Chapter 2: A Proposal Rejected
Upstairs, the board members have exited from one of the meeting rooms in a grand hallway of white marble with pillars and a diamond black and white granite floor. The first man to exit was Fenton Q. Harcourt, the head of the board of directors. There were also a few other men following behind him. They were all clearly relieved to reject Milo's proposal, believing it was a bunch of nonsense.
"I swear, that young Thatch and his sister get crazier every year!" one man grumbled.
"If I ever hear the word, 'Atlantis' again, I'll step in front of a bus," a second man vented.
"I'll push you!" the first man said, shoving his companion, causing the other men to howl with laughter.
"And that deaf-and-dumb sister of his is always a nuisance! Using her hands when she makes those ridiculous signs, when she can't talk!" a third man said.
"Bah, the best job she can do is clean our offices and be a mime!" said the fourth man, making all the men laugh again.
"Mr. Harcourt!" A familiar male voice called.
The members of the board looked ahead of them to see Milo and Emily running towards them. Milo carried his scrolls and umbrella, and was scrambling to reach them.
"Good Lord!" A man yelled.
"There they are!"
"Members of the board… Uh, wait," Milo exclaimed.
"How did you find us?" Harcourt demanded.
The other members began to scram around the hallway like cockroaches. They headed straight for each door on the side to lock themselves in to avoid the Thatch siblings. Every time Harcourt attempted to reach for the doors, his cohorts would slam them and lock him outside.
"Mr. Harcourt, wait!" Milo called.
"Head for the hills!" Another board director yelled. They slammed the door, before Mr. Harcourt could enter.
"Where is a guard when you need him?" Another man yelled as he and his friend ran into another meeting hall.
Every board member has locked himself in each room, leaving Mr. Harcourt outside.
"Mr. Harcourt, you gotta listen to me, sir!" Milo insisted.
When he realized that he wouldn't be able to hide, Mr. Harcourt hid behind a skinny plant with leaves. But Emily noticed him, and tapped Milo's shoulder to get his attention. She pointed over to the plant.
"Uh, sir?" Milo asked, using his umbrella to push aside the leaves.
Mr. Harcourt gave a nervous smile. Then, he reflected his wrist and opened up his umbrella to push off Milo and Emily. Using this opportunity, he ran away until he was in the main part of the museum.
"Wait! Mr. Harcourt!" Milo called out, as he and his sister continued to chase after him.
The fat man ran through the revolving door, glancing back to see the Thatch siblings still chasing him. He reached his motor car and his driver held the door opened for his boss to get in. Harcourt quickly entered the car and the driver closed it, before making his way to the steering wheel.
"Sir, I, I have new evidence that… Please, Mr. Harcourt!" Milo called, stopping in front of the man.
Emily came to a halt, and placed her hands on her knees, panting from the quick sprint.
"Stop!" Milo exclaimed. He smiled in relief and shoved in his scrolls and umbrella in the car. "Sir, if you… Could you hold… Thank you very much." The young man opened up a scroll and held it up to show his new theory. "Look at…"
But Milo was cut off when Mr. Harcourt pushed aside the scroll and looked at the young man with annoyance.
"This museum funds scientific expeditions based on facts, not legends and folklore," Mr. Harcourt said, shoving the scrolls back into Milo's arms.
Emily knelt down to grab a few scattered scrolls, and held them in her arms. She glanced up at Mr. Harcourt. She knew that he and the board of directors could not understand sign language. But she could also read lips.
Then, he smiled at the young man, "Besides, we need you and your sister here," he wrapped his arms around Milo's neck and pulled him in, gently touching his cheek. "We depend on you two."
"You do?" Milo asked with a smile forming on his lips, hoping that Mr. Harcourt had a change of heart and mind.
"Yes," the man said. "What with winter coming, that boiler's going to need a lot of attention."
"Boiler?" Milo asked, dumbfounded.
"Miss Thatch," Harcourt smirked at the dirty blonde. Emily looked at his lips to read them. "This museum will need cleaning and sprucing up for the winter. Shovel snow to clear the entrances, wash the windows, scrub and sweep the floors, empty the trash, clean the bathrooms, and etc.,."
What?! Emily signed in shock.
"Onward, Heinz!" Harcourt commanded his driver.
Within seconds the car sped off.
But Milo wasn't always the man to give up. He ran after the car, with his sister following behind.
"But there…" the young man unfurled a map of Iceland. Harcourt glanced at his pocket watch with a glare. "But there's a journal! It's in Iceland! I'm sure of it this time!"
The man pulled a cord to close the curtains of his car window to ride in peace. Then, Harcourt jumped in surprise to see Milo jump on the hood of the car.
Emily gave a yelp in terror, upon seeing her brother putting himself in danger!
"Sir, I really hoped it wouldn't come to this, but this is, uh…" Milo said, pulling out a letter from his pocket and placed it on the front window. "A letter of resignation."
"If you reject my proposal, Emily and I will… WHOAAAA!" before the young man could continue, Heinz steered the car to shove Milo off onto the street.
"WE'LL QUIT!" He yelled angrily.
The car suddenly came to a halt.
Emily caught up to her brother and got down on her knees.
Milo are you okay? She signed in worry, praying her brother didn't injure himself. You nearly gave me a heart attack!
"I'm fine Em," he said, signing back.
The car reversed and backed up to the Thatch siblings. Mr. Harcourt opened up the curtains from his car and glared at the siblings, having had enough of their insistence.
"I mean it, sir," Milo warned, glaring back at his superior, and holding up his letter. "If you refuse to fund my proposal…"
"You'll what?" Harcourt interrupted. "Flush your career down the toilet, just like your grandfather?" He gave them a cuckoo face at the last few words.
Emily's jaw dropped. She gritted her teeth with a glare. Every time someone said anything disrespectful about her grandfather, it really burned her up!
"You have a lot of potential, Milo," the man continued. "Don't throw it all away chasing fairy tales."
"But, Emily and I can prove Atlantis exists!" the young man insisted, desperately.
"You want to go on an expedition?" He asked, taking out a coin and tossed it to Milo. "Here, take a trolley to the Potomac and jump in! Maybe the cold water will cool your head. And don't drag this dumb blonde with you."
Harcourt pulled out a crumpled ball of paper and threw it towards Emily. The woman flinched in fear as it was about to hit her.
Milo caught the paper ball in his hand and glared. "Say that again about my sister, and you're gonna regret it."
"Oh, really?" Harcourt said. "Get this through your tiny brain, Milo. You're a joke, and you always will be. That goes for your grandfather and sister."
Fat man! The dirty blonde signed, finger spelling from the sign language alphabet in anger.
"What did you just say?" Harcourt demanded.
F-A-T M-A-N!
Milo glanced back at his sister to read her finger spelling. His eyes widened at what Emily signed.
"She says, 'Fat Man'!" Milo blurted, before covering his mouth. He instantly regretted it.
Harcourt's jaw dropped from the young man's translation. He glared harder at the dirty blonde for her insult.
"Why, I've never been that insulted in my life!" he yelled. "I hope you're reading my lips well, Miss Emily. You're a useless woman with that disability of yours. People like you don't have the capability to make a difference in the world."
Emily felt a wave of hurt, and shock beamed through her body. Even though she was accepted by the deaf community, she faced bullying and discrimination by other people who believed that people like her could never overcome anything. Milo and their grandfather would always step in to protect her.
"Heinz!" Mr. Harcourt ordered.
The car drove off, and splashed a puddle and drenched the Thatch siblings. Milo sighed heavily with disappointment as he looked at his soaked letter, his dreams of proving himself to be capable have failed.
Emily looked down and sighed. Tears emerged from her eyes, and immediately dried them with the tips of her fingers.
"You okay there, Em?" Milo asked, signing.
No, Emily signed, using her first and middle fingers to tap on her thumb. The brother and sister stood up to head home as thunder rumbled in the distance.