James spotted Abigail and Dana on the other side of the counter. They wore hair nets and aprons and both looked stressed out as they unloaded crockery from a steaming dishwasher.
They exchanged nods, but James and Paul were already late for their lunchtime service, where they found that the circles had already formed and the service was underway. It was being conducted by Mary, who stopped playing her guitar and smiled.
‘Join the circle,’ Mary urged, as a bunch of people in the outer circle shuffled backwards to make a space big enough for two bums to squeeze in.
James sat on the floor and caught his breath as the service resumed. Mary clapped and everybody clapped back. Then she began a nonsense chant and everybody joined in. James was exhausted from the shift in the warehouse and high on the sugar from the orange juice and ice-cream. He came out of the service feeling happy and had to remind himself not to get carried away.
The boys faced another run out to the parking lot when the service ended. James had never visited the commune in the daytime before and was surprised by the way everyone rushed around. Even adults routinely jogged in the mall corridors and a brisk walk seemed to be as laid back as things ever got.
James and Paul piled into a white minibus and sat next to each other. It was already half full and within a couple of minutes another eight kids, including Eve and Lauren, had joined them. Elliot came bounding out of the mall and slid the door shut before getting in the driver’s seat and pulling out.
‘How’s our new recruit doing?’ Elliot asked, as he pulled the van out of the parking lot.
‘Not bad,’ James nodded. ‘Can’t say I exactly enjoyed four hours in the warehouse sweating my guts out.’
The chatting kids suddenly went quiet and Paul dug James in the ribs.
‘What?’ James said, mystified.
Paul didn’t answer, but Elliot did once he had the van up to speed.
‘That’s an exceptionally negative comment, James,’ Elliot said. ‘You learned how to work your station and how to package your products properly, didn’t you?’
James nodded.
‘How many loads did you dispatch?’
‘It was a hundred and something,’ James said.
Paul rattled off the statistic. ‘One hundred and twenty-six, only a few less than me.’
‘That’s excellent work, James,’ Elliot said. ‘The warehouse is very important. Every one of those products makes us money that goes towards building and maintaining the Ark. In a way, James, what you do in that warehouse is your contribution to building the Ark. Do you understand?’
‘Yes.’
‘OK,’ Elliot said. ‘So, next time you work a shift in the warehouse, try and imagine that each book and each DVD you carry is a brick for the Ark. And set yourself a target. Make it your goal to dispatch one hundred and fifty items next time. Some of our best people average more than fifty dispatches an hour.’
James really hated Elliot and his upbeat attitude, but he was supposed to be fitting in with the cult and all its gobbledegook.
‘I’m glad I’m an angel,’ James said. ‘I’ll try not to be negative.’
‘Good stuff,’ Elliot smiled. ‘That’s what I like to hear.’
*
They headed to an arts and leisure complex on the Brisbane river known as South Bank. The area had galleries, a market, restaurants, parks, playgrounds and a manmade beach. The kids piled out of the minibus and Elliot began handing out plastic tubs with coin slots in the top.
‘OK,’ he yelled. ‘Good luck. There’s a lot of people around, so get out there and start earning. Let’s see if the twelve of you can raise a thousand dollars this afternoon. I’ll be picking up from here at quarter to six. Do not be late. I’m on an exceptionally tight schedule today.’
James strolled over to say hello to Lauren, Eve and a couple of the other girls.
James looked at Eve. ‘I was expecting to see you this morning.’
‘I’m glad you became an angel,’ Eve said flatly.
James spoke to a couple of other girls, but they all seemed reluctant to answer. Eve organised the twelve kids into four teams of three and sent them off to cover different areas of the South Bank complex. Lauren got the nod when she asked to fundraise with James and Paul.
‘So what’s the cause?’ one of Lauren’s pals asked.
Eve smiled. ‘Cancer research. That’s a good money-maker and we haven’t used it for a while.’
Paul headed off with Lauren and James in tow. Whenever James passed