7

Maxie gives you a thumbs-up as you point out your choice.

"These guys are always a hit—in fact, it's usually me that's keeping one hidden for myself," they tell you. "I'll make sure to save it in case they're all swiped while you're up there saving our environment."

"Okay—thanks," you reply, finding yourself starting to smile.

You didn't expect to have so much to think about before you even reached the meeting, but by the time you come in sight of the Town Hall—not a tall building, but square and solid, with a warm amber light hanging just inside the crook of the roof—you realize you've fallen quiet. Maxie leads the way through the open doors into a pleasant wooden foyer that displays posters about local wildlife seemingly made by elementary school kids, racks of pamphlets about everything from pottery classes to information about taxes, and lastly, hanging either side of a doorway marked "Meeting Hall," a row of photos showing every previous Town Council Leader.

You take a look at some of the faces as you head for the doors—but you're soon distracted by the buzz of voices, which swells, swarm-like, as you push through into the hall.

"Here we are," Maxie announces. You nod slowly, trying to process the feeling of suddenly facing a room full of dozens of people in rows of seats, all making noise, some leaning across chairs to talk to distant neighbors, others milling at the side of the hall getting coffee from a catering table.

No matter how you felt when you were just thinking about it, now that you're actually standing here, the sight is: