All That Glitters Ch. 50

With a flourish, Lawrence raised his hands up beside his head and loudly clapped twice. Immediately, three doors burst open and several waiters, pushing trolleys, came into the room and began to serve the guests. Albert, the head waiter, was serving the head table with a flourish. As per instructions, Lawrence noted the guests scanning their meals. No one voiced an issue, which pleased Lawrence.

The Sommelier was busy moving among the guests, offering different drinks for them to try. He was all the busier tonight for the need to have non-alcoholic drinks for the little ones, and the not so little ones that didn't react to Terran alcohol.

Lawrence moved in and out of the ballroom ensuring that things ran smoothly, timing the new courses to coincide with those guests that finished last.

The guests were chatting freely with each other with plenty of smiles on their faces. They were looking forward to later in the evening when the dancing would take place. Most had worked hard to learn how to dance human style. It would be interesting to see what happened...

The dessert train came in. It looked like an ancient Terran steam train, with a little smoke coming from the stack in front, however, the locomotion of this particular train was a small electric motor.

The train pulled a series of trolleys laden with desert choices. The amused guests scanned the items and indicated which they would like to try, waiters moving briskly between the train and the tables. The head table, meanwhile, was being served by Albert with predetermined selections.

After dessert was finished Lawrence once again approached the head table and bowed. "Sir, do you care to make a speech, or shall we proceed directly to the dancing?"

"I will not be making a speech, however, my daughter and her friend Guinevere will," the President said with a smile to the two.

Lawrence bowed and guided the pair to a podium to the left of the head table. It was already set up for speeches.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," Guinevere began. "Is that appropriate tonight?" she asked of no one in particular.

"As long as it is not ladies and gentlemen of the jury," Petronellaya chimed in, looking purposely at Junelliya.

"Oh, Nellaya! Poor form!" laughed her friend Elliya

"Nellaya bad," said Ikekia, giving her a sad look.

"Not Aunty Nellaya?" asked Zarrenia. The children had taken to calling Petronellaya and Elliya Aunty because they were so frequently in their little lives.

"No. Not aunty when she bad," Ikekia told her sister. The pair then crossed their arms, nodded their heads in unison and said, 'Huh', imitating the way that adult Asocan's agreed on things to much laughter from the crowd.

"Have you been told today, Petronellaya?" asked the Asoc, repeating a phrase that was popular among humans at the resort.

That got a burst of laughter from all, who understood immediately what the Asoc was referring to.

"I think I will rephrase my terms then," Guinevere said, allowing a moment for the laughter to die down. "Ladies, gentlemen, gentle beings. I would personally like to extend my appreciation for your participation in this formal for myself and my friend Grace.

"We have been working on this speech all week and, truthfully, I'm scared to be standing here in front of all of you, especially those of you who are our own age." That received some chuckles from the other teenagers and even from the parents.

"This is a first for me. I have never before been at a formal dinner that did not include my brothers, or my cousins. Family. But we have family here tonight, and that brings things into perspective for me.

"While we are not siblings, or even true friends, only having known each other from the last two weeks at Denders, I have to admit that I have learned a lot during this time. Seeing how other races deal with their offspring has been an education." That again got some chuckles.

At this point, Grace took over. "I too would like to thank all of you for attending this formal. Unlike many other formals that I have attended, this one is in my and Guinevere's honour. To have the elite of the Greater Community attend our formal is a true delight.

"Over the last two weeks, and especially so over the last few days in my new role, I have gotten to know many of you. I have watched as you work and am taking notes of the power dynamics that are on play each day. They are often so different from that which one would see between humans.

"But, more importantly, I have gotten to know those of you who are also the family of the leadership. Everyone from children to young adults. It is a delight to be one of the family of the leaders of the Greater Community. I am able to hold my head high at what my father has accomplished, a shared responsibility with all the leaders in this room.

"As for the families of the leadership, you are in the same state as me...in the shadow of our more important parents. We get to see how they work but we seldom get to participate with other elite families.

"Here, at the Second Denders Summit, we have witnessed not only how our own families work but how other leaders work as well. That has led us to talk about what is happening around us at this summit.

"Like me, most of you have been surprised by how different the ruling styles of different races have been. We now share a bond that I think will probably never be broken. I'm not sure whether to call this a bond of friendship, a bond of mutual understanding, a bond of necessity, or a bond of mutual support..." that got outright laughter from the teens in the crowd and a short applause from the adults, who understood the stresses that their teenagers were subject to as family of elite.

"Tonight, I would like to formally make this a bond of friendship and ask that all the teenagers here enjoy the dancing after the meal. I know that Guinevere and I will.

"Thank-you father for making this evening possible for us. Thank-you to the leadership who are participating in this evening, for allowing your teenage family members to be here. And thank-you to my fellow teenagers who have had to put up with having to come to Denders and be part of all this. Some of us, I am sure, have more than enjoyed our time here, others..."

Once again the crowd laughed as they all knew immediately of whom Grace was speaking.

"Please enjoy the remainder of the evening, especially the dancing," Guinevere picked up at the end. The two young ladies bowed to the leadership to polite applause and returned to their seats.

Lawrence stepped up to the microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, gentle beings. If I could ask you to step out into the garden until we have remade the table settings to allow for a dance floor? You will find that there are facilities unique to each of your species in the garden. The washroom for humans is in the waiting area." Lawrence bowed as the head table stood and made their way out into the garden where privacy areas had been set aside for the needs of the respective species, a fact that the leadership appreciated.

The staff swiftly moved tables around, leaving the names clearly in place and leaving a large open area for the guests to dance in. A placard was placed at the door into the main ballroom from the garden, with the new placement on it. People had been moved around to place the seniors and very young at tables together while the teens were placed at their own table, allowing them to speak to each other freely, which they appreciated.

The group found its way back into the ballroom finding a much larger area in the center free for dancing.

Lawrence signalled the band and opened the mic. "Ladies and gentlemen, gentle beings. The President's dance." He bowed to the President, who stood and offered his hand to his daughter. Fayad came from his table and offered his hand to Guinevere. The two couples moved out to the dance floor, bowed and curtsied to each other as the band struck up a waltz.

The pairs danced for a couple of minutes then broke apart and approached other people, Fayad to the Pemipinae, the President to Mylatrin Adriné, Guinevere went to the Impotasse and Grace went to The Amestan Dyneté, the royal personage of the Grotté. They bowed, took the offered hands, and began to dance a more subdued version of the waltz, one more suitable to those with less experience at this kind of dance.

After a bit, the two young ladies found teens from the other races and began to dance with them as the elder members dancing found other senior members to dance with.

They danced another round and then moved to find new partners. Within a few minutes, the group on the dance floor had become significantly larger as the members of the Greater Community danced to the unique human waltzes.

Fayad was now on the dance floor with his two daughters, who were taking great delight in dancing with their father. Grace saw this and giggled at the sight as she danced as gracefully as she could with a less graceful Harradi teen male.

The music changed to that of a Byandi slow dance piece and the Byandi started to show those they were dancing with how to do the moves. It was fun for all.

Guinevere found herself at a table with Seeka, who had been brought to the formal by the Mylatrin. "How do you like being at Denders?" Guinevere asked.

"I absolutely love it! Seeka gushed. "I cannot remember ever hunting wild shellfish in my life! Most of the shoreline of Byandi worlds are overfished. We can only hunt in special enclaves, preserves for hunting shellfish.

"Here, the shellfish are plentiful and of such variety! And the ocean! It tastes so good! As an entertainer, I have been to almost all of the Byandi worlds and I have never tasted an ocean like this one. And the water is so clear.

"I have to admit, that when the Mylatrin asked me to come here, I almost refused. Can you imagine being confined on a ship for several days? When the Mylatrin told me that she could get me here in less than one day of travel and that there was an ocean with wild shellfish in it, that tipped the balance for me. I agreed to come and now am so glad that I have.

"And this style of dancing, this 'waltz'. It is unlike anything that I have ever done before.

"And clothing. Byandi seldom wear clothing, but this 'Sari' style with such wonderfully smooth silk. I will buy several of these to take back with me," Seeka laughed.

"More important to me is your music. Most of the Greater Community races have a style of music. Humans do not. Your music is so varied. There is something that will please everyone. I have been bombarded with so many different styles of human music from today and the past. I love your 'rock and roll'. The Asocans love your 'heavy metal music'. The Harradi love the classical music pieces. It is truly amazing to be here and enjoy all of this and for the price of two afternoons of music!" Seeka gushed.

"So you will be part of the Second Summit Partnership Concert then?" Guinevere asked.

"Oh, yes. I look forward to actually meeting the people who I will work with this time, as opposed to last year when everything was via ICS," Seeka replied.

Guinevere too was looking forward to the second concert.

Grace found herself seated at a table with both Shallel Konexi of the Harradi and Martte Garnal of the Asocans. The three had become good friends based on their own status in their future, their age, and the fact that all three were new graduates waiting to move into higher education of University or the equivalent.

"This is so different from what our people do," Garnal informed the others.

"The Harradi too do not do dances like this," Shallel stated. "Our dances are more adult in nature. We tend not to allow teens and small children at those," she told her friends with a smile.

"I won't ask what happens at those parties then," Grace said with a wink that got the other two giggling. Winking was a unique affectation of humans; the other species were unable to wink with just one eye at a time. The best they could do was a lazy blink.

"I look forward to Friday evening to see how different human graduations are from my own people's," Shallel stated, getting a nod from Garnal.

"Yes, after tonight, you will not see me until the ceremony. I will be with my classmates who are graduating, for the next two days," Grace told them.

"It will be disappointing not to have you around for those two days. I have always enjoyed your company," Shallel stated, getting a nod from Garnal.

"You have a perspective on life that is so different from our own, Grace," Garnal explained. "It is always illuminating seeing how you deal with things and seeing your thought processes when something happens. I have learned so much being here at the summit. I have adapted much of the human way of thinking over the last two weeks. How long I will be able to continue that after I return to Asocan space, well, it shall be interesting to see."

"This is true," Shallel admitted. "Without your constant presence, our way of thinking will return to the norm for our people."

"I know what you mean," Grace said. "I too have learned so much from being around the member races of the Greater Community. I look forward to my year at Liramor-23."

Just then, the band began playing a favourite dance of Grace's and she squealed and turned to see who was available to dance with while her two friends laughed at her antics.

"Human music is so diverse!" Shallel said.

"I think you mean eclectic, Shallel," Grace conveyed.

"What does eclectic mean?" Garnal asked.

"All over the place," Grace elucidated, getting smiles from her friends.

"You even use different things for instruments," Shallel said, remembering the musicians she had seen over her time at Denders that used things like wooden boxes and saws to play.

"Yes, we have even used cannon for our music," Grace said.

"NO! Real cannon?" Shallel said, shocked.

"Yes, check out the 1812 Overture," Grace said and then spied a friend she could dance with and abruptly left her friends.

"Did she say real cannon?" Garnal asked.

"Can't be..." Shallel replied. She spied the President at the table with Junelliya and ran over to them.

"Mr. President, your daughter has said that humans use cannon in their music, something about 1812 overturn..." an excited Garnal said without preamble as she came to their table.

"I think you mean 1812 Overture, Martte Garnal, and yes, we do use real cannon in this piece," the President assured the now very excited teens.

"I would like to hear this musical piece," Garnal said.

"Isn't it noisy?" Shallel asked.

"Very noisy, and very scary for young children," Junelliya said to the excited teens. That got laughter from Angelique, the President's date that evening, as she watched the two non-human teens.

Junelliya called up a recent version of the Overture and clicked her comp to that of Shallel's. The two teens rushed back to their table and began to listen to the music...

"Well that was certainly interesting," Angelique told the table.

"It is surprising in many ways how the children of our counterparts are just like our own children. It is also surprising in their differences. The things that they differ in are so unexpected," Junelliya expressed.

"Junelliya is correct," the President spoke. "In so many ways, they are just children and teenagers and yet, they constantly remind one that they are, of course, not human."

Junelliya had been watching the two teens, who now had included a couple of Byandi teens to watch the 1812 Overture. She raised a finger to the table... "I believe that the first cannon shot is about to be heard," she said with a smile.

The table turned to watch the teens, who suddenly all jumped and screamed. The President's table clapped and cheered while the table of teens blushed, though you would have to be a Byandi, a Harradi, or an Asocan to notice it.

As the music played on, the teens were once more engrossed by the event they were watching...

"It is always interesting to watch those who have never seen this piece before," Hanalei stated, getting giggles from the others.

"I wonder where our two little ones have gotten to?" Junelliya said.

The band had taken a small break, leaving a string quartet behind to play. Ikekia and Zarrenia rushed to the stage to watch, enraptured by the music. They sat on the floor, spellbound as they watched the quartet play.

The quartet was using electric string instruments which offered the ability to provide some unique sounds to the pieces they were playing. The foursome played to their little audience of two, rather happy to have such a personal crowd to play for.

When the group finished their last piece the children clapped and cheered for them. "You good, like mommy," Zarrenia told the group.

"Oh? Does your mother play an instrument too?" the leader of the group asked.

"She most certainly does," Junelliya said as she approached her daughters.

"Oh, my! You're Junelliya Harlen of Notre Dame de Paris fame!" the cellist said as she saw Junelliya.

Junelliya smiled, thrilled that a professional musician had recognized her.

"Yes, I am. And these two little ones are my daughters, Ikekia and Zarrenia. They too are musicians," Junelliya told them.

"And what instruments do you play?" the leader asked.

"We play ukulele," Ikekia told them.

"You seem to like music. I would like to hear you play your Ukulele," the leader said.

"Not here," Zarrenia told her, shaking her head sadly.

"I think she means their instruments are not available," Junelliya told the foursome.

Just them, a group of about a dozen teenagers of many different races suddenly screamed and then laughed. That got a raised eyebrow from the leader of the quartet.

"1812 Overture, probably the first shot from a canon," Junelliya told them, getting smiles of understanding from the musicians.

The band began to return and Junelliya had her little ones say their goodbyes and brought them back to their table. Dancing began again, this time with more modern music, much to the delight of the teens and even some parents.

Junelliya noted that the President was spending an inordinate amount of time with Angelique.

Good for him, she thought, a smile on her face.

"Is that smile for me?" Fayad asked, coming up on her not long shortly after.

"I was watching new love being found," Junelliya told him, pointing out the Presidential couple. Fayad smiled when he looked where she was pointing. "I thought I heard Grace ask her father if she should be calling Angelique 'mother'. The President didn't say anything but he did blush rather nicely," Junelliya told her husband.

"Well, we are not so new lovers," Fayad stated. "But I think we should follow their example and do a few turns of the dance floor."

That got a smile from Junelliya. They went out for a bit, then Fayad took Hanalei out for a few dances. By then, the evening was beginning to wind down.

The President took Angelique by the hand and brought her to the podium.

"Ladies and gentlemen, gentle beings. I would like to take the opportunity to thank our host, Angelique Aubuchon for allowing us to make use of her splendid facility for our little evening together," he said, his applause for Angelique being picked up by all.

"Thank-you, Wilford. It is always nice for a lady to be acknowledged by her man," she said, giving him a tender smile.

"Speaking of ladies, where are Grace and Guinevere?" The two appeared almost immediately.

"Ladies, I hope that your formal measured up to your expectations?" Angelique asked.

"That and more, Madame Aubuchon," Guinevere said, giving her a small curtsy.

"I truly loved it, Madame," Grace intoned. "I very much enjoyed being out with my friends from the summit. I hope that we all get to do this again next year, perhaps on someone else's home planet?"