Chapter 3

Orion

Not that I kept a lot of personal belongings in my office, but what I did have was now packed in a box and sitting on top of my desk. Or my former desk. Still hadn't gotten used to the fact that someone was replacing me.

I looked at my watch for the third time. Ms. Raya Davison was now fifteen minutes late. This was not a way to make a good first impression. If I had any say in the matter, I'd fire her. She obviously didn't take this role seriously. It wasn't just my time that she was wasting, but the staff and students needed to be able to count on her.

Not that I had any dislike for foreigners, but no matter how much they wanted to, they could never truly understand what Tabiq had been through, and how seriously we take the responsibility of building it back up.

She might have been born here, but she's been in the USA too long. She doesn't know Tabiq anymore.

Reesa needed to be made aware of who she hired. Someone...unreliable. But I had a feeling that no matter what I said, she wasn't going to send Raya back to where she came from.

We were stuck with Raya… for now. Reesa had made it clear that I was going to replace her. Even though it was only going to be temporary until another election took place, it still meant that I was going to have the authority to hire someone I felt was the best person for the job. Not sure who that would be at the moment, but it would be someone who valued punctuality and more importantly… Tabiq.

There was a knock on the door, and I called out, "It's open. Come in." The door opened, but it wasn't Raya. It was Jay Patal, someone I counted on to provide meals for the students each day.

"Sorry to bother you, but I thought you might want to know we have visitors."

Visitors? I had been expecting one.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"Alex and Ziva Henderson are here. They arrived with Ms. Davison."

At least I knew she was in the building even though she hadn't made it to the office as we agreed. "What exactly are they doing?"

"Serving breakfast to the children," Jay replied. "They brought an abundance of fresh fruits. It was very thoughtful of them."

True. Jay cooked lunch for them, but breakfast was not ever provided. Mostly because the funding wasn't there. Not yet at least. I hoped to change that one day too. If this was Raya's idea, maybe I'd cut her some slack for being late. I could never be angry with someone for putting the students first. It's what I've always done myself.

"Thank you for informing me."

Jay nodded. "Ms. Davison also asked if I could let you know that she will be here as soon as everyone has been taken care of. I offered to do it for her, but she insisted on participating."

It was a better introduction to the students than I had planned. Guess she knew where the first impression mattered more. It wasn't with me.

"That is fine. I am sure you have plenty of meal preparation to do yourself."

"That I do," he said, as he left my office.

We had one school and all grades attended classes here. Currently, there were just under three hundred students. Not all of the youth attended public school. There were still many Tabiqians who preferred to teach their children at home. Our curriculum was different from what it had been. Now we were more in line with the rest of the world. Children who attend public school had the option of going to a university in another country. Which was good, because we still didn't have a college here.

Immense progress had been made, but so much more was yet to be done. Years of being ruled by evil had set us so far back that it would take generations to rectify our mistakes. Not even sure I'd see it in my lifetime, but I was going to do everything in my power to ensure that I was adding to the progress.

I felt my phone vibrate in my coat pocket. Pulling it out I saw a message.

SORRY. I NEED TO MOVE OUR MEETING. I SHOULD ONLY BE THIRTY MINUTES LATE.

Another knock on the door, but this time it opened before I could say anything. Although I hadn't seen a photograph of her, I knew this was my replacement. She had all the features of a Tabiqian woman, except for one. She had short blond hair. Her fingernails were on the long side and covered with pink nail polish, and she had on make-up which was uncommon as well. I didn't want to like it, but I could barely take my eyes off her. She was...

Stunning.

"I'm sorry to have kept you," she said as she laid her leather briefcase upon the desk. "I recall being hungry when I went to school and thought it would be right to start my job with a healthy snack for the students."

"I'm sure they were thrilled. But I don't want them to expect it all the time. It's not in the budget," I said. "Many things are not."

She smiled and said, "I'm excellent at making a dollar stretch."

"Please don't take this the wrong way, but this isn't the United States. There is no additional funding to be had." Everything needed to be approved by the president. There was no public tax that we could draw from.

Raya sat down across from me and said, "Have you ever heard of a PTO?" I shook my head. "It's a parent, teachers' organization. We raise funds for what is needed."

"And how exactly do you raise funds?" I asked.

"A bake sale or craft fair. There are a lot of ways. And one avenue that could make these efforts a success would be the resort," she stated.

"Hell no! We are not bringing our children and parading them around tourists, begging," I said firmly.

Her mouth gaped open, and I saw a fire in her eyes. Her tone said she wasn't shocked but pissed at my accusation. "I never suggested that we beg. First of all, I'm sure President O'Connor, as well as the Henderson family, would frown upon such a display. Secondly, what kind of person do you think I am that would use our youth in such a manner after all we have been through in Tabiq?"

I didn't answer that one. Nothing I could say would be right. "What were you trying to say, then?"

"I was suggesting that our students become involved in the fundraising. Each of them has a talent or their family has a trade. Why not show how talented we are? See, we are not begging. We are bragging," she said, pulling herself to sit more upright. "The world doesn't have a clue about Tabiq."

Yeah. We hide the good, so no one learns about just how bad and ugly things were.

"Maybe we can table this conversation for another time," I replied.

Raya didn't back down. "What don't you like about my suggestion?"

She has been away from Tabiq for a while. Most women here wouldn't ever challenge authority. Part of me found this refreshing. But then another thought entered my mind. I technically was her boss. Whether she liked it or not, I had the final say.

"You have a lot to learn before you can even think about taking on a project as revolutionary as that," I stated.

"I'm aware of that."

"Good. Because for the next two weeks, we will be working closely together. That is not long for you to get familiar with our ways," I said.

"Are you forgetting that I'm Tabiqian?" she asked. "I am very familiar with how things are here."

I looked her over again, and said, "No. You knew how things were. Things have changed."

"I know. When I was a little girl, this was the most horrendous place I could imagine being as a grown woman. I feared the day that I would turn eighteen. I know I was still young, but I remember when it all started to change. When we didn't need to live in fear any longer," Raya sighed.

Even though I couldn't relate to what the women had gone through, I never forgot seeing the effect it had on them. Being that I was ten years older than Raya, it meant that my memories were more vivid than hers. My family and friends had young women who had been taken and sold to rich bastards who didn't value a human's life. At least not a Tabiqian woman's life. No one had the power to stop what was going on back then. Anyone who tried, was killed. Although we didn't fully understand who or how the former government was overthrown, we're grateful it was. And still, as a man, I carry some guilt for not being part of the retaliation.

"You are correct. Things are not as they were. But things have changed even more since you left. This is not the same school you attended. Our goals are different as well."

Raya nodded. "Which I am sure I will learn all about over the next two weeks."

"Exactly." I didn't want to discourage her from bringing ideas to me. Just not now. So much was going on that she probably wasn't aware of. It wasn't my place to tell her either. "Why don't we see how things go over the next few weeks."

"I am eager to get started."

"Good." I flipped open my laptop and said, "Let me bring your chair to this side of the desk, and we can begin." Raya got up and grabbed the chair herself. Quickly I rose and said, "Let me."

She shook her head. "If I can't handle a chair, how do you think I could handle all these students?"

Good point.

I sat back down and watched as she carried her chair to sit beside me. It felt unnatural for the gentleman in me to let her do so. Raya was clearly strong-minded and independent. Qualities that she would need to do this job. My job was to teach her everything else so she could be successful.

When she was settled, I looked at my laptop and thought about where to start. But I couldn't help thinking about what she had said about How she had grown up in fear. I felt the need to address that.

"Ms. Davison..."

"Please, call me Raya."

Even though I didn't know her, I was glad that she hadn't been through what so many women before her had. That might be one of the reasons why she carried herself differently. She boldly meets my gaze. She had an internal strength that radiated confidence.

I now understood what Reesa saw in Raya.

"Raya, I'm sorry that you grew up in fear."

"Thank you," she replied.

"The students who attend this school now never went through that. Many of them don't even know what happened." And I hope they never do.

"None of it?" she asked. I shook my head. "Why?"

"For the same reason why we don't speak about it among ourselves. It is a time and period that wish could be forgotten," I stated.

"But you can't forget something like this. I know I never did. Have you?" she questioned.

"No. But we don't want it to be a generational pain. Somehow, we need to put an end to it. Reesa has been working hard to help people move forward."

"By ignoring it happened?" she asked.

I shook my head. "The opposite. Reesa has meetings and groups that give people the chance to talk about what happened. They help each other heal through the process. But through it all, the census is that all want to move forward. No one wants this next generation to carry the burden of our past."

"I don't know what to say," she said softly.

"It is a lot to take in. And now you know why we need to move slowly when it comes to making any major changes at the school. Everything we do needs to be thought through thoroughly. Our goal is to prepare our youth for greater things than what we had the opportunity for. You and I are some of the lucky ones. We were able to experience higher education, come back, and put what we had learned to use. Hopefully, these students will desire to do the same. That's how Tabiq will become a strong independent country. And that's how we ensure what we lived through, can't happen again."

"I'm trying to understand, and Maybe I will, after a little more time," she said. "I must remember that I'm not in the United States anymore."

"You're not. But I want you to feel comfortable coming to me. You're not alone in this. You have me and Reesa and many others who all are here to support you," I said.

"That's good to know because from what you just shared, it sounds like I'm going to need it," she said, letting out a long sigh.

I patted her hand and replied, "Don't stress too much. It is day one and from what I heard; you already have the students loving you. That is more than anyone expected." Especially me. The best thing I could do to help her was pass along everything I knew, little by little. I needed to have faith that she would do things the way I taught and asked. The best way to do that was to dive right in. I looked back at the laptop and said, "Okay. Let's start with class schedules."

The rest of the day was spent just as we were, focused on one document after another. The school was about to be dismissed when we finally stopped for the day.

"I don't believe my head can handle much more today. If you don't mind, maybe we can slow things down a little tomorrow," she suggested.

"No problem. I have a meeting with Reesa in the morning. Maybe we can meet later in the day," I suggested.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to spend the day observing in the classrooms tomorrow. How about maybe after work?" she offered.

That worked better for me too. "Would you like me to meet you at New Hope for dinner and we can talk then?" I asked. Not that I wanted to go to the resort, but it would give us a bit more privacy in case our meeting didn't go well.

"Yes. That would be fine. How about six?" She suggested.

"I'll see you then. But don't hesitate to call me tomorrow if you need me," I reminded her. "And give me a little more warning, unlike your last text."

"My last text?" she asked looking puzzled.

"Yes, the one about running late. I received it right before you entered the office," I reminded her.

"Oh. Sorry. I am having issues with my phone. I sent that even before I left the resort. I'm not sure why I'm having such poor service here."

I chuckled. "Welcome back to Tabiq. Things work great one day, and the next, not at all."

She got up and smiled. "Guess not everything has changed."

Nope. But I have a feeling you're about to change things whether we like it or not.