(Untitled)

[legendarymadman]

The coming of elections on the island is what they have instead of the turning of the seasons, a way of marking time and watching the island change half-year by half-year. And so Geoffrey finds himself on the stage again, not to start up a new play (but soon, very soon) but to announce the semiannual candidate speeches

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[broken_brushes]

Having been elected to the Island Council twice did not make the experience of giving a speech that much easier. The act of getting up in front of a group of people so that they can judge you is a little harrowing by nature, but I'd taken plenty of time to practice my speech beforehand, and felt confident enough that I could ignore my nerves as I stepped out onto the stage.

"Hi guys," I began with a big smile and a brief wave, doing my best to project my voice so everyone could properly hear me. "My name is Shari Cooper. Thank you so much for allowing me the opportunity to run for a seat on the Council again, and for being here to listen to myself and the other candidates speak today. A lot of you may have seen me around, I know I've seen most of you." I surveyed the crowd with a smile. "This past February, I opened the Island Bakery, which helps supply the Compound kitchen stores and keeps all of you in yummy stuff. Along with my friend Bill Weasley, I also oversee the Cain Homestead, which provides a safe and loving home for kids on the island who don't have guardians, and I teach at the Island School. I've lived here four years as of this month, and the past two terms I've had the honor of serving you on the Council.

"Last time I was up here, I talked about establishing a permanent Loss Services department to assist residents who have suffered from any sort of loss, whether it be one of our many disappearances or simply being here in the first place and having lost their home. I'm happy to say that this past term I successfully established the Loss Services department, and have a team of extremely devoted volunteers who help others with things like coordinating with the Council, meals, and general support. We also have a group that meets in the Rec Center on the third Tuesday of every month and is open to everyone.

"Another special project I had this past term was the auction some of you will probably remember from Valentine's Day. I very firmly believe in both celebrating our extraordinary community and giving back to it, and I've made it a goal to find ways to increase the number of volunteers helping with upkeep of our public areas while giving us all something fun to do that reminds everyone of what a great community we have here. This June I'm hosting a casino night to help benefit all of the great social services we all enjoy, and I plan to continue to look for ways to make everyone's experience on Tabula Rasa happier and more fulfilling, whether it be through something like the bakery or simply providing a way for us to have a good time."

Pausing, I took a final look over the faces turned my way. "Again, thank you so much for this opportunity. Being able to serve you on the Council has meant a lot more to me than I ever could have imagined, and I'm grateful for the good faith and support that has allowed me to be up here again. Once more, I'm Shari Cooper. Thanks for listening, and please stop by the bakery some morning and say hello."

[dogbitesman]

"Since I think we'd prefer people didn't vote with their stomachs," William said, his expression not letting on how seriously he meant the comment, "Let's start down the list. So, you'd say your happy with how Loss Services is progressing?"

[broken_brushes]

"You know, I don't actually think that's fair, William," I immediately replied with a considering tilt of my head. "I think there's a pretty big difference between voluntarily providing a dependable service like the bakery to the island free of any kind of charge or expectancy of reciprocation, and occasionally making a batch of really delicious cookies to share. I'm proud of the bakery, I'm proud of the people who work in it with me everyday of the week, in the heat from the ovens in an already tropical climate, and I'm proud of the way we service the community. So, if voting with your stomach means acknowledging all of that, then actually, I wouldn't mind if people voted with their stomachs."

I paused, offering a resigned smile as I changed topics. "As for Loss Services, I think that the fact that it's become a necessity for many people means that I'm never going to be happy with it. I would be happy if we didn't need it at all. But I'm proud of the efforts that are being made, and that we seem to be helping those people who want it."

[dogbitesman]

"...certainly, then, we can go back to that," William said, raising his eyebrows. "You consider baked goods that important? I just assumed you'd consider it a less critical service than the others, my apologies."

[broken_brushes]

"I consider the effort and provided service to the community relevant," I replied. "It's undeniable that people benefit from the bakery, and sure, it's not as critical a need as the operating room, for example, but I don't think it's fair to so casually dismiss it, either. I think it's one of the most important things I do, or that I've ever done, actually. We provide the bread that the people of this island eat everyday. I'm never going to be a technical genius, I don't have the skills to create a sterile medical environment. But the skills that I do have, I use, just as you use yours to provide an impartial source of news. Is the newspaper strictly necessary? No. We could live without it. But I'm glad that someone is making the effort to put it together anyway, you know?"

[dogbitesman]

William's pen paused and stood, poised, on the paper, his gaze not on it but on Cooper.

"The difference being," he said, "there are other sources of food. We had bread before you, Miss Cooper. We didn't have a newspaper before me." He smiled. It was a smile written in red ink, in the margin. "But do please go on regarding the relative importance of a free press versus that of extra croissants."

Live without it? William didn't know that he endorsed her definition of living.

[broken_brushes]

"Ah, but we had news before you," I replied, smiling right back. What a jerk. "Just like we had bread, randomly and inconsistently made. Are there any other questions I can answer for you?"

[dogbitesman]

"It's not news unless someone's writing it down and publishing it," William said. "It's just things that happen. One more, on that subject, then: did you find the running of the kitchen previous to your construction of the bakery to be random and inconsistent in respects other than that of its bread production?"

[broken_brushes]

"Oh, come on," I replied with a sigh. "I don't want to get into a semantic argument about whether bread is more important than journalism, I just wanted the hard work and significance of all the people who contribute to the bakery to not be dismissed, especially not by someone who is responsible for the press. I don't think that's fair, William, and I couldn't let it pass." I shrugged. "And to even imply I think the kitchen staff might be incompetent is the furthest possible thing from the truth. I think the kitchen staff does an amazing job, but I also think they have always had a massive responsibility on their shoulders just in providing three squares a day to everyone who wants one and then cleaning up after. There's only something like ten people on their staff right now, and I honestly have no idea how they do it so well. It's really incredible. Prior to opening the bakery, I was in the kitchen everyday helping supplement the baked goods for the kitchen staff, just like Ned was. I've seen how hard they work. So no, I don't think the running of the kitchen-" I paused, making air quotes with my fingers, "-is random and inconsistent, I never even said that. Suggesting that bread wasn't their number one concern doesn't mean I think they aren't awesome at what they do. But I do think that there's merit in helping take some of the load off of the staff so that they can focus on providing all of us breakfast, lunch and dinner."

[dogbitesman]

"Thank you for clarifying," William said, mentally adding, even if I had to goad you into it. But then, that was the job. "We have rather gotten derailed, but it doesn't end there, because you made another point I'd like to ask about. Less contentious this time, I promise. Do you think the kitchen could do with some more staff? You're right, ten is a rather small number. We have more council members than cooks."

[broken_brushes]

"I do, yeah," I replied with a nod. "I may be wrong, as I'm obviously not the kitchen representative, but I think part of the problem is that we're working with a pretty small pool of people to begin with, since cooking well is difficult enough, but cooking well for a lot of people is even more difficult. And then you figure in the time commitment, and disappearances… Finding qualified and willing staff for the kitchen can't be easy."

I paused, canting my head like that might settle some of the ideas bouncing around inside it. "We usually have at least a few students in each of the cooking and baking classes each term, maybe it would be a good idea to start offering advanced courses with an eye toward adding to the kitchen staff in the future."

[dreamily_luna]

"Hullo Shari," says Luna. She's found a pair of pink sunglasses that are very similar to Spectrespecs, and they're pushed up on her forehead. "Did you or Polly establish Loss Services? I'm a bit confused on that note. Also, does this program focus only on the dealing with things, or are you planning to investigate the how and why of things?"

After a moment, Luna adds, "How do you feel about dirigible plums?"

[broken_brushes]

"Hello, Luna," I replied, offering the girl an affectionate if slightly bewildered smile. She was sweet, but definitely marched to the beat of her own drummer. "I established and oversee the Loss Services program. As of right now, we're mostly focused on assisting people with their loss, rather than investigating the cause of disappearances, if that's what you mean. I know a lot of people have and continue to investigate the phenomenon on their own, but it might not be a bad idea to have an official entity to do that sort of research so that everyone can pool their resources.

"As for dirigible plums, I've never had one. I don't think we have any on the island, do we?" Thank god I'd read the Harry Potter books a couple of years back so I knew what she was talking about.

[dreamily_luna]

Luna writes this down, vaguely wishing for a quill like her father's-- not that it would work here. "We don't," she says a bit sadly, about the plums. "I do recommend them."

Her head tilts. "What inspired you to start Loss Services?"

[broken_brushes]

"I've lost a lot of people I cared about in my time on the island," I answered. This sort of question seemed to come up more and more these days, and I doubted I'd ever be entirely comfortable answering it. Even so, by that point I couldn't see much reason to be anything other than honest about it. "My husband, my brother, some of the best friends I've ever had. And it isn't common knowledge, but I was, um. Not alive before I arrived here. I had to watch my friends and family deal with losing me, and it was difficult not being able to do anything to help them. But I'm able to help the people here, now, so that's what I try to do."

[dreamily_luna]

Her pen keeps moving for several seconds after Shari finishes talking, and when she looks up there's a light of approval in her eyes-- though she's not silly enough to think her own personal approval is a big thing to any of them up there.

"Losing someone is hard," she agrees. "Do you feel like you are? Helping them, that is."