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Starkey gives her his most winning smile. He knows the names of her kids and her home address. Not that he’ll need the information this time, but it’s turned out to be a solid protective policy for the storks.
This time it’s not a campground but a high-end retreat. The Egret Academy has rented all ten cabins for the next four days. It’s an expense, but Jeevan has managed to squeeze even more money from the storks’ parental accounts, more than enough to pay for four days of comfort . . . and considering what’s coming next, his storks deserve it.
While the storks explore their new environment themselves, all in their new Egret Academy shirts, the woman gives Starkey the grand tour.
“The dining hall is to the left—you provide your own food of course, but the kitchen is fully stocked with cookware, dinnerware, and everything you’ll need. Tennis court and pool is up the hill. Come. I’ll show you the clubhouse. It’s down by the lake. We have a theater-quality TV, a classic arcade—even a bowling alley.”
“And a cloud connection?” Starkey asks. “We have to have a high-speed connection to the public nimbus.”
“Well, that goes without saying.”
* * *
BROCHURE
For more than twenty years, The Egret Academy has brought together knowledge and character in order to inspire our students to be leaders of the future. Our strong academic program is designed to pull information from the widest variety of sources and impart learning through experiential hands-on experience. At the Egret Academy, we strive to give every student a unique and personal education.
Through spiritual retreats and eye-opening field trips, we expose our students to the past, present, and future—all in a nurturing environment that encourages self-reliance as well as trust and camaraderie among fellow egrets.
Our emphasis on personal accountability and social responsibility is exemplified in our Peer Leadership Program, in which our youth ministers organize and run retreats of up to a hundred students at a time. By combining traditional education with special programs, projects, and activities, our faculty is dedicated to creating well-educated, well-rounded, ethically responsible students with the ability and the confidence to take on the world!
* * *
“You really outdid yourself this time, Mason. This place is fantastic.” Bam peers over Starkey’s shoulder at the computer screen that he and Jeevan strategize over. “I mean a bowling alley? I can’t even remember the last time I bowled.”
Starkey can’t help but be irritated by Bam’s intrusion, but he tries not to show it. “Enjoy it while you can,” he tells her. That sobers her up a bit.
“When are we going to tell the others the whole plan?”
“Tomorrow,” he tells her. “It will give them time to prepare themselves.”
Yet another clatter of bowling pins from the other side of the clubhouse sets Starkey’s nerves on end. The clubhouse is one big open space. He would much prefer quiet privacy right now.
“Bowl a game for me,” he tells Bam. I would but”—he holds up his stiff hand—“I bowl lefty.” It isn’t true, but it gets her to leave them alone.
On screen is a schematic of Cold Springs Harvest Camp, north of Reno. “I think I’ve figured out a way to jam communications,” Jeevan says. “I’ll need a few kids to help me out, though. Smart ones.”
“Choose whoever you want for your team,” Starkey tells him. “And anything you need, just let me know.”
Jeevan nods but, as always, seems nervous, concerned. He’s a kid who can never just relax and go with the flow.
“I’ve been thinking of after,” he says, “and how, after we hit Cold Springs, we won’t be able to be out in public anymore. At all.”
“So give me options.”
Jeevan pecks at the computer, swipes various windows off the screen, and pulls up a map covered in blinking red dots. “I’ve isolated a few possibilities.”
Starkey clasps him on his shoulder with his good hand. “Excellent! Find us a new home, Jeevan. I have every faith in you.”
Which only makes Jeevan squirm.
As Starkey strolls through the clubhouse, the cacophony of his storks enjoying themselves transforms from a distraction to a testimony of all he has accomplished for them. But it’s only a glimpse of what he has planned for their future.
Yes, Mason Starkey is a hero. And in just a few days, the entire world will know.
28 • Risa
“Close your eyes,” Risa says. “I don’t want to get soap in them.”
