The Island Curse

A Detour

When the final bell rang on Monday, I found myself hanging back to speak to Leslie. Her mother never called, and I wouldn't see her until tomorrow- by then it would be too late. But the strange, washed out girl gathered her things quickly, casting nervous glances in my direction, before scurrying through the door without speaking.

"Well that's odd," I muttered as I walked into the hallway.

"What's odd?" Tara appeared at my side. She wore a yellow silk scarf today, and her smile was a little less sturdy than usual.

"Leslie. I wanted to speak to her, and she ran out of here like the room was on fire."

"Maybe she had somewhere to be?"

"Sure, I suppose. But don't you think she would've at least acknowledged me? I was clearly waiting for her."

Tara looped her arm through mine as we went down the stairs and turned to go outside. Another sunny morning had morphed to a gray afternoon. The air was wet- I couldn't quite say it was raining. Water droplets hovered in the air, not falling so much as being carried about by the wind.

"Well not everyone is as enamored of you as we are," she joked and tossed me a wink. A wink followed by a nudge with her elbow. "Especially one of us in particular."

"Who?" I played dumb, but I found my eyes scouring the parking lot. He was leaning against my truck with his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his dark jeans. I'd noticed earlier he hadn't bothered trying to tame his curls today, and they fell over his forehead with abandon.

The smirk pasted on his lips spread into a true grin when he spied us walking toward him, but the flutters building in my stomach faded as my attention was snagged by movement to his left. Leslie was in the car next to mine, and she was glaring at Kieran. When she noticed me, she jumped and threw her car into reverse.

"Wait!" I jogged after her with my hand raised in the air. "Leslie!"

"What do you want to talk to her for?" Kieran asked when I turned back after it was clear Leslie had no intention of stopping to speak to me.

"Because I need to talk to her mom."

"We have class with her tomorrow. Can't you talk to her then?"

Tara pulled the hood of her jacket over her head and hopped on the tailgate. I opened the cab and tossed my bag in before answering. "No, it's about a makeup assignment for blowing the lab we did with scales."

Kieran's expression didn't change, but his body language did. The lounging pose against the vehicle became more forced, as if he were trying to make steel relax. "What makeup assignment?"

"You turned in your work, right?" Tara asked. Her deep brown eyes darted to Kieran and back to me.

"Yes, but I didn't answer the bonus question." I zipped up my new jacket to try and conserve some body heat. Not wishing to stay on our current topic of conversation, I asked, "can't we chat at the coffee shop? It's freezing out here."

Tara laughed. "Are you daft? It's the perfect temperature out here."

"Maybe for y'all. This is winter weather back home."

Kieran pushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear. He looked sad when he spoke. "Is this not yer home now?"

I paused before answering. I missed Mississippi- no, I missed my friends there, my life- but the Island stirred something in my soul. It was becoming home far more quickly than I'd anticipated. But I wasn't ready to admit that, not out loud.

"It's just an expression," I said. My teeth were chattering together.

"Ach, let's get her inside before she turns to a block of ice out here."