No one brought me ice cream on my walk home from school. I kicked the dirt, frustrated with my inability to pick up Seatongue and the humiliation I'd faced when I'd had to recite, "Hello, how are you?" in front of the entire class and ended up telling them, "May Sea break you, hope you're sick." Not a very good day.
This morning I’d been planning to talk to Caesar today. I wanted to get to know him a bit better. I needed to know if he was as bad as Colleen said he was, or if he was the good guy he seemed to be. I had a major crush on him, and the fact that I hadn't spoken to him once today was killing me. Not that he'd tried to talk to me either; he'd been too busy hanging out with Shia and his pirate buddies.
I ripped open the back door of the house, determined to wallow by the fire with a book and a blanket, but was blocked by Grandma before I could even step inside.
"You're late."
"I'm not late. School only let out a few minutes ago."
"Ten minutes ago, and I know it only takes five minutes to walk from the school to this house."
I glared up at her stern face. I wasn’t going to confess to spending an extra five minutes talking to Amynta at the end of the day. I should be allowed to have some kind of life. Why was she being so hard on me? Oh right, she wasn't human; she was a witch. “Maybe I don’t walk as fast as you.”
"Then you’ll have to learn to walk faster. Come on, it’s time for your lessons. You may want to put your swim suit on." Grandma turned on her heal, walking toward the front door.
I chased after her. "Why do I need my swimsuit?"
"Because today you’re going to learn to walk on water—and to keep yourself dry. But if this lesson is anything like your other lessons, it’ll take you a while to master."
I dropped my backpack loudly on the floor. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“Feel free to prove me wrong.”
I raised my eyebrows. Maybe I would prove her wrong—after putting on my swimsuit.
When I stepped outside, she was standing on the waves. Well, not the waves exactly, but on a calm circle of water that the waves moved around. I walked to the edge of the beach, toes tingling. “What do I do?”
Grandma walked in a slow circle. The water beneath her didn’t move. “You need to focus—really focus. Think of the surface of the water becoming hard and calm underneath your feet—like an extension of the beach. Then step onto the surface.”
Closing my eyes, I did as she asked. I walked forward blindly, crossing my fingers and hoping I didn’t trip. I shrieked when the icy water swallowed up my feet, my eyes opening automatically.
“Try again.” Grandma undid her braid and let her long red hair fly on the breeze.
Grimacing, I backed up. She was right, this was going to be a long lesson. How was I going to walk on water—and learn to keep myself dry—in one night? It had taken me three hours to learn to move water in and out of a glass. If I progressed at the same rate with this exercise, I’d be here for weeks. I turned around and headed straight for the red door of the house. Practising something I was useless at was not what I felt like doing right now.
Three steps from the edge of the beach a wall of water rushed up to surround me. “Where do you think you’re going?”
My heart raced. The wall of water had appeared so fast that I’d barely seen it move—it was more like it was suddenly there. “I’m tired—and I don’t feel like wasting time trying to learn something I’ll just fail at.”
“Unless you’re planning on never returning to Surrey again, you’ll practice until I say we’re done.”
I gritted my teeth. Could she really keep me a prisoner forever? Surely, Colleen would help me escape. “Fine. But if this exercise kills me, I’ll expect an apology at my funeral.”
Two hours later, I was successfully standing on the water. The bottoms of my feet were completely dry. It was the first time I’d gotten out this far, to the end of the dock, but not the first time I’d walked on water. Earlier, I’d managed to get as far as two steps out before crashing through the surface to my knees. “I’m getting better!” I bragged just as I heard a rustle from the bushes beside the house.
Grandma turned. “Hello, boys.”
Caesar, Markus, and Juan walked out onto the beach. I lowered my arms, trying to figure out the best way to look cool before Caesar saw me.
“Agh!” I screamed, splashing down through the water, sinking all the way to the bottom. I came up sputtering and wet.
The pirates laughed.
“Remember Nessa, a sea-witch has to learn to ignore distractions. You might as well come out of there and try again. I think you still have a couple of hours of practice yet. Especially with the staying dry part.” Grandma shook her head.
I glared at her, using my powers to push myself to shore.
“I suppose you boys are here to borrow my boat,” Grandma said.
“And to see your shining face.” Caesar smiled at Grandma as I pulled myself up onto the dock.
“You can take the boat if you like, but it needs to be returned before dark. I’ll expect it to be clean and shining when you return. And whatever you do, do not go outside the boundary.”
Caesar gave Grandma a small salute. “Anything for you, Shannon.” He followed Markus and Juan down to the dock, where the boat was tied-up, awaiting their arrival. He smiled at me as he passed. “You were looking pretty good out there, Nessa.”
I opened my mouth and closed it again, unsure if Caesar was being serious or if he was mocking me.
His smile faded a bit, like he could tell I was doubtful. “I’m being serious. This kind of stuff takes work. I wasn’t always an amazing pirate.” A piece of dark hair fell in his eyes as he nodded in Grandma’s direction. He lowered his voice. “Just don’t let her get to you.”
“Thanks,” I said. “Have fun pirating.”
Caesar’s face lit up again. “It’ll be a good time, but truth be told, the best treasure’s on this island.” He winked at me before jumping onto the boat. Markus fired up the motor.
“Hurry up, Nessa. Eventually the sun will set. I’d like to have supper before then.” Grandma was standing on the beach, hands on her hips.
I watched the pirates take off into the open water before closing my eyes and trying again. The sooner I could do it, the sooner it would be over, and the sooner I could return to daydreaming about pirates.