still gets torn down and then you’re bummed for weeks. Maybe tearing down the old and building new is something we have to accept.”
Daisy vehemently shook her head. “No. I refuse to believe that. History matters. We can’t just pave over it and pretend we don’t have a past. I won’t let this go. I refuse to. I refuse to live in a world where only new and modern exists. They might win, and they might tear down this building, but at least we can say we tried our hardest. At least we can say we made a difference.”
Daisy knew she was even more passionate because her emotions were all over the place, but that didn’t take anything away from the cause. This building mattered, just like all of the others did. Every single time she was defeated she wanted to quit. The last time in Australia was the worst, but she was trying to build herself back up. This was her school and she’d fight to the death for it.
“How are we making a difference if we keep losing?” Darla asked. She was in no way mocking her best friend, just pointing out the obvious.
“Because someone out there is watching. Someone is noticing. We might lose some of our history and heritage, but maybe it’ll give courage to others, and if we save even one building, it’s worth it,” Daisy told her. She had to remind herself of that a lot lately. She’d even decided her first attempt at a book was going to be based on this school, this community, and this land that was getting engulfed by Seattle. There were so many more small towns than huge cities in the country and she needed to find a voice for them, for the historic lands that had created this beautiful land so many called home.
Daisy was the only child of an only child. Her grandfather had raised her mother alone as he’d lost her grandmother when her mother, Lucille, was a pre-teen. Her mother had gone away on a mission to Brazil and there she’d met Daisy’s father, Elton. They’d fallen madly in love and Daisy had been born exactly one year from the day they’d met.
Their wedding had been on top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere with a small local group they’d been helping. They’d had a mission in life to serve. Having a child hadn’t been in the plans, and though Daisy knew they’d loved her, she’d also known from an early age that they didn’t have time for her.
They’d traveled the world for their causes, and she’d been raised by her grandfather. When she was ten years old, her gramps had told her that her parents wouldn’t come home again. They’d died in a plane crash in the Amazons. She’d cried, of course, but she was used to them not being there.
She’d been trying her entire childhood to make them want to stay with her, and after their deaths she’d made it her mission to honor them by being a warrior for causes. And she’d never given up on that plan. She’d quit a million times, but then she’d come to her senses within a few days. She was doing what was right.
“I think people are watching, but I’m beginning to believe they don’t care,” Darla told her.
The generator that had been echoing all morning shut down, gaining the attention of both girls. The shouting stopped, and the men moved away from the front of the building as they gathered together far enough away that they couldn’t hear them.
“What do you think is happening?” Daisy asked.
“I have no idea, but I don’t like it,” Darla responded, reaching for Daisy’s hand and squeezing. “Maybe they’ve grown impatient and are moving on to the murder phase of their mission now.”
“They won’t demolish this building with us tied to it,” Daisy repeated.
“I don’t understand why the cops haven’t shown up yet,” Darla said. “They’re normally here by now.”
“A lot of the local cops went to this school too. Maybe they don’t want to see it torn down,” Daisy said with hope. “We might win this one.”
Even though she was saying the words, she didn’t believe it was going to happen.
The men stayed where they were for at least fifteen minutes, and then the girls watched as a large black SUV pulled up to the front of the school, the windows dark, making it impossible to see inside.
“This doesn’t look good. Maybe it’s the FBI this