[img] https://i.imgur.com/QClQFmu.png [/img] 
[center] [img]https://i.imgur.com/bwom4fV.jpeg[/img][/center]
[color=#0C823D]Location: Fairgrounds
Interactions: Callie Shaw
Mentions: Gideon Mercer and Callie Shaw[/color]

Jenkins had spent the first hour doing what Robert Jenkins did best, working the crowd. He had a knack for remembering names, shaking hands, and making people feel important. This was his time, his place, his crowd.

One hand wrapped around a plastic cup of lemonade, the other shaking hands and clapping shoulders. Jenkins moved through the fairgrounds like he owned the place. Parents stopped him to talk football. School board members thanked him for another successful year. Former players greeted him with big smiles and stories they’d talked about a hundred times before. With the only high school in town, even Town Council checked in on the principal.

Fourth of July was his kind of holiday. The fair, the fireworks, families together. Pines Holler at its best. And more importantly, people seeing him. Someone had once called him a “celebrity in his own mind” but Jenkins only laughed. He was the principal. The coach. The man who got things done. They didn’t need a superintendent, they had Jenkins. 

He had already talked to the coaches, spoken to the teachers. Even though summer holidays had arrived, he had told his staff, “off the record”, they should be at the July 4th celebrations. The teachers knew the kids. If there was a problem, they should be there to help. Just their presence could be a deterrent, he said, prevented students from doing something stupid. Just one more thing to make sure the school had a part in the community.

By the time he had found himself near the centre of the fair and the spread of picnic tables, he overheard the conversation. Two older men sitting near the edge, sipping Dr. Pepper and chewing on their cigarettes.

[quote]"The generators?"[/quote]

[quote]"Yep. Heard it from the Mayor herself. Bought 'em and had 'em delivered before he skipped town."
[/quote]
[quote]"Well I'll be damned."[/quote]

[quote]"Doesn’t make any sense though. Why did Mercer buy all these generators and then pack up shop?"
[/quote]
Jenkins froze for a second and his smile disappeared. He stood there for a moment and chewed his lip. Mercer was gone. For weeks he'd been trying to reach that bastard. He’d gone through every avenue. Emails to his office. Calls to his secretary. Through a cousin of a cousin, he had reached out and finally scheduled an appointment and now all that work was dead. Weeks of phone calls, favors, and promises wasted.

Mercer had money. He had connections. He had the kind of influence that could've turned Jenkins' dreams into reality. A new football stadium. Expanded athletic facilities. A renovated school. Mercer had promised development and Jenkins saw opportunity. And yes, maybe a few opportunities for himself along the way. That was how things worked.

Now apparently Mercer had handed out generators like some kind of local hero and disappeared.

[color=#0C823D]"Son of a bitch."[/color] Jenkins muttered under his breath.

For the first time all evening, Robert Jenkins wasn't interested in shaking another hand. He cut through the crowd with purpose. Past the food vendors. Past the Ferris wheel. Past a group of Pine Holler students who immediately stepped out of his path and shut down their conversation.

If Mercer was truly gone, then somebody needed to explain what the hell the town's leadership intended to do next. Because development wasn't going to stop, it couldn’t stop. This little town was drying up faster than cow pies on a summer day and funnel cakes and fairs wouldn’t be enough to save this place.

He finally spotted Callie Shaw near one of the vendor rows. Mayor Natalie Shaw's daughter. Town lawyer. Town activist. Town headache. 

Jenkins adjusted his expression before approaching, trying to hide the exasperation that he felt growing in his chest. [color=#0C823D]"Callie. Callie Shaw.”[/color]

His voice carried the same authority that had shut down classrooms and locker rooms for two decades. The same voice he had used when Callie was a junior in Pines Holler high. 

[color=#0C823D]"I need a word."[/color]

He stopped beside her, his eyes scanning the crowd before returning to hers. He looked at the young woman in front of him and assuming she had influenced her mother, continued,[color=#0C823D]"I've been hearing some interesting things tonight."[/color]

He paused for a moment, then added, [color=#0C823D]"About Mercer."[/color]

His jaw tightened and he growled,[color=#0C823D]"Tell me your mother's around."[/color]

[color=#0C823D]"I think the mayor and I need to have a conversation before this town makes another mistake it can't afford."[/color]