The sun blares down on me as I walk through the town. I'm not accustomed to this type of weather. I walk with purpose as I try to locate my grandmother famous cafe. The town is surrounded by trees and everyone stares at me oddly but no one speaks.
I huff annoyed when I notice I'm completely lost and Maps apparently do not exist here. I stop and look around. Luckily, I notice Javier across the road moving boxes into a truck. I skip across the road, "Hey." I greet him.
He places the box in the back of the pickup truck. "What's up, city girl." He gives me a boyish grin and I can't help but roll my eyes playfully.
"Is that gonna be my title for now on?" I ask. I lean against the truck and fold my arms as I watch him carry another heavy box. He drops it in the back of the pickup truck.
"Where are you headed?" He asks wiping his dirty hands on his rip blue jeans.
"I'm currently looking for my grandmother's restaurant. She didn't give me great directions this morning." I explain. He eyes spark in excitement and then his stomach growls. Not that he had much of a stomach. You could see his tonearms from the sleeveless white shirt he is wearing. He is sweating so the shirt stuck to his abdomen. He is slim and tall and his dark hair is pulled into a man-bun.
He laughs, "It's not that far. I'll walk you."
"Thanks." I tell him. As we walk he controls the conversation and I take advantage of this and take in my surroundings. There is a large number of trees. The buildings all look significantly different. Some hold age but some look brand new and the large glass shows anything they are selling. We come across a building that displays different exotic plants everywhere.
I step closer and take in the rare plant. It stands tall and the beautiful lavender color catches my attention. I stick my hand out to touch it but someone stops me, "Don't touch if you're not going to buy it." A deep voice hisses.
I pull my hand back and lookup. He's limping while walking closer to me. His bald head only holds a few desperate strands of hair. His skin is pale and his eyes look at me in suspension. "I was just looking." I explain.
His forehead furrow and he spat, "You look lost."
I roll my eyes, "I'm not lost."
"Yes, you are." He snaps back at me. "You can't afford anything in this shop." He looks me up and down. "You're a dropout like him?" He points towards Javier.
"Shut it, Ford." Javier jaw tighten. The older man stares him down but he doesn't say anything more. Javier grab my arm and practically drag me away. We continue walking down the road.
"What's his problem?" I question.
"He's just a crazy old man." Javier answer. As we proceed people speak politely and Javier seems to be well known. We finally make it to the restaurant and I'm nearly out of breath. The door is red and a wooden sign hang above the door and say Queen's Palace. We walk through the door and the aroma of food run across my nose. Everything smelled amazing.
Everyone looks up as the bell above the door ring. A few people are sitting in booths toward the large window where natural light beams in comfortably. There are a few tables in the middle of the floor and some people is on their laptops and older people reading the paper or talking. Javier and I head toward the checkout counter and someone calls him over. I'm not surprised. He's popular. "Javier." I turn around recognizing that voice.
Javier smile and kisses Iris on the cheek. "Hey, you."
Iris is still in her uniform and her bag is hanging on her shoulder. She looks at the two of us oddly and asks, "You didn't show up for school today?"
I take this information and listen closely.
"I had to help my dad with some things around the shop." Javier explain. "Did I miss anything important?"
Iris lips press together before she huff, "Your father needs to understand that skipping school to help around the house is not going to get you into college."
"Babe—" Javier rub his forehead. "Let's not do this."
Iris choose to not say anything more but she brings her attention back to me and then her gaze shifts back to Javier again. He clears his throat and says, "This is Hal."
"I know." Iris say.
"Really? That's great." Javier smile. He turns around toward the counter and grabs a menu. "Everything in here is so good. It takes me forever to order every time." Javier explain. He then passes me a menu.
"I didn't know you two knew each other." Iris comments.
"Yeah. We met yesterday." Javier explains while looking over the menu. "Should I get fried pickles or loaded fries?" Before Iris could give him an answer Zaria is skipping over happily. "Hal." She smiles. "I didn't expect to see you again so soon."
Sakiya is the third person to approach us. Iris answer Zaria question before I can even open my mouth. "She came with Javier."
"Really?" Sakiya eyes sparkle in interest at the new information. She smirks deviously like she knew something I didn't. I shift instantly uncomfortable. "What are you guys doing here? Lunch date?"
Iris gives Sakiya a piercing stare.
"No." I finally speak before anyone could speak for me. "He was helping me out."
"With what?" Zaria question cocking her head to the side curiously.
"Yeah." Sakiya smile. "With what?"
Javier finally looks up from the menu. He glares at Sakiya, "It's not like that. This is her grandmother cafe. I was showing her how to get here." He explains.
"You couldn't give her directions?" Iris question furrowing her eyebrow. "You only take one right and it's a straight shot from there."
"I was being nice." Javier defends. "She's new to the town."
"You're always being the nice guy." Iris reply.
I look between the couple and choose to walk away from the awkward situation and as I head for the door Queen step from behind the counter when she notices me. I sigh in relief. She's wearing a dark red apron. I guess mahogany and gold is the town colors. She looks me up and down. "You're early."
I pull at the necklace around my neck. "Javier brought me here." I glance over my shoulder to see him and Iris speaking lowly with each other. Queen nods her head and then disappear into the kitchen. I find a table in the far corner and watch workers clean and deliver food. I pull out my headphones and focus all my attention on my sketchbook.
Queen arrives a few minutes later with a gold plate of chicken and waffles and my mouth water at the sight. I pull my headphones. She glances at my artwork and gives an approving nod before walking away. I basically devour my food. Every bite is a blessing and my taste buds dance in excitement and satisfaction.
Zaria comes over and takes a seat. She glances at my work and comment, "You have talent." The other guys come over and surround me. I close my sketch pad and listen to the other speak about school. I'm mostly confused about everything until Sakiya brings up the hanging statue.
"You should have seen the look on Mr. Robinson face. He was livid." Sakiya explains to Javier.
Javier frown, "I always miss everything when I choose to not go. What else happened?"
"Eliza came to Elijah rescue as always." Sakiya faces dull. "I wonder what he will do when she leaves to go back home."
"He's going to be out of control." Javier interjects. "You know how he gets when she's not around to keep him in line."
Sakiya huff, "I'm not in the mood to go through what happens when she's away. It's like a cycle. I don't understand his problem."
"His parents died." Zaria comment. "I believe he is just dealing with it in his own way."
"That happened years ago and it wasn't just his parents." The Asian girl dark eyes narrow and her eyes flicker with anger. I watch Sakiya closely. As she speaks about Elijah I notice she really loathe the other boy. "Also, can we please use the correct term. They were murdered."
"Sakiya." Iris hisses lowly before looking around the cafe to make sure no one heard. I take a glance and everyone's talking and eating their food.
"It's true." Sakiya argues. "You can continue to live in denial if it makes you all feel better. But, I know whatever the Elder's released is a lie and Elijah knows it too."
Javier shakes his head. "You and your conspiracies."
The bell above the door dings and the cafe become silent. I turn and a young teen boy with a hood on his head covering his features walk up to the counter. Everyone began to mumble underneath their breath. I watch as Queen greet this boy and hand him a huge brown paper to-go bag. The boy silently walks out the door.
The cafe chatter goes back to normal once the mysterious boy leave. I turn around and Sakiya is watching me closely. "I didn't know Queen had any children. Let alone a granddaughter."
I shift uncomfortably. There is something about Sakiya dark judging eyes. She looked at you as if she knew something you didn't. I did not particularly like that feeling. "I just met her." I explain. "I didn't know she would be this popular."
"Popular?" Sakiya speaks. "Queen is like gold. No one knew she had a family." Her eyes narrow. "Now that I look at you. You guys resemble. Can you cook?"
"Not really." I answer with a shrug. "Back home we had a personal chef. My parents never had time to do it themselves."
"So, you're rich?" Sakiya ask.
"I would say well-off." I answer.
Sakiya snorts and rolls her eyes as if she doesn't believe me. "Why are you here?"
I arch my eyebrow at being interrogated but I answer anyway, "I got in some trouble and my father sent me here as punishment."
"Damn. You were basically banished from your own home." Sakiya laugh.
"If you wish to put it that way then fine." I shrug my shoulders. I then stand and begin to grab all my belongings.
"You're leaving?" Javier ask.
"Yeah." I answer. "I still have some things to unpack. I'll see you guys later."
Everyone wave me away politely and I walk out of the cafe. The wind is heavier now and it hits me in the face aggressively. I pull a light sweater out my bag and hurry and put it on before walking the way back to my grandmother house. Luckily, this time I know the way. I come to the bridge quickly and walk across the blood-red lake.
I think about Javier mermaid story and snort to myself. I bend over the rail and look down into the lake. The reflection of the sun made the water look red but I knew if I looked closer it would prove that it was normal. I bend over the rail a little more and squint my eyes to get a closer look.
Something speed underneath the water and I jump back up as sharp teeth come from underneath the water. I fall onto the wooden bridge with a thud and a loud scream is released from my lips. My heart accelerates and someone voice gets my attention.
"Are you lost, girl?" A man approaches me. He is wearing trousers and a button-up. He has a bag on his shoulder full of mail.
"What, no." I run my fingers through my hair. "I'm not lost. My grandmother lives right there." I point toward the home on the other side of the bridge.
The man looks up at the home. "You're Queen's granddaughter? Wow. I didn't know she had any family." The man begins to dig in his bag. He passes me a single envelope.
"Please deliver this to Queen. It's urgent news." He then takes a peek over the rail. "Be careful. You don't want the gators to getcha."
I stand and the man walks away without a glance back. I hurry toward the house and trap myself inside. The letter in my hand is from San Francisco meaning it is from my father. I wonder why he would write a letter instead of calling. I toss the mail on the table and walk into my room before collapsing on my bed in exhaustion.
"One year and you can go home." I tell myself.
Just one year.