"And then ya basically put everythin' in the pot. An' stir it. And then wait for it to be done," Elmer explained, nodding once he finished.
"Sounds pretty straightforward," Aimee said, nodding along with him.
"Yeah, don't tell the boys how easy it is. Everyone loves my famous soup." He grinned at her, and Aimee laughed.
"I've never seen half of these ingredients before. Are they only in Neverland?"
"I think so," Elmer said, but he didn't sound so sure. "I neva' travelled much outside o' New York." He shrugged. "But they like it so I make it."
Aimee smiled at him. "Thank you for teaching me how to make it."
Elmer nodded. "Well, Jack asked me to. I think he's askin' a lot of boys to show ya things. Tryin' to find somethin' you'd be really good at, I guess."
"Speaking of, where is Jack?" She asked, glancing around as if he had suddenly appeared in the kitchen in the past few minutes. "I haven't seen him today, which is rare. He usually finds me before this time of day."
"Oh, he had ta' go back to the mainland today." Elmer shrugged. "He does it every now and then, so it's pretty normal. Anyway, I don't mean to run ya off, but I gotta get ready for dinner and I have some boys comin' in to help."
Aimee nodded. "No, I understand. I'll see you later. Thank you!" She smiled at him as she left the kitchen and returned to the clearing. After asking around if anyone needed her to do anything, she settled on exploring the treehouses. Aimee had slowly been making her way through the treehouses, figuring who slept where.
As she made her way to the ladder of the next treehouse, she said hello to each of the boys she passed. When she reached the top of the ladder, she stepped inside the treehouse. This one was different. Instead of having several beds in a treehouse, this only had one.
The bed was messy and unmade, and there were clothes strewn across the floor. She recognized the pieces of clothing as Jack's. There was a small shelf on the wall, which was rare in the treehouses. Sitting atop the shelf were several pieces of artwork. Aimee recognized many of them as places on the island. But there were other places in the artwork that she didn't recognize.
Aimee turned to look at the bed again. She noticed a small, black notebook sitting on the edge next to a few pencils. She didn't want to snoop, but she was too curious not to. She picked it up and began to flip through the pages slowly. The first page had a sketch of a city. She recognized it as the skyline of New York City. As she looked at each page, she became more and more impressed with Jack's apparent art skills.
The one drawing that caught her eye more than any of the others was a beautiful drawing of a girl. While there wasn't any color in the drawing, Aimee could tell the girl was absolutely gorgeous. She didn't know who the girl was, but she suddenly felt a bit jealous of all the detail Jack put into her. Once Aimee was able to bring herself to turn the page, she found that the girl appeared in the book more than any other subject.
Jack had drawn her in many different styles and from many different angles. Aimee had to wonder who this girl was and why Jack was so enamored with her. She was too young to be his mother, but Jack must have not seen her recently, since he never mentioned a girl to Aimee. A sudden realization dawned on Aimee. Was this Katherine? From what she gathered, it seemed like she and Jack had been romantically involved in the past. And it must have been serious, from how angry Jack had gotten at her every time she asked.
"What are you doin' in here?"
Aimee turned, startled upon hearing Jack's voice. "Uh, I've been exploring the treehouses. And yours was next."
Jack stepped inside, holding some pencils and what appeared to be a set of paints. "You shouldn't be here without askin'." He stopped when he saw the book in her hand. "An' don't look through people's personal items." He snatched it from her, obviously not in a great mood.
"Sorry," Aimee said. "I saw it on your bed and it was too tempting."
"You should go." Jack went about his business in the room, walking around her. "I'll be out in a minute."
"Who was that girl in the book?" Aimee asked before she could stop herself. Jack didn't answer, so she decided to press further. "Is it Katherine?"
Jack immediately stiffened. "What did I tell you about bringin' that up 'round me?" He practically growled. "Don't."
Aimee wasn't going to back down this time. "I deserve to know. I don't keep secrets from you. Don't keep them from me."
"This ain't about keepin' secrets, this is about not wantin' to relive somethin'! So no, you don't deserve to know!"
Aimee stood up a bit straighter, beginning to grow angry with him. "I haven't done anything to make you not trust me! And you won't let any of the boys bring it up either. By being so mysterious, you're making me more interested in knowing the truth!"
"Yeah?" Jack spit, angrier than Aimee had ever seen him. "I wish ya wouldn't keep askin' and keep to ya'self!"
"I can't!" Aimee exclaimed. "That's just in my nature! And I don't want to be around people who keep things from me that everyone else obviously knows!"
"Then maybe ya shouldn't be around anymore," Jack said, glaring at her. "If ya can't respect my rules, you'll go home."
"What?! I have done nothing but respect your rules!" Except for the one time she ran away. But Aimee didn't mention that. "Just because I asked a question, you're kicking me out?! Grow up!" She threw her hands up in the air in frustration.
Those last two words seemed to get under Jack's skin more than anything else she had said so far. "Say your goodbyes," he said, obviously restraining his anger. "The three of you leave in the morning. Now get outta my room."
Aimee scoffed in disbelief, but she turned on her heel and left. As she climbed down to the ground, her thoughts swirled around angrily in her head.
Why wouldn't he trust her? By telling her, he could have made this whole situation disappear. They wouldn't have argued. Aimee wouldn't have to leave. This was all Jack's fault. How could he treat her like such a child?
Before she realized it, Aimee's irritated steps brought her to the edge of the clearing at the treeline. She stared into the jungle, breathing heavily. If Jack wouldn't appreciate her, maybe she could find another group that would. Without another thought, Aimee plunged into the forest.