Blinded by Eternity

Chapter Eighteen - Here We Go

Chapter Eighteen

"You all have your assignments, now before class is over, you should think about honour projects. Miss Pyne. Speak with me after class, please." Class dismissed, and I put my assignments away. I walked down the steps of the lecture hall, down to my Journalism teacher, Damian Apocada. We were allowed to call our teachers by their first name, which was pretty cool.
"What can I do for you?" Damien smiled. He was a hispanic man in his early 30's, and half the women in my class were madly in love with him.
"Well, I read your last paper, and I'm thoroughly impressed. A fantastic work of fiction, Ms. Pyne. I love the part where the Werewolf, Jonah, is his name? I love it when he goes primal. Such instinct! Such hunger! I'm excited for your next project. It's a shame you're going away over break, but you've earned it. After a stellar story like that, you've all but earned a publication. And I have no doubt you'll be working on an honour project." I nodded. To receive such high praise from Damien was one of the rarest thing his student could get. He was a famed author with a temper to match. An accomplished man from an early age, he most definitely was. I smiled and shook his hand, taking a paper labeling all sorts of projects.
"I certainly will, Damien. If you excuse me, I have to get home. Another adventure awaits me!" We shook hands and I ran out the door, towards the parking lot. I drove my way home, the whole near 2 hours. I opened my front door to see Jesse just pulling a ham out of the oven. My parents were waiting at the dining room table. "Mom! Dad!" I rushed over and hugged them tightly."
"How's my little angel?" It had been so long since I had seen my parents. "We just had to see you before you went off with your friends again. And it was a very great pleasure to meet you, Jesse." Jesse bowed his head, bringing over the ham to the table.
"I'd count it an honour, Ma'am." Jesse was wearing a hip apron, where everything on him but the apron was covered in food debris.
"Sweetie..." I spoke. "You've got a little something on your... everywhere." Jesse looked at himself and laughed. That adorable laugh that could make even Jeremy Renner crack a smile.
"I'll be right back, y'all. Don't be afraid to dig in!" Jesse left and we did as told, catching up on how much time had passed. It was January when I was 'taken', April when I came back and it was now mid August. My classes didn't get summer off, and we'd be back again in November. I'd be away the whole time. Granted my parents would be less than thrilled that I wouldn't be spending fall with them, but Carmen and the gang was my home away from home. Jesse came back, dressed in his normal wear.
"So, you're going where now?" I smiled recounting the trip. This time, we were going down under, and exploring the Philippines and India. "Ah! So this wasn't for waste. Jesse, out of the kindness of our hearts, we gotcha something." My mother slid a box across the table to Jesse.
"Oh, Mrs. Pyne I couldn't. Well... Maybe I could." I smiled as Jesse opened the box. His eyes lit up as he placed a cowboy hat on his head. "Mrs. Pyne, by God's grace you are a blessing." My mom laughed. Jesse had a hat, many years ago, but he'd lost it when running from the police. This hat had bullets in pairs of two around a leather strap as the ribbon. In the center lay a emblem with an eagle on it.
"Well, aren't you dashing?" My mother smiled at his compliments. My phone started ringing and buzzing off the hook.
"Sweetie? What time is it?" Jesse looked at his watch.
"It's 5:30." I curtly smiled.
"What time are we supposed to be at the docks?" Jesse looked at his watch again.
"5:30." Jesse's face turned to a 'we're screwed' look. "Mr. Bismarck, Mrs. Pyne if you would-"
"Go you two!" We rushed into our bedroom and ran out the door, our suitcases in tow. We got into our car, driving the whole hour and a half to Boston, where we saw Blue Eyes once again. Carmen ran over to us as soon as we got out of the car.
"Come on! We're all waiting for you!" Carmen helped us get our stuff out of the car. We all booked it up the ramp to the boat and we were off. The land shifted away from the boat, and after a little while, we were in the Atlantic Ocean, headed towards Africa. Jesse and I settled in our own room, holding each other, just in a moment of peace. We were expecting to hit a storm, so we were all hunkered down in our rooms as the rain pitter pattered all around us. Eventually, the soft dulcet tones of the sprinkle twisted into a sharp crack that woke both Jesse and I up from a deep sleep, huddled under the window. Thunder roared around us, the clouds shifting in a circular motion. The winds were churning up a powerful storm that if we were on deck, would blow us off the ship. The door to our room opened, Maria stepping in.
"The storm's picking up. It's gone tropical."