Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76693 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76693 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
“I caught all kinds of grief Monday for almost hitting you, yet today, you want to be forgiven after actually hitting me. You’re a piece of work.”
Thankfully, Mr. Pederson greeting the class cuts our argument off. Arguing with Two feels like an unending circle that’ll just keep making me spin around and around until I’m dizzy.
“Your semester project has multiple pieces. Because of the intricacies involved, I’ve taken it upon myself to assign each group a location.” Mr. Pederson holds up a hand when a couple of people groan in protest. “These sites are vetted by myself and have the proper approval in place. Once assigned, there will be no swapping or trading or proposing a different location. Understood?”
I nod, eager to learn more about our project, which earns me an appreciative smile from our professor.
“You’ll be researching the history of your site and proposing a plan for its preservation, restoration, or repurposing. This is one facet of your project.” Mr. Pederson starts passing out a grading rubric for the project. “The other side of this project will be the public presentation. You’ll not only be proposing this plan to the real site owners, but also in front of the Chamber of Commerce and PMU’s dean, Dr. Skeller. This will give you practical application of what you learn in this course and prepare you for delivering these proposals in the future should you continue down this career path.”
I skim over the grading rubric, slightly overwhelmed by the daunting scope of the project. I also vaguely remember meeting Dr. Skeller this summer on my tour of PMU. When I peek at Two, he doesn’t even look at his paper. He’s no longer rubbing his shoulder, which makes me feel a little better.
“This project,” Mr. Pederson continues once he’s back in front of the classroom, “needs to not just have the plan for preservation, but a solid professional presentation that includes relevant ideas for social media to reach a broader audience, a financial budget including possible grant opportunities, and a public engagement aspect that outlines any potential negative blowback from the community with ideas to circumvent that. Any questions thus far?”
No one says a word, clearly as intimidated by the project as I am.
“Okay, now for the assignment of locations. You won’t be given class time this week to visit your locations, so you’ll need to get with your partners at some point before Monday to do that. I’ll expect you to turn in pictures and a summary of your location meeting by the next week.”
The thought of going somewhere alone with Two is nauseating. Maybe it’s not too late to try and convince Mr. Pederson to swap me out with another student.
But that means letting Two win.
He shouldn’t get to throw a tantrum and get what he wants.
Mr. Pederson starts passing out the site assignments. When he sets our paper down, Two snatches it up with lightning speed to read what we got. I lean toward him, trying to catch a glimpse of the paper.
“Hemingford Hall,” Two grunts in disappointment. “I wanted Cedarwood Mansion.”
This dude really has a hard-on for that place.
“What’s Hemingford Hall?”
Two snaps his head to look over at me. His gray eyes sparkle as he studies me. “How do you not know this?”
His attempt to make me feel inferior doesn’t work this time. “Not everyone is a nerd like you,” I hiss. “Tell me about it.”
He presses his lips together. I wonder if he’ll refuse just to be a dick. In the end, he releases a sigh and launches into an explanation. “Hemingford Hall was built in the early 1900s. Best friends and business partners, Alexander Heming and Edgar Ford, built an establishment for the elite. They held grand parties for the wealthy, famous celebrities, and even a few well-known politicians who eventually went on to become presidents.”
“Where is it?” I ask after jotting down a few notes.
“It overlooks Park Mountain Lake on the north end. It’s not open to the public anymore. A couple, Gregory and Paula Nordstrom, purchased the property with the intent on restoring the building back in the late nineties but have yet to do anything with it.”
Mr. Pederson clears his throat. “I’ll allow the next twenty minutes for you all to discuss and look up information about your sites on your phones, but then I’m going to lecture for the rest of the period. Use your time wisely, please.”
When I start to pull out my phone, Two grunts and kicks the leg of my chair with his shoe, jolting me and nearly having me drop it.
“You won’t find much there,” Two reveals, crossing his arms over his chest. “Fortunately for you, it’s one of the places I’ve researched for fun.”
For fun?
Someone needs to redefine his idea of fun.
“Okay,” I say with a huff. “Then tell me more about this place.”