Stranded

Chapter 11: Amendments

Marianne's POV

The cool night breeze made everything colder than it should have been. First those arrows that nearly caused me, Suzie, and Cassedy our deaths, then the message written in the sand. How could we be so unlucky?!

But you're not unlucky, Mari, you survived the storm.

I immediately felt a wave of sadness, how could I feel unlucky? Afterall, so many have died due to the storm. Classmates, teachers . . . I put my head in my hands and tried to silence my mind. After everything that's happened this school year . . . bullies . . . mother . . . a boat . . . the island . . .

Suddenly I felt a hand touch my shoulder. At first I thought I'd woken up from this horrible nightmare and I was perfectly fine on the boat, but I soon realized I was wrong when I saw Cassedy staring down at me. She smiled warmly at me.

"Hi," she said quietly.

"H-hi" I replied uneasily, remembering the chat this morning.

There was a moment of awkward silence as we sat staring up at the sky. Cassedy was being kind to me. I mean, come to think of it, she never did anything to me. Although she was very rude to some people.

"You're thinking about something," said Cassedy. "Thinking about home?"

I shook my head lightly, "No."

"Me neither . . ." she replied with a sigh. "Then . . . you're thinking about this morning, the past."

This time she said it like she was certain that she was correct, which she was. Cassedy really knew how to read people.

"I don't hate you, Cassedy," I said.

She looked at me with surprise.

"I-I did . . . uh, only because you hung out with some people I didn't like. And, I guess you were a bit rude."

A slight smile spread across Cassedy's lips. She studied my face. "Do you know why I've been so rude in the past?"

Her question caught me off guard. Where was this conversation going?

"My heart was trapped in a cage," she began, "a cage mad of bitterness and resentment."

I watched her closely, she seemed to be pondering deeply about something important. What could've made her so mean? It then dawned on me that I knew the answer.

"You know what happened. You know a bit of it at least," Cassedy stated.

I nodded, "But how?"

A chuckle escaped her mouth. She stared straight into my eyes.

"I can read people like an open book. Especially if I've made the same expression."

"I wasn't thinking about my family though . . . kind of."

"Trust me, I've seen you in the cafeteria staring down at your lunch, avoiding others' gazes."

"Maybe we have more in common than we think," I said with a grin.

"We've never thought about what we have in common, what are you talking about?"

I laughed, and that's how the rest of the night went. Only we weren't aware of the other person sitting alone. We were unaware of what happened next.

~*~*~*~*~

A ray of sunlight hit my face. I got up lethargically and saw Cassedy pacing on the island.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

She faced me with a wild look of panic in her eyes. "She's gone."

"Who's gone?!" 

"Who else? Suzie is gone." she fumbled with a piece of leafy paper. "He left this."

I took the paper from her hands. Another message?

My heart raced quicker than usual when I read the message.

I'M WAITING