Switched

Chapter 3

America

I like meetings.

Well I should rephrase, I like some meetings.

There are meetings about issues in Illea and I love solving issues. Disputes among castes, law making, consequences of actions. It all sounds really boring, but that's when I feel closest to my people. When I am at a meeting that will fully effect the citizens of Illea, I am at my full attention. I care about the glamorous twos and the working sevens, the wealthy and the destitute. I want to be involved in what will help or hurt them. Sometimes it feels like I'm the only one who is sticking my head out for the people. A lot of the time, advisors only care about the twos and threes. I feel that I have to speak for the sixes and sevens.

On the other hand, I loathe meetings about budgets and events and things such as that. In those meetings, I usually sit politely and nod along. I've always been told to a least look like I'm interested, which is a lesson I have learned the difficult way. Because I am most definitely not interested when I am in meetings about budgets. They are boring and no one really cares what I have to say about Illean funds. I was once interested in budget meetings, when I was young. But my father never liked what I had to say so I learned to stop saying anything. Or a least, I'm learning.

"What about a tax?" I suggested.

"There already is a tax, Princess," An advisor spoke from the end of the table.

"Yes," I agreed. My eyes ran over the papers in front of me. "But the tax is the same for all Illean citizens, two through seven."

"We care about having equality among our citizens, America," My father said gruffly. "Everyone pays the same."

"Our citizens are not equal," I disagreed.

"I—."

"Clarkson, let her speak," Mother cut in, nodding at me. Father gave me a warning look.

I ignored it. "Obviously twos and sevens do not make the same amount. So they shouldn't pay the same."

"That's interesting," An advisor I recognized as Markus inquired. His job was basically to think of how different things may effect the citizens. In my opinion, he tends to only think of how it effects his caste. "Two's wouldn't be happy about paying more than everyone else."

"I'm sure sevens are not happy about making less than twos. We can't all be happy," I said. Of course I said this happily. When I don't say things happily, people think I actually mean what I say. And my dad doesn't like it when I mean what I say.

He doesn't like a lot of things.

"All I'm trying to say," I continued. "Is that the taxes a citizen pays should be based on how much they work and how much they make."

"That's a good idea, America," My mom said.

My father made a gruff noise of disagreement. I smiled tightly. With that noise alone, I knew that my idea would never actually be taken into consideration.

The door burst open and a maid rushed into the room, stopping next to the table. It was Jada.

"King Clarkson," She mumbled. "There is a phone call for you in your study."

"Who is it from?" He asked, uninterested. Father normally doesn't care when people call him. There are few people in this world that are more important than him, therefore there is few people who call him that are worth interrupting a meeting for. Or even answering the phone for.

"A school in Carolina," Jada replied. Her voice didn't shake as her tone wasn't muted. She wasn't nervous, which is a rare trait to find in maids when their talking to their superior. It's one of the reasons I like Jada so much.