The next morning, I woke with a start. My head hurt. I had stayed up pretty
late, thinking about the news.
I put all that to the back of my mind as I got out of bed and ready for the
day. I was showered, dressed, and fed by 7:00. (I'm an early bird- I love the
morning.) I glanced at my calendar: it was Monday, so after I hung around at
the Art Centre for a couple of hours, I would go to the bank and meet my accountant
for a weekly meeting on my finances.
I made a face. I hated talking about finances. Luckily, though, my accountant
was a good friend of mine, and the "meetings" were usually just gossip sessions.
After my meeting, I would come home and work on my homework (I'm a freshman
in college, studying -what else?- art and art history). I had an essay due in
two weeks- it counted for a whopping 30% of our final grade. I also had a dentist
appointment at four.
Quickly memorising my schedule, I packed my bag and walked out the door. As
I made my way to the Art Centre, the idea became less and less appealing. Today,
everyone would hear the news, and for the first few hours be in shock, offering
condolences to Blu and discussing their disbelief while he was out of earshot.
Later, however, would come the rumors about why it was really being closed down,
and over a few cups of java they would start conspiring and conjuring up juicy
stories. I smiled. At least the coffee shop would make good money today. When
ever the artists got excited, they drank much more coffee than usual.
I decided, instead, to go to the bank early. No point in making myself depressed
over it. As I strolled along the sidewalk, I stopped to buy a slice of pizza
from the Pizzaroo and peered through the windows of the Petpet shop at the adorable
pets I might someday own. I was almost at the bank when I saw a young kid running
around with a pile of papers. "Get your Neopian Times, hot off the press!" I
picked up a paper he had dropped and looked at the front page headline:
|
WELL-LOVED
Art Centre FORCED TO CLOSE!!! Owner
in shambles and members horrified
|
I sighed. So, this was not going to be something I could get away from. As
I glanced over the extremely long article, something puzzled me, not one thing
was mentioned about the DMLC. They really don't want any credit for this
nor do they want blame, I thought to myself. As I made my way up the stairs
to the bank, I saw my accountant, Tracy, talking on the phone. She looked up,
and when I smiled, she motioned for me to come in.
"No, I'm sorry, that's not possible. No, there's no way. I'm afraid we can't
do that, ma'am, really... No, that's out of the question!" She held the phone
away from her ear for a moment, then started to talk again.
"I'm sorry, ma'am.... ma'am?" She looked at the receiver in amazement, and
then hung up.
"Hi!" she greeted me cheerfully, shaking off her worry.
"Sounds like you have an unhappy customer. Did you make a mistake and lose
half her family fortune?"
She laughed. "I wish it were that simple." She sat down at her desk. "Actually,
that was an old woman who's granddaughter practically lives at the Art Centre.
She wanted to know if the bank could help fund the Centre, or at least sue whoever
is making them close down." She sighed. "That's the fifth call this morning.
I can't believe how hard this is going down!" She thought for a minute, then
bit her lip. "I'm sorry, I know it meant a lot to you, but-"
"No, no, I'm fine. Who I'm worried about is Blu. He's going to pieces over
this, and with good reason."
"Know anything behind it?"
"Besides the fact that it's wrong, no."
"Well, sorry to add another burden to your day, but we actually have to talk
over these figures." She pushed a piece of paper over to me.
The next ten minutes were spent discussing the numbers, and then they were
promptly put away.
"I'm glad you came early today, Cody. I need the extra time to finish up some
paperwork." She gathered the paper and put them in a file. "But you know, you
really are quite efficient with numbers. You could be a good business person.
Maybe even be in one of those high-ranking departments!" We both laughed.
"Think I have a chance to get into the DMLC?" I said as a joke.
"Hey, I said join one, all right, not invent one!"
This puzzled me. "What do you mean?"
She smiled as she shook her head. "There is no DMLC, Code."
***
"What? Are you sure?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "As far as I know. This bank deals with all companies
and all accounts on Neopia. I can check for you, but like I said, I highly doubt
it." At my troubled expression, she asked, "So what's all this about?"
"I'm not really sure yet. But really, leave a message on my machine when you
find out, okay?"
"Will do," she said, as she turned back to her computer. I left the bank that
day extremely confused.
When I got home, I was so wrapped up in the issue that I couldn't write a
single word on my essay. I decided to make a quick trip to the Art
Centre to find out a few things.
As I swung through the main doors, I was surprised to see that everyone was
doing fine. Laughing, smiling, drinking the usual amount of coffee, which, consequently,
is a lot, but still everything was perfectly normal.
I wasted no time with small talk. Although several of my friends called out
to me, and beckoned that I come over, I waved a hand and shook my head. I kept
walking until I was inside Blu's office.
"Everyone's taken the news pretty well, haven't they?" I asked with raised
eyebrows. "Almost unusually well. In fact, they seem totally unaffected about
the whole idea."
He smiled weakly. "All right, maybe I should tell them. But not today. Today
I'm just thinking things through. Maybe there's something I can do that will
persuade this Department to let us stay."
"I think you'll have a pretty hard time doing that," I started, "considering
there is no DMLC."
He responded with a quizzical look, then laughed. "Oh, don't get my hopes up.
Look," he said when I turned away from him, "I appreciate the effort and all
but, I've fought for this Centre a million times over. If I need to I can do
it again. Just put it out of your mind." I quickly realized that, as much of
a friend as he was, Blu would be no help here. He would do nothing but hurt
the situation.
"All right, but before I go, I would really like that letter." Blu smiled,
and pulled it out of his desk drawer.
"Keep it," he said, "I've read it over so many times I know it off by heart."
I tucked the envelope into my coat pocket and started out the door.
"Oh, wait, Cody!" I turned back around. Blu was fumbling with something in
his pocket. He handed me another piece of paper. It was a computer printed invitation
to the closing party.
"Just in case," he said. I turned around and left.
To be continued... | 
