Grandfather (35 page)

“When?” I
asked.

“Today,” Belladonna
said.

“Today!” I yelled. “But I
just got back!”

“It doesn’t have to be
today, does it?” Edgar asked, also surprised.

“You can wait a couple of
days,” Mae said. “They just got back!”

“Before you guys came in,
it was announced that Cornelius will be speaking at the arena
later,” Belladonna said. “He’s going to confront the letter and
recording. I plan on attending.”

“What if he has something
planned?” Marley asks.

“He does have something
planned,” Belladonna said. “His plan isn’t to harm anybody. At
least not yet.”

“He’s more concerned about
people trusting him again,” Edgar said.

“Exactly,” Belladonna
said. “I’m interested in listening. We could see Mr. Harrison and
then go to the arena.”

I didn’t think things
could get much worse. They wanted me to go back into the city when
I just got back. What was worse was that they wanted me to be in
the same area with Cornelius. What if he somehow recognized me in
the arena? I informed Belladonna, but she assured that there would
be too many people to tell. I didn’t know since I had never been to
or seen pictures of an arena. I just knew that they were supposed
to be big.

“I really don’t want to
go,” I said, knowing that it really didn’t matter what I said. I
guess I could’ve refused. They couldn’t really force me to do
anything. What would they do? Ground me? No. And besides, if it
would help our cause, then it was kind of my duty to help. I
definitely wouldn’t have said that a few weeks earlier.

“This is a wonderful
opportunity,” Belladonna said. “We really need you.”

Belladonna, who was
recently angry at me for going into the city, was now asking me to
go back. I guess it was a little different since we weren’t going
to meet with Cornelius. I didn’t like it. She and Edgar looked
desperate. I took a deep breath and forced a nod.

“I’m going too,” Ashton
said immediately.

“You two will be staying,”
Edgar said. “The less that goes, the better.”

“Then I’m not going,” I
said.

“Sonuvabitch,” Edgar
muttered, turning around as he threw a hand up in the air. “Always
complicated.”

“Carsyn,” Belladonna said.
“It just needs to be us three.”

Marley didn’t look too
happy either. I bet anything she wanted to go too, just so that we
were all together. But she wouldn’t do that to her mom again. I
didn’t blame her.

“I want to go,” Ashton
said. “I want to see what Cornelius is going to tell the people
too.”

“You’ll hear it on the
radio for crying out loud,” Edgar snapped.

“I want to see it in
person,” Ashton argued. “I’m going.”

“If I’m going, Ashton is
coming with me,” I told them, folding my arms together. They were
quiet at first.

“
I’m sorry,” she said, her
soothing tone returning. “I’ve forgotten what you guys have gone
through together. You are good friends now.”

We both nodded.

“You’ve been through a lot
these past few days,” Belladonna said. “You aren’t ordinary
kids.”

I wasn’t sure if that was
a compliment or what.

She placed a hand on my
shoulder then looked at Edgar. “We can’t force Carsyn to go. We’ll
be safe.

“Yes!” Ashton yelled in
joy while Edgar stomped around the room, grumbling.

“
Guys, just be careful,”
Marley said.

My only problem was that somebody might
recognize me at the arena. Honestly, Belladonna was crazy for
coming up with such a ridiculous idea. But I trusted her. If she
thought everything would be fine, then I believed her. I could keep
my head down the entire time or something. And besides, everybody
would be too focused on Cornelius, not looking for me.

Belladonna and Edgar
didn’t give us a lot of time. Because I had lost my black suit at
the Presidential Tower, Edgar had to find me another one. I
definitely couldn’t wear the white one I wore to the fundraiser.
That would have drawn way too much attention. And thankfully, Dr.
Mac had an extra. This one was gray and didn’t look nearly as nice
as my previous ones. But we had to use what we had.

I had such an
uncomfortable feeling about the trip, but I just couldn’t say no.
Belladonna and Edgar were desperate, I didn’t blame them if Mr.
Harrison was going to be able to help us.

But I was still thinking
about the arena, so again, I told Belladonna my concerns, and
again, she seemed to understand. I was kind of hoping we could all
just leave the city once we talked to Mr. Harrison. I don’t know
why, but she really had her mind set on listening to Cornelius.
“It’s just that this is a huge game changer,” she told me. “What he
says at that arena will determine how and when we make our
move.

I was still
worried.

“
We know Mr. Harrison is a
friend,” Belladonna said. “To you, at least.” She pointed at
me.

I nodded. “I guess. I
don’t really know him, but he let us go. He has to be.”

“Exactly,” Belladonna
said. “Here’s the plan. We talk to Mr. Harrison. When it’s time for
Cornelius’s address, Edgar and I will leave for the arena. You and
Ashton can stay with Mr. Harrison and we’ll come get you after it’s
all over with.”

Edgar also seemed to think
she was going out of her way to listen to Cornelius. “I understand
that we’ve waited a helluva long time for this to happen,” he told
her. “I get it. You want to see for yourself. This is a huge
turning point. But I don’t think we’ll be able to make it to the
arena.”

I could tell by the stern
look on Belladonna’s face that she didn’t agree with Edgar. But she
didn’t argue. “Let’s just get to Mr. Harrison,” she said. “We’ll
figure it out there.”

It was good enough for
Edgar. It kind of had to be because we were running out of time.
Belladonna said that Cornelius was to give his speech at 7:00. It
was noon. It would probably be about 1:30 or 2 before we actually
reached Mr. Harrison’s place. Who knew how long we’d be talking to
him.

We all ate our lunch very
quickly. Marley and Mae were there to see us off. “Sorry you have
to go back,” Marley told me and Ashton, who was in the black suit
Cornelius had given him. I knew he absolutely hated it.

“It’s cool,” I said. “I’ll
get to see Mr. Harrison again. And I won’t go to the
arena.”

Marley seemed satisfied.
Mae had to give us all a hug. She treated it as if we were about to
embark on some huge journey. I almost expected her to cry. “Now you
guys hurry up,” she said. “And Edgar, you keep everybody
safe.”

“Ah, Mae,” he said,
holding her shoulder.
“I don’t think these
three need my protection.”

I think Edgar was right
about Ashton and Belladonna at least. Especially Belladonna. I bet
anything that she could just break bad if needed. But me . . .
well, I wasn’t so confident in myself. I was with Mae. He probably
needed to keep me safe.

We left through the same
entrance as before. “Should have gone the other way,” Belladonna
said as she began to climb the ladder. I assumed she hated ladders.
I was kind of with her. I mean, why didn’t we go the other way? It
was apparently easier. I didn’t ask any questions, because I
remembered how much Edgar hated them.

The walk to the road was
all too familiar. Like before, the white vehicle was already
waiting for us. Belladonna took the front seat, and Ashton was
stuck between Edgar and I.

“Robert told you where to
go, correct?” Belladonna asked.

The man, dressed in the
same green suit, nodded and drove us to the city.

Once in the city, I
noticed a huge change. For one thing, there weren’t as many people
as usual walking on the streets. And those who were out didn’t look
as happy as before. They had gloomy eyes and frowns. Occasionally,
we would pass up several people gathered together, watching a TV
screen on the side of a building.

The news of Grandfather
had everybody scared, and I couldn’t help but grin. Things were
working out perfectly.

I do have to say that as I
laid my eyes on some of the frightened faces, I kind of felt sorry
for them. I know that’s weird, especially since they were the rich
people who didn’t care about anyone but themselves. They were the
very people who supported the walls around our cities. But they
just looked so pitiful. It was as if they had lost everything. I
don’t know. I guess I felt that way because I believed they had the
potential to change their ways. Maybe I was just being
ridiculous.

We arrived at Mr.
Harrison’s mansion. I had a flashback as I saw the familiar
entrance full of flower gardens, large bushes, and fountains. Just
as before, the water spewing out of them were different colors. It
was hard to believe that it had just been a day since me, Marley,
and Ashton were there, surrounded by people. At least this time
there weren’t reporters and cameras everywhere.

The vehicle came to a
gentle stop, and we jumped out, Belladonna telling the driver we
wouldn’t be gone long.

We walked up to the gate.
“How we going to get in?” I asked. It was much easier the day
before when all we had to do was follow Cornelius in.

Edgar walked to the side
where there was a brick wall. He pushed a button I hadn’t noticed.
A minute later, there was a man’s voice, but it wasn’t Mr.
Harrison’s.

“Mr. Harrison is out right
now,” he said. “You’ll have to come back later.”

Edgar and Belladonna
looked disappointed.

Great. Just my
luck.

“And when will that be?”
Belladonna asked.

“I don’t know,” the man
said in boredom. “Come back later,”

Then, I heard a woman’s
familiar voice in the background. “Is somebody here?” she asked,
sounding very surprised, as if they didn’t get many visitors. “Who
is that?” There was a pause. “Well, I do believe I know the young
man,” she said. “Both of them, actually.”

She could actually see us?
That meant there was probably a camera nearby. I looked for it, but
didn’t see anything. It was probably well hidden.

“Ma’am, it may not be
safe,” the man said. “I was told to not let anybody in after
everything that’s happen.”

“Now, if you think you’re
going to tell me who I can and cannot let into my own house, you
got another thing coming, John. You let them in this instance,” the
woman demanded.

I heard a click, and their
voices went away. A few seconds of silence passed. I began to think
they had changed their mind when the gate opened smoothly, not
making a single sound.

We followed the curving
driveway until we reached the front door. Edgar beckoned for me to
ring the doorbell, probably because I had been there before. I went
to do so, but before I could even touch the button, the door swung
open, revealing a woman dressed in an beautiful purple dress,
looking as if she was about to attend yet another party. It was
Mrs. Harrison, of course.

“My dears,” she said,
approaching Ashton and I and kissing us on the cheek. “There’s a
story to be told, a story to be told.” She waved her hand for us to
go inside. Ashton and I went in first, followed by Edgar and
Belladonna, who hesitated.

I didn’t blame them
because it just hit me . . . was Mrs. Harrison on Mr. Harrison’s
side? She kind of acted like everybody else.

We had to hope.

I recognized the room. It
was, of course, where the fundraiser was held. The tables and empty
chairs were still there.

“With all this ruckus
going on, we’ve not had time to have our men clean up the place,”
Mrs. Harrison said. “We’ll go into the other room.” She led us
through a door to our right, leading to a large living room with
several sofas and graceful furniture, almost as nice as that from
the Presidential Tower. The TV was on a news station, talking about
Grandfather and whether or not Cornelius was involved. “We’ll have
to hear what he has to say this evening,” the lady reporter was
saying.