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“Wait,” Jesse interrupted. “Soeverythingthat was said over here was caught on the video? Not just what I said?”
“On thelive, yes.” Nicole hesitated. “Um, were any of the teachers watching?”
A phone lit up with the vibrating buzz of a call, and Raina, the closest to the tables, picked it up.
“It’s Zara!” she called.
“Give me the phone,” Theo demanded. Raina sprinted over with the device, and Theo snatched it from her hand. “Hello?” His voice trailed off as he ran from the room, Dean and Nicole right behind him.
Jesse’s face dipped into his hands. “How did this turn into a mess so fast?” he asked himself, before remembering that thousands of people could hear him. “Shit.” He glanced helplessly at the door Theo had disappeared through. Could he run after his cousin? Jesse wanted to, but with Theo, Zara, Dean,andNicole all missing, he was the only one left to continue the livestream. “Crap, not supposed to curse on camera. Fuck.”
“Give me the mic,” Raina’s soft voice rang in his ear.
She swooped in to unpin the mic from his chest, and stunned by her apple shampoo and gentle hands, Jesse couldn’t even move to stop her. He could only lift his head to watch as Raina marched in front of the camera, taking a deep breath and smoothing down her already straight hair.
“Hello, my name is Raina. I’m not here to tell you why you should help save the Lions’ Gate Hotel. I mean, you really should. And if it were Jesse or Nicole or Zara in front of the camera, they’d probably be listing off a bunch of excellent reasons, complete with facts, pie charts, and all the other things we learn when doing statistics in math. But let’s be honest here, absolutely no one remembers those things. Look, I don’t have a sheet full of prompts and things to talk about. To be honest, when I walked into this room this morning, I expressly told Jesse I wouldn’t be going on-screen. I’m not a social media person. Maybe it’s how I grew up, maybe it’s the fact that I’m shy. I don’t know.
But what I do know is this. I grew up at Lions’ Gate. All my childhood memories are there, like the time a new chef was hired and the employees and all their families crowded into the kitchen to throw the chef a surprise-welcome-to-work party. I spent most of my birthdays there, too, popping up from behind the front desk to smile at guests. And I’m not ready to let it go.
This hotel holds so many memories, not only for me but for my entire community. Each summer, the owner graciously allows us to take over the hotel for a week to host Charity Olympics. When you walk into the lobby, there are boxes to donate for a year-round food drive. Lions’ Gate isn’t just a place for people to stay; it’s a place for people to give back. So now we’re asking you to give back, to help us continue helping people.”
Jesse managed to close his mouth, knowing it was his turn to jump in. He’d spent a few afternoons with Mr. Kingston, researching the hotel and its history. With his dyslexia, it hadn’t been easy, but the teacher had been patient.
“Thank you, Raina, for saying that,” he said, moving into the frame next to her. “Now, I’d love to talk a little bit about Lions’ Gate’s history.”
Sending him a shaky, grateful grin, Raina slid out of the frame, handing Jesse the mic as she went. Jesse attached the mic to his shirt again before smiling at the camera, but the pit in his stomach hung heavily as he spoke.
“Lions’ Gate Hotel is actually named after one of the eight gates built into the city of Jerusalem. If you’ve ever been to the Lions’ Gate Hotel, you might spot the four lions carved into the wall, two on either side of the main doors. This is because there are four lions carved on the Lions’ Gate in Jerusalem, and correct me if I’m wrong, Raina, but lions are the official animal-slash-symbol of Jerusalem. If I understood Raina correctly, this is because Jacob blessed all of his sons with different animals, and to the one whose descendants would become kings, he gave the symbol of the lion. Or Raina could have been talking about crowns and jungles and I completely missed the point.”
Jesse took a moment to glance at Raina when she laughed. At her encouraging smile, he continued talking.
“But in all seriousness, are you willing to let a part of history be torn down and reduced to rubble? This is a hotel that’s doing some serious good, that’s dedicated to helping people. I’m not Jewish. I’ve never been to Jerusalem, or even heard about any of this stuff before I met Raina. But it matters to her, so it matters to me. And maybe you’re not Jewish either, but you know someone who is. It matters to them. And if you want to tell me you don’t know anyone Jewish, that’s a lie, because you’re all watching this live, and you’ve met Raina. She’s Jewish, and she’s proud of it. People have made fun of her for wearing long skirts and only eating special food. Hell, even I’ve teased her!” He paused, then added hastily, “But I hope she knows I’m only teasing.”
“I do,” Raina said. “And language, please.”
“Yes, dear,” Jesse shot her a grin, its fakeness becoming real at her soft smile. “Now, I’m not asking you to give up your life’s savings. I’m not asking you to sell your car or sacrifice your firstborn like Abraham was willing to do.” Jesse paused, a delighted expression on his face as he turned to grin at Raina again. “See, Raina, I’m learning something!”
Raina blushed. “Focus on the stream!” she hissed.
“Right. That.” Jesse cleared his throat. “I’m asking for one, two, five dollars. Ten if you can spare them. We have over twenty thousand viewers right now. Oh, we hit twenty-one thousand viewers, wow. So all it takes is for everyone to donate two dollars. Two dollars to save a hotel. Two dollars to save Raina’s second home. Two dollars to save a piece of our history.” Jesse paused for a second. “So while I let you do that, I’m going to read some of the comments.” Jesse’s face flushed red as his eyes scrolled down the page.
“You guys want to know these things?” he managed to choke out after a minute. “Fine, I’ll make you a deal. If someone donates $25 or more and puts a question in their donation, I’ll answer that question. And if—” Jesse glanced questioningly at Raina before continuing, “someone donates $100 or more, they can ask Raina a question.”
Jesse let out a breath, hoping this new plan would work. On his last break, he’d checked the GoFundMe. They’d only made five thousand dollars so far, so he was counting on people being interested in asking questions. “I’m going to step out for a quick water break, so you can all be entertained by Anna and her...well, whatever she does,” Jesse said, handing the mic to Raina’s roommate.
“Hey, what’s up, all 21k of you?” Anna grinned, hopping easily into the frame and making shooing motions at him. “Alright, Jesse, get out of here, no one wants you here anymore.”
“I’m leaving, I’m leaving!” Jesse laughed, throwing his hands up. Giving the camera one last wave, Jesse inched out of the frame, stopping only to make bunny ears behind Anna’s head.
ChapterTwenty-Two
“Hey,” Raina said as Jesse joined her at the drinks table.
His head was hung low as he grabbed a Sprite, making no move to unscrew the cap. Despite the grin he’d been wearing for the cameras, he didn’t look okay, and Raina wasn’t sure what she could do to help.
“You were great up there,” Jesse said. “Really, I mean it. The way you spoke...it inspired me. It made me want to donate.” He cleared his throat, weariness spreading across his face. “Have you heard from Theo?”
Raina shook her head. “I mean, it’s not surprising. I don’t know him well, and you’re kind of the one who forced him to come out in front of thousands of people.”
