On a Clear Day
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
Contemplating life over cherry cheesecake, she did not notice the Professor walk up behind her. In fact, she barely took notice of him as he seated himself beside her; she took her food that seriously. The Professor waited a moment and grinned at her single-mindedness. “I could not help but to notice your distinct absence in the reception after my speech” was his opening statement.
"Oh, hello Professor - you were well attended, were you not?” Kiara matched his clipped English accent as if it were her own.
"Perhaps, my dear, but your presence was missed nonetheless, as well as our Prodigal Son, Mr. Arthur, who did not bother to attend the meal, nor the speech, do you suppose he jumped ship?” Professor Danvers asked her, as if she had any idea what he was talking about. “Never mind, we shall worry about him later. Are you that disapproving of me, then?” Peering into her face as she stuffed the last piece of cheesecake into her mouth, she was unable to answer for a full minute, so she simply shook her head, American-style. “Yes. Quite, I see, well ….” the poor Professor was at a loss.
Kiara made up for it as soon as she was able. “I'm terribly sorry, sir. I did not mean you any disrespect. I did not join the fray because that's just not my thing; I mean it's not the way I roll. I'm more of a one-on-one - except I really wasn't expecting you - so you took me by surprise and that cheesecake was really, really good! Sorry, I'm babbling.” Shutting her mouth as suddenly as she had begun, Kiara hung her head a bit.
"Well I can't hope to compete with cherry cheesecake, now can I?” he teased. “Now that you are through, I was wondering if you might tell me your thoughts on expanding the biosphere.”
"Well,” resisting a huge sigh of “here we go again” boredom, she began with “As you know there has been extensive work done in outlying countries of blackout..."
The Professor had been giving her all of his attention up to this point, but suddenly looked away, and towards the door. Kiara was glad for the distraction from her dissertation, and out of curiosity followed the Professor's glance to the door where a lad was entering, being escorted by the elbow by a young man - the Prodigal Son, perhaps? Momentarily forgotten by the Professor, she faded back into the woodwork to watch the events unfold as they would.
The Professor was not pleased. “Aaah, Mr. Arthur, so good of you to join us! I'm afraid you have missed the meal and the speech, and the formal introductions, but since everyone is still here, let me introduce you, shall I?”
Grinning broadly, he welcomed the young man to the front and center with a flourish and his guide seemed happy to escort him forward. A line was formed, and one by one the poor boy was forced to meet and greet each one of the other eleven students by name. When Kiara stretched out her hand to shake his, she caught his first name for the first time. She didn't mean to…it just popped right out, and it could have been ignored, after all it was more of a mumble than an outright blurt, but what she said was, “That's an awful lot of responsibility isn't it?”
He laughed. Moses Arthur laughed long and hard until he could not breathe and everyone was looking at her.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
"On A Clear Day" is about coming of age in a world torn by disaster and the brilliance of youth. Follow the adventures of KK, Moe and their friends as they travel to an International Academy to work together to find cures for a dying planet. As if that were not enough, they must also combat the efforts of the only group benefitting from the disaster, to stop them. Teens, young adults and anyone interested in environmental issues with a good story will enjoy reading this relevant novel. KK:
Moe: Moses Arthur is an orphan, raised willy-nilly by a sea-side community. In spite of his lonely childhood, he still cultivated a sense of honor and chivalry. For the first time in his life he found a place where he belongs.
Professor Danvers: The Professor is a father figure to the students and the Foundation for Earth's Recovery is his brainchild. He mentors and leads by example.
Vidal Castrola: Prime Minister of Maya - bent on controlling the food market of the world and keeping the Foundation from achieving it's goals. He will stop at nothing to maintain his position of power.
About the Author
Susan Platt's writers voice represents who she is. She wishes to remind us of a Native American proverb, credited to Chief Seattle that states; "We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children."