95

Finally, everyone has dispersed but for the Town Council, Rana, and a few protesters from her organization still clutching cardboard signs. With the heavy crowd gone, you can start to take in the full scale of the damage—from the two yawning windows with jagged shards of glass still hanging like loose teeth to the deadly, glittering blanket of glass covering the sidewalk and even the road itself. All around you are signs and banners that people have left behind (or else that they dropped when they were caught up in the heaving crowd), and you realize as you turn around that Rana's information table has been overturned, spilling flyers and buttons and even her petition sheet onto the ground. You see her watching pieces of paper drift about in the wind, her arms limp by her sides.

"Um…okay. Everyone's okay, right?" she asks after a moment in a slightly shaky voice. When she sees people starting to nod, however, she manages a smile. "Great. Okay. Well…I'm really sorry things got so out of control. I guess we'll have to start cleaning everything up, right?"

You see her looking over uncertainly at her Aunt Dina for a reply. Dina, taking in the mess that's been left behind, lets out a sigh.

"It's up to you, but…I'd certainly appreciate the help. We need this street cleared as soon as possible. I don't want anyone touching this glass, so I'll see if we can find some brooms. In fact—Rana, do you still have those recycling tubs from the cleanup after the fair?"

At once, Rana jolts into action and runs off towards her car, coming back with two big plastic tubs just as a few Town Council members emerge from the Town Hall carrying brooms, trash bags, and some traffic cones to block off the street. Rana seems unwilling to draw breath as she starts talking to the little group of remaining protesters:

"Okay guys, we need someone to move the table—in fact, a few people can start picking up stuff from the table and put it all back in the boxes. Then we'll need to take it back to my car—so while some of you are doing that, the rest of us can handle the glass. Are we all set? I mean—obviously, if you need to go, you don't have to stay. It's your call—but if anyone wants to stay and help, it would really mean a lot."

At once, a handful of people make their excuses and leave. Rana keeps up her smile, thanking everybody for coming in the first place, but you can see her shoulders starting to slump again as she glances around and counts only five or six people remaining. When she looks at you with desperate eyes, you realize that she's hoping you'll stay and help too—which would mean missing out on seeing the concert with Marlowe.