Chapter 20: Realization

“No I’m not” replied Shannon. “You’re the one who made me realize that it was important for our society at large to tackle those issues, Alejandro”.

The gigantic MAJOR resisted her urge to simply grab him, right here, right now. The poor Minor looked so lost in this stupid chair, and his little outburst had hurt her, even if she wasn’t the one to have incurred his wrath. She was able to read his body language, and it had been clear that he had been nervous, on edge perhaps, since entering the restaurant. She suspected the prosthesis to play a part in it, he probably wasn't used to it, with the presence of unknown MAJORS around them making what should have been a common experience a rather stressful one. She didn’t think he would snap at his brother's innocent, if tactless, taunt otherwise.

Even for her, he was far away right now, and she disliked it greatly, despite her best effort to understand the reasons behind this distance between them. She wanted to cuddle him, to make sure that he was safe, but it would have run contrary to her whole discourse. There wasn’t any rationale for such behavior, right here, right now. And she didn’t want to anger Auntie more than she clearly had unintentionally during the day. Even if Alejandro’s mother seemed to have calmed down a little and even smiled  at her, there was still some tension lingering. She hadn’t really thought of her like that, because she was so open and regal usually, but perhaps that Auntie was a mama bear, and her actions had endangered her cub.

To add to her difficulties was her own mother. Alexis had done a wonderful job hiding the bruise with her makeup kit, but she was a lot more tense than usual. Complicating matters even more was that both Derek and her dad had felt that something had changed. Alexis was a lot more subdued, talking in an almost afraid tone to Shannon. So far, the behemoth doubted that the Ferrand had realized it, but the MAJORS, at least, would pick on it soon enough. She had searched a way to divert the discussion to grounds she would be able to tread with greater ease, and Alejandro had offered her the perfect opportunity.

“I just pointed out the obvious” mumbled the Minor, clearly embarrassed, making it all the more harder for Shannon to not squeal.

“What’s obvious for some isn’t always visible for others” pointed out Jules Ferrand. “But I’m curious, what do you mean by a massive campaign and how you plan to launch it.”

“Well…” replied Shannon very carefully. “I’ve already begun. I’m kind of a media mogul with Fire-Brand and all that, you know. So, I’ve taken… well, I’ve taken pictures of Alejandro and me and added some text to attract attention and…”

“What? You’ve put my little miracle’s pictures on the Internet!?” almost shrieked Auntie, interrupting her with a look of horror on her face.

“Mom!” screamed Alejandro, clearly outraged by the use of such a nickname in public. Shannon couldn’t fathom why, he was a little miracle in her eyes. Keep thinking straight, you overgrown devil, she chastised herself.

“I swear that I only did it with Alejandro’s approval… and it was only one picture, really. Here, have a look!”

She took her phone out of her cleavage, eliciting a whole other round of blushes from the others MAJORS, while Alejandro’s face was bright red, even his ears were losing their slightly tanned tone to a more fiery color, which made her smile lovingly at him. She carefully opened the picture’s file, hoping that no one would contact her while she handed the phone to Alejandro’s family. Olivia, Jules, Alaric and even Lindsey perused over the pictures, their faces reddening a little; still, they couldn’t hide their surprise at how good the pictures were. Shannon had an eye for that kind of things; truth been told, photography was kind of a hobby, one she didn’t really practice much, because crushing competition, buying out firms and generally behind the biggest shark in the ocean was kind of funnier than a good photo. But still, she loved them.

“Haha, what’s that look?” laughed Lindsey. “Did you try to look cool ‘Rando? You’re leaning so strangely against Shannon’s face!”

“Yeah, well, I’m not a model, okay” grumbled the Minor, still looking away.

“I disagree” said Alaric. “Just look at that one! The look over your shoulder, the face and all, it’s awesome. I had never noticed, but you are kind of sexy.”

“Okay, it was embarrassing, but you’ve officially made it creepy as fuck Al'. Give that overgrown lady her phone back or I swear I’ll lock myself in the restroom until you’ve all calmed the fuck down!”

“Language, young man” said Auntie, almost absent-mindedly, still looking at the pictures. “Could you… could you sent them to us?” she asked Shannon.

“Of course, it would be my pleasure!” replied the MAJOR just at the same time the Minor yelled “What for!?”

“Don’t scream, Alejandro, it’s rude” said his father calmly. “And what for should be obvious. We don’t have that much pictures of you at home, especially not ones where you are as good-looking as you are on those… Still”, he added after a pause, “I don’t really see how it helps your idea of enlightening the country about Minor’s plights, Shannon.”

Shannon had expected such an answer. Thankfully, in her working world, she had to be able to develop bare ideas in complex sentences really quick and she had had hours to think about this one, even if it was often at the back of her mind. The very, very back of my mind, because most of it was far too preoccupied with a certain someone who’s more than just kind of sexy. But she couldn’t really tell that out loud, so she had to try to explain everything as well as possible, given the circumstances.

“Okay, so, here’s the thing. Most MAJORS really consider Minors to be pets, or even toys…” her voice trailed off a little and she did her best to not look at her mother.

“Yes, we know that, keep going” offered Auntie, “you won’t shock us with that, really. We all have… experience with that kind of behavior” she added, a sudden sorrow on her face as she watched at her elder boy. Clearly, she was talking about the Incident.

 “Herm, thank you” the colossus smiled. “So, the problem is that this mentality is hard-wired in most families. Minors aren’t that numerous to begin with, and thus not many family experience the trials of having a  Minor child like you have. Therefore, they fall back on the available information, common knowledge, that kind of things. And actually, all of it actually teaches you that Minors are inferiors and they don’t need to learn how to read, write, the basics for a modicum of social life.”

“It’s not exactly true” interjected Jules Ferrand. “We’ve found some books about it when we found out that Ofelia was pregnant with Alaric and Alejandro. Like A New vision for Minor’s future by Dr. Oliver Gallahan, or Rebuilding our world one Minor step at a time by Judith O’Aery.”

“True, but they are rather rare books” said Andrew. “I mean, we can afford those because we’re wealthy Jules, but if I remember right, any of those things has to be printed on demand, and it’s quite expansive. I doubt that many families with Minors can actually buy them.”

“It wasn’t that expensive” replied Mr. Ferrand half-heartedly.

“It really was Jules” said Ofelia. “Just those two books cost us 300$, and they were only a third of the package we had to buy to accommodate Alejandro.”

“Accommodate me? I would have fit anywhere in the house!”

“No sweetie. It’s very important that a MAJOR house be prepared to accommodate a Minor baby, that much is known by everyone. You need special baby food, special diapers, a warm place but not too much, security… You’ve no idea how small you were back then, but really, a lot of the things we use everyday could have hurt you really bad, even killed you!” explained Auntie to her confused son, with a concerned look on her face.

“And changing you, washing you… that’s not as easy as with a normal… err… a MAJOR baby” added Mr. Ferrand. “From birth, you’re a lot more fragile, really. So you had to be handled very carefully. Otherwise, you would have had your bones broken and all, or worse.”

The Minor remained silent, clearly taking it into account. He probably never had thought about it, and to be honest, neither had Shannon. Yet, it struck her that, should her hopes come true and she married Alejandro, if they had children, including Minors, she would have to be extra careful. She wanted to breastfeed her children, for instance, but how could she do that safely for Minors? And how could she even change their diapers if she couldn’t see past the humongous plateau of her tits? Those were questions she would need to answer before she could even consider herself fit to have a child; that much was crystal clear to her now.

“And that’s my point” finally said Shannon’s father. “Usually, it takes between 600$ and 1000$ to buy furniture, food and clothes for a  Minor baby… Several months in a row! Most average families don’t have the mean to go and cash out even more money on confidential books when putting food on the table and paying the bills is already hard enough.”

“Alright, alright” conceded Mr. Ferrand. “But then it makes the prospect of changing things even more daunting, doesn’t it?”

“Not necessarily” explained Shannon. “It’s a long-term campaign, it probably won’t bear its fruits before ten years, perhaps more, but it has to be incremental in its process. Think about those pictures of Alejandro and me. They actually raise awareness to the issue, even if peoples only laugh at it at first or just oogle them. That’s basically the first phase, inundating social media and then classical media with Minor’s model, so that peoples will get hooked and will want to learn more about all of it. Then, we’ll begin the real work.”

“Which would be?” asked Alaric, clearly interested.

“Well, most peoples will expect our models to be your average minor : cute, vapid and generally uneducated… Don’t roll your eyes like that you know it’s true” she added at the attention of the very unaverage one sitting with them, earning a huff for all answer.

“But they wouldn’t be your average small stuff?” asked her brother, leaning toward her.

“Nope. We’ll pick them based on criteria ranging from education level to personal aspirations and interest in a better standing for minorkind in our society. In fact, my teams should be scouring the world to find some of those just as we speak. Hopefully, we’ll find a handful of them in mere days so it’ll let us work on how best frame their stories and present them to the public in due time for maximum effect.”

“And where exactly do you hope to find them?” asked her mother, rather sourly. “I highly doubt they even exist…”

“They do” replied Shannon with perhaps a little bit of anger. “There is one right here.”

All MAJOR’s eyes turned toward Alejandro, who was now fidgeting in his chair, a look of utter embarrassment on his face. I’m sorry baby, I know you aren’t used to social interaction, even with friends of the family, but you need to learn how to cope with it if you truly want to better the standing of Minors in the world and, even more importantly, have a fulfilling and exiting life. She tried to convey her feelings with a smile and her gaze, which she hoped was full of her love. If she succeeded, the Minor clearly didn’t get the message.

“Alejandro! You wouldn’t be a part of this, right?” asked Ofelia, her worry laid bare on her face.

“I…I…” was all the poor teenager managed to stammer.

“It’s far too dangerous!” continued Auntie. “You could be abducted, or manhandled or… or…” she was at a loss of words, her hands griping the chair where her elder son was sitting with such force that the wood groaned.

“He wouldn’t risk anything Auntie” interjected Shannon. “He would have bodyguards at all time during any and all events. Plus, he would stay with me the rest of the time. Even at work.”

“What?” blurted Alejandro, as surprised by this latest development than all the remaining peoples around the table.

“Well, yes. You’ve got an amazing potential, you ask questions I don’t even begin to think about. Having you with me while I’m dealing with my business can only help me… and Minors all around the world” she added, trying to hook him.

“I highly doubt that peoples would buy the idea that he would have been the one suggesting anything to you, Shannon” said Alaric somberly. “You said it yourself, most MAJORS doesn’t expect anything out of Minors. Sorry bro, but it’s true.”

“Yeah well, that something we need to change. Hence the campaign. Now, to get back to the important stuff at hand. My… our goal would be to actually help create and promote places where Minors and MAJOR can interact more equally, where Minors get to learn and live alongside us without the constant constrain of a bond or someone bossing them around. Thanks to Alejandro, I know that such a place exist, someplace called Winton Height. I’ll have to check it myself sooner or later, but right now, my agenda is full for at least six months, and if it went under my radar, it’s probably because it’s still relatively small. But I think I can find a potential ambassador there.”

“Then, what make you think that it would be possible?” asked Mr. Ferrand.

“Well, I think your son can explain it better than me, really. After all, he’s the one who told me about this place.”

“Really? Then, what is so special about Winton Height and how did you learn about it, son?”

Alejandro was clearly weighting down the possibilities. He shot a baleful glare at Shannon, extremely unhappy at the situation she had put him, which surprised greatly the gigantic MAJOR. She had presumed that he would be quite happy to be the one to actually break the news, but apparently she had made a mistake. She tried to show her that she was sorry by tilting her head a little and forcing her lips in a somewhat dejected smile. With a sigh, he seemed to accept the silent apology and begun to talk.

“I’ve heard of it somewhere. And before you ask, no, I won’t tell you where I’ve heard of it or who told me about it.”

“And why not!” said Lindsey, her face shocked. “You know you can tell me everything! I’ll never tell another soul! You know it, you know it!”

“Yeah, well, not that” grumbled the Minor. “It’s kind of a compact with the contributors of this… place. We’re all Minors and we swore to not reveal its name or anything about it to a MAJOR. To any MAJOR, no matter how well intentioned he or she may be. I’m already breaking this by telling you that it’s even exist, so don’t try to pry on it more. I already feel bad enough about it.”

He shot a dead serious stare at every other person sitting around the table, but especially at Shannon, who felt her face darken with embarrassment. She hadn’t even assumed that he could want to protect some sort of secret like that. His previous shyness had melted away, replaced by a steeled expression. Shannon had no need to be able to peer into in mind to know that he wouldn’t move on that. He was perhaps willing to say what he knew, but not from where, nor how. It made her sad, because she was certain that the website, because it could only be a website, where he had heard about that miss Ivory, could have been of great use for her, but she had no idea how to even find it herself.

“Fine, we won’t try to force you to talk. But spill the beans man! My boyfriend would kill me if I don’t bring him some more news now that you’ve gone all mystery man on us!” exclaimed Derek, quite exited.

“Okay, well… Winton Height is a town not too far away, with a High School which allows Minors student in. I know, that’s nothing really knew, there are others just in California, perhaps one or two more, but this one is special… Because six months ago, they admitted an unbounded Minor.”

Shannon was prepared for the uproar that such a declaration would elicit, but clearly, Alejandro was taken aback. He winced and tried to cover his ears as best he could, pushing his left one against his shoulder and covering his right with his good hand. Everybody was talking, no, screaming in the same time. The titanic MAJOR couldn’t really blame them. It was unheard off, to have a Minor authorized to interact with MAJORS unbonded, it was even against everything even progressive minded peoples like the Ferrand or her father assumed what was  best for Minors. Which was probably one of the problems Minors faced, she had to admit. MAJORS all assumed what was best for their diminutive brethren without caring for their opinions.

“They’re crazy!” roared Alaric.

“C’est n’importe quoi, ils veulent un autre Incident?” blurted Lindsey, reverting to French as she was apparently prone to when upset.

“Loco, es loco!” sighed Ofelia.

“It’s far too dangerous!” yelled Jules and Andrew in the same time.

“Yo man, you’re bullshitting us right?” screamed Derek.

“Impossible. Preposterous! Nobody would be stupid enough to allow it!” growled Alexis.

Shannon clapped her hand with all her force, creating a mighty boom which brought silence back to the table. All eyes were on her now, even those of the staff and the other customers. It made her a little self-conscious, being shoved on three chairs just to be able to sit, her curves overflowing everywhere, her great mane of hair barely put together… but the moment passed as quickly as it had come. I am Shannon Matthewson, I’m filthy rich, I’m powerful and I can do whatever the fuck I want. And right now, I want you all to shut up, because you’re ridiculous and your hurting my poor Alejandro’s ears and it’s unacceptable, was what she wanted to say, but she found more appropriate words.

“There is no need to scream and all, I’ll go and ascertain it sooner or later, it could be a sham after all. But, if it’s true, it is excellent news. Because if any truly grievous accident had happened, we would all have heard about it. I know a thing or two about how media works…”

“And it has nothing to do with you trying to buy some TV Channels” spat Derek, still agitated.

“Who cares about that!” snapped Shannon for a second, leaning toward her little brother menacingly.  And compared to her, he was “little” in every sense of the word, and he quickly backed away, an apologizing look on his face. “As I was saying” she continued, returning to her normal position, "no news probably means that it’s working, but that school wants to keep it relatively low so far, to avoid too much attention if it ends backfiring. So at least, they are careful that way. It’s something I can work with. But please Alejandro, do you have some other information about it? I’m sure you have, right?” she cooed him with her loveliest smile.

“Well, I know her name, Izzellah Ivory. That’s all. But quite frankly, the High School is boasting all over the net, for the last six months apparently. Me, I saw it back at Halloween, but that’s because that kind of news travel slowly for us Minors, and I never watch MAJOR’s websites for information. How you guys fail to notice it, I’ve no idea…”

“So, it’s a website” chirped Lindsey before receding into her chair under the extremely angry glare that her older brother shot at her. “Sorry…”

“Having her name is already huge information. I’m certain that I can find a lot about her, her family’s background and…”

“Whoa, slow down a minute here!” roared Alejandro. “You can’t go all stalker on someone like that! You want her as one of your ambassadors; you ask her first, for fuck sake!”

“Alejandro!” yelled his parents in unison.

“What? Seriously, it’s messed up! I won’t sugar coat it. It’s fucking wrong to stalk on peoples like that. What kind of behaviour is that! Who needs to now everything about someone they haven’t even met?”

All the MAJORS around the table exchanged wary glances. Competition, and aggressive behaviour patterns, were so common in their species that knowing as much as possible on anyone you may end interacting with, especially on a daily basis, was a necessity. Shannon herself was a really big shark and she had chewed, devoured and then spat away, figuratively speaking of course, all the dumbasses stupid enough to partner up with her without knowing how she operated and who she was. That was how she had built her business so fast and that would be how she would turn it into a modern empire.

But she didn’t want to tell this to Alejandro, and neither her family nor his were ready to spill the beans. Minors had, after all, an incredible ability to be peaceful of mind and calm. She wasn’t certain she had ever seen any competitive behaviour from them, not even on documentaries or anything. Sure, perhaps that Minors like Alejandro would be a lot more active being put together, she highly doubted that their personalities, which had to be very affirmed to interest her for the campaign, would led to a peaceful herd-like patterns than what was common for the small humans.

But even then, Minors all lacked the drive, the zeal, to push competition as high as MAJOR did, this was a certitude. For the giants of the world, it was all about survival of the fittest. Sure, they had mostly done away with weapons or even physical altercations, especially in the sphere she now operated in, but Shannon knew perfectly well that it was still happening, even there, in the States. After all, what she did to her whore of a mother earlier this evening was proof enough of that.

“Alejandro, I swear it wouldn’t be like stalking her… It would be like… like making sure she isn’t used or even abused by her family or something.”

“Yeah, because a family who would let her go unbonded to High School is probably out there selling her or something” he growled, his anger mounting, which wasn’t what Shannon wanted, at all.

“You’re right, of course it isn't necessarily the case, but want I meant be…behind it was that perhaps she is secretly bonded to someone and her family simply lied, you know?”

Shannon felt a nervous sweat moisten her temples. She had almost called Alejandro beautiful in she was certain it would have been disastrous right now. He was clearly angry and on the edge, and going all lovey dovey on him wouldn’t help her. At all. Instead, she hoped that he wouldn't notice how she had corrected herself, if he even noticed, and would calm down a little. To her relief, it seemed to be the case, and he receded into his chair, his face still full of anger.

“In any case, it’s a great news to learn that such a place exist, not so far away” said Ofelia, tentatively looking at her Minor boy. “You could go and…”

“I’m already pursuing college education at home mom” grunted the teenager.

“I know, but interacting with Minors, and MAJORS too, in a secure environment would be great for you, sweetie, I'm sure you know that.” Alejandro’s reaction was another growl so Auntie kept going at it. “Plus, we don’t have access to the full courses online, you know. There are a lot of things that you could learn going to High School! Courses for MAJORS would be great for you! I mean, you haven't access to... to a real University-level courses, sweetie...”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

He hadn’t screamed, in fact it had been barely above a whisper, but Shannon shivered as if he had shrieked. Alejandro’s face was livid, but what she could read on it made her guts twist in horror. Shame, anger, fear were all there, and he ended turning his back to the whole table. Nobody dared speak or move for a very tense and long minute, until Auntie Ofelia cleared her throat and tried to convince her son once more.

“Alejandro…”

“I. Don’t. Want. To. Talk. About. It.”

Just right then, Greg came back, bringing with him the MAJOR’s entries second serving.