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“You’re crazy!” she calls, her voice carrying on the salty breeze.
Astro, undeterred by her mocking, throws back his head with a wild laugh of his own.
“We’re on an island far from civilization; embrace the freedom!” he shouts in response. His words seem to challenge our own conceptions of civilization and the constraints we face.
She shakes her head and goes back to searching for fish. As much as I’d love to know what’s going on between her and the teacher, that discussion has closed for the time being. I throw my spear in frustration, and by pure luck, it hits two fish in one go.
“Holy shit!” I exclaim, pulling the spear out and holding it up. “Look at this!”
I wave it around, wishing Eve paid as much attention to me as she does with the others. I simply cannot get a reading on her. We flirt like crazy, and then she zones off.
“That’s pretty cool! Well done!” she says but only glances at me as her attention is focused on the small pool below. She lays down her spear on another rock and unties the hem of her shirt, removing it and leaving herself in a thin white vest and cotton sports bra.
Curious about what’s caught her attention, I move towards her, but she waves me away.
“You’ll cast a shade, and they’ll know someone’s here!” she whispers softly.
Now I’m going crazy to know what Eve is so concentrated on. And she holds out her shirt as if it’s a nest and quickly scoops it in with precision, jumping in the pool to close the shirt.
She quickly gets out, holding the shirt in a knot and the contents trapped inside the cloth.
“What did you catch?” I ask inquisitively.
“No idea,” she says, hoping toward me. She motions for me to follow her to a more dry and flat area. “I think they’re shrimp, I saw them swimming next to some seaweed, and it wasjust too easy.”
She opens her shirt, and there has to be at least a dozen shrimp of all sizes.
“You did really well. I’m pretty sure that’s shrimp. Together with the six fish we caught, a bunch of crabs, and this shrimp, we’ll have a feast tonight.”
“We make a good team, Jones,” she says and smiles brightly. Her nose is breaking out in freckles that I’ve never seen before. Probably from the sun, but she looks cute.
“Let’s take them back to camp, then get some aloe vera on your nose.”
“Is it red?” she asks, horrified.
“A little, but it’s not bad.” I put all the fish we caught onto one stick and grab the makeshift basket Eve made for us to use with some of the dried sea grass gathered so we could collect the live crabs and store them until dinnertime. “Did you know your skin breaks out in freckles in the sun?”
She rolls her eyes, “I do know. But I usually cover it with makeup. Does it look that bad?”
I stop mid-track. And stare at her.
“Eve, can I tell you a secret?”
She nods, all serious.
“You don’t need makeup. You are beautiful naturally, and those freckles are gorgeous.”
She makes a funny face and huffs a sarcastic laugh as if disbelieving me.
“You’re a nice guy, but freckles aren’t gorgeous.”
“Says who?” I nudge her arm playfully. “Tell me, and I’ll rearrange their face.”
She cracks a bright smile this time.
“I believe you’re fully capable of that. You’re on a sports scholarship. You must be awfully good at Taekwondo for Hawthornes to grant you such.”
It’s not something I want to talk about.
