Sep. 10, Thorne Blackwood's Residence, Charles St., Vancouver; After School
Thorne finally had some free time to do something of his own volition, without being dragged around by school, the pressing mystery of Heather's Masquerade, or Seven's suggestions for exploration. He had a cup of tea steeping. He took a whiff of the subtly spiced scent. How would he spend a Thursday after school? There were a surprising amount of options. He could go shopping, or for a walk, or he could get a bite to eat, or he could just laze at home.
Suddenly, he got a message. "Hey Thorne." It was from Heather.
"What's up?" he asked.
She texted, "I just got money forwarded to my account. There's no sender, though."
Thorne checked his account using his phone. The same had happened to him. He thought back to himself…
He remembered Commander saying "Your first mission, Agent. Complete it, and I will compensate you with money."
He didn't expect Commander to also compensate Heather…
"It's a long story…" texted Thorne. "But don't worry about it. You know how we're spies?"
"Yeah?" Heather responded.
"We completed a mission," Thorne explained. "This is our payout. It's from… some guy."
"I'll trust you on that. At least it's going into my account, not out, right?" she joked.
Thorne's tea was ready! He removed the tea bag and waited for the water to cool a bit. The steam warmed his nostrils. He sniffled. The end-of-summer beginning-of-fall weather change always seemed to make him stuffy. In the warmer weather of Vancouver, it seemed to hit him even harder.
So… what would he do…? He had extra money now… He sipped his tea while thinking. His homework was already complete… so now he had plenty of free time. Perhaps he should hang out with somebody.
Just then, he got a text message from someone who hadn't texted him before.
"Bonjour," the message read. "C'est Marc, from school."
"Hey," responded Thorne. "What's up?"
"Would you like to join me for a walk?" Marc offered.
"A… walk?" inquired Thorne.
"Oui," confirmed Marc. "At the park. I want to talk with you."
"Is something wrong?"
"Not at all," Marc answered. "I simply wish to speak with my friend."
"Oh, okay, cool. Where do you want to meet?"
"Do you know where the forest trail is?" Marc asked.
"Yeah, I know where that is," answered Thorne. "Let's meet there, then."
Sep. 10, Forest Trail, Vancouver; After School
"Ah, there you are." Thorne waved as he saw Marc coming up to the trail.
"Bonjour!" Marc waved back. "How are you this afternoon, my friend?"
"I'm good," nodded Thorne. "But a bit hungry, to be honest," he chuckled. "And you?"
"I'm well," Marc smiled. He fixed his styled brunette hair and removed his sunglasses, the shade from the forest trail's trees replacing them. "Shall we?" he offered, gesturing towards the mouth of the forest.
"Let's," agreed Thorne. The two of them walked into the shaded forest.
A few moments passed.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" asked Thorne.
"Oh, yes, that. Well, I've noticed you're a very insightful person, mon amie. I feel that talking to you helps me come closer to my truth."
"Wow, uh," Thorne stuttered. "Thanks. That's… an honour…?"
"Indeed. Do you enjoy walking through nature?"
Thorne thought for a moment. Who doesn't like walking through nature? Well, alternatively, it wasn't his favourite thing. He didn't even have wi-fi out here…
"Yeah, I guess," he responded.
"Me too!" grinned Marc. "The nature in Canada is much different from in Europe, you know?"
Thorne looked at Marc. "Is that so?"
"Indeed! Yet, it's so similar, too. You see, European cities are dense and full. There is rarely large areas of untouched forest in the middle of a town like this."
"I see… Yeah, I've noticed that," nodded Thorne thoughtfully.
"You've been to Europe?" Marc asked, slightly perking.
"Well, uh, no," Thorne ducked, rubbing the back of his neck. "But I've seen lots of pictures."
"I see," Marc said. "I have really been enjoying Canada so far," he nodded with a smile. "The people are so kind and accommodating… usually."
Thorne laughed. "Yeah, the big cities are bound to be full of cynical people, huh? Oh, hey, uh, you're an exchange student, so where are you staying outside of school?"
"Actually," explained Marc, "my school back in France is paying for a hotel room for me."
Thorne's face lit up. "A hotel room? A school can really afford that?"
"Well, it's a private school," Marc blushed. "And even then, they say it's a hotel room, but it's really not much."
"Huh…" pondered Thorne. "It's good to know you have a good place to stay while you're here. Are you here all year?"
"Oui," nodded Marc. "I'll be going back to France in December, but after that I'll be staying here until June."
"So, uh, can you text to Canada from France?" Thorne asked.
Marc thought for a bit. "It might get expensive… Perhaps if I have more people in Canada to talk to, I'll make the investment."
Thorne grinned. "I hope you will. You're a cool guy."
"Thank you. Oh, actually, I had a question."
"A homework question?" Thorne joked.
"Well, partly," admitted Marc. "However, it's mostly to satisfy my own curiosity. Here's my question: Do you believe that it's possible for anyone to fully express their true self?"
Thorne licked his lips as he thought.
"After all," Marc went on, "even if we try to be honest with ourselves, there is always subconscious pressure to appeal to what others will agree with. That's society itself, non? If our identities are shaped by our interactions with others, what does it mean to be truly authentic to yourself?"
"Wow, uh…" Thorne's jaw hung open. "Well… I guess… my opinion… is that…" He shook his head, attempting to rattle the words in his mind into a sensible order. "I guess, expressing your true self… is about… accepting how… Yeah, I can't answer that."
"Oh, sorry," apologized Marc. "To be truthful, I can't either… I was hoping you could help me form an answer."
"I don't remember seeing that question on the homework," chuckled Thorne.
"Well, I was inspired by this morning's lecture about human identity," Marc explained.
The two of them continued to chat until they came out the forest trail on the other side. Thorne felt much closer to Marc afterward.
Sep. 11, Gymnasium, Goldhelm Secondary School, Vancouver; Class Time
As Thorne's long Social Psychology class came to its end, a somewhat unexcited-sounding voice rang out from the speakers in the walls. "Would students now please make their way to the Gymnasium for an assembly."
"I knew this was gonna happen, but I still hardly wanna go," groaned one of the ambiguous students in Thorne's class.
Ms. Berot instructed, "Please be respectful as you walk tp the Gym."
Of course, the hallways exploded with cacophonous chatter as soon as students made their way through the classroom doors.
Thorne found Heather was already seated in the crowd. He sat down next to her. "Hey," he greeted.
"Hey," she smiled back. "You know what this assembly is supposed to be about?"
"Not a clue," Thorne admitted. "How are you?"
"I'm feeling good," she smiled. "I couldn't wait to see you at lunchtime, but I guess this will do," she joked.
Thorne smiled. "Aw, really?"
"It's you and me against the world," Heather joked again. "Rumours about PsykoNet are really spreading, huh?"
"Yeah, it's like it's all anyone is talking about these days," Thorne nodded.
Just then, his hypothesis was supported as someone nearby laughed with their friend. "So, what would my Shadow be, do you think?"
"You?" the friend replied. They snuffed, preparing to roast the guy. "Probably a bug."
"What?" the friend gasped, offended. "Why?"
"'Cause you're always trying to feed off dead trends."
Heather sighed. "This could be an issue… What if people trace it back to us?"
"I doubt that's likely," Thorne reassured. "We just have to be careful of what we say."
"What if someone uses PsykoNet for something bad?" she asked, starting to sound worried. "With every talking about it, how would anyone know who it was?"
"How would you even use PsykoNet for something bad?" Thorne chuckled. "Like, really."
"I guess…" Heather sighed. "Maybe I'm worrying too much…"
"I think you might be," Thorne nodded. "Just relax. We don't have to worry about going back in there anymore, anyway. Right? Your Shadow is gone now, and that's all we were worried about up 'til now."
"Yeah, you're right." Heather's mouth turned up in a smile. "I guess we should just play along and pretend it's an A.R.G. thing like everyone else."
"Yes, perfect plan."
The feature presenter walked up onto the stage, organizing their script notes on the pedestal in front of them. "Good morning, students of Goldhelm Secondary. My name is Jackson Conowell. Yes, the Mayor Jackson Conowell."
"What's the mayor doing here?" one of the students seated near Thorne and Heather whispered.
"I've always been a strong advocate of putting good education as a top priority," Mayor Conowell explained. "So, now that I've been the Mayor of the great city of Vancouver for about eight months now, I've finally put into action a funding plan which prioritizes students in the school system. I'm here to personally tell you students how this plan will benefit you, and how you can take advantage of it. Starting today, the school has been given public transit passes to give to every single student. These public transit passes are effective for use on buses, and even the iconic Vancouver skytrain system. They will expire in three months, meaning in November. However, you will all be eligible to receive new ones after the three month period, if you so wish. My hope is that this will allow students more opportunities to experience the real world that they're going to be entering into after graduation. I believe that it's important to give young, developing minds the opportunity to access a multitude of unique experiences. It is my belief that experienced youth becoming outstanding adults. And, it is my hope that you will see things the same way."
"Wow, that's pretty rad," Heather commented, whispering to Thorne.
Thorne nodded in response. It was pretty 'rad'.
Mayor Conowell went on to explain a few other ways in which the school was being supplied with funding, but by then most of the students had zoned out. He finished with a promise; "I will be meeting with the Student Leadership Committee during lunch hour in order to answer questions and hear suggestions. All students are welcome to speak with me."
Sep. 11, Student Leadership Committee Meeting Room, Goldhelm; Lunchtime
Thorne and Heather walked into the Student Leadership Committee meeting room to find, indeed, that Mayor Conowell was speaking directly with students. He seemed very interested in what the students had to say. It didn't look at all like he was acting.
One shy student, a girl wearing a skirt and a white dress shirt, approached him shyly. "M-Mr. Mayor," she stuttered. "I have a… a few questions."
"I'd be happy to answer them," smiled Conowell. "Ask away."
"I'm currently managing a-a blog, and I…" the girl stammered.
"Please," insisted the Mayor, "I'm nobody you need to fear. Think of me as just any other person, if it helps."
The girl cleared her throat. "Well, um, Mr. Mayor, I'm running a personal blog, and I want to hear your opinion on certain things."
Heather and Thorne stood back, observing.
"Well, please, ask!" encouraged Conowell.
"My first question is, what is your opinion on the evident need for a new school to be built in the growing area surrounding Goldhelm?" the girl asked, sounding much more confident.
"Well, I'd be lying to say I haven't been thinking about it often," admitted Conowell. "I've been working with the school district to determine the best course of action. But there's a lot of information needed before we can simply build a new school. We need to know the sizes of the different grade ranges, the ability for students to commute to a new school in a different location, how traffic would be affected… and on top of that, there are a lot of businesses and residences in this area. Suffice to say, there isn't enough space in this district of the city for a brand-new school. We'd need to make substantial changes to the existing community in order to fit a new school. So, I've been working with many people just to find out what the best course of action is. Though I'm aware that Goldhelm isn't large enough on its own to handle the growing student population; believe me, I am."
The girl scratched notes down onto her notebook. "Thank you, sir. Um, my next question: What encouraged you to open free public transportation to the student population?"
"Well, I think I described that in the assembly, but I'll reiterate," nodded the Mayor. "I'm a father myself, to two children. One of them is no longer in public school, but the other one is. And I guess that helped me to see how other students react to the school setting. I've always been critical of the school system, and cutting the school district's budget won't solve any of the issues that need to be addressed. So, I decided that we need to invest in the students themselves. We need to give them the ability to access the situations that they must face once graduating. Like, for example, using the public transit systems to get to locations, and exploring career options. That was what inspired me to make the decision to make access to public transit services free for students in the public school system."
"Thank you," the girl nodded. "That is all."
"May I have your name, miss?" Conowell asked.
"M-My name?" she gasped. "Why?"
"It's very brave of you to speak with me directly," the Mayor smiled. "If I know you're name, then I'm closer to knowing you personally."
"M-My name is Gena…" the girl stuttered. "Gena Jackson."
Conowell chuckled. "What a coincidence, your last name is my first name."
Thorne smiled. He recognized the girl who had been talking to the Mayor. She was one of the models of the paintings in Shadow Heather's gallery. He turned to Heather. Heather looked somewhat upset upon recognizing her.
"Hey, it's Thorne," someone noted. Thorne turned to face the person who had called his name. It was Sara. "What are you doing here in the Student Leadership room?"
"Uh, just… watching the Mayor," Thorne answered. "I'm his biggest fan, you know," he joked.
Sara chuckled. "You didn't strike me as a political person."
"Trust me, I'm not," responded Thorne. "But it's a good opportunity, no?"
"Yeah, for sure. Are you gonna speak with him?" Sara asked.
"I might as well," Thorne shrugged.
Suddenly, Sara pushed Thorne right into Conowell's path. He stumbled forward, knocking Gena over by accident with his momentum. He gasped, and gave Gena an apologetic look.
"It's fine," she sighed, grabbing her notebook. "I'm used to it by now." She pulled her notebook into her chest and left the room, not storming but certainly walking heavier than normal.
"Oh my…" Conowell watched as Gena left the room. He cleared his throat. "Um, is there anything you'd like to say to me, young sir?"
Thorne put his hand out. The Mayor linked his hand with Thorne's, and they shook hands.
"Huh," Conowell gave a comical half-grin. "A handshake can certainly say a lot, can't it? I don't usually get handshakes unless it's from representatives. It's good to meet you. What's your name?"
"Thorne Blackwood," Thorne answered.
"Thorne Blackwood? Wow, talk about cool names," chuckled Conowell. "Do you have any questions for me? I'd be happy to answer."
Thorne had forged a special link with Mayor Conowell, of all people: Death. Symbolizing self-awareness, and endings, Mayor Conowell's determination to serve the people would teach Thorne to fight for his own beliefs, and to reach for his goals.
"Well," Thorne asked, pulling a random question straight out of his ass, "uh, what do you think of the impact of technology on the experience of a student?"
"Hm… that's a good question…" Conowell thought for a short moment. "I think it can be both a great benefit to a student's school experience, but also a powerful negative influence. I think I can trust students enough to realize the impact of technology on themselves, though. I hope I can, at least."
"Thanks, sir," Thorne nodded. He and Heather went off to enjoy their lunchtime together.
