actually, eight more are coming,” Christina insisted.
I frowned. “But we always said eight girls and two boys. Now you’re talking about nine girls?”
“Yes, but one of the girls is an assistant to me.”
“Really?” I said, surprised, and turned to Khan. “Did you approve of this?”
Christina didn’t let him answer. “Don’t worry, Pearl, once you understand why, you’ll agree it was the right decision.”
“I’m listening.”
“As you know, many of our girls have some trauma in their past, which was a concern Kya and I raised with your mother while you were gone. Kya has specialized in that type of children, but the transition from the Motherlands to the Northlands alone can be traumatizing, so we were asking Isobel to locate at least one who could counterbalance the group as being healthy and happy.”
“And?”
“And Isobel managed to convince one of her colleagues on the council to volunteer her daughter.”
“How?” I said surprised. “And who are we talking about?”
“Sheana Rene from the Brown Area.”
“She has two daughters?” I asked.
“Yes, and her only condition was that her older would go with the younger or she wouldn’t send them.”
“What are their names?”
“The younger sister is Rochelle, and she is eleven. The older girl, Shelly, just turned fifteen.
“Fifteen – then she’s too young to be your assistant,” I said quickly. “She’s a child herself and at that difficult age. Khan and I specifically agreed to avoid teens,” I pointed out.
“Shelly is no ordinary teen,” Boulder said. “According to your mother she’s a genius and already finished her schooling.”
“Finished her schooling? Nobody has finished their schooling at fifteen.”
“Shelly skipped several classes and graduated before time,” Christina explained. “Both girls are way above average, and hopefully you can see how that can make things easier for us. Especially if we want the boys to understand that girls are highly intelligent.”
“But fifteen?” I said again.
“Shelly has agreed to spend at least one year as an assistant here at the school before going to college.”
I sighed. “Okay, I suppose it’s too late to change anyway.”
“Wanna see how the school looks now?” Boulder asked and changed the subject.
