eyes that have died. Ari looks positively euphoric as both hands shoot upward again, pointing at the ceiling. Daniel, you’re a star …
“Oh,” she croons wistfully. “Listen to that high note! He’s hitting the tonic note over a modal interchange chord. So simple, yet so brilliant. It’s just…” She sighs, dropping her hands down to her heart. She starts to sing along, but I can barely hear her over the album.
Honestly, I find these music-theory riffs of hers brilliant, but she seems like she’s speaking another language entirely. One I definitely do not speak. Her music descriptions are even harder to understand than the rapid Spanish she speaks with her family, because with music, she expects me to sort of understand what she’s talking about. At least I have some rudimentary knowledge of Spanish, having taken it for three years in school, but all I remember from piano lessons is how to play “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” (With feeling.)
As Elton drones on, my mind wanders again. To ecotourism. To the rescue center.
To Quint Erickson and his mom and how they need more staff and how dingy the building was.
What the center needs to do is stop acting like a nonprofit focused on helping poor stranded animals, and start acting like a business. It needs someone with vision. Someone who can help them be profitable. Well, profitable for a nonprofit, at least. If that makes sense. I don’t know, it doesn’t matter, because my wheels are turning, and it seems suddenly clear that …
What the center needs is someone like me.
“That’s it!” I sit up suddenly and look at Ari. “Ecotourism! I can … I…” I frown. “Are you crying?”
Ari, embarrassed at being found out, swipes the tears from her cheeks. “No,” she says. Then sniffs. Then, “Yes! I can’t help it! It’s just so sad.”
I listen to the song as the final verse plays.
Oh God, it looks like Daniel. Must be the clouds in my eyes.
I shrug. “Who the heck is Daniel?”
Ari starts to laugh. “I have no idea!”
I groan and stand up to shut off the record player, just as the last melody plays on the flute. “So, the whole time Quint and I were working on that project for biology, he kept talking about this animal rescue center. Well, I think he maybe had a point. What if the center could become a huge draw for tourists? They might even be able to make some money! I mean, they’d still be a nonprofit, but some nonprofit CEOs are, like, millionaires. Not that this is about money. But I’m just saying. I could take what I learned doing that stupid report and … and what if I rescued the rescue center?”
Ari sits up and blinks at me. Her cheeks are tinted pink, but the rush of emotions brought on by the song seem to be fading. “I’m sorry. What are you doing?”
“I’m going to come up with a business plan! For the rescue center!”
Ari still looks confused. “You know I admire your ambition, but you’ve been there for exactly one day.”
“Which gives me the perfect outsider point of view. I’m not mired in the day-to-day business and caretaking. What they need is an injection of new ideas, something to bring new life to the organization and their mission. Something that will make them … you know … valuable.”
“You don’t think saving the lives of animals is valuable?”
I roll my eyes. “You sound like Quint. That’s not what I mean. They need a way to make money, and it turns out seals and turtles don’t have deep pockets.” I stand up and start to pace, rubbing my hands together in a way that might be construed as a little maniacal. My brain is firing on a dozen different levels, the possibilities exploding before me. “It’s perfect. This can be a real-world example of how ecotourism benefits the tourists, the community, the local economy, and the environment. The paper practically writes itself, and if I succeed—if I bring a nonprofit organization back from the brink of bankruptcy—just imagine how good that will look on my college applications! I’ll get to pick any business school I want to.”
“Do you know that they’re on the brink of bankruptcy, or are you just speculating?”
“It’s an educated guess,” I say. “And stop trying to burst my bubble. This is genius. Wow, I’m actually kind of excited to tell Quint about this.” I frown. “But don’t tell him I said that.”
“Your secret is safe.”
I start to