Angel

"Fun"draising

With Victor around, no one on our team really knew how to go about getting money for projects.  Not that it is a bad thing, but I want this to be a learning experience in all ways.  I know that my team will always be there for me, but it is good to be able to do things on your own too.  Also, this was my project.  When I expressed my thoughts to Luke, he suggested going to Uncle.  Uncle may have a bit of money now, but he wasn't always in that situation.

The next day, after school, I stopped by Kota's and picked up the book that was delivered for Michael and headed up to the Diner to talk to Uncle.

"Little Bird!  Are you here to work? I thought you weren't on the schedule until 6 tonight."  Uncle is just about one of the only people outside of my team who I can hug without fear creeping in.  

"I am, but I have some questions and Luke said you would be able to help." I pop up onto the stool as he places a bowl of fruit in front of me to snack on.

"You know that I will do whatever I can  for you.  So, what's the mission?" He says with a glint of mischief in his eyes. I never thought of it as a mission, but I suppose it is.  I assigned myself the mission rather than the Academy assigning me one.

"Well, you know that I am volunteering at the hospital.  I came up with a few ideas on how to make the kids there forget about their illnesses for a while.  Dr. Roberts said that I need to write up the proposals for the bigger events and obtain funding.  I was hoping you could help me think of ideas on how to get the funding needed to put on these events." I pull out my notebook that I started with Kota and show him my ideas.

He looks over it with a keen eye. "Some of these are pretty easy to implement.  Others will take some time and quite a bit of money in order to do it correctly, even with the help of other Academy members.  Let's start with getting the materials ready for one of the smaller events and then I will help you write one of the proposals to use as a guideline for the others."  This was even more than I was hoping for, so I agreed quickly.

Over the next 2 hours, we wrote down all of the things that we would need in order to create a magical Chinese New Year for the kids.  Uncle was a wealth of information on Who's Who in the Academy.  He has more contacts than just about anyone.  Since most of his contacts are older and established with businesses and lives, they are very willing to help out.  Uncle said that the interesting missions are going to younger teams rather than the "old farts like us."  I giggled as he said this which caught the attention of Marc who was helping with the cooking for the time being.

"What is all of that giggling over there?  Uncle, you have such a girlish voice."  His two toned eyes twinkling as he glanced over.

"Marc and his team are a prime example of getting the more interesting missions.  Although I miss it, I don't seem to have the time for extended vacations to places like, oh I don't know, Florida, or a cruise.  I have to be responsible so I can pay the bills on this place."  I know that Uncle is teasing Marc and grin at the banter between the two of them.  

While I don't see how the Toma Team can help with the Chinese New Year Celebration, I know I can count on them when the time comes.  Marc and I have had a special bond ever since I pulled the nail from his leg months ago.  Marc walks over and looks at what we are doing.  I know that he was listening while he was cooking, but he was also distracted.

"Chinese New Year?  Is that still celebrated?"  I looked at him confused.  "I'm just asking because a friend of mine is Chinese and he has never made a big deal about it."

"I think it is.  How else would we know about it?"  I put on what Kota calls my "Thinking face".  My head tilts a bit to the side, I bit the left corner of my bottom lip and get a "far away look" on my face.  At lease that is what he says and I have to take his word for it since I am never around a mirror when I am in deep thought.  Even if I had a mirror available, as soon as I looked in it, my expression would change.