Academy Island

Jade

Being distant from the hubbub below by a good thirty feet left me in a peaceful state for much of the morning. Other than the occasional breeze that left wispy bits of vine growth twirling against the wide sunlit windowsill, there was little to disturb me as I toyed with the pen, fidgeting with it as I pondered what to write about the day. Most of the men had left the confines of the camp to head to the open beach, and I could see just the tops of the taller one's straw hats as they busied themselves at the catch. I sighed, slumping into the springy wicker chair a bit. I'd made one entry into the blank page, already the date written in a tightly curled script for me, and my one sentence seemed overly simple.

Men went fishing, all quiet.

I grimaced at it, wondering if there was really anything else I could add without sounding like I was droning on. I looked up again through the window, noting the weather was sunny, almost too bright, a few clouds stretched thin across the horizon, the blank blue of the ocean ringed by its hazy layer of ozone, devoid of any hope of rescue. Nothing of note. I sighed again, drumming my fingers against the book's paper, thick already with entries upon entries behind the mostly empty page I was to fill. 

I touched the corner, pausing only briefly before lifting back to the day before to glimpse an example I could mimic.

The page was filled. Painstakingly tight. My eyes started tracking the script, real interest getting the better of my first hope of an example. It was about a field of rice that had been found on the southern part of the island, not yet ripe but the harvest was to be abundant if all went well; but my eyebrows furrowed at it. Over and over again something called the Academy got mentioned. I turned a few pages back, and again, the academy, or the reference to it, wormed its way into every entry as I flipped back further, engrossed. That they should be found by now. That the academy training had helped so much for their situation. That the academy wouldn't let them down. I stared at the first page that had been filled, lit up brightly by the sun now that it had risen fully, a rendition of the supplies they had gotten to shore after their shipwreck, lost in thought, wondering who these guys actually were.

"Whatcha got there?"

I jumped and the book ruffled shut in my surprise. The voice had come from above me, so I looked up at the ceiling, then squinted towards the window when he started chuckling. Luke's head hung upside down from the top of the window, the loose ponytail lit up like god's gold and swinging in the breeze. My stomach lurched as he reached in for the beam that framed the window and let himself curl over, swinging in and dropping to the floor in one fluid motion. I stood, gaping up where he'd dropped down from to see if there were going to be any more surprise visitors dropping in unexpectedly, and he laughed.

"Finally snuck up on you. What were you so focused on that you couldn't hear me climbing across the roof?"

He eyed the book on the table and my hands trembled. I felt caught, hiding my hands behind my back.

"I was asked to make a log for the day, and..."

"You were snooping." 

I paused, pondering. "Yes."

His answering laugh was surprised, and he picked up the book I'd been reading to look at the page I'd been on. He smiled as he looked back up at me over the page and then snapped it closed, tossing it back on the desk.

"Well, if Mr. Blackbourne is letting you make logs in his books, then I'm not going to worry about it. What else does he have you doing today?"

He moved away from the table, leaving the book behind, and I got the feeling he was trying to distract me. The questions I had trembling in my thoughts stilled, patient hornets, for now. His eyes, dark and playful, caught mine up, the suspense full of good humor. His face mocked a thoughtful pose as he drew closer, making me back up against the other edge of the desk. He surrounded me, placing both hands on either side of the desk behind me and leaning in, making my breath catch, but he paused. His eyes searched my face.