Academy Island

Prize

Punky was blocking the doorway, his arms full of supplies and a swatch of white cloth hanging from his arm. Nathan and Luke stood behind him, carrying a large tub between themselves and looking in over his shoulders. He looked between us all with deep suspicion, missing nothing about myself or the others surrounding me.

"What are you guys doing to her? Why does she want to leave? Who started all this crazy leaving shit?"

Victor folded his arms and stood straighter, looking offended.

"I was just introducing myself and trying to find out her name, then she got up for some reason and asked where she could find water and that she would pay us back, I don't know why."

Punky gave his posture one look and rolled his eyes. "She's worried because you're being all high society and unapproachable. Don't do that. We're not in a ballroom, we're in the middle of a fucking jungle. Behave appropriately. Grunt and tell her you're ecstatic to see her or something. She's the first new face we've seen in eight months."

Punky put his armful on the table I'd been sitting on, things clattering everywhere and rolling to a stop. I looked around the room, all the different faces frozen on me. I didn't want to cause them all trouble, and it looked like my presence had already started a fight. This wasn't good. I had to explain somehow, that it wasn't them, it was me, and leave before there was an altercation. I put a knuckle to my lip, pushing the bottom up on my teeth.

"It's not his fault. I don't want to be a bother."

He leaned against the table, looking over the pile, distracted as he picked through it. "Yeah, yeah. I know. Let's get you cleaned up and you'll feel less upset about everything. First thing's first. How do her feet look, Doc? Will she be all right?"

"You're a doctor?"

I turned, surprised, but not surprised also that he was. He seemed so young, but his demeanor was right for the role. That and he had fixed my ankle. I hardly felt it at all now. He motioned for me to sit back down.

"Yes, Doctor Sean Green at your service. Please don't leave, I'd hate to lose such a pretty patient so soon."

Blush rose in my cheeks. I wanted to cover my face. My hair was snarled and I was covered from head to toe in jungle filth and my own blood. Even when I was cleaned up I considered myself common looking. Still, it was also the first time anyone had referred to me as such. I tucked the moment away in my heart to wonder about later, sitting back down slowly like the doctor wanted. It didn't escape my attention that Luke had shifted over to the window and Nathan stood like a truck in front of the door after they had put the tub down in the middle of the room, steam lazily rising in curls from the water. Had they brought that thing in full? Nathan scratched at the back of his head, addressing the doctor with a confused look on his face.

"You got back awful fast after the flare was fired Doc. I thought you were out a ways. Were the fish not biting?"

"Ah, that's right. I came back sooner because there was this."

Doctor Green withdrew a white piece of cloth from his back pocket, neatly folded in a small bundle like a hankie. He held it between his fingers with his pinky out, let it unfold, tumbling down open to reveal the common pair of cotton underwear that I had lost the day I'd arrived. Mortification burned in my cheeks as I took it and thanked him, hiding them in my hand away from everyone's eyes. At least I wasn't the only one blushing, Nathan had gone as straight as an arrow and as bright red as I, throwing an accusatory glance the doctor's way at the exchange.

"I wondered why you didn't look surprised when you first saw her. Where did you get them?"

"They got tangled on my fishing line on the beach. Almost lost them too. I had to get my own skivvies wet splashing out after them. So they are yours?"

I nodded my hot head and crumpled them tightly in my fist. "I lost them the day I washed up on the beach, along with my shorts. I didn't have anything until I swiped these from your laundry line."

I pulled at the bottom of the boxers that covered me, drawing the doctor's attention down to them. He got a queer look on his face. "Aren't those..."

He snapped his head up, amusement brightening his light eyes even further. Punky chuckled darkly beside him as the doctor nudged him with an elbow.

"Ha ha. I can't wait to see Owen's face when he finds out...no, wait. Don't tell him. I want to tease him first."

Nathan watched the two, his confused expression only lasting a moment more before snapping his eyes back to mine. I perked up, worried because he looked like he had taken a hit to the gut.

"Wait, you mean you don't have anything on underneath?"

I wasn't okay with admitting that outright. Even if I was socially inept, I didn't think that it was a good idea to tell a bunch of guys that you weren't wearing any underwear underneath a pair of loose floppy boxers. He stared at me, boggled, and then sat down hard in the dirt doorway and covered his eyes with his hands. Was he okay? Did he get dizzy too? He peeked up at me through his hands, then waved my concern off.

"It's okay. I just died a little is all, no biggie. I'm good."

I couldn't figure these guys out. Every exchange I'd had with them had either been embarrassing or bizarre. Luke was laughing by the window so hard that he wasn't making any sound, Nathan still had his head in his hands on the floor, and the doctor and Punky were still chuckling to themselves as one wiped my stinging feet with a wet cloth and the other placed bottles and small boxes upright, organizing them. Victor was the only one who shared a sympathetic look with me, his eyes apologetic and warm. I wanted to hide and cringed in on myself, pulling a knee up to hug at it while I waited for the doctor to finish my other foot. Victor straightened when Punky approached the tub, putting a hand in to swish the water around. They shared a nod and Victor turned to everyone while Punky shook the drops off.

"Okay you guys, out. We all have duties we still need to finish up before the day is over. Let's leave Gabe and the Doc to do what they do best and we can talk to her tonight."

He made a shooing motion with his hands, getting them all to grumble and get to their feet. One by one they went out the door, sharing glances with me before they left. Victor bowed slightly, closing the door behind them. I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding after they'd gone. So many people all at once was exhausting. Especially since I was already worn out and not feeling well.