How Things Changed Forever.. PART - II

CH 33: Resilient

The turnout at the latest Amity workshop exceeded expectations. It wasn't exactly what Hillary had hoped for, but considering they often operated at half capacity, reaching eighty-five percent attendance was a significant improvement.

As she stood before the group, Hillary could sense a mild tension lingering in the air. People still seemed to be upset with her over the letter fiasco. Raising her voice to capture everyone's attention, she addressed the crowded auditorium. "Well, well... Look at all the new faces we have here!" A few smiles broke out, easing some of the initial stiffness.

"Alright, for those of you who've been with us regularly, you know we've been working on setting up a food exhibition on the school grounds. I'm thrilled to announce that we got the green light from the principal just yesterday!" A wave of cheers rippled through the room, lifting the energy. "This is a school-wide event, so everyone is welcome to participate. But for you guys, participation is compulsory—whether it's by setting up stalls or helping us with the planning." She paused, letting that sink in. "Now, let's all get to work."

Over the next two days, the auditorium buzzed with activity after lunch. She divided everyone into groups to delegate tasks with care, but was mindful to ensure each team had at least one person she could trust to get the work done.

She kept simple tasks for the newcomers outside the auditorium, assigning them for recruiting more participants for the stalls and coming up with new ideas to draw a crowd while the rest of them did the more challenging works.

Despite her best efforts to distribute the workload, a considerable portion still landed squarely on her shoulders. She didn't really mind it, she knew they were important and had to be done as soon as possible, bit she did hate the fact that she could share this burden with no one.

It was late in the evening on Saturday when Hillary sat at her desk, surrounded by stacks of notes and schedules. She let out a weary sigh, the weight of her commitments pressing down on her. Balancing her studies, swim practices, prefect duties, Amity club responsibilities, and a looming chemistry project was proving more challenging than she had anticipated.

She needed to find a better way to manage all this, she thought. But for now, there was no time to dwell. The success of the event depended on her ability to keep everything running smoothly, and smoothly they will be.

*****
Kai knocked on the front door of Hillary's house. It was Sunday morning and Hillary had convinced him to build the chemical battery at her house. Given that he didn't want to reveal his apartment's location and they very well couldn't create a fuzz in any random cafe while they made their project, Kai had no choice but to agree.

It was Hillary's father who opened the door for him, "Hello Kai, nice to meet you. Hillary told me you would be dropping by today. Come on in." He said, raising his hand to give him a handshake.

Kai quietly shook his hand, walking in after him. He'd never met Hillary's father until then, and didn't know what to make of him. He was a tall guy, easily six feet. He was well-built and looked to be in his forties. He seemed laid back and easy going in his tussled hair, easy smiles and casual talk, but there was something Kai couldn't point his finger on that felt familiar with the guy. He wondered whether they had met before, but didn't ask.

"Hillary's room is to the right on the first floor." Hillary's father informed him before returning to the kitchen, where he was cooking something.

Kai shook his head as he walked upstairs. He was probably just sizing him, wondering if he was a good influence on his daughter or not.

Kai chuckled at the thought, Hillary mustn't have told him everything that took place in the hospital three months ago, because no father in his right mind would let him or any of the blade breakers near his daughter again after they'd risked her life so blatantly.