Page 62 of All That Has Flown Beyond
The task started a little better. Ahmik took charge easily, but it quickly became obvious he didn’t have a plan. He didn’t let this stop him. He gave everybody orders, which quickly prompted Thea to protest.
“Time out,” Ahmik said, pointing at Thea.
“What?” she growled, her eyes turning the flashing yellow of a nocturnal animal for a moment.
“You heard me. Time out.”
Thea opened her mouth for a moment before stomping away. Isla sighed as she watched her mom stand rigidly at the side, arms crossed over her chest.
“Okay. Emil, grab that,” Ahmik ordered.
The next five minutes were free of argument but no more productive. When Thea returned, it was with a beehive of irritation around her curly hair. Things did not progress much further.
“All right. Time,” Kaiyo called. Everybody let the materials in their hands drop in frustration. Barely anything had been built.
“Okay. What went wrong this time?” Kaiyo asked.
“I think we all know what went wrong,” Thea said acidly, looking at Ahmik.
“Right, of course it’s my fault. Like everything is always my fault.”
“Oh,please—”
“Guys,” Emil said in exasperation. Amaya stayed silent, looking at her nails.
“Thea, you seem convinced it was the leadership that was at fault. How about you take the reins this time?” Kaiyo suggested.
“Fine,” Thea said, ignoring Ahmik’s thunderous look. Emil closed his eyes for a moment, seeming to know what to expect.
Ironically, the next twenty minutes were much like the previous. Thea had a little more patience than Ahmik but not much. Seven minutes in and Ahmik had been put in time out. He didn’t take it any better than Thea.
“Okay. Time,” Kaiyo called out, hiding his exasperation. He’d worked with groups of children that had a better sense of teamwork.
“Guess you don’t make such a great leader either, huh?” Ahmik said.
“Maybe if you wouldlisten—” Thea started.
Isla rolled her eyes. “Oh my God,” she muttered.
“All right. Isla,” Kaiyo cut in. Everybody turned to look at him. “How about you lead this time?”
“Me?” Isla said in surprise.
“Yep. You ready?”
“Uhm…”
“And…time!” Kaiyo called out before she could reply.
Everybody stood still for a moment. Isla got up from the ground slowly, turning to look at them. After a second, she seemed to steel herself, straightening her shoulders.
“Uhm. Okay. Dad, you’re good with this stuff. Let’s, like, start by dividing the materials, okay? Uhm…you tell us what’s desk and what’s cabinet. Um, Amaya and Ahmik can put the cabinet pieces over there, Mom and I can move the desk. Okay?”
“Sounds good,cariño.”
With Thea and Ahmik separated, they moved around each other to follow Emil’s instructions. Ahmik and Thea would disagree with Emil’s decisions at times, but he would roll with the punches, either explaining why he disagreed or changing his mind to follow their suggestions.
When they were done, they all looked at Isla again. She squirmed under the attention.
