Her Grey Eyes

Cairnholm

Amaris' pov

"Cairnholm: population of 92." Jake read out of some guide book. We were on a boat to the island and I was sitting opposite of of Jake and his dad. "Best known for its proximity to the final resting place of the cruiser liner Augusta, which sank in 1915." I wasn't totally paying attention to what Jake was saying, but I just had to add in, "You'd think they'd have learned after the Titanic." I stared at the approaching island and I couldn't help but think about how insane this whole trip is. I heard a sound above us and looked up to see a Peregrine falcon. "Hey Jake, Mr. Portman, look!" The both turn to look at it and the bird moves its head to look at us. "Oh, wow! That's a Peregrine falcon!" Mr. Portman takes out his camera and starts to take pictures. "You mean peregrine as in the headmistress?" Jake smiles, I laugh at the face Mr. Portman makes. "Sure." He says, he pauses and then continues, "Maybe that's where grandpa got the name, and the whole, turning into a bird thing." I looked back at the falcon then at Jake and I smile. "Maybe, or maybe that's really her!" I say in an overexcited manner. Mr. Portman freezes and Jake holds in a laugh, "Hey, Miss Peregrine! It's Amaris and Abe's grandson, Jake!" I giggle as Jake chimes in, "Please don't crap on us!" We laugh out loud as the bird flies off, but Jake's dad doesn't find our antics funny. "Oh my go- Dad we're joking!" I rolled my eyes and leaned back, listening to the waves and the motor of the engine. I glared up at the clouds, trying to will them away, but they stayed stubbornly in their place, blocking off the sun.

    "What the he-"

    Jake's dad paused as he looked around the hotel, "Hello?" We had arrived on the mainland and gotten to the hotel, a few minutes after Jake and I went quiet. The hotel we were staying at was, interesting. There were lots of pictures and newspaper clippings on the walls, probably telling the stories of this small island. Jake let out a gasp from behind me and I felt him jump. I turned to ask him what was wrong, but I saw two people emerging from the back, "Hello?" A younger man asked, he was wheeling an older man in front of him. "Any idea where I can find the owner of this place?" Mr. Portman rocked forward, awkwardly, on his heels. "That's me, sorry to keep you." The younger man stretched out his hand and Mr. Portman shook it. "I was just helping my Uncle Oggie to the loo." I laughed as Jake and Mr. Portman's expressions morphed into disgust. "Well, I'm Kev. There's room upstairs, I'll be back in bit." Kev walked past us and jogged up the wooden stairs. Mr. Portman turns to Jake and me with an uncomfortable expression, "Well, Kev's just getting our suite ready, so I was thinkin' that while we wait we could head down to the beach." I could tell that he was trying to keep us from thinking about our real purpose here, but it didn't work, "I thought that we could check out the Children's home." Jake twisted his body toward the door but kept his hands in his pockets. I couldn't help but feel the tension growing between the two males, so I decided to butt in, "Is the beach where the birds nest?" I asked. I don't know what I was hoping to achieve, and I didn't really care where the birds nested, but the silence was getting too loud. "I-I thought we could check it out, real quick." Mr. Portman seemed very apprehensive about giving into our requests. It felt as though he didn't know how to deal with us. "We could go to the Children's home by our selves. Then you could really take your time, and enjoy it." Jake was trying desperately to get away from here. Despite his best efforts, nothing was working. "Come on, Jakey. You know you mom would freak. And I have to be responsible for Amaris as well." I almost felt bad. The way he said that made it seem like it was all too much for him, but this is way too much for me too. "What if we found someone to take us, like a tour guide or somethin'" I asked, throwing one last option onto the metaphorical table. Jake nodded and pointed in my direction, as if to emphasize whatever I had said. Jake's dad stared at us, and sighed. "Fine. but I get to chose who takes you."