Rose [A Lunar Chronicles Fanfiction]

Chapter 3

A/N: Sorry for the late update! I'm trying to get ahead in my chapters so I won't get behind in posting like I have been!

                "Master Baines, your father is requesting that you attend the town meeting."

Derek glanced up from his portscreen and met the gaze of his personal android, Karma. The android's eyes had a faint glow to them, making them appear almost ghostly in the dim lighting of his room. "I'm well aware he wants me to go," he sighed out. "He's told me so ten times since yesterday." Derek tapped his portscreen and watched the news report he had been studying fade to black. Ever since Rose had run from him at the town festival, Derek had been up to his elbows in international news. It was the only thing that could distract him from the utter humiliation...

Derek slammed his portscreen onto his desk in frustration. Did rejection always hurt this much? Running a hand through his hair, Derek attempted to collect himself. It would do him no good to be flustered and frustrated at the town meeting. While he was practically guaranteed the position of mayor of Brixham, Derek was keenly aware that even the slightest slip in demeanor could mean the end of his family's influence in the town.

"Master Baines, your father is requesting that you retoggle comms on your portscreen. He wishes to speak with you--," Karma was cut off by Derek's muttered, "I know, I know," and then proceeded to roll quietly out of the room. Derek, however, did not turn comms back on. Instead, he changed into the freshly pressed clothes that had been lain out on his bed by Karma, ran a comb through his hair, checked his reflection in the mirror, and left his room after grabbing his portscreen.

Derek found his father waiting for him in the foyer. With a curt nod of acknowledgement, General Baines opened the door, and the pair took their leave. "I'm surprised you agreed to join me, Derek," the general admitted with a glance at his son. "I will tell you that I was expecting you to remain shut up in your room."

"If I want to keep my chances of being mayor high, I have to make an appearance," Derek replied. "A good leader can't let his personal interests interfere with the good of the masses."

His father clapped him on the back. "Exactly right, my boy. You'll do Brixham proud with a mindset like that. Now, you understand that you'll be required to make a statement about the foreclosure on the Abrams' library. Have you thought about what you will say?"

"I have to make a statement? But Father, you ordered the foreclosure."

"The Town Council will be interested in hearing what the front-running candidate for mayorship has to say about the decision. That library is a safety hazard and a waste of space, don't you agree?"

"Yes, sir, I do."

"Then simply explain why you agree with that statement. Son, I have great faith that you will sway every nay-sayer on the Council. Perhaps we will even be able to speed the foreclosure process and have the library within our complete possession by the end of the week."

Derek stopped just outside of the grand doors of the City Hall. "What will replace it, Father?"

"That, my boy," said the general, "will be left to you. Use it as part of your campaign, perhaps." General Baines opened the door and led Derek inside the massive building. "Though," he added as an afterthought, "if you want a suggestion, a tech shop would be useful. Too many of Brixham's citizens are relying on freelancers for sales and repairs."