The stars had aligned. The wheel of fortune had turned in Ashey’s favour. Everything that could go right was going right. School was cancelled for a long time, thanks to their country falling apart. The only thing that could make it better was a plague or something to push school even further back. Well, things shouldn’t get too bad, else Aunt Terry and family might not be able to come home.

  Terry was coming home. It was true.

  “Terry’s coming home,” she sang in the bathroom.

  “Terry’s coming home,” she sang at breakfast and after, twirling around the house.

  She told everybody who didn’t know, and told them again to make sure they understood how big of a deal this was: Uncle Marcel, Aunt Terry, her cousin Neva, and little cousin Tori. He was so cute with his wild, dirty hair and evil grin. She loved them so much. Every night, before she fell asleep, she took a long look at Terry’s family photo and smiled so much that she cried. Infinite vacation plus family time equalled infinite bliss.

  Mariel said the first Yunnish voyage would arrive at the western docks in about two days’ time. She prepared by going over her activity list in her notebook to make sure everything was right. Ashey cross-checked the locations just to make sure they hadn’t closed down because of some heat wave nonsense or anything. The water parks were guaranteed, though they got crowded very quickly these days.

  Sunscreen, summer hats, shades, ice chests, ice, more ice, soda, electric fans, swimsuits. Her face burned at the last one. She closed her door and curtains and opened up her holiday bag. This would be the hundredth time she tried on her bikini. She stood in front of the mirror and held her breath. Her toes gripped the carpet.

  She changed out of it and hopped over to the calendar to mark down another twelve hours.

  Her phone dinged.

  Remember this place.

  Terry had sent a picture of her old house in Hessen Cove. She asked Terry if that’s where they’d be staying. Terry had wanted to, but it was going to take some time to clean the place, so they’d make do with a hotel for the first few days in Henrikia. Ashey asked why they couldn’t move in with her and Mariel. While Terry didn’t give a direct answer, Ashey figured out it was probably because Mariel didn’t want her to.

  If their family house hadn’t been destroyed, this would not have been a problem.

  You don’t have to stay in a hotel. I’m going to clean the place.

  She stormed the hall, grabbed a broom, and clanked it against a trashcan, calling for the attention of the many workers who had come to clean Mariel’s house.

  “When we’re done here, we’re moving to Terry’s house and cleaning it up.”

  The dossi stared at her, then went on with their business.

  “We would be glad to clean up Mrs. Lloyd’s home—if you pay the fee,” the Renna Dossi said to Ashey.

  “Fee? What fee?”

  “Earthen labour is no longer for free,” she said. “If you want our services, you pay for them.”

  “Oh, but I don’t have any money.”

  The Renna Dossi smiled at her. “For your aunt’s kindness, I would assist you—only if you ask nicely.”

  “Okay,” said Ashey, dropping the broomstick. “Can you please help me clean my Aunt Terry’s house?”

  She handed Ashey a broom.

  The Renna Dossi and a few volunteers got together at Terry’s old home. Ashey pulled down sheets from sofas and tables, coughing from the rising dust. She dusted windows, swept floors, and ran down the wooden deck with a mop. The other workers stopped to watch her for some reason, giggling whenever she passed by.

  Out on the balcony, she could see the rocky cliff that overlooked the Ossen Sea. In the distance stood an abandoned lighthouse, with a boat docked at the waterfront. Memories flooded back—she and Neva had nearly gotten lost at sea once, and Kalin and her mom had swum leagues to reach them. She couldn’t even remember exactly how it had happened.

  “Are you hungry, Ashey?” the Renna Dossi asked. “You can head home while we finish up.”

  “Is there food at home?” she asked. “Now that you’re charging for everything, do I have to pay?”

  “Yes, you do,” said the Renna Dossi.

  “I’m not going to,” said Ashey. “I can cook for myself, right?”

  “You sure can.”

  “Then that’s what I’m going to do. I have to learn how to take care of myself.”

  “That’s wonderful, Ashey.”

  She went on her way. “Wait, what if I need your help?” Now that they mentioned it, she realised she hadn’t seen them at the house during the night. “Where do you guys stay?”

  “We have an agency you can visit, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “No, I mean—where do you sleep?”

  There were a lot of giggles after that, like some inside joke she had missed.

  “I live on Burning Street,” said the Renna Dossi. “Most of my colleagues live there as well. But we have other neighbourhoods.”

  This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  “Huh,” said Ashey, trying to figure out where Burning Street was.

  “Mariel has been very good to us,” said the Renna Dossi. “We wish her a long and prosperous rule of Henrikia.”

  “I know. You don’t have to tell me every five minutes,” Ashey muttered.

  Ashey got to the farmers’ market. It wasn’t her first time here, but the prices on the items were higher than she expected. “Grandma, can you send, like, a hundred kliqs?” she said over the phone. “There are some things I need to buy.”

  The things she wanted weren’t easy to find. Weird stringy onions, sunflower oil, peas, reddish corn, and apples—lots of apples and strawberries. Apparently, these weren’t from local farms but had been brought in from Yuna. Rice was rare, and the few stalls that sold it had thousands of people swarming over them.

  She had to pay a girl at the market to do her shopping for her. It cost everything she had, but she got what she came for: flour, potatoes, onions, coconut oil, soybean oil, vegetable oil, beans, red beans, red fish, beef, lettuce, and a few other things she’d already forgotten.

  Ashey wasn’t sure what she was making yet. She put some ingredients together in a bowl, mixed a few others, and tossed some in the oven. Baking cakes was kind of fun—so why not try baked potatoes and a salad?

  As she chopped carrots, her phone made a ding.

  It was the bad kind of ding—the kind she always got from school. Her blood pressure dropped, and suddenly the knife felt too blunt to cut. She read the notification:

  Third Term Examination Results Released: Click Here to Open

  She sighed. Honestly, she’d been bracing for something worse, like the announcement of the school reopening date. If that had been the worst, this came close second. Mariel would shred her bikini into pieces if she flunked her exams.

  Ashey sat on the kitchen floor, lowered her head, and raised the phone high. She tapped the portal and closed her eyes. Slowly, she opened them.

  ASHAMEL SOREL: PROMOTED

  She let out a long sigh of relief. Her blood pressure normalized, and the news sounded better the longer she thought about it. She was a senior now—the final year of junior high. This was huge. She should be proud of herself.

  But she couldn’t tell anyone. Not because her results were a secret—she could’ve shared them—but because there was no one to tell.

  She scrolled through the contact list on the school portal, looking at classmates she kind of liked. Finally, she called Ilah, who sat nearest her in class. They used to make fun of the boys together—until Ashey teased Dan, the boy Ilah liked, and that blew up into a huge fight.

  “Hey, Ilah, hi,” Ashey said, her voice bright. “How are you?”

  “What do you want?”

  “The results are out. I was wondering if you checked them yet.”

  “Can’t. I’m on holiday. I don’t want to ruin it.”

  “Oh… where are you exactly?”

  “Ashey, if I wanted you here, you would be.”

  “I’m sorry I asked,” she muttered.

  Ilah hung up. Seems she was still upset about the eyebrow incident.

  Ashey abandoned the idea of calling any classmates—they were all assholes anyway. Instead, she dialled Don Roy, who had just graduated to high school. She’d miss him.

  “Ashey, sweetheart, how are you?”

  “You never call. How do you think I’m doing?”

  He cooed. “Heaven makes it so hard to remember your loved ones, you see.” Waves, birds, the sound of sunshine and fun carried in his words.

  “Don’t tell me you’re on holiday too.”

  “Yuna, love,” he said. “I came to see my old man. Never left the ship that brought me here.”

  “I wanted to ask about the exam, but I’m not going to bother.”

  “Why in the world would you of all people bother me with school? School-sick?”

  “Never.”

  “Relax, Henrikia is burning. Don’t upset yourself.”

  “I passed all the subjects, actually,” she said, laughing.

  “Don’t scare me like that, Ashey!”

  “I’m serious,” she giggled. He let out a lazy cheer, then mumbled something about not wanting to miss the midday shrimp buffet.

  Mariel stormed in, Helen close behind. Both faces flushed and steaming, mouths set in firm lines. They moved in opposite directions and converged at the kitchen, taking turns at the fridge, downing water like it was a contest.

  Ever since Mariel became chancellor, Helen had been liking her less. Ashey didn’t care much about what the two were always upset about, but she knew it had something to do with land and property or something. They usually did the shouting outside and tried to be cordial when at home.

  “I wasn’t expecting you to be home so early,” said Ashey. “My potatoes aren’t done yet.” She checked the oven. “Actually… they’re done. Come on, the two of you should take a seat, and I’ll serve dinner.”

  “Where is Victoria?” Mariel asked, tiredly.

  “I told the Dossi I’d be making dinner by myself.”

  “Is that what this is?” Helen poked a finger into a baked potato.

  “I wanted to thank you,” said Ashey. “For taking care of me. I want to help you guys in every small way I can.”

  Helen sucked on her finger, grimaced, and walked out of the kitchen. “I’ll call Victoria,” she announced.

  “I’ll throw it out,” sighed Mariel, scraping the serving from the tray into the bin.

  The Renna Dossi prepared the evening meal. Ashey and her family ate in silence. Mariel and Helen kept to their phones, barely glancing at each other. Occasionally, Mariel would frown at something, and Ashey’s heart would skip a beat. Often, she had to remind herself she had done nothing wrong.

  If anything, she had good news. Something to cheer the family.

  “Aunt Mariel, my exam results are out,” said Ashey. “I passed all my subjects.”

  “That’s good, love.”

  “It’s the first time it’s happened,” Ashey continued. “I didn’t think I could do it… but I did.”

  Mariel put her phone down and smiled. “And you’ll do even better next time,” she said. “What year are you in now?”

  “Final year,” said Ashey. “I’ll officially be in High School in September.”

  Mariel flashed another smile and went back to her phone.

  Ashey’s lips dried, tight with fear for the next part. It was never easy getting Mariel to approve anything. But maybe—just maybe—she’d listen this time.

  “Can we… talk about that thing I’m not supposed to talk about?” Ashey’s voice wavered. “You said we would if I passed my exam.”

  “What thing?” Mariel asked, taking a sip from her cup.

  “About Jenne,” Ashey said quietly. “You said you’d look for him.”

  Mariel didn’t respond immediately. She just drank. Ashey’s eyes flicked to Helen, who avoided her gaze. The words lodged in Ashey’s throat, heavy and lopsided.

  “You know where he is?” she finally whispered.

  “I do,” said Mariel.

  “Can I see him?”

  “Soon. But not now.”

  “Why not?”

  “Not now, Ashamel.”

  “Why?”

  “No!”

  Silence fell like a heavy curtain. Ashey excused herself, head bowed, a lump stuck in her throat. Her steps were quick as she fled to her room. Behind her, Helen hissed at Mariel, who hissed back, unconcerned.

  A knock on the door brought Helen in. She turned on the bedroom light and leaned against the wall, waiting for Ashey to invite her closer. Ashey hugged her pillow, hiding her face, letting silent tears slide down her cheeks.

  “I don’t like making excuses for my daughter’s behaviour,” Helen said. “What Mariel did was wrong, and she knows it.”

  “But?”

  Helen shook her head. “No buts. She’s an asshole.”

  Ashey snorted. Her grandma sat on the bed, embracing her. She stroked Ashey’s head, stopping to say, “Don’t take it to heart. You’ll never make it out there if you do.”

  “I’ll try.”

  “Where are those historic results of yours,” asked Helen. “I want to frame them on the wall.”

  Ashey sat right up, opened up her phone and handed them over to Helen. She read through and made an even meaner face than when she tasted Ashey’s cooking. “Pretty good, right?” said Ashey. “I would have failed if it wasn’t for him, you know. He said failing a bunch of times doesn’t make me a failure. I’m not going to forget him. Mariel can’t make me.”

  “It doesn’t make you a failure, but you’re no winner either. You barely made it through.”

  “At least I’m in final year.”

  Helen chuckled. “I suppose that’s all that matters until your next exam”