Academy Island

Belated

The sun came out on a Sunday and sparkled all the still dripping junglescape like it was lit up with heavenly gems. Gabriel christened the day laundry day, enslaved us all to help him, and proceeded to dunk and wring as much as he could while the sun climbed a clear sky. The sheets had a cool air about them as I lifted each to his lines, assigned to helping with the drying for the day. The temperature hinted at mint around the drying materials, clearing my head from worries as I trekked back and forth between the random swaying of the laundry on the lines. Both Victor and Gabriel approached, lugging more for me to put up. I thanked them when they set it down for me and watched them out of the corner of my eye when neither left to go haul more. Victor tugged at a pair of pants I'd hung an hour earlier, inspecting. Gabriel held a wet sheet up to the light from the basket they'd brought, scrutinizing for spots. He coughed meaningfully.

"So, you're almost nineteen now, right? Your birthday is coming up in a month then. What do you want to do?"

I narrowed my eyes at the tension in his back. He didn't turn, like he didn't want to face me, his inspection a little too close for a sheet that had been scrubbed blinding already. Victor had ducked behind the newly washed shirts, oddly quiet. Father's shirts fell limp in the absence of breeze, just as heavy as the atmosphere had grown. They thought I was older for some reason. It took me a moment of scratching at my temple before I remembered they probably thought that because of the combination I'd given them. It had reflected Marie's birthday. She would be turning nineteen next month.

Or would have.

I shook my head, grabbing onto the basket's edge and hunting for the next item to hang up. "My sister is the one who had a birthday coming up, not me."

Gabriel stilled. "You have a sister? What is she like?"

His shoulders bent over the basket I'd been rooting through and Victor poked his head over the top of the laundry line. I harrumphed, not wanting the hoarse sound that had made an appearance in my voice. "Quiet. Taller than me. She played the flute."

Victor bent under the line and sat in the sand in front of me, his legs crossed underneath him. "You said that in past tense." His eyes, grown intense with suspicion compelled me for more information. I shrugged. "I don't know for sure whether she made it or not. I didn't see her go under, so..." I gulped back a lump. It was highly unlikely she or father or mother had survived. I was surprised I had. Victor's eyes turned up in intensity. "So you weren't close then?"

"Not terribly."

They both shared a look and Gabriel brushed his blond locks back, pulling his hand through them until his hand was resting on the back of his neck. "We'll have to set up something when her birthday rolls around. It's not a bad thing to have some hope for these kinds of things. For you as well." His hands went to his hips and I knew what was coming even before he said it. "When is yours? I'll have to plan something ahead of time so we don't miss it."

My cheeks burned and the contents of the laundry basket were suddenly enormously interesting. Counting back, it had been right around when I had first been brought to camp. If I had the current date correct, it would have been the day that I'd run away and emus had rampaged the camp.

Nope. I couldn't admit that. They wouldn't like it at all, and I didn't want them worrying about something as silly as birthdays anyway. I brushed a hand over the heat still blazing in my cheeks, fluttering down to my neck, trying to find an excuse not to tell.

"It's a secret." I decided finally. They'd have to be happy with that.

Victor hooted and fell back in the sand, poking at Gabriel's ankle with a slender finger. "Serves you right for asking a woman's age. I told you there was no way she was almost nineteen, and now you'll never know because you've embarrassed her."

Gabriel's cheeks reddened and he looked down at the ground. He wondered how old I was? My cheeks heated and I stood, finding it easier to look at anything but the two jostling each other back and forth. I lifted the basket, carrying it over to the empty lines and setting it down between the area I thought it'd fill. Silas meandered up, another load easily held between his arms. I thanked him quietly as he put it down at my feet, glad for more to do. He nudged his elbow against my shoulder.

"What's so wrong with celebrating?"

I sighed. He'd been listening. I shrugged and hung another shirt. "It's not that important. There's plenty of other things we should be doing instead."

He stroked his chin and I tried desperately to keep my attention on what I was hanging rather than the way he was inspecting my face. "If you don't want to, I guess we can just celebrate the day you arrived in camp, unless of course you'd like to tell us the real day."

He smiled as he peered into my face, his fringe of curly bangs falling into his dark eyes. My breath caught and I darted my eyes away. It pretty much would be the same day...more approximately than they knew. His smirk slowly fell away and his brow furrowed. "Wait a minute...don't tell me..."

I glared at him and he threw his hands into the air, muttering outraged in another language. He shouted at Gabriel and Victor, who were both now sitting up in the sand, staring at us with wide eyes. He faced them, but held his hands out in my direction, gesturing towards my feet.

"We missed it! She was right here in our camp and we missed it!"

He strung together another fluid garland of words that would have wrenched anyone else's tongue had they attempted it. I was pretty sure he was cursing, at least that was what the gradual heat creeping hotter in my ears was telling me as the unknown words spun past them. He smacked his head with his palm, fingers spread wide at the two gaping at him in the sand.

"Her birthday. It's already past. Over. Gone." He whirled a gesture as if they should have already realized this.

Gabriel's eyes widened. "What?!"

Victor looked down, deep in thought. His eyes flashed toward me. "Is that why you didn't want to say anything?"

I cast my eyes down, heat taking over my entire face. Gabriel wasn't done with me though. "Saaaaaannnng." he whined. I looked up, and then straight down at my feet when I saw his face. "Why didn't you tell us? We could have done something for you. Anything."

I quickly grabbed another shirt to hang. "It's not that important, really. And we were all busy at the time."

I lifted to my toes, hanging the shirt and smoothing it out. Silas' big hand came down over the top of my hand, stilling. I glanced up and got caught in his eyes.

"It is important. And we're celebrating. No, celebelating. Right guys?"

Both Gabriel and Victor hummed in agreement, making me frown. 

"That's right, and just so there's no mistake, how many candles am I going to need?"

The guys chuckled and Gabriel slung an arm over my shoulders, hugging me in slightly. His eyes were bright, cheerful. They reminded me so much of the ocean when the sun lit it up to tropical blue. Impossible to stay grumpy towards.