Out of the Spotlight

Chapter 12- The One Kaden Schreave

I'm sitting at my desk when I here a knock.

"Come in!" I call  stashing away my notebook to keep it away from wandering eyes.

Much to my relief, it's Kile who walks in and not Mom or Kaden. "Hey, Jo. I'm about to leave. Just wanted to say bye."

I run over to him and crush him in a bear hug. "I'm going to miss you, Kile."

"I'll miss you too, Josie."

"There is such a thing as a phone, you know that, right?" I say.

He laughs. "I know, I know. I'll call."

"Not just you though. I want to talk to this Alice character. Make sure she's good enough for my big brother."

He laughs again. "I'll see what I can do."

"I love you, Kile." I say, burying my head in the crook of his neck.

"I love you too, Josie."
------
I didn't do much the rest of the day. It's what most would call normal.
I did a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I went to the Women's Room, did my lessons, even went to one of the libraries.

I sit on my bed with my botany lesson in front of me that my tutor assigned. I flip through the book to a section about medicinal plants to finish a worksheet.

My teacher, Mr. Dugger, made a worksheet deliberately giving me questions that the book did not contain the answer to.

I sigh and toss the book to the other side of the bed, exasperated.

I then pick up a copy of the ancient book one of my other tutors, Mrs. Benavides, assigned me to read. They call it War and Peace. I read two pages before I am tired out.

I stand up and walk out of the room, not caring to even close the book.

I go three doors down and knock on the door. "Come in!" Kaden's voice calls.

"Thank goodness. I need a break." I say, walking in, then flopping down on his bed.

He gives me an 'are you crazy?' Look mixed with amusement.

"Can I help you?" He says with the same look still lingering on his face.

"Yes. Studying is boring. Need something to help my sanity."

"Tell me about it." He says, flopping on the bed beside me.

I roll over on my side to face him. "How very unKaden - like of you."

He smirks. "I know. You're having a bad influence on me."

"I know. It's starting to scare me. What's  going to happen when the royal nerd disapears?"

He rolls his eyes. "What do you want to do?" He asks.

I look around his room. "That." I say pointing to a shelf full of binders. "Are those pictures?"

He nods. "Well get up then. Let's see them."

He stands up and pulls one out, bringing it back over. "Mind you, they're not very good."

"Well, I bet you're good. You may not be a Maxon Schreave, but you may be close. Open it up now." I say, nudging his arm.

He opens the binder revealing pages and pages of absolutely beautiful pictures. "You aren't a Maxon Schreave."

He looks at me, with shock on his face. "I told y-"

"You didn't let me finish. You're no Maxon Schreave. You're definately a Kaden Schreave, who is ten thousand times better than Maxon Schreave."

I look at him. He looks absolutely touched, astonished even, at my compliment. "Josie, you have to be kidding. My father is ten thousand times better than I could ever dream of being."

"Well, you're lying to yourself then." I conclude.

We pour over the pictures. Kaden explaining where he took them and me asking question after question.

"Where'd this one come from?" I ask, pointing to one particular picture that caught my eye.

"That was in the forrest. I went hiking a few months ago with Ahren and Kile and took my camera. I took quite a few pictures. This one turned out pretty well."

In the picture, you are looking straight up through the trees. An image he'd have to lay down on the ground to get. It shows the green leaves and moss and brambles.

"I love it. It's absolutely beautiful." I say.

"Then it's yours." He says simply.

"Are you sure?" I say, looking at him.

He nods. "Of course."

"Thank you." I say, then lean in and hug him.

He tenses up at first but then relaxes. I pull away. "Come on, it's time for dinner."

He jumps up from his position and stands up rather quickly. He clears his throat, "Ummm, yeah. Let's go."