island // jai waetford #3

chapter 1

I breathed in the sweet, salt air. June Beach on Norfolk Island was my second home: I practically spent all of my time here. It was just off the southern coast of Australia, and was pretty much separated from most of society. The lush green grass and crystal blue seas welcomed me everyday. I lived here with my mother, June, and my best friend, Torie. My mom found out she was going to have me when she was seventeen years old, and fled in the middle of an August night two weeks after she discovered she was pregnant to the island. She called it Norfolk, since that was her father's ship's name. My mother's full name is June Husni. I take her last name, since she wants to hide my father's identity from me. At this point, I doubt I will ever find out who he is. I want to stay loyal to my mother, though, and keep to myself.

The island eventually got a landing strip for domestic flights about two months ago, after my mother went through the hassle of having to use a dinghy to go to the grocery store once every two weeks. The three of us owned an airport hangar, with two small planes that were connected to air traffic at the Sydney Airport. I had a pilot license, but rarely used it due to my fear of heights. My fear was interesting; I was afraid of the air, but not of the sea. I surfed every chance I could, in the crystal clear water. I would finish my schooling for the day around eleven in the morning, eat a clean lunch of chicken breast and fruit, and surf from one until six. Surfing was my passion, and I couldn't live without it.

When I was seven, my mother brought me on my first trip back to the mainland. We stayed for a week, and while I was there, I met a girl named Torie. Since I was so young, I don't remember exactly how we met, but I am thankful we did; she is now my absolute best friend, and I don't know what I would do without her. We complete our schooling together, then surf all day together. The nice thing about living on a small island such as Norfolk with someone is that you become like blood siblings. I feel like Torie is my soul sister.

My mother makes me and Torie dinner every night as we run back from the ocean. We live in a small, yet cozy, white stucco home right along June Beach. Dinner is served every night on our porch, and we sit on pillows around a low, wooden table made by my grandfather, whom I have never met. I would love to meet him someday. He is someone who I do not know, but I know I would love.

---

As I was looking out onto the ocean, I heard a deep growling noise up in the sky. I had heard this noise only a few times, then realized it was an airplane landing on the new strip. I was confused: we mostly had outgoing flights, manned by my mother and her purse to get groceries. I zipped my surfboard bag back up just as the plane made its way down a steep incline to the ground behind my house. I slung the arm strap of the bag over my shoulder, and made my way up to the house at a fast jog.

I dropped the bag outside of the porch, and opened the back door leading into my house. You couldn't walk in without someone noticing: it made a creaking noise that echoed throughout the building. Torie was standing in the kitchen adjacent to the back door, leaning over the counter and eating an acai bowl. Torie's acai bowls were the most amazing delicacy I had ever eaten: the layers consisted of granola filled yogurt, various fruits, and organic dark chocolate sauce. She looked up at me as she took a spoonful. I spoke quickly, with a confused tone: "Why is there an incoming plane? Mom is here."

She looked confused as well, then nodded as she swallowed her last bite. "It's some couple coming onto the island."

I shifted my weight onto one leg, and sighed. I didn't want more people taking up space on my beach. "Why are they coming?"

Torie tucked a piece of her short, wavy, brown hair behind her ear, and placed the acai bowl on the tan countertops. "I'm not sure. Ask June."

I nodded, and started walking towards my mom's room, with an intent on finding out what more people were doing on my island.

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"Alana, it isn't your island," my mother spoke firmly.

"Well, it's not just yours. Its yours, mine, and Torie's. Its our home. I don't want to share it," I said, continuing my rant.

"You're going to have to suck it up," she replied. My mother was folding the laundry on top of her bed. The master bedroom was painted a muted turquoise, and faced out onto the landing strip. I took a folded shirt and threw it at the window so she would pay attention to me instead of the laundry occupying her time.

"I don't want to. These people could be killers, for all we know."

"No, they actually aren't. They are here on an escape route from the United States. The young man who contacted me regarding a flight to our island is native to Australia, and he told me he needed a secluded island to stay on with his girlfriend. They will be staying in the cottage next to ours."

I sighed, but understood my mom's point. I just thought, If I had escaped from a country's government, I would want a place to stay, too. I nodded my head and left the room without saying another word.

---

I spent the rest of the day in the room I shared with Torie. She came in once, trying to cheer me up, but I didn't speak to her. I didn't eat the dinner of a chicken caesar salad my mother made. If it makes a difference, caesar salad is my favorite. I was reading my new book my mom bought me on her last trip into town, called The Balance in the Stars. I had just started it last weekend, and I was about halfway through. It was about a girl named Sadie who lived in America; she had a brother named Thomas who was deployed for the war in Afghanistan. Where I was, Sadie had just gotten the news that Thomas was killed in an explosion on his way to the local bunker. As tears poured down my face, Torie came in the room and sat on her bed. She wavered for a moment, then spoke to me.

"They're nice." I realized she was talking about the couple who had come to the island.

"That's good," I vaguely replied.

"If you were wondering, their names are Jai and Eloise. They came from America. I would always love to visit there," Torie continued.

I shook my head, and flipped to the next page. I had so suddenly reached the end of the novel: by the time it ended, Thomas' death didn't matter to Sadie, since she had just married a man with the same name as her brother. I ruled it as one of my least favorite books, and set it on the bed next to me. "I will talk to them tomorrow," I said to Torie.

"That sounds good. They are looking forward to seeing you."

Torie had gotten under covers, and so had I in the twin bed across the room from her. I shut off the lamp next to my bed, and we both uttered solemn "good-nights" to each other. This was one of the first times I had fallen asleep wishing Torie well; usually, we fell asleep after talking for hours after our bedtime. Instead, I stared out of the window next to my bed facing out to the ocean. I watched the waves crash along the shore as my blue eyes shut for the night.