Heritage of Light

Chapter 3

It had not taken them long to find a restaurant to slip into. Chloe who usually were choosy had been to hungry to give a damn. The restaurant was simple with worn out menus, wooden tables and a wide range of different chairs. Still early for lunch, there were only a few others evenly spread throughout the venue. Kaelie sat back, relaxed, as the chill air spewed out by the vents cooled down her skin. Even with sunscreen her skin had probably taken too much sun while she'd fallen asleep. It still felt hot to the touch.

Angelica, organized as always, pulled out a bunch of brochures and stacked them in the middle of the table.

"We need to start planning activities, so we don't run out of time. I'll start with water sports," she said and grabbed the top brochure. Chloe quickly reached for the one marked with shopping. Kaelie reached for excursions knowing the whole brochure would most likely be filled with exciting trips and things to see. There were so many things she wanted to experience while she was there. Everything was different from back home – the landscape, the buildings, the weather, the people - it filled her with an overwhelming sense of excitement.

"Hey! There's a large shopping mall here," Chloe exclaimed and slid one of the maps over the table. "It's only five minutes away if we get a taxi." Kaelie opened her mouth to suggest something but knew from the look in Chloe's eyes that the battle was already lost. Perhaps a day of shopping was exactly what she needed to forget about the woman at the market and the man on the beach. Her mother had, after all, given her money to buy new clothes for school. Classes were to start in a couple of weeks.

When their sandwiches arrived, Angelica put away the catalogues. Chloe had already decided they were going shopping.

Kaelie was halfway through her sandwich when Chloe suddenly looked her way and asked, "What's going on with you and Miles?"

"Me and Miles?"

"Yes," Chloe said and bit into her sandwich.

"Nothing really," Kaelie said. "We've been watching a lot of movies together, that's all." Miles had been her friend since the kindergarten when they had built sandcastles together. Since then they'd done everything together until he begun school a year before her. Over the first few years in school they didn't see much of each other and their friendship had slowly slipped away. Until one day, when Kaelie ran into him on one of her runs. It had been like nothing had changed. They were still the same as when they'd been children playing together. For a while they'd taken to running together. Then Miles had begun lifting weights and they started doing other things together. This summer it had been movies.

"Nothing? Every time I see him he's either going to your house or coming back from it. I've barely seen you all summer," Chloe continued. Kaelie looked at Angelica, who shrugged her shoulders.

"I had the flu in the middle of summer, so I didn't go out much and he kept me company. We just enjoy watching movies together."

Chloe raised her eyebrows, "Are you trying to tell me he hasn't made a move on you yet?"

Kaelie shook her head, "No, he hasn't made a move. Why would he? We're just friends."

"You really don't know, do you?" Angelica burst out.

"Know what?"

"Miles is totally into you."

"No, he's not."

Angelica put down her sandwich, "He really is. Remember how he used to have a new date every other week last year?"

"Yes, so?"

"He stopped dating a few months back. Since then, he's only been hanging out with you. Haven't you seen the way he looks at you?" Angelica asked.

"No that can't be. I mean, it's Miles." They'd been spending a lot of time together over the summer, but that didn't have to mean anything. They'd always spent a lot of time together. "Are you sure about this?"