Chapter 341

Ella answered without even thinking, “The town mayor, duh. In a small village like this, the one in charge is basically like a local king.” Caleb Summers frowned and said, “I don’t think Mistcloud is that bad. I went to ask the mayor this morning about using the loudspeakers. He seemed pretty genuine, like he actually cares about doing his job—not some guy who throws his weight around just because he’s got a title.” “They’re all the same,” Ella said with undisguised disdain. “Doesn’t matter what he does, folks around here treat his word like it’s gospel.” It was a bit of a sweeping statement, obviously colored by Ella’s personal bias against officials, but she wasn’t totally wrong either. Following that line of thought, Celeste Harper thought for a moment. “Then let’s go talk to the mayor this afternoon. Caleb, you’ve already spoken with him, right? You go. Just explain that our jewelry design class is about preserving traditional craftwork and giving local girls a safer, better path i