Chapter 37: The Award

Nobody in the hall breathed loudly enough to be heard.

Evan stood at the microphone with the glass trophy in one hand and watched the second row.

For a long moment nothing moved.

Then Gran took her hand off Ethan's, and said something into his ear.

Ethan stood up.

He did it slowly, with one hand on the seat in front.

Two thousand heads turned.

Someone near the back began to clap, and then the whole hall did.

Ethan stood in the aisle with his hands at his sides.

He did not seem to know what to do with them.

Evan waited for it to die.

"Come up," he said.

"Evan," Ethan said, from the aisle. It was barely a word. It carried anyway.

"It's four steps on the left. There's a rail."

Ethan came.

He climbed the steps with one hand on the rail, in the grey tie Evan had straightened an hour ago.

He stopped a yard from the lectern, where the light was bright enough to show everything.

His eyes were already wet.

Evan found he could not look at them for long, and looked at the paper instead.

The boy with the notebook came out of the wings, red to the ears, and laid a folder on the lectern.

It had two pens in it.

"Ross Group holds thirty percent of Spark One," Evan said, to the room.

"It has held it for a year and four days."

"Mr. Ross paid for it in one transfer, with no seat, no vote and no veto."

"He has never used one of the three. He has never called me about it."

A ripple of laughter, quickly stilled.

"I wrote a clause into that agreement. The founder may buy the shares back at a price the founder names."

He opened the folder.

"My price is what you paid. Plus fifty-one dollars."

Ethan stared at him.

"One for every Friday," Evan said.

A small sound came out of Ethan, half a laugh.

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