Page 46 of Well, That Was Unexpected

“You’re wonderful, Eleanor.”

“I know,” she says simply, and Kiki and I laugh. “Although now that you’re both practically family, you should call me by my real name: Eleanor Roosevelt.”

“It’s a good name.”

“Yeah. I like it. Gives me something to strive for. Though if you asked me, there are much better role models my parents could’ve gone for. Like Ching Shih, the lady pirate who amassed more ships that Davy Jones. I would’ve liked being named after a pirate.”

I snort at the thought. “You would’ve made the best pirate. You would’ve been a scourge of the seas.”

Eleanor nods solemnly, side-eyeing me through the mirror.

“What?”

“There’s something bothering me, sis-in-law.”

I don’t bother correcting her. “Hmm?”

“How is your personality so different in real life from your ShareIt personality?”

My fingers freeze in her hair, and I glance up and meet Kiki’s eyes. They widen for a second. A warning: Step carefully.

“Oh, um. Well, that’s actually very common. People are rarely what they seem online. Something to watch out for when you’re old enough to talk to people online. You’re not doing that yet, are you?”

“Don’t change the subject, sis-in-law.”

Damn it, this kid is way too smart.

“See,” Eleanor says, “I know that people are different online, but most of the time the difference is, like, based on looks. Like, they edit their photos to make themselves look cuter or whatever. Or they sound really bubbly and outgoing online, but in real life they’re a lot shyer. But with you, it’s the other way around. Online you’re kind of uppity, and in real life you’re…” She gestures at me.

Kiki and I stare wordlessly at Eleanor. I can’t believe that after all this, my cover’s getting blown by a thirteen-year-old savant. “Eleanor—”

“It’s okay,” she says. “I like this version of you much better. And you don’t have to explain yourself to me. I’m just saying, I’m glad you know that people aren’t always honest online.”

Huh.

I meet Kiki’s eyes again and both of us give each other a tiny shrug, like what the hell was that about? She’s glad I know that people aren’t always honest online? Is Eleanor trying to tell me something?

“Eleanor—” I begin.

“I’m starving,” she moans, clutching her stomach. “Let’s go have lunch. My hair is sufficiently gorgeous.”

“Uh. Okay,” I say.

Eleanor skips out of the changing room and into the blinding sunlight, leaving me and Kiki behind to exchange curious glances.

When I walk outside of the changing room, I nearly bumpinto Rina, who’s standing right outside the door with a calculating expression on her face. My heart rate thunders into a gallop again. Shit, did she hear what Eleanor said? But Rina is busy tapping on her phone and barely glances up at me. Maybe she didn’t hear it after all. One can hope.

The next stop is lunch. This time, we go to a place called Bebek Tepi Sawah, which translates to “ducks at a rice field.” The restaurant is literally in the middle of a rice field, and it is one of the most beautiful places I’ve been to. The place consists of open-air villas with traditional thatched roofs surrounded by serene rice fields and a small river dotted with lily pads and flowers. It looks more like a swanky spa than a restaurant, and yet there’s a simplicity in the design that keeps it from looking like a pretentious LA spa.

Apparently, they’ve been expecting us, because upon arrival, we’re led to a private villa where we take off our shoes before climbing up and sitting down cross-legged on the soft, woven rattan floor. Minutes later, our drinks arrive—whole coconuts with the tops freshly chopped off. I take a sip, but it turns into a gulp and another and another, and before I know it, I’ve finished off all the coconut water in my coconut. Oops.

“Do you want another?” George asks. He’s sitting adjacent to me. I give a sheepish smile when I realize that he’s been watching me inhale the coconut water like a barbarian.

“No.” I mean, I kind of do, but that seems greedy.

He leans close and says, “I inhaled mine too and I want another drink but I don’t want to appear greedy, so you have to order another drink as well.”

I bite back my smile. Ever since the white water rafting, I feel as though something has shifted. The air between us is no longer as thick, no longer as charged. And all it took was seeing a kid shitting into the Ayung River. Who would’ve thought?

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