The Stirlings and the Missing Statue

Chapter Six: I'll [skull & crossbones] On That Hill, Won't I?

    The teenager's anger was palatable. Thankfully, the rest of the family had learned over the years to allow Callum his distance, so there was no one around to taste the vitriol with which he cursed every member of his family. Even Mitchell, the youngest and most easy-going and thereby forgettable of the four siblings, would have found his name among those Callum currently hated most.
    "What in the Hell do I need from a vacation in Mexico?" he mumbled to himself again, this time a different inflection as if he were auditioning for a part. "Mexico? Mexico. Never mind that I'm fluent in Cantonese and French!"
    He wouldn't know for sure until the next day, but the extra volume he added to Cantonese and French carried through the door and down the hall where the rest of his family was still gathered, discussing their food options. Declan, he'd learn, wondered aloud if his brother wanted CANTONESE or FRENCH food and the family had shared a laugh at Callum's expense.
    In his room, of course, the larger of the two bedrooms downstairs and one that shared one wall with the kitchen and another with the staircase that led to the bedroom Esmeralda would later claim, grumbled for another hour, occasionally raising his voice to complain, yet again, about being in Mexico. Regardless of his fury, he'd unpacked and neatly placed his clothes in the drawers of the empty bureau and the textbooks he'd smuggled into his case onto the small desk in the corner. With no real intention of ever sharing the bed with his little brother (he'd have to figure something else out!), Callum pulled back the duvet and nudged it to the end of the bed and onto the floor. Propping himself up with all four pillows that were provided, he opened and booted his laptop but glared at the screen, his anger peaking.
    The reception on his phone had been weak and both of his parents had agreed that they would only pay the international travel pass if they needed it, so all of the siblings had been instructed not to use their phones unless it was an emergency. After the long flight, the wait for the car rental, and the drive to their accommodation itself, Callum was anxious to know what he'd missed. But this cursed trip was laughing at him still.
    "Wi-Fi password," he whispered to himself, knowing that it was probably in the note left by the host at the entrance.
    Over the course of the next hour he spent pouting, he heard his brother Declan move into the bedroom next door, his sister climb the stairs to the private bedroom there, and then the retreating steps away from each of the rooms as the family convened in the main room once more.
    "Last chance, Cal," his mother called from what he assumed was the kitchen. He could hear her clearly but he did not acknowledge her. "We're heading into the town for dinner. Are you coming? Cal? Can you...oh well. We'll bring you back some tacos."
    His mother knew he hated tacos. Everyone knew it. It was like a flaw that everyone would bring up at any given chance, like he was an anomaly, a freak. Bigfoot.
    When he was sure they'd left, he ventured out into the main room and snatched up the little card on the foyer entry table. He breezed through the first section that welcomed the family in Spanish but didn't need to read the second that was in English. The word Wi-Fi was pretty universally used and, coincidentally, the password was in Spanish: Bi3nvenid0s!
    "Of course," Callum spat. He stomped back to his room, slammed the door for no one to hear, and leaned over the bed to type in the password. Almost immediately, notifications, dozens of them, began dinging, gaining in speed as the connection was fully established.
    "yoooooooo," a DM on his Instagram read. The notification was quickly followed by another. "where RRRRRRR you?"
    Callum knew it wasn't really meant to be flirtatious, that it was just the way she spoke in person—and she typed the same way that she spoke—but just getting a message from her was enough to make his face twitch in anticipation.
    "Are you still there?" Callum typed back. He'd thought for several minutes before settling on this response, and even tried to make it sound more casual, but he knew she'd see right through it. There was nothing casual about Callum. But that didn't seem to bother her.
    "duh," her response came moments later. "thot u [skull & crossbones]."
    Callum hated emojis almost as much as he hated tacos. But it was her, so he let it slide. He wouldn't return them, however. He wouldn't debase himself.