Chapter 7
Adam tapped his foot in annoyance. The speech was in five minutes and Alexander was nowhere to be seen. He had searched the entire first floor, and Damien was checking the second.
After a few extra minutes of waiting, Damien finally came rushing down the stairs to Adam. "I couldn't find him, how about you?" He stressed out.
"Nothing, where else could he be if we already checked the first two floors?" Adam asked. "Do you think he went up higher?"
"I don't know? Dammit! This is why I hate dealing with kids," Damien continued to panic.
"Quit freaking out! Look he has to be in here somewhere, so let's just get some of the waiters and tenants to look for him," Adam suggested.
Coincidentally, a tenant was nearby had just finished serving a group of guests and walked past Adam and Damien. "Hey, buddy," Adam tried to get the man's attention.
"Yes sir, what can I do for you?" the vest-wearing worker asked.
"I need you and you co-workers to help me find a Faunus boy. He's supposed to be giving a speech in…" Adam checked the time on his watch to see that there were only a two minutes before the speech had to be given. "You know what, when you find him, don't bring him over. Just direct him to the stage when he goes on, he has the speech with him," Adam finally stopped barraging the man with orders.
The tenant gave him a blank stare for a few seconds then switched back to his pleasant composure. "Um… Sure sir, absolutely. We will try our best." He assured then darted back to the kitchen.
The man fled into the kitchen with a panicked and confused look on his face. "Matt, what's wrong…and who were you talking to," one of the cooks replied.
"I have no idea, but he said that we need to find a Faunus boy. He's supposed to be giving the speech. He also said to takin to the stage and he has the script and-"
"Woah, woah, woah, slow down man. I saw a Faunus kid a few seconds ago getting a plate full of food. He's probably still in the dining are," the cook reassured. "Just stop freaking out and go get this done."
"Okay, thanks man. It's just that I've already got a verbal warning and my wife has been stressing me out and-," the tenant went on.
"Matt, Matt. I don't care. Just go get this done alright."
"Yeah, sure." The tenant walked out of the kitchen and headed toward the dining area.
Jonathan had finally reached the dining hall with a plate full of anything and everything that he could fit on it. He no longer care whether or not he looked like an animal, he just needed to eat. He sat at a table in the corner of the room and started to gorge into the mound on his plate, savoring every last bite that he could.
As he mowed through the food, he couldn't help but feel strange about this entire situation. Nothing felt right. Why did the owner of the estate come up and talk to him? What did Weiss mean by 'I forgot why you were here'?
"There you are," a male voice called. Jonathan looked up to see one of the waiters walk towards him. The man grabbed the boy by the hand and pulled him up off the seat "Come on, you supposed to be on stage right now."
"What are you talking about," the boy said trying to free himself from the man's grasp. Unfortunately, the man's grasp was too strong, and he had completely ignored what Jonathan just asked.
Damien started pacing back and forth while Adam continued to check the time. "That's it, we can't wait any longer. You have to give the speech Adam." Damien said in full alert.
"Dammit, well I guess I have no choice now," Adam groaned. Before he could walk to the stage however, the MC started to make an announcement.
"Well then, we've had our fun here and there, but now is the time that we all find out, why we are here. And nobody could possibly do it better than Mr. Schnee himself." The music died down and everybody began to take a seat at the tables scattered across the showroom.
Mr. Schnee walked up to the podium as the announcer left. "We have gathered today in honor and in pride of the Schnee Dust Company. For many years, my company has built the foundation of the world we now live in. And yes, it is true that we have been known to use Faunus labor in our production. But when I became CEO of the company, I realized how monstrous these acts of slavery were, and did away with them immediately. However, some may believe that we still use Faunus for slave labor. Now, I can go on all day on this microphone about how that is completely falsified, but I would rather have a known representative of the Faunus civil right movement here to assure you all that we have the upmost respect for the Faunus population. I would like to properly introduce, Jonathan King to the stage."
On cue, the tenant shoved Jonathan onto the stage, and the lights began to focus on his location. He looked out into the crowd and saw a sea of faces waiting for him to speak on the microphone. On the other end of the stage stood Mr. Schnee with the same amount of anticipation.
Damien shot a glance over to Adam, "Who the hell is that," he said aloud.
"That's the cat Faunus I was saved a few days ago," Adam stood in awe.
"What's he doing here? Why is he on stage? Where the hell is Alexander?" Damien was getting louder.
"I'm right here, stop shouting you maniac," Alexander appeared from behind the two.
Damien grew a furious look on his face. "Where were you! We looked everywhere for you."
"I was in the restroom on the third floor," he tossed casually.
"Why!" Damien was about to explode.
"Because there's nobody up there. What, did you expect me to go in a restroom full of filthy old men?" He stopped and saw Jonathan on stage with Mr. Schnee. "Who is that?"
Jonathan gulped in stress before he started to speak. "Hello, my name is Jonathan King," he paused unsure of what to say next. "In a brief description, the past few days have really opened my eyes to what the Schnee Company really is."
Alright, I've gotten this far. I wish I really did know what the Schnee Company is, or at least had something to go on. He thought. Jonathan looked out into the crowd one last time and saw the young Weiss Schnee looking at him with some type of hope or admiration.
He them smiled at her and faced the audience, "And from the second I walked in here, I was greeted by friendly faces and a warm inviting atmosphere. I was served the most delectable meal I have ever had, and I even had the opportunity to dance with Mr. Schnee's lovely daughter. I feel as if I have been welcomed to a family gathering and that we're all here to celebrate and cherish what we have."
"What in the world is he doing?" Alexander started to get angry.
Adam turned around and gave the boy a smug look. "Doing your job."
"So to those of you that might think that the Schnee dust company is some corrupt business that uses slave labor, as a person who has suffered through years of abuse for my heritage, I would gladly shake this man's hand any day of the-"
"STOP THIS INSTANT!" Alex shouted through the crowd.
I apologize for this incident, but I accidentally didn't post the end of chapter 7. It would be best if you got the full experience of the chapter so please reread if you'd like and I will address this in chapter 8.
