Half and Half

Chapter Thirty

"Come on Emir, hurry up!" Akiho whispered to his best friend. Well one of his best friends. Ben was his other best friend and the reason why Akiho was at the docks to begin with.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Emir whispered back, tugging a beanie he'd swiped from his big brother onto his head. Ben had said kids on the Isle wore beanies and there was no way Emir was going to get sent back to Auradon before he even got to spend time with Ben on the Isle. "You're sure we're going to get away with this?"

"Have I ever been wrong?"

"Yes. I have a list, would you like the short or the long?"

Akiho shook his head. "At least this way we get more time with Ben! We can sneak off when the food barge goes to the Isle and then when Ben's back on the Isle we can surprise him!"

"You do realize your mama and papa are going to notice you're missing right?" Emir asked as the two of them found a hiding spot.

"I know," Akiho nodded. "But Ben needs us. Therefore I have to do this. Plus your mama and papa will notice too, and so will Aziz and Ash!"

"Ash is a baby though!"

"No she's not, and she'd still notice you're gone Emir!"

"Okay," Emir nodded, figuring it'd be best to stop the argument before they got caught, and the two of them grew quiet as they waited for the food barge to leave. Though...something wasn't sitting right with Emir.

"Didn't...didn't Ben say the food barge usually leaves on the first of the month?" Emir whispered to Akiho.

"Yeah," Akiho asked. They had asked Ben when the food barge left for the Isle at his birthday party and, after asking his mom and then calling them insane, Ben had told them. "Why?"

"Akiho...it said ten on the calendar at mama and papa's."

"Are...are you sure?" Akiho asked but he knew Emir wouldn't lie about that. Plus it would explain why some of the food crates were kinda stinky. Like Abby was sometimes though Akiho wouldn't say anything when it happened. Only older siblings were allowed to point out when a younger sibling was stinky according to Shriekey, otherwise known as what Akiho called Audrey when she wasn't in ear shot or when Ben wasn't around.

"Should...should we go? We need to tell someone," Emir whispered.

"Hey!"

Emir and Akiho looked up to see a barge worker looking at them with slight confusion.

"What are you two doing here?" The barge worker asked. "This is no place for kids to play. Go on, run off."

"But—!"

"Seriously kid, I can't risk you getting hurt," the barge worker said as he ushered Emir and Akiho down the gangplank. "Besides, my boss would have my job if he found out there were stowaways. Go on, have fun. Be kids. There'll be more than enough time for you two to work the docks when you grow up."

"But I'll be ruling Arendelle when I grow up, not working some smelly old docks!" Akiho told him.

The barge worker snorted. "And I'll be married to Queen Elsa. Keep dreaming kid."

"No you won't! You're not Auntie Elsa's type!" Akiho shouted as Emir pulled him toward the docks. "She likes nice people!"

"Will you stop yelling at the idiot for a second?" Emir said. "Come on, we gotta tell someone! Ben'll want to know!"

"Should...should we tell our mamas and papas?" Akiho asked. "They could call Ben's mama and let her know! Plus then it's more official!"

"Look who's been listening to Ben," Emir teased. "Now come on, hopefully Carpet didn't fly off when we were on the barge."