America 1982-Chapter 59 - 15: Committee Meeting_2

"If you are sure you have no interest, you may say so now, and I’ll find another batch to take your seats, to serve me, and then you can wait to be led by them."

"I’m in. Poverty makes temptation hard to resist." David Schafer, upon hearing Tommy Hawk’s words, was the first to change his tune, "I hope to serve as the nation’s Minister of the Interior."

The others, including Stephen Binn, all showed eager expressions, and Kevin Nipfen raised his hand slightly, "Sounds interesting. Minister of Sports Affairs, I can teach that country’s people what sports competition is all about."

"Does their country lack a queen? I suppose I could deign to accept their kneeling." Ottelia pondered for a moment before speaking to Tommy Hawk.

Tommy Hawk looked at Ottelia, shrugged, and said, "No, unfortunately, they serve the Queen of England as their leader."

"Then can I be the Defense Minister or the Commander of the Armed Forces? I want to lead my troops to overthrow her and England’s rule, and have myself, Queen Catherine, crowned." Ottelia thought it over and offered her idea.

Tommy Hawk nodded, "The position of Defense Minister and Commander of the Armed Forces is yours, Your Majesty, but personally, I don’t think you’ll manage to lead two hundred reservists over the Atlantic to reach the British Isles and kill the Queen of England in the seven days of summer camp experience. Although, if you could pull it off, the entire nation would probably be incredibly grateful."

"I’m up for anything." Zoey gave Tommy a sweet smile, "Whatever you need me to do, I’ll do it."

"I believe their nation could definitely use a beautiful, elegant, and considerate Minister of Foreign Affairs like you." Tommy Hawk replied with a smile to Zoey.

Seeing that Frank Grillo was still daydreaming, Tommy spoke up and asked, "Frank, how about you?"

"Uh... I’m considering." Frank responded.

Though this guy looked fierce, one could tell he was actually very gentle during interactions, as long as Kevin didn’t provoke him.

Turning his gaze from Frank to the cowboy hat, Tommy asked, "Alright, Chris, do you have a preferred position?"

"Something to do with numbers, with probabilities." Chris drew out a cigarette, "May I have one? I am already eighteen."

"You can, but it’s better not to in front of the girls. We can go outside to smoke later. So, Finance Minister or International Trade Minister, or maybe Tax Minister?" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Chris put away his cigarette, "Tax Minister."

"Shit! I should have chosen Tax Minister, but I was drawn in by the title of Interior Minister. Could we discuss later how to dodge taxes, Chris? I’ve been studying this matter since I was thirteen." David Schafer regretted not thinking of the position and then turned to Chris Ferguson to ask.

"Mr. Stephen, would you like to say something?"

Stephen Binn held his fist to his lip and hesitated for a few seconds before speaking, "May I ask how you came to choose us for this?"

"Because the seven of your dossiers were on top of the pile. I didn’t do the selecting." Tommy Hawk stated.

Stephen Binn shrugged, "That’s a refreshingly honest answer. How about Finance Minister and International Trade Minister? After all, I think in terms of money awareness and wealth, I might surpass everyone here. Also, I plan to finish humanities at Stanford University and do my graduate work at the business school, which would fit nicely as an added bit of experience for my coursework."

"You’re already accepted into Stanford and you still come to this camp, obviously just to impress college admissions officers?" David Schafer said, visibly shocked, "Fucking Stanford!"

"Waiting gets a bit boring, so I picked a summer camp to pass the time." Stephen said with a beaming smile.

Kevin asked, "Waiting to report to college?"

"Waiting for my grandfather to die and inherit his fortune," Stephen said.

Tommy Hawk flipped through the resume in front of him labeled Stephen Binn: "Dude, it says here you got early admission to Stanford University based on merit, and you’re from Harvard-Westlake High School in Los Angeles. What exactly is the merit? Did you win any international awards in sports or arts or something?"

The others also looked curiously at Stephen Binn.

Stephen was enjoying the attention, and after a few seconds, he finally said, "Because my father was once a trustee of Stanford University, and the Binn family donates to Stanford every year."

"You call that personal ability?" David Schafer’s envy was almost written across his face.

Leaning back, Stephen opened his arms to the few poor souls: "This ability is called luck, buddy, luck that lets one be born with a silver spoon."

"Makes me want to punch him, but damn, he’s got a point," David Schafer muttered frustratedly.

Tommy Hawk spoke up, "I must remind you that you will depart one day earlier than the other students to Saint Vincent to take on national responsibilities, to get familiar with your duties as soon as possible. The real officials of Saint Vincent will be there as inspectors to guide and observe your work competence, each responsible for managing eight subordinate students, ensuring they are well taken care of and their work arrangements are in order, Although the camp has purchased short-term accident insurance for everyone, we still don’t want to see any accidents."

"What if there are problems?" asked Zoey, "Unexpected things, I mean, they always happen."

"If you can’t handle it on your own, report to the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent for the next seven days, Tommy Hawk."

"Frank, time to make a decision, join or I’ll find someone else..." After saying that, Tommy looked towards Frank.

"Wait for me," Frank got up: "Where’s the phone?"

Apart from Kevin Nipfen, the other boys smoked under a paulownia tree, watching Frank on the phone in the distance, while the two girls toured the campus with Ottelia’s guidance.

The first batch of students will arrive at Lincoln High School tomorrow and then depart for Saint Vincent. A professor named Gavin Rad from Princeton University has already made clear arrangements; he won’t be attending the first half of the activities in Saint Vincent but will be present for the latter half at the Lincoln High School Summer Summit. As for the other unnamed professor, there has still been no definite reply, the only answer was that if he attends, he won’t charge any fee.

However, Tommy was not interested in guessing the reaction. The school’s account was now indeed credited with the fees paid by over two hundred high school students for the camp, whether Princeton was feeling charitable or just helpful, it’s the cash that’s real.

"I can’t believe it, asking mommy for permission for a summer camp activity, while at thirteen, my dear old dad started borrowing money from me for his liquor," David Schafer flicked away his cigarette butt and said.

In the distance, Frank’s voice on the phone could faintly be heard:

"Mom, I’ve been selected, as a CSLS committee member, and as the commander-in-chief of Saint Vincent’s special task force, warden, Coast Guard, and Minister of the Interior’s forces."

"Not a church organization, it’s a summer camp arrangement. I’m in charge of ensuring the camp’s security, providing full protection to them."

"No, not all of them protecting me. I’d be protecting them with my subordinates, yes, I believe I’m up for it too, got it mom, love you."

"My mom says, she agrees," he said.

Seeing Frank hang up the phone, Tommy Hawk said to the others, "I think the first nickname from the CSLS committee is born, BigBaby Frank."