by JE Hunter
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
“Come on, Nessa. It’s time for water polo! We’re taking on the merfolk.” Markus jovially slapped me on the back.
I shook my head. “I can’t hang out today, the wicked-witch of the island is making me sit through some more lessons. As if I haven’t had enough. They don’t even help, I’m still not as good a sea-witch as she’d like me to be.” I’m still not good enough to be allowed a visit home.
Amynta leaned into Markus, showing me her sad face. “That sucks. You were great at water polo last weekend—we need you on our team.”
Caesar stood behind me, arms hanging loosely over my shoulders. “Can I come over later?” He leaned close to me as he spoke. The warm air and tiny vibrations his voice created sent tingles of pleasure through my body.
The idea of Caesar visiting me later was a welcome one, but also one that wasn’t likely to happen. I sighed, heavily. “I wish, but unfortunately, I’m not very good at Grandma’s lessons. It’ll probably take all night. Tomorrow’s Friday though, which means the class trip to the other island and free time afterward. Grandma rarely makes me do lessons back to back.”
“I could sneak in,” Caesar whispered as Amynta and Markus politely excused themselves to search for an afternoon snack.
I turned to face my boyfriend, glad to have two seconds with him alone. “I’d say yes, but I know I won’t be feeling up to it after working so hard all night. This magic stuff takes so much concentration that I almost always end up with a huge headache. By the end of the night, all I want is a hot bath and a good book, maybe a little bit of music. We’ll hang out tomorrow though, I promise.”
Caesar brought his lips closer to mine. My pulse pounded in anticipation. “I’m already looking forward to it.”
After one of Caesar’s amazing kisses, I forced myself away from his warm skin, strong fingers, and woody scent, and headed home. I could feel the smile on my face as I walked down the path. Lessons with Grandma couldn’t dull my delight at finally being with Caesar. Ever since Saturday night, I’d known I’d made the right decision. I was attracted to Caesar more than I’d ever been attracted to anyone, and he’d been nothing but amazing to me. It felt so natural to be with him. We could talk about anything and he always listened. In fact, the only thing I couldn’t talk to him about was, well…him.
That was what Colleen would be good for, I thought, catching sight of a familiar red sweater walking ahead of me. I bit the inside of my cheek, and then began jogging. The only thing that made my happiness with Caesar less happy was the fact that Colleen still refused to be my friend. I was determined to change her mind, and I was going to take every chance I got to do so.
“Colleen!” I called, coming up on the heels of her white sneakers. She started and then slowed and turned around.
Her normally wide eyes were narrowed into slits. “Shouldn’t you be hanging out with your pirate boyfriend?”
“No. Just because we’re together doesn’t mean we have to always be together.”
“Whatever.” Colleen rolled her eyes. “I take it your grandma is making you go home for lessons? Good for her, if I can’t keep you from hanging out with pirates, at least she can.”
“Come on, you can’t really think the pirates are all that bad. They’ve been nothing but nice to you this year. They haven’t been mean to anyone else either. Caesar’s just as worried and upset about his dad as you are about yours.”
Colleen crossed her arms over her stiff, erect body. “I can be nice to him, Nessa. But I don’t want to hang out with him. I don’t want to hear him say how a pirate never gets lost at sea, or how sorry he was for embarrassing me in front of everyone last year. I just want to hang out with the people I like that I know like me. I don’t want to hang out with people that make me feel like I have to look over my shoulder every two seconds.” She spun on her heal and walked quickly through the trees.
“I like you. I’d never let Caesar hurt you—or say anything about you—I promise.” I chased after her. How could she be this blindly determined?
“You shouldn’t have to promise.”
“You shouldn’t be so pig-headed.”
“I am not!”
“Yes, you are. You’re so nice to everyone here—everyone except the pirates. You hate them because they hurt you, but most of all you hate them because they made you feel like an idiot.”
Colleen stopped, looking at me with shaky eyes. “What are you talking about?”
“Kyle told me that you used to have a crush on Jim. Caesar and Markus were only able to catch you in that net because Jim had asked you to meet him for a morning swim.”
“Kyle told you that?”
“Don’t get mad at him. He thought it would help if I knew why you really hate the pirates. He wants us to be friends Colleen, even he thinks it’s stupid for you to throw away our friendship because of some embarrassment that happened a year ago.”
“Some embarrassment? If that’s all you think it is, Nessa, then maybe you should try it. Until then, leave me alone.” Colleen bolted, running through the trees to where the fork in the path led to her house. I let her go. Maybe I’d try talking to her again once she cooled off.
The argument made lessons with Grandma more difficult. My concentration had been broken like a wave on the beach, and my magic was suffering for it.
“For the last time, you have to concentrate. You have to hold the thoughts and the words in your mind. Hard. Cold. Ice. Freezing. The tips of your fingers should feel it as the energy flows from you to the water.” Grandma wore her glasses on the tip of her nose. She stared at me over the tops of the rims—she read while I struggled minute after minute to change the lukewarm water in the bowl to a solid chunk of ice.
“I am concentrating.”
She leaned back, crossing her arms. “Not hard enough. What’s going on?”
Startled, I looked away, and then back at her. She was still watching me, like she actually cared. Maybe getting the words off my chest would help. “Colleen won’t talk to me because I’m dating Caesar. And I don’t want to lose her as a friend. I just don’t get why she can’t even try to get to know him.”
Grandma nodded. “Everyone deserves the right to be heard, Nessa. Have you listened to Colleen about why she’s angry?”
“Yes, but she won’t listen to me, about why I want to be with Caesar.”
She nodded again. “Then you will have to keep trying. And maybe even wait until she’s ready to listen. Because in my experience, people who’ve been hurt need time to sort out their own feelings and emotions before they can truly listen to others.”
“Yeah, I guess.” I dipped a finger in the bowl of water, testing the temperature to see if I’d managed to cool it. I hadn’t.
“Now, put your fight with Colleen on the shelf until tomorrow. There’s nothing you can do about it right now. However, you can change this water to ice if you try.” Grandma stood up and slipped off her glasses, putting them on the table. “I’ll cook up some fettuccini alfredo for supper, while you continue to practice. But you’re not leaving that table until you’ve succeeded.”
I groaned, resting my head briefly on my arms. Why did everything have to be so hard? “Has Mom called at all?” I asked, suddenly longing for the days when Mom would bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies to encourage me to finish my homework.
“She called the other morning. She’s beginning to feel a bit better. I wasn’t going to mention it to you, but she said she’d try calling you on the weekend.”
A heavy weight on my heart lifted. I raised my head back up. “This weekend? When? What time?”
Grandma pulled out the pots and pans. “She wasn’t sure. But I’m sure she’ll get in touch with you soon. Now, stop stalling and get back to work.”
I sighed, turning my thoughts back to ice. The news that Mom was thinking of me lifted my spirits. I focused harder, buoyed by a new wave of energy. Maybe tonight wouldn’t be so bad after all.