Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 53450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
In an almost synchronized movement, everyone turned around to look. Magnus followed her finger to see in the top quadrant the very man they were discussing. “Camera twelve,” Magnus announced for the others to locate the correct one quickly.
Eric Rivers was in the conference room. He stood in the middle of the room and pivoted, looking in all directions. Putting his hands on his hips, he seemed to debate what to do next.
“Dad told him it was behind the bookshelves, but they’re all gone,” Juniper guessed, jumping to a conclusion.
“Watch! He’s moving,” Zara said, jumping to her feet.
“Stand up, Juni. I need to get to my controls,” Magnus said, boosting his Little from his lap.
He raced to the controls and, with a few keystrokes, moved that camera feed to the largest screen. Everyone crowded around him, holding their breath. Rivers walked forward and knocked against the wall.
“That’s not where the bookshelves were,” Juniper assured them.
“Who knows if he’s going to be able to tell from the sound if there’s space behind the wall. Got any ideas to get him to leave the room?” Caesar looked at Magnus, and he became the focus of the group.
Magnus redirected their attention. “He’s going for another wall. How about if we give some credence to the need for repair in that room?”
Juniper watched lines of code appear on the screen in front of Magnus as he typed furiously on the keyboard. Seeing an error in the computer instructions, she blurted, “Wait, you need a…”
Magnus hit the enter key, and the overhead sprinklers turned on in the conference room. Eric dashed for the door with his hands over his head. Instantly, as he disappeared from the room, the spray of water dried up.
“Oh, the poor upholstery in that room,” Sadie said in dismay.
“The carpet was the only thing that got wet. I blocked those on the sides with furniture. We’ll need some fans from maintenance to dry the carpet,” Magnus said meaningfully as he looked at Phoenix.
“Make me a closed for repairs sign,” Phoenix grumbled as he jogged toward the elevator.
“I’ll bring it up with the dishes,” Caesar promised.
“Well, that couldn’t have worked better,” Sadie said with a grin. “Good sprinkling, Magnus.”
Juniper smiled as the ever-present baseball cap dipped to acknowledge Sadie’s praise of his quick thinking. That was a masterful line of code to turn on just some of the sprinklers in the room. She hadn’t realized what he was doing. Thank goodness, he’d finished before she’d completed her warning.
That baseball cap turned to face her and lifted slightly so their eyes met. Juniper swallowed hard. He knew. Or at least had some inkling that perhaps she knew something about computers. She thought furiously, trying to come up with a valid explanation. Juniper silently heaved a sigh of relief when Celeste provided a distraction by asking a question.
“What side of the room had the bookshelves on them?”
“The one he was walking toward,” Juniper shared.
“Holy crap! That was close,” Zara exclaimed. “My nerves are shattered. Does anyone want to color with me? I need to do something fun.”
“You didn’t eat much of your dinner, Zara,” Hawking said with a concerned tone before expanding to all the Littles by scanning their faces.
“Could we have a snack in a bit?” Sadie asked. “Maybe Caesar could steal some dessert from the kitchen.”
“I think we’re dealing with enough problems from stealing. How about if I ask politely?” Caesar said.
“Good idea,” Zara agreed. “Come on, Juniper. You need to make a decoration for your door.”
“Yes!” Celeste and Sadie celebrated that idea at the same time, and giggles filled the room.
Zara took Juniper’s hand and led her to the arts and crafts area. “What are you going to put on your door?”
“A kiwi.”
“Like the brown fruit that’s green inside?” Sadie asked skeptically.
“No. Like the national bird of New Zealand. A kiwi.”
“Ohhhh!” the girls said together and giggled once again.
In just a few moments, the quartet sat at the table coloring. The sound of giggles and happy conversations enlivened the room.
Juniper selected a piece of paper and began sketching the adorable, native bird of New Zealand. She tried to make it look like her stuffie, Beaky. Holding it up so she could look at it critically, Juniper decided the nose wasn’t big enough. Beaky’s was much more curvalicious. With a few other alterations, she smiled in satisfaction.
“You’re so good at drawing,” Sadie complimented.
“Photography is one of my favorite hobbies. I’ve learned a lot about perspective and angles. You can make something look incredibly different just by shooting the image from a different location. Perspective helps me make the picture resemble what I want it to. Have you seen a real-life kiwi here?” Juniper asked curiously.
“No. We’ll have to go to a wildlife sanctuary,” Celeste suggested. “Kiwis are very shy and move in the dark at night.”