Discoveries

"Can you repeat that? I didn't quite catch all of it."

I glared at Kieran, fingers itching to remove the smirk from his handsome face. "I said I was sorry for overreacting yesterday. I still don't think I saw a glare, but I shouldn't have been such a brat."

"Well, that's a backwards apology if I ever heard one, but I'll take it."

We were in a small courtyard.. It's where the other early birds had been hiding when I arrived yesterday, and I'd arrived almost as early today to make sure I could find an escort to class. Mrs. Walsh escorted me to the area, and I'd spied Kieran reclining on a bench, his nose in a book and a pencil pushed behind his ear.

"Good," I responded, "because that's all I've got."

He snapped his book shut and put it in his bag. "I'm guessing you don't know where our first class is?"

"You'd be guessing correctly."

Kieran threw his arm over my shoulder, jerking back when I let out a hiss of pain. He didn't ask permission before pushing back the collar of my shirt to see the heavy bandages I'd put over the cuts. Eyes flashing, he brushed the carefully arranged bangs from my face, and his jaw clenched at the bruises and angry lines he found there. His thumb hovered just above the tender spot.

"Do you not think it'd be best if you went to see a doctor?"

"It'll be fine. Heal up and hair over."

The darkness vanished, and his mouth dropped open. "Heal up and what?"

"Sorry, it's just something my MiMi used to say when we'd get hurt, though I'm pleased to say nothing has ever grown back hairy."

"Well, that's a relief." He dropped his hand to his side just as Al and Tara entered the courtyard. "Well, we've got Biology first, and Mr. O'Doyle is a pain in the arse."

"I prefer a hands on approach with Biology, if you know what I mean," Al purred and winked.

"We know," Tara said, rolling her eyes and making an obscene gesture that had Kieran choking.

I burst into laughter, not sure whether it was from her brazen attitude or his acute embarrassment. Al didn't even register his sister's remark, choosing to take the Biology book I had under my arm and put it under his.

"Can't let a beautiful woman like yourself carry yer own books." Kieran's face was still flushed, but from the dip in his brows, I didn't think it was from mortification anymore. Ignoring the other boy's clear irritation, Al whispered in my ear, "Isla, I'm going to need a lab partner, and I was hoping you'd want to be mine."

"Umm, doesn't the teacher usually assign these things?" Not that I minded spending time with Al- I wanted to get to know all the students- but he didn't seem the most studious. And one thing I hated was carrying a group grade.

"I told you this morning," Tara began, taking my book and returning it to me, "She's going to be mine."

"But you and Niko always pair up," he whined.

"And she and Leslie are taking advanced Biology courses with Dr. Bryant. So she won't be in the class this year." She batted her eyes at him and hooked her arm through mine. "We'll be late if we don't get going."

Kieran patted Al on the back in consolation, but he looked anything but contrite. The boys trailed behind us, giving me an opportunity to study my new lab partner. Her bright yellow cardigan was a size or two bigger than she needed, making it loose and long. Instead of yellow knee highs, she wore stockings, and I made a mental note to ask where I could pick some up in my assigned color.

"You're not wearing your headband today."

"What?" she said, touching the top of her head where she'd gathered her curls into two pom-poms with yellow bows tied around them. "Oh, yeah. I felt like something different today. Why?"

We mounted the stairs and entered the room opposite our English class. The windows here looked out over the parking lot, so it didn't bother me when she took a table at the far back next to an inside wall. A microscope and several slides were on each desk, and I found myself excited by the prospect of jumping into the material.

"I like it. I never do anything with my hair." I twirled a piece and dropped my voice, aware that Al and Kieran were within hearing distance. "I just thought about it because I saw a girl with a headband just like yours at ShipWreck Cove yesterday."

She was holding one of the slides in the air, trying to catch it in the light, but my question made her drop it. "Careful," I said, catching it before it struck the table. "We don't know what he's got in there."

"Good catch."

I set it down. Katie and Shannon came in and went to a table together. That meant everyone was present if Niko and Leslie weren't taking this course, but the teacher had yet to arrive. And Tara had yet to verbally acknowledge my statement.

Moving the microscope out of the way, she tapped on Kieran's shoulder. He stopped speaking to Al and twisted around, his gaze touching me first before settling on the girl beside me. "Yes?"

"Did you hear about the party Jenny is throwing?"

"I was just trying to tell him about it," Al fussed. "But like always, you interrupted me."

"You know how I feel about parties," Kieran groaned.

I didn't know how he felt about them, and I edged closer. Not that they were trying to be secretive, not about this at least, but Kieran's voice was like a siren's call, making me afraid to miss a single syllable.

"Ach, this one won't be like that."

"And why not?"

Tara nudged me. "Cause our new girl will be going, and she's gonna need someone to look after her."

"I-I don't know. I don't even know Jenny," I muttered.

"That's exactly why you need to come," Al explained, tipping his chair back, propping his elbows on the edge of the table, and dropping his head down so I was staring straight into his eyes. "We'll make all the introductions, and I'll be happy to be yer escort. Kieran just sits in the corner and looks irritated."

"Isn't this how you ended up in trouble yesterday?" I tapped Al on the nose, unable to stop smiling. He was tenacious, I'd give him that.

"It is, and you're about to find out if hitting the back of yer head hurts worse than smashing the front of yer face in," Kieran growled, yanking him up by his shirt. "I'll go the party, but only if Isla is coming."

Tara settled back in her seat, looking quite satisfied with herself. "You wouldn't not come and cause Kieran to miss out on all the fun, now would you?"

"Your manipulation tactics lack subtlety. Not to mention, it sounds like I'd be doing Kieran a favor by not going." I held his gaze and noticed the corner of his lip quirking up, the dimple I'd seen before flickering in and out of sight as he fought a grin.

"But yer going?"

"Why not? I'll go."

"Yes," Tara squealed. "You can just bring some clothes to stay the night with me on Friday. Won't do you any good to go all the way back out to yer house before the party, and well, it'd be best if yer da didn't know what time you were getting home."

"Alright class, books out." The teacher sailed into the room, her clothing askew and her eyes wild as she tossed a stack of papers onto her desk. She was nothing like any of my previous teachers, but she reminded me of someone. She snatched up a piece of chalk and pressed it to the blackboard. A snap and a clink followed the scrape of her first letter as the chalk broke, and she threw it into the tray with a huff.

"You all know I'm Branna Goode. I needn't write it on the board," she said. Her accent was clipped and nasal and lacking the scots-Irish influences I'd heard from everyone else. She surveyed the room, stopping on me as everyone else had, but unlike them she didn't seem pleased to see me. "Ms. Halloran. You've finally joined us."

"Yes, ma'am."

She sniffed and turned to shuffle through her papers, pulling out a single sheet and examining it. "Today is an assessment. They are two trays at every table. One for each person. On those slides, you'll find scales of a fish that is native to our shores. In the drawers of the table, you'll find a book called The Field Guide to Saltwater Fish. Study those scales and use the information in the book to determine as accurately as possible the type of fish you're looking at. For bonus points, determine the age of the fish as well. Begin."

My companions shared unreadable looks. I reached for my slide, but just as my finger brushed against it, it slid forward and fell over the side just as Al let the legs of his chair drop to the floor. The crunch was loud and drew Ms. Goode to our section.

"Clumsy children," she said, picking up slide. She reached into the pocket of her skirt and handed me another. "Try not to destroy this one."

"Thank you," I said, placing it on the microscope's mechanical stage and securing it before switching on the light. From the severity of her glare, I feared I'd be sent to the office if another one broke.

Turning the pages of the book, I found a section labeled types of scales and jotted down the main types of scales: placoid, cosmoid, ganoid, cycloid, and ctenoid. A shark or ray would have placoid scales, lungfishes cosmoid, gars and sturgeon like fishes ganoid, leaving the last group to the bony fishes. Of course, according to the reading, there were exceptions and some fishes had multiple types and it could vary based on sex.

Drawing the microscope closer, I glared at Ms. Goode before looking through the lens. Immediately, my irritation went away. The half of my brain still focused on the project labeled the scale type: ctenoid. The bottom of another overlapped the top of each scale, and small spiny ridges were distinct on the edges of each one, giving it a rough texture. But the other half of my brain was in awe, trying to grasp how so many colors could be present on one fish.

"Tara," I whispered. She was staring at her book, a finger pressed against the space between her eyes. "What does yours look like?"

"Gray and pointy. Maybe shark." She perked up. "You think I could get away with just saying shark?"

"I feel like that would be the equivalent of writing fish down as an answer."

She dropped her forehead into her hand. "Yer right. What a dumb project. How is this teaching us life cycles and stuff?"

"It's not," Kieran interjected. "It's just a way to judge how well you can find information and draw conclusions. Ms. Goode, I'm done."

The teacher beamed at him, the expression strange on her pale, severe face. "Excellent. I expected nothing less from you. You may put your findings on my desk. The rest of the hour is yers to use as you see fit."

"Ach, skedaddle aff," Tara griped when he tapped her on the head with his paper before meandering to the front of the room. "He's a clarty bastard sometimes."

"Gesundheit," I said, returning to my scale.

I pulled out the slide, tilting it from side to side. It shimmered like pearl, iridescent and mostly pink, but when I'd catch the light just right, teals and purples sparkled through. I held it out at arm's length, and it looked like glitter beneath the glass. Saltwater fish came in a variety of colors, but there was nothing in the book that looked just right. Not that would swim in the waters around Merrow Island.

"Whatcha got there?" Kieran dragged a chair to my side and laid his head over his crossed arms. The ever errant curl covered one eye, while the other darted between me and the slide in my hands.

"Oh, um," I stuttered, the whirl of greens and browns in that one pupil more mesmerizing than the scale's brilliant display. I handed him the slide. "I have no idea. Not a shark, a ray, or a lungfish."

"Well, that really narrows it down. Let's see." His grin disappeared as he studied it, turning into a frown that only deepened when he put it on the microscope. Lips tight, he drew back, cutting his eyes to the front of the room. "This is the one Ms. Goode replaced the broken one with?"

I nodded. "You don't recognize it."

He stood up. "I think she must've gotten it mixed up with another one. This fish isn't from around here. You'll never find it."

"Crap. She's already pissed at me. I don't want to tell her she gave me the wrong thing."

"I'll take care of it." He wiggled it in the air. "We know she likes me."

I was so pleased to not have to speak to her, I didn't care that he was being arrogant. They spoke quietly for several moments, both of them looking at me multiple times. She shook her head and pointed at the slide, but he dropped it on her desk and shoved it towards her. Nostrils flaring, she pulled another one from a drawer and slapped it in his open palm.

"Could you imagine having her for a mum? Poor Leslie."

I looked at my partner. She was watching Kieran as he continued to speak to Ms. Goode. "That's why she looks so familiar. Doesn't she own that weird shop?"

The girl stretched before flipping the cover of her book closed. "Yep. She only teaches this class, which is twice a week. The rest of the time is spent concocting who knows what. I swear it's why she and Leslie are leached of all color."

"My sister is a bit of a bitch, sometimes."

"Feck off, Al."

"Here you go," Kieran said, rejoining the group. He handed me the new slide. "She's a bit daft sometimes."

Tara pursed her lips. "Told you."

"Thanks. Now excuse me while I finish this assignment in--" I stopped and looked at the clock-- "ten minutes. Crap!"

They laughed at me as I struggled to get the slide in place. What greeted me was not nearly as exciting as the other specimen, but between their help and my notes, I jotted down an answer just as the bell rang.

"If you can't keep up, perhaps you shouldn't be in this class," Ms. Goode said as I put my paper on top of the others.

Gripping the straps of my backpack, I gave her a hard look. "I apologize for the broken slide. I'll be more careful in the future, but it wasn't my fault that the second slide wasn't for a local species."

She folded her hands in front of her, the long finger on her top hand sliding back and forth across her knuckles. A deep breath. "As you didn't have time to properly examine the scale, I doubt you answered the bonus question."

"I did not."

"Very well. If you can identify the specimen, the original scales belonged to, then I will award you with the points. Have it to me by next Tuesday?"

Excited by the prospect of extra points and seeing what a creature with adornment like that would like, I nodded. "Yes. I will find it."

"Good."

"What did she want?" Kieran asked as we trekked down the hallway. He was tense, and upon further inspection, I noticed both Tara and Al waiting for my response with bated breath.

"To tell me to not be such a klutz." I left the bit off about extra credit. No point in flaunting that, really.

My words were like heat on ice. The tension in the three people walking with me melted. Tara shoved Al. "Perhaps if my daft brother would sit in a chair like a normal person, yer slide wouldn't of gotten crushed.Or maybe if his arse wasn't so big?"

Her brother clenched his fists, veins bulging along his arms as he stalked after her. "Yer one to talk since we're on the way to yer favorite course, P.E."

"Oh, no!"

My exclamation earned a concerned look from Kieran. "What?"

"I didn't bring any clothes to dress out." I rolled my shoulder, the muscles screaming at me. "And, to be honest, I don't know how well I can move."

"You sure yer okay?" Remorse filled his raspy voice. "I'm such a damned fool."

"Nothing we can do about it now," I said, not correcting him. The part of me that was sore wanted him to suffer just a little with me.

We traveled to the first floor and walked out a side door. Yesterday's late burst of sunshine had lingered into the morning, and the day was far more temperate than anything I'd experienced on the Island so far. Tara took off her cardigan as she approached Niko, who was waiting on a set of bleachers. She sat on her lap and drew her in for a long kiss that bordered on inappropriate for public.

"Well," I said, my mind no longer on my injuries or lack of gym clothes.

"Yer not bothered by them, are you?"

I shook my head, struggling to explain. "I got more of a frenemies vibe from them yesterday."

"Oh, they're that, for sure. Niko, erm, well it's not my business to really tell. But you'll see."

My concern over P.E. ended up being without cause. The S5 students joined us for this class, bringing our numbers to twenty. The teacher spent the class going over the syllabus and passing out t-shirts and shorts that matched our uniforms. After that, there was little point in trying to begin an activity, though Mrs. Danbury threatened us with laps if we didn't quit talking while she was speaking. Everyone glared at Al, the primary culprit, but he ignored them.

"Can I tell you how much joy it brings me to watch my brother run laps around the campus?"

I chuckled and stretched my legs out to catch the sun. "I can guess by the big grin on your face."

"So Isla," Niko said, blowing the fresh paint on her nails, "I've heard yer coming to Jenny's party, and you've convinced our resident recluse to come along."

As if he sensed we were discussing him, Kieran looked up from the circle of boys he was standing with. He caught me watching him, and somehow I found the courage to hold his stare. The lopsided smirk stretched across his lips.

"I don't think I convinced him of anything. Tara was the instigator."

"Well, however, you ended up getting him there, prepared to deal with a lot of jealous girls. Jenny has had her eye on him since we were in primary school. She'll not be happy to see him with you."

"But he's not with me," I countered, pushing at Tara's leg with the toe of my boot. "Why would you set that up knowing it was going to cause drama?"

"Oh, don't get mad at her. You'd run into Jenny eventually, and she'd see it. The lad has bedroom eyes for you."

I snorted to cover up the thrill her words sent through me. "No, we're just friends. Hell, we're just getting to know each other."

"I know these things. Tara was just moving the process along. He's gaggin' fur it fur sure."

The girl in yellow frowned. "Ach, Niko. Not so vulgar."

"What did she say?" I asked though I wasn't sure I really wanted to know.

"I said he wants to have sex with you."

"Whatever," I said, hopping down from the bleachers and grabbing my bag.

"It's not a bad thing!" Niko shouted, drawing attention and making me quicken my pace.

I had no explanation for why the conversation had me so rattled. I might not be experienced, but I was no prude. Mel and I'd had far more explicit conversations than that one, and I'd never felt so uncomfortable. Perhaps it was how quickly everything was happening. I'd only met everyone yesterday.

"Isla, wait up." The boy who was causing all the trouble shouted after me. "You don't know where yer going."

"To lunch," I yelled without turning around. "It's lunchtime, and I never forget where the food is located."