Chapter 199: The Fall Trip, Part Three

Chapter 199: Chapter 199: The Fall Trip, Part Three

Chapter 199: The Fall Trip, Part Three

The train ride was over, but the St. Alder students still had another twenty minutes on the bus before reaching their hotel in Bellhaven.

Getting everyone to stand still for the head count was harder than getting them off the bus. By the time room keys were handed out and luggage dropped off, Ms. Hart had plenty to say.

Her most important warning came near the end.

"When we check rooms tonight, you’d better be there. If your room is empty, there will be consequences, and I don’t want to hear excuses tomorrow morning."

A few students groaned. Most were already eighteen, and the teachers knew what could happen without rules.

Once Ms. Hart was satisfied that her message had landed, the group headed to Bellhaven Marine Park.

The park was packed with families taking pictures and children tugging their parents toward exhibits. The lines were already long.

The academy uniforms drew their own share of attention. A few older visitors watched the students go past with indulgent smiles, apparently reminded of school trips from years ago. Cyrus couldn’t imagine being nostalgic about following a teacher through a crowd, although he supposed memories improved once you no longer had to live through them.

Near the entrance, he stopped with Audra, Owen, and Iris in front of a park map.

"So where are we going first?" Owen asked.

The grounds stretched farther than Cyrus had expected, with paths branching past exhibits and buildings. Nobody seemed eager to choose at random.

Owen leaned toward the posted map and traced one of the marked routes with a finger.

"We could start around the outside and work our way in. That way we won’t keep doubling back every time we see something else."

"That sounds fine to me," Audra said.

Iris agreed, and Cyrus saw no reason to argue. Owen had already done more planning than Cyrus intended to contribute.

They had barely started walking when the problem became obvious.

The four of them attracted attention wherever they went. Some people glanced once, while others turned for a second look. Cyrus had grown used to people noticing his face since he’d stopped hiding quite so much of it. Audra had lived with that sort of attention long enough to ignore it.

Owen, on the other hand, became increasingly aware of where to put his hands. Iris kept her expression steady, but she seemed less comfortable with all the strangers watching their group than she wanted to admit.

Cyrus scanned the shops lining the walkway and spotted something useful in a window.

"You three go ahead. I’ll catch up in a little while."

"Sure, we’ll stay on this path," Owen answered.

Cyrus was already heading toward the store. He heard footsteps behind him and didn’t need to turn around to guess who had followed.

He missed his longer hair. Back when it hung low enough to hide most of his face, he could walk through places like this without strangers taking a second look. It hadn’t been much of a hairstyle, but it had saved him a remarkable amount of trouble.

Living among humans had taught him that almost every convenience came with a drawback, however. There were other ways to keep a low profile.

The shop sold the usual souvenirs, most of them decorated with dolphins, shells, waves, or grinning cartoon sea creatures. Cyrus passed a rack of shirts without stopping and went straight to the hats.

"What are you looking for?" Audra asked from behind him.

"I’m getting a hat."

Audra stepped beside him at the display.

The prices were another matter. Cyrus turned over one tag and stared at it for a beat. He could have bought himself a decent meal for what they wanted for a souvenir hat. Once, that would have been enough to send him straight back outside.

These days, he could spare the money. He still thought the price was ridiculous.

After sorting through a few designs that were much too loud, he settled on a plain white baseball cap. A small pale-blue dolphin had been embroidered on one side. At least he could wear it in public.

He pulled it on and adjusted the brim. The crown was deep enough to shade his forehead and put part of his face out of easy view. It wouldn’t make him invisible, but it was an improvement.

Beside him, Audra picked up a similar cap with a little seal stitched onto it. She was turning around when another shopper squeezed past the display and accidentally bumped into her.

Her foot slipped sideways. Cyrus reached over without thinking, steadying her by the shoulder while his other hand caught hers before she could fall against the rack.

"Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you there," the shopper said, stopping short.

"It’s all right. I’m fine," Audra replied.

Once she had her feet under her, Cyrus let go and stepped back. The shopper hurried away, leaving the two of them beside the hats.

Audra turned toward him. The surprise on her face gave way to an expression he couldn’t quite place.

"Thanks for catching me, Cyrus."

"It was nothing. Let’s pay for these."

He nodded toward the register and started walking, apparently satisfied that the problem had been dealt with.

Audra followed a step behind. She folded her fingers into her palm, remembering how he’d caught her hand. His skin had been distinctly cool, and she remembered the metal of his ring.

That plain ring had been on his hand for as long as she’d paid attention to him. Its design was nothing special, yet she found it harder to dismiss than anything expensive he might have worn.

Cyrus had told people he couldn’t remember his past. She had believed him, or at least had no reason to call him a liar. But there was someone he seemed unable to leave behind, even without the memories that should have explained why. The ring on his finger made that difficult to ignore.

Audra lowered her eyes to the cap in her hands. Being grateful that he’d caught her was simple. The other feelings were becoming harder to sort out, especially when a small touch could bring that unknown person back into her thoughts.

At the register, Cyrus put his cap on the counter, then reached for hers as well.

"I’ve got both," he told the cashier.

Audra opened her mouth to object, but he’d already paid. He took the receipt, passed her cap back, and headed out without treating the purchase as anything worth discussing.

She had expected to pay for her own hat. He hadn’t even asked.

Outside, the two of them walked side by side in their matching white caps. They still made an attractive pair, but the brims discouraged the lingering attention Cyrus had wanted to escape. Cyrus adjusted his brim as they rejoined the path.

Audra kept thinking about the register.

There had been nothing hesitant about the way he’d included her purchase with his. He’d treated paying for her as naturally as he’d reached out to stop her falling. He could have left her to handle both situations herself, and it apparently hadn’t occurred to him to do so.

Perhaps she’d been wrong to worry so much about the person connected to his ring. His past might have held someone important, but that didn’t mean his feelings had stayed where they were. If he was already making room for her, would he even realize it?

A stud in Cyrus’s ear caught the daylight when he turned his head. Audra found herself watching that small flash of metal, letting the possibility linger longer than she would have admitted aloud.

Farther along the path, Owen and Iris had stopped near the edge of the walkway. After exchanging a glance, they had stepped aside to wait.

Owen watched people move between the exhibits for a while, then spoke with the easy curiosity of someone filling the time.

"How much longer do you think it’ll take Cyrus and Audra to start dating?"

"I really couldn’t tell you," Iris said.

"My money’s on pretty soon. Can you imagine the reaction at school? Half the guys and girls are going to be crying into their pillows that night."

Iris turned toward him. "Would you be crying too?"

There had been a time when Owen would have taken that question seriously. He might have awkwardly explained that Audra was out of his league.

Today he laughed instead.

"If Cyrus gets a girlfriend, I’ll be the one crying loudest under the covers."

Owen laughed at his own joke, unaware of how Iris was taking his answer.

She turned away without answering.

Iris knew Owen well enough to recognize how much he’d changed. He talked more freely and no longer embarrassed as easily. Spending time with Cyrus had done that. The influence was small enough that Owen probably couldn’t have described it himself, but she could see it.

Every little change bothered her.

She wanted Owen to have exactly the right amount of responsibility and humility. He could be capable without showing off, considerate without trying to charm everyone around him. That balance had always drawn her to him. She’d liked knowing the version of Owen that other people barely noticed, the one she’d wanted to keep to herself.

Cyrus had started changing that balance merely by being his friend.

Up the path, the two figures in white caps came into view. Iris recognized them immediately. The anger that rose in her was far stronger than anything she’d allowed onto her face while Owen was talking.

If Cyrus would leave Owen’s side, perhaps the changes could still be undone. Iris might be able to get back what she’d had before their friendship began to interfere.

But removing him was proving difficult. He was like a stain she couldn’t clean away without getting it on herself. If Owen noticed what she’d done, he might start asking questions she had spent a long time making sure he never thought to ask.

Owen raised an arm to wave Cyrus and Audra over.

Iris watched him, then made up her mind again. Cyrus had to be separated from Owen, and she would have to find a way to do it without exposing what she’d kept hidden.