Wrecked (26 page)

“ … getting his ass back up on the rock in one piece,” Sarah finished for him.  “Lucky for him, I was there to save his cute ass.”  She looked around the campfire and put her hands on her hips.  “So, what’s for dinner?”

“Bananas.”

“I’m getting tired of bananas, bananas, bananas for every meal,” said Sarah.  “‘This shit is bananas …’”

“STOP!” the other three yelled in unison.

“Geez, sorry.  No need to be Gwen haters.”

Candi stared at the banana she was having a hard time choking down.  “She’s right, we need to find other food.  We’re surrounded by the ocean.  Maybe we could catch some fish or octopus … or clams even.”

“Oh, sick.  Octopus.”  Sarah shivered for effect.

“Well, you could always stick with the bananas,” suggested Jonathan.  

Sarah nudged him with her foot and he smiled back.

Kevin didn’t appear to be nearly as tired of the bananas yet as everyone else.  “I ate at least four bananas a day at home.  They’re good for the muscles – all that potassium.”  He looked down at his bicep muscle as he flexed.  “Damn.  I’m already losing mass.”

Candi sat mesmerized by the muscle that was slowly bulging up, out and then down again on Kevin’s arm.  

Kevin looked up and caught her staring.  

She looked away quickly, but not before she saw him smiling at her. 
Busted
.

“Okay, so let’s make a list of everything we need to do,” said Jonathan. 

Everyone just sat there looking around.

“Shit, we don’t have any paper,” said Candi.

“Did Sugar Lump just say ‘shit’?” 

“Yes, she sure did,” said Kevin happily.

“Don’t call me Sugar Lump.”

“Okay, stop fighting,” said Jonathan.  “We’ll have to remember the list then.  Each one of us will remember part of it.  So what do we need to do?”

“Decide where to live.  I think it should be near the fresh water,” suggested Kevin.

“Agreed, but I also think we need to be able to see the shoreline from where we are.”

“Yeah, you might have missed this while you were hanging over the edge of the cliff, but where we were, we had a perfect view of the entire island – which by the way is shaped like a giant peanut if anyone wants to know.  Aaaand, there wasn’t a single biting insect up there either, probably because of the deliciously refreshing breeze.”

“Okay, so unless anyone has any problem with it, I think we should build our permanent camp near the fresh water.”

“But it’s not a camp, it’s a home,” said Candi.

“Whatever.”

“No, not whatever.  It’s not a camp, Jonathan.”  Candi was looking at him seriously, but he obviously didn’t see what the big deal was because he just rolled his eyes.

Sarah chimed in.  “No, I get it, she’s right.  We have to stop acting like this is just a couple day thing.  We could be here for a really long time.  I mean, so far we have seen zero signs of any other people, either here on the island or out there in the water.  I looked out over the island when we were up on that rock.  The whole thing looks the same.  Maybe we’re going to be here a long time.  I don’t know about you guys, but I’m not going to continue to freak out about it, ‘cause if I do, I’m gonna get zits.”  She finished firmly, “We need to find a
home
, not a camp.”

Kevin looked at Jonathan and they exchanged knowing looks.  Candi was certain both of them were thinking about PMS. 
Whatever.  So long as it kept them from arguing.

“Okay, we’ll find a
home
to live in.  We can build it out of bamboo and palm fronds.”

Sarah sat up excitedly, “Oh, and we had the most amazing idea.  The place by the water and the bamboo and the view – it has a huge, huge elephant leg tree, and we were saying we should build our home in the tree – a treehouse like they have at Disney World, Swiss Family whatever.  Tree, breeze, view, no bugs … heaven!”

Candi couldn’t help but join in.  “That sounds perfect.  I want to see it right away!  And what is an elephant leg tree?”

“I think we need to wait for Kevin to feel better.  Maybe tomorrow,” cautioned Jonathan.

“Of course, yeah, we can wait for Kevin.”  Candi felt a little bad that she had just blown off his condition so easily.

“Why, thank you, sand beast.”

Candi ignored him.  “So, elephant leg tree?  Anyone?”  She looked from Jonathan to Sarah, waiting for an explanation.

“Oh, I don’t know,” said Sarah.  “It’s a giant tree that has a trunk about the size of a car, grayish and kinda wrinkly and thick … like an elephant leg or a group of ‘em all stuck together.”

“I think the tree is a banyan tree or a ficus or something.  It really is huge – wide enough to support a pretty big structure.  Our biggest problem is going to be the bamboo.  We have a hatchet from the boat supplies, but I think bamboo is pretty tough to cut.”

“Leave that part to me,” said Kevin, mocking a weight lifter’s pose.  “Fire power!”

“Ugh,” said Sarah.

Candi tried not to stare but couldn’t help herself.  Kevin caught her looking again and winked.  At this point he was doing all of his flexing for her benefit, and she knew it.  

“So what else?  Kevin, you remember the house thing on the list.  What else do we need to do?”

“Find another water source,” reminded Sarah.

“Right.  You remember that.  What else?”

“Figure out how to catch fish or whatever.”

“Yes, definitely.  Candi, you remember that.”

“I also think we should put together some transportation for the island as we explore,” said Jonathan.

“What do you mean?  Like a railroad?” Kevin said jokingly.

“No, not exactly, but maybe we could find a way to travel through the jungle quicker, in the trees or something, rig up some platforms.  I’m just thinking maybe we could move from tree to tree instead of on foot down there with the critters.”

“Ah-ha, like Tarzan or something.  I like the way you think, Jonathan,” said Kevin.  Then he let out a wail that was supposed to be a Tarzan call but sounded more like wounded water buffalo.

“Um, yeah, I think you’d better work on that, Kevin,” said Candi.

“What?  Not ready for prime time?”

Everyone shook their heads no.

“Fine, I’ll work on it.  You guys are just jealous, I know.”

“What else?  Anything else?”

“Smoke signals.”

“What do you mean, Kevin?

“I mean, we need to have some giant bonfire we can light if we see a boat … something to signal rescuers.”

“Absolutely.  Excellent idea.  That one is also yours to remember.  So let’s review.  What are we going to plan for and do starting tomorrow?”

“House, bonfire.”

“Good.”

“Fish.”

“Operation Tarzan.”

“Fine. Good.  What else? Oh, collect more water.”  Jonathan looked around the camp at the faces staring back at him.  “There’s one other thing.”

“What?” they all answered in unison.

“We need to name the island.”

No one said anything at first.  It was as if naming it made it all the more real, like it wasn’t temporary anymore.

Kevin was the first with a suggestion.  “How about B-F-E Island?”

Everyone laughed.  

“No, seriously.”

Then the ideas came flooding in.

“Bug Island.”

“Skeeter Beach.”

“Hellhole Island.”

“Life’s a Beach Island.”

“Armpit of the World Island.”

“SuckySuckLand.”

“I Wish I Was Somewhere Else Island.”

“Runaway Island.”

“Nowhere Island.”

“Sandineverycrevice Island.”

“The Sand Lot.”

“Peanut Island.”

Everyone stopped after that one.  It had come from Sarah.  

“What?  I told you the island is shaped like a peanut, you can totally see it up on the rocks.”

They all looked at each other and made the decision, nodding their heads.

Jonathan slapped himself on the knee as if banging a gavel.  “Peanut Island it is.”

“And today, Jonathan is the king of Peanut Island because he found the water!” said Sarah.

“Hey!” said Kevin, in mock injury.

“Don’t worry,” Sarah assured him,  “a new king will be crowned each day, depending on his contribution.”  She smiled sweetly at him and then at them all.

“And I suppose you’re the queen of the island?” asked Candi.

“Of course.”

“And what does that make me?”

The question hung in the air above their heads.  There was a challenge in her eyes; there was an answering challenge in Sarah’s. 

They all knew this was a game changing moment here on Peanut Island.  Even though it was going to pass in a mere second or two and seemed kind of silly, the answer Sarah chose to give would have far-reaching consequences.  Would she answer as the old Sarah – the Sarah that never deigned to even acknowledge Candi’s existence at school?  Or the new Sarah – the one who had started to let her guard down?  The one who had begun to form a delicate connection with Jonathan …

“Well, you are the other queen, of course.  There are two queens on this island – permanent queens.  The kingship, on the other hand, is a rotating crown.”  She smiled serenely out at her subjects.

Candi grinned, satisfied with the outcome.  Something had changed in her too.  She wasn’t going to take the back seat anymore.  Going to this faraway place at the ends of the earth had shown her that reality was not the reality created for her by other people at high school; it was what she created for herself.  There was something much bigger at play here, and she was going to be a player.  No more getting played for Candi Buckley.

***

As they finished dinner, talk turned to their parents, a subject they had all deliberately avoided discussing.  There were plenty of tears all around as they wondered aloud what had happened to them, wondered if they had gotten off the ship okay.  They assumed they had – they had to in order to avoid the pain of the alternative.  Even Sarah, who wasn’t her father’s biggest fan, didn’t like the idea of losing him to the depths of the ocean.  They had seen firsthand those swarming sharks, and the idea of people they loved in the midst of something like that was too much.

As they were talking about their parents, Kevin started to feel uncomfortable.  He couldn’t help but think about what his father had been planning to do with the Buckleys’ dad.  He wasn’t sure that it would have hurt them, but if it had been entirely on the up and up, his dad wouldn’t have been such a jerk about it when the subject came up or tried hiding what he was really doing.  

He knew his dad was under a lot of pressure, and he wasn’t the nicest or fairest of guys in those circumstances.  Kevin wanted to share his thoughts with the group, but he was ashamed.  He was embarrassed for his dad and didn’t want to hurt the relationship they had all started to build together here on Peanut Island. 
Besides
, he thought to himself,
who knows if we’ll ever get off this island?
  Maybe they wouldn’t, then it would never matter what his father did or didn’t do over in the real world.

Kevin’s reverie was broken up by Sarah calling out to Candi across the fire Jonathan had made.

“Candi, so what are your plans for your hair?” she asked, innocently.

“What do you mean, ‘plans’?”

“I mean, it kinda looks like a giant knot on your head, and I was thinking I might have some thoughts on what we can do with it.”

Candi eyed her suspiciously.  “Like what?”

“Like dreads.”

“Are you serious?  No way.”

“Why not?  We’re on an island.  You have frizzy hair, which is nearly impossible to keep combed with no conditioner.  Besides, it would look good on you.”

“You’re nuts.”  She shook off the comments.  “I’m more worried about clothes.”

Sarah thought about that for a second.  “That is a problem.”  She looked down at her leopard print dress that had definitely seen better days.  “I think you and I should see what we can find out there in the jungle that might be useable as a cloth or something that can be woven.  We don’t need it yet, but eventually we will if our rescuers take their sweet time getting here.”

“You guys should see if there is any hemp growing here,” suggested Jonathan.

“What’s hemp?” asked Candi.

“It’s a member of the cannabis family – a very fibrous plant that makes excellent cloth, rope and other useful things.  I saw a special on it on TV once.”

“Of course you did,” responded Sarah with only a little sarcasm in her voice this time.  “Do you remember what it looks like?”

“I think so.  I could probably draw it in the sand tomorrow when we have light.”

“Perfect.  The Queens of Peanut Island will forage for clothing and rope material on the morrow.  And now, I’m off to bed.”  She dipped her head towards Candi.  “Your Highness.”

Candi dipped her head in return.  “Your Highness.”

Jonathan and Kevin just shook their heads but were smart enough to stay quiet.

Candi joined Sarah over on the sheet that was their makeshift bed for one more night.  Both of them fell asleep instantly.

CHAPTER NINE

A New Home

“Okay, everybody up!  Let’s go!  Rise and shine!  Time to get the lead out and get the dead out!  Time for our morning workout!”

Candi was having a nightmare; a nightmare where her life’s biggest crush had turned into a drill sergeant and was planning to make her do jumping jacks until she died of exhaustion.

She felt something touching her ear.  She reached up to brush it off and her hand bumped into a face.

She opened her eyes to see Kevin’s face about an inch away.  He was staring at her, unblinking.  She didn’t move a muscle – she just closed her eyes and wished him away, groaning.

“Wake uuuup sleepy head, time to exercise!”  He snuck a kiss onto her forehead, making her mad and happy at the same time.

Then from above her head she heard, “Okay, crew, you have exactly one minute to meet me on the beach for sunrise calisthenics.   After that, if you don’t show, better be prepared to take a bath in the very cold and very sharky morning ocean!  Come on, team, up you go!”