Page 60 of Here for a Good Time
“Here as in in this area—” I make a circling motion with one finger. “—or on this island? Because if it’s the former, hey, maybe they know it’s anarchy now and they’ve decided to strike.”
Leila shakes her head and laughs. “On this island,” she says. “You make it sound like we’ve been transported intoJumanji. This place is my home, and trust me when I tell you I’ve never seen a raccoon on these shores. Now, a few dozen varieties of snakes, on the other hand—”
“Stop!” I say as I reflexively break out into a shiver. “Please tell me you’re kidding.”
“Hey, this is what you wanted, right?” She winks. “The full remote island experience? Think you’ll sign up for it again?”
“Sign up for what?” Zwe asks.
“The rugged remote island experience,” Leila says, to which Zwe gives a short, amusedHmph. “Maybe this can be inspiration for Poe’snextbook?”
The air goes still around us. My face burns hot. Zwe mutters, “Let’s get going.” If Leila realizes she misspoke, she plays it off. We revert back to silent mode as we climb the steps, me sandwiched between Leila at the front and Zwe in the back, all three of us making sure to crouch and stay low the whole way up.
“Hey, silly question, but do we run the risk of being struck by lightning at this height?” I ask.
Leila shoots me a reassuring smile over her shoulder. “The trees are still taller, and there’s also a lightning rod at the top, so we’re good,” she says, and I give her a thumbs-up.
“Now what do we do?” I ask through my wheezing pants when we arrive at the top.
Of course, the two ofthemare breathing as regularly as though we took a leisurely sunset stroll along the beach.
“Guess we sit and wait,” Leila says. There are several small wooden stools lined up along one wall, and she drags three of them toward the center. She takes a seat, and gestures at us to join her. Zwe and I angle our bodies so that we’re not directly facing each other. “Did Zwe tell you about trench foot?” she asks as she takes off her sneakers and socks. “I apologize in advance for my odors.”
“I don’t think any of us have a right to complain about anyone’s odors,” Zwe says as he removes his own footwear.
“How are we going to run if we’re barefoot?” I ask, trying not to gag as I remove one sock. No amount of detergent is going to save these babies.
Leila leans over and peers down at the ground. “If they corner us up here, I don’t think ‘running’ is going to be a viable escape plan.”
“Fair,” I say.
“Are you guys hungry?” Barefoot, she walks over to a small plain cabinet in one corner and reaches inside. “We don’t have the breakfast buffet spread, I’m afraid, but we do have—” She waves three rectangular pieces of foil with a triumphant look as she makes her way back to us. “—the finest granola bars this side of the island. We’ve got mixed berry, coconut macadamia, and vanilla almond. Any preferences?”
I make eye contact with Zwe, who gives a nod. “Ladies first.”
“Coconut macadamia, please,” I say.
“Excellent choice,” Leila says. “Zwe?”
“Like I said, ladies first.”
“Vanilla almond for you, it is,” she says as she hands it over.
Open granola bar in hand, Zwe takes out a folded piece of paper from his back pocket and places it on the floor beside him.
“Is that the map?” Leila nods over at it. “You kept it?”
He unfolds the small rectangles until the whole map is laid out. “Yeah, I know it’s outdated now, but I figured it was better than nothing. It’ll still be a good backup if we need to figure out where to go next.”
“What should we do to pass the time slash distract ourselves from the fact that our feet smell like a bucket of rotten fish?” I ask.
“We could… play a game?” Leila suggests.
“Like what?” I ask. “I Spy?”
“Truth or Dare?” she asks.
I look around the completely empty space. “What could we possibly dare each other to do?”
