Unlike her classmates, Avery doesn't really care about boys, romance and fashion. Her phone contains fewer contacts than there are pens in her pencil case. Her classmates don't seem to care about her excistance, and at home it's basically the same s...
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Avery stood unmoved. She couldn't feel her toes through the cold water. Her eyes were fixed on the fat trout swimming closer, and when it was close enough, she stuck her spear into the water. She looked at the tip in dissapointment when there was no floundering fish pinned to it.
'Not as easy as it looks, is it?'
Avery trudged out of the water and threw the spear down at Peter's feet. 'I'll stick to swordplay.'
Peter chuckled. 'Well, you can't do that very well either so...'
She gave him a shove before he could finish his sentence. 'Meanie.' She looked at him and laughed. She was getting better at it, he couldn't deny that. Over the past few days, she had become completely accustomed to the idea of living in Neverland. They ate with bare hands, bathed in the river and slept in the hammock, and when they had nothing to do for a while Peter taught her sword fighting or how to play songs on his pan flute. They didn't always eat fish either; sometimes Peter caught a rabbit or pheasant in one of his traps. That was a pleasant change for her taste buds.
In the evenings when the sun had gone down they told stories by the warm fire. Avery told about her everyday life or stories she knew by heart from books, sometimes even history books. In return, Peter told about Neverland, but not as much as Avery hoped for. There was never any real depth to his stories, or they were all stories from long ago, or at least that's what they sounded like. In time, Avery tried to persuade him to tell more, but then it seemed as if he didn't hear her or as if he had already forgotten her question.
That got Avery thinking. Peter was keeping her short, she began to realize. She longed to see much more of the island, but he kept her here. In the valley, in the bowl enclosed between the mountains. Every time Avery brought it up, his answer was definitive: 'There are many dangerous creatures on the island, make no mistake about that,' and with that he ended every conversation. She had heard the roars and wild beasts at night, but nonetheless she could not suppress the desire for adventure. So tonight she was going to provide that herself.
Peter made his rounds around the mountains every evening, and then it took a long time for him to return. She would often stay by the river and wait for him to return and take her to the Nest. But today that would change.
'I'm going to wash up in a minute. I feel like I stink of fish.'
Peter stick his nose in the air and shrugged. 'I don't smell anything.'
'That's because you smell yourself.'
He smelled his armpit and Avery laughed as she stood up. 'A bath would do you good, too.' She pointed up. 'Would you get that cloth for me?'
Peter nodded and shot up into the air. A moment later he was back with a cloth that had served as a towel. 'I'll go that way.' She pointed toward the waterfall.
'Not too close to that waterfall. The current is stronger there.'
She nodded obediently.
'I'll check the traps for dinner and then I'll wash myself too.'
