The Stars Will Catch Me

Chapter 10

The sunlight is beating down on us so heavily that I can feel its rays through the tank top I found in my wardrobe. It’s the kind of warmth that makes you feel like a rotisserie chicken - dizzy and burnt. My bangs are sticking to my forehead after only a few minutes of trekking down the hill and I almost audibly groan when José mentions he might have forgotten to put on deodorant. 

“Wanna check for me?” José lifts his arm and thrusts it at Luka who shoves him away. 

“Gross, dude,” Logan says. He’s ahead of the four of us, using a large branch he ripped from a tree as a walking stick. He barely glances back and when he does his eyes are dim like the stars in the city. It makes me wonder why he even invited me on the trip if he’s going to be so down the whole time. José is quick to answer that question. 

“Sorry but I wasn’t as concerned with my bodily smells as you. You're the one on the date with Dovie.” 

José gazes back at me with a sorry expression and I'm not sure if he’s sorry for me or for exposing Logan. I bite my lip. I don't know what I would say to Logan if he confirmed this was true. I most definitely don't let myself feel flattered considering that aside from Willow, I’m probably the only female he’s seen for ages. 

Logan stops in the middle of a fork in the dirt paths, his back towards us. 

Aaron, who has been walking at a leisurely pace beside me, jogs ahead to pick a twig from the ground. He tosses it in the air and catches it, a mischievous smile overtaking his features. He winks at me and then turns to Logan.  “A date? I wouldn’t have invited myself along if I’d known that.” 

“Nonsense!” Luka shouts in the worst British accent I have ever heard. “The two have to be chaperoned regardless! You never know what kind of trouble two young people in love could get into.”

Logan turns around. He's beet red and his lips are in a pout. “I don’t like her. I don't even know her.” After a second he adds, "No offense." 

I shrug, mildly amused by the boy's bluntness. "None taken." 

"Honestly, I was only trying to be nice. I mean, I felt bad." He resumes leading us, moving a little slower because the ground has become uneven and filled with pebbles. "First day here and she was already getting harassed by the likes of you." 

"Oh! He's getting sassy on us," Luka rebuttals with a grin. 

"Must be the heat. It feels like a hundred degrees out here." I swat a fly buzzing around my ear, fighting the urge to squirm since the boys have practically been catching the pests between their fingers all morning. I want to fit in but there will never be a world where I'm not utterly disgusted by insects. 

Aaron tosses me the plastic water bottle he’s been keeping in his back pocket. The shorts he's wearing are a little big on him, making the pockets seem massive. It's comforting to know I won't be the only one on the island looking less than fashionable. 

"I promise you it's not this miserably hot everyday," he says. 

José groans. "I hate to be that person but - are we there yet?" 

"Just about." Logan stops again. I don't spot anything at first but then he taps the ground with his walking stick and it makes an odd clunk. Weaved through blades of grass are rusty train tracks that extend out beyond us. "Five minute walk from here." 

The name "The Tracks" makes a lot of sense now. 

I guess that there used to be a train that took people around the island - maybe a cool attraction or way to give the kids at the boarding school an engaging tour. Nevertheless, it's hard to imagine it made any real stops considering the island is mostly wilderness with the occasional building that's even more abandoned than the castle.