Island Rush (Sample)

Chapter 15

I slept in my teacher's arms last night. It might have been more exciting for me if I hadn't been crying and covering his chest with my snot. Not having that dream would have helped the most. Thankfully, my breakdown was over. No other disturbing dreams entered my head for the remainder of the night either. It made me want to sigh in relief as I felt myself ease out of sleep and into consciousness. The only thing I wasn't looking forward to was facing Mr. Rush after last night. Bring on the embarrassment.

I kept my eyes shut, trying to think of something I could say but coming up blank. I noticed I was no longer in his arms, though, which made my mind spin. Was he already up? Did he get too hot after the sun rose this morning? Did he realize just who he was actually holding?

I opened my eyes, the sun bright in the sky. It made me groan. Thanks to me, we missed the dew again because we were unable to get up early. I hated myself at times like this. Why did I throw a stupid fit like that? It exhausted both of us.

I looked around and saw Mr. Rush a few feet away from me, sitting with his legs crossed. His finger was twirling over a strand of grass, his face bent down towards the ground. I could see his expression enough, though, and he looked quite disturbed over something. When he glanced up at me, he didn't smile. I didn't blame him with those bags under his eyes.

I sighed. "Hey, I'm sorry about last night. You didn't need to hear or deal with that. You obviously lost a ton of sleep too," I noted, searching his tired expression.

"No... No, don't be sorry," he said, sounding slightly distracted. "You have been through a lot, and it was a healthy reaction. You couldn't help what was going through your head."

I turned and faced him, sitting before him with my legs crossed as well. We were in the shade of the trees, but I was already beginning to sweat. Looking at the man in front of me, Mr. Rush was already drenched in his own stench.

"I should be stronger than that. Though very realistic, it was still a dream. I let my feelings get out of hand, and it was quite pathetic. I didn't mean to put you in that position, sir."

His eyes flashed. "Don't call me sir. And sometimes you need to let it all out. I understand."

"What are you thinking?" I asked, unable to stop myself from springing the question on him. He was still distracted, and I didn't know why.

"Hmm? Nothing. I'm just tired I guess." Liar. He was hiding something, but it wasn't my place to ask, especially after shoving his questions for me aside.

I nodded. "Well, I'm sorry I made us miss the dew." Seeing just how much his eyes were drooping, I asked, "How long have you been awake?"

He opened his mouth to answer but closed it after a second. He finally answered me. "Awhile. I wouldn't worry about the dew," he said, his eyes looking lighter. He gestured to a few things I hadn't noticed before in the grass. They were seashells, the kind you see on the backs of crabs. They were all about the size of a softball too. I squinted my eyes on one that caught my eye. The long opening to the shell was facing the sky but that opening to the inside of it... was blocked by something.

"So you collected some shells?" I glanced at him, not understanding.

He leaned to his right, picking up one of the shells and handing it to me. It was heavier than I expected. The tips of my fingers swept over the texture of smooth spikes and pearly peaks. The opening of the shell had something gray over it. It was clay.

This guy was something else. He somehow found clay here and ended up plugging the opening with it. That hadn't explained the weight of it though since it was only across the opening.