Page 38 of Until We Burn
Luke’s question has the Little Griffins cheering and tapping their sticks against the ice.
From my place in the stands, I can see Kai skate out onto the ice inhis black windbreaker and baseball cap. He smiles at the Little Griffins like a dad seeing his kid take their first step.
“Alright, guys, here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to skate around the cones and…”
I can’t look away from him.
Seeing Kai be so gentle and encouraging with the kids is so wholesome that I’m struggling to focus on my readings.
Joseph Merritt was right about Kai. After everything he’s been through, he still gives his all to what he loves.
A Little Griffin skates up to Kai and taps his knee. “Hi, Kai M!”
Kai grins and bends down to pat his helmet. “Hey, Henry!”
“I’m going to miss you.”
“Aw, don’t say that, buddy. We’re seeing each other next Saturday.”
“Yes!”Henry and Kai fist bump.
“Hey, hey!” Luke bends down to smile at the kid. “Are you going to miss me, too, Henry?”
Henry crinkles his nose. “No.”
The Little Griffin skates away. Kai and Rowan cackle as Luke drops his head into his gloves.
I laugh into my hand. Kai looks up at me from the ice. His green eyes shine so utterly playful and gentle under the lights that I wish he could see how much I’m smiling beneath my mask.
My phone suddenly fires off.
I scramble for it, tapping the screen to life.
Major data breach at St. John’s Senior Home exposes residents’ private information
My stomach twists into knots.
No news outlet has covered Gregory’s scandal, and it’s already been twenty-four hours.
Why is the media keeping quiet?
Why is bàba keeping quiet?
He has to be planning something. This much silence after a disastrous stain on our family name is unheard of.
Anxiety thrums through my body, bracing for a storm I can’t see.
“Your matcha is cold.”
I blink, jolting upright. I snap my head up. Kai looms over me, back in his boots, with his duffel bag slung over his broad shoulder. Behind him, the Little Griffins are skating off the ice.
“Class is over?”
“Yeah.” Confusion and concern have Kai’s brows furrowing together. He settles down beside me. “What’s wrong?”
Everything.I’m sinking further into a whirlpool of questions and suspicions I can’t properly grasp, and I hate it.
My fingers press into my matcha cup. Kai patiently waits for me to answer him. Out of all the flames spurring up around me, Mellonbaum’s midterm project is the only fire I can put out right now.
