Infinite

Is this your card?: Part 3

Seattle, Washington, in the Summit Convention Center, on Friday, June 14th, 2030 at 2:30 pm

Rachel

Tyler led us to an open set of four chairs in the auditorium. The room was pretty much packed and I could already feel myself beginning to sweat. I remembered that one of the fliers I read for this convention center said it could hold up to forty-two thousand attendees. I wasn't sure how many people were in this room, but it was getting warm quickly as people filled the remaining seats. We were somewhere in the middle, and we had a great view of the massive stage at the back of the room.

"These keynote speakers are fantastic," a woman said from behind me.

"Yeah, they speak every year! They're nice to look at, too," the women giggled as they continued to chat. I flipped open the conference guide to check who the speakers are.

Oh my god.

"Oh my god!" Artemis punched me in the arm. She saw it at the exact moment I did.

Sometimes, I wonder if she is in my head, just watching my thoughts.

"Ow! What'd you do that for?" I winced as I rubbed my arm. She had her guide open to the event page as well.

She must've overheard the women talking and checked, too.

"Did you see who the first speakers are?" Tyler said from my left.

"Yes-ir-ree!" Erika exclaimed from the other side of Tyler. Okay, I guess everyone heard. "This should be good!" She continued as she bounced in her seat.

I felt my cheeks start to heat up as I remembered my exchange with Sam. There was just something about the way he was looking at me that made it hard to focus.

The lights began to dim until the only thing we could see was the stage. There was a dark purple curtain in the background, and I could see a single chair in the center of the stage. The announcer for the event walked out to introduce the speakers.

"Good evening ladies and gentleman!" his voice was booming, and about half the crowd yelled 'good evening' back at him.

We really are educators.

"I would like you all to give our first group of speakers a warm round of applause as they kick off the Innovative Schools Summit Conference of 2030!" The crowd began cheering as Sam, Vance, and Tony walked out onto the stage. The applause in the audience erupted into a booming roar as Vance grabbed the microphone from the announcer. I heard a lot of women screaming at them.

"How are y'all doin' tonight, Seattle?" His voice was full of southern charm and the audience began cheering some more. Vance smiled broadly; his pearly white teeth almost reflective under the stage lights. His hair looked more silvery now, too.

"My name is Vance Summers, and I'm the Superintendent for the Dallas School District. My coworkers and I love coming to this event every year to give the wonderful educators of our country a fun-filled evening where we get to connect with each other." He beamed at the crowd and a few people shouted in agreement.

"How about we get started with the fun part?" He held out his arms to wait for the audience to respond. Most of the crowd cheered again, but Artemis and I exchanged glances.

"For those of you who have not seen us speak before, we like to use some of our background expertise to enhance your time at this conference." Vance walked over to Sam and put an arm around him. A bunch of women in the crowd started yelling again. "This is Sam Marconi, and he's the Vice Principal at Westlake Academy in Dallas."

The women behind me hooted and hollered at Sam as he grabbed the microphone from Vance.

"Thank you for the warm introduction, Vance." He smiled as Vance patted him on the shoulder. His accent was so alluring. It was as if I was listening to rain falling softly on the window as he spoke. "As he said, we like to bring our background knowledge to the stage when we speak to provide a unique experience for everyone."