Page 115 of Totally Shipped
???
We are standing on a small raised platform. The room is full of people poised with cameras and phones. It makes my stomach turn. Gray looks blank, Leander is goofing around, Rex is trying to slink into the shadows, and Daisy?
I see her square her shoulders, then step forward to the microphone, like the bad-ass she is.
"Hello, everyone. Thank you all for coming. You might know me; I’m Brooke Jackson. With me today are my fellow castaways: Leander Westhall, Rex Malone, Gray Tyson, and Killian Lonergan.”
I give a little wave when Daisy says my name, then feel ridiculous. Ah well, it will give Molly a laugh.
Behind us, a projector is showing a map of the south pacific. There is an X where our island is. Was.
The questions start up immediately, but ‘Brooke’ waves an authoritarian hand, hushing the room back to a low murmur.
Like I said: bad ass.
Daisy glances at her notecards, then starts to tell the story we put together.
“I know you have many questions, especially about Harvey, so I’ll start there: Harvey was absolutely integral to our survival. He worked hard, and never complained. Let me tell you, that man became a champion fisherman. And when we decided to build a raft and travel to the neighboring island, looking for help, that’s when Harvey gave his life to save mine. To save us all. A shark attacked the raft, and Harvey purposely threw himself in the path of that terrible creature, and was killed. He did it so I could live.”
The press are eating this up, you could hear a pin drop.
“Afterwards, life got harder. I gave birth to Harvey’s daughter. We all worked hard to keep the children, Keyara and Amelia, safe. But we were all exhausted and malnourished. Life was getting harder, and even if we survived a year, we didn’t know how many more years on the island there would be. Our rescue came at a crucial time; I don’t know how much longer we could have gone on without another tragedy happening.”
Daisy now goes on to thank all the agencies that found us and brought us back to the states. The projector changes to a very handsome and heroic looking photo of Harvey.
“I want to talk some more about Harvey,” Daisy says. “Harvey and I talked frequently about what we would do with our lives when we were rescued. He came up with a plan and I am going to honor him by moving forward with his idea.”
I give a drum roll in my head.
“The Harvey Bannister Survival Academy. This academy will be a place where people come to learn bushcraft skills, and challenge themselves in survival situations. And Harvey wanted this schooling to be televised. He often said that television is a window for people to see new worlds. That’s why I am hosting a new reality show that follows recruits training at the academy. Cameras will follow them, so the whole world can learn with them.”
Brooke is putting all her Harvey life insurance into this project.
I don’t understand ever wanting to be on reality TV, but this is what she wants, so we are all supporting it. Daisy and Rex convinced Brooke to build the survival center on land adjoining the Malone farm. We’ll be a few acres away from the cameras, but close enough for Thea, Keyara, and Amelia to grow up like sisters.
I realize I’ve spaced out for a while. Daisy has covered a load more ground, and now she just has to fix the last bit of this mess.
“Thank you for your time,” she says to the journalists. “Before you go, I’d like to introduce you to one more important person in this story… my sister Daisy.”
She gestures to the side, and Brooke steps out of the shadows, holding Thea.
There is an audible gasp at their twinnyness.
“Yes, she’s my identical twin, Daisy Jackson, and yes, we both have babies,” Daisy laughs. “And she is coming to live near the Harvey Bannister Survival Academy, so that our children can grow up together. Daisy is not going to be working at the survival school though; she’s actually putting together a brand-new literacy program for children in Overlook County.”
She’s so close to the finish line. I wish I could hold her hand, but Brooke Jackson does not have that kind of relationship with us guys. Talking of which, a reporter calls out a question.
“What about the other castaways?”
Daisy looks to Leander, and he steps up to the microphone.
“Hi, Leander Westhall here. Me and my castaway brothers are currently building a new home in Overlook County. We’ve all become such good friends, that we decided to live close to Keyara and Brooke. They are like family to us—we haven’t figured out what we are doing with the rest of our lives, but at the moment, we are taking it one day at a time.”
That is absolutely true.
Daisy regains control of the mic. “So we are going to close now, and I’ll be holding more press conferences as we get closer to building our new survival community. After all, I always want to be where the ‘action’ is!”
The press conference ends with Daisy doing Brooke’s signature ‘Action Jackson’ pose and everyone laughing.
