Adam Bates looked up at his sister climbing the palm tree, his hands on the trunk as if that would help steady the tree to keep his sister save. He didn't need to worry though, Ari was an expert climber after all, and fast, too. She reached to pick one of the coconuts and turned to look down at her brother.
"Can you step out of the way? So I can drop it?" Ari called out.
Adam stepped aside and a moment later the coconut hit the soft sand next to him with a thud. Ari started her descent and eventually jumped down next to where the coconut landed, but when she wanted to reach for it, her brother was faster.
"You picked it, I'll crack it," Adam announced. "Will be right back!" He ran to the hut where the family stored some knives among the utensils they use when visiting the island where Mum grew up.
Ari sat down in the shade of the palm tree, leaning back with her eyes closed. Relishing the feel of the ocean breeze playing in her long hair, she breathed in deeply, and enjoyed this quiet moment. Ari Bates was deeply intuitive, and lately, she had felt things were off. Adam, who was not only her brother but also her closest confidant, dismissed it when she brought it up after dinner the other day.
"You're just missing Mum and Dad," Adam said, and picked up the controller to continue the game he was playing.
Yes, even at 12 years old, Ari did miss her parents, who traveled along the West Coast of the U.S. and Canada for a series of meetings. But Ari knew their absence was not it. She felt something weird in the atmosphere, this strange undercurrent of tension. Mum would understand, she always did!
Dad often said Ari was just like Mum, and while she had the same blond hair and blue eyes as him, Ari definitely had inherited Neri's gifts, speaking with Charley before she even communicated with humans. She also had a large heart for everyone, especially those who were disadvantaged, marginalized, or in pain, and she tried to help and comfort them. None of this endeared her particularly with the kids at ORCA, who felt that Ari was odd. Accordingly, friendships rarely blossomed, her last friend moved away to ORCA South Atlantic two years ago. Thankfully, Ari was very content staying by herself, with her family, or with Winston in the lab.
Adam was a polar opposite to his sister. 14 years old, he had not only inherited his dad's looks but his father's take-charge attitude and sense of responsibility in everything he did. He was very smart, spending lots of time reading and learning while working alongside his Dad, Grandparents and Winston. Adam was adventurous, fun-loving and outgoing, which made him very popular with the kids at ORCA. His superior abilities in the water, inherited by his Mum, were instrumental when one classmate, Sabah, fell overboard from a ferry that brought the kids home from a mainland excursion a few years ago. Adam rescued Sabah, who was the top student of his class, but had never learned to swim. The two have grown into best friends since that day, always collaborating on class projects, doing their homework together, and spending as much free time together as her strict parents allowed.
Today, school was out early, and the Bates kids decided to visit their mother's island. Sabah was not allowed to come, as she had lessons with her Hindi tutor.
Adam, Ari and their 8-year-old sister Anna ran to the lab where Grandma Dianne and her colleague Winston Seth were discussing the results of a recent study. When they barged in just to let Dianne know where they were heading, Grandma held up her hand.
"Anna, you know you are grounded," she said sternly.
Anna put on her most dazzling smile and folded her hands to plead: "Please let me go. I did all my homework for school already, and I cleaned up my room, too. Pleaaaase, Grandma!"
"You know you are grounded for leaving our boat in the middle of the ocean yesterday WITHOUT telling me. I was worried sick when we could not find you!"
"But Grandma, you know I can swim just as well as Adam and Ari, there was no need for you to get worried!" Anna responded defiantly.
"Adam and Ari never swam off while we were out on a boat working! You are grounded this week so you remember not to worry us like that again!"
Anna crossed her arms defiantly. "It's so not fair!"
"Please Grandma, Adam and I will be with Anna the entire time," Ari pleaded.
"No, absolutely not. But you two go ahead and have a good time," Dianne said to the older siblings.
Adam and Ari, understanding that Grandma wouldn't budge, decided to head out without their sister then.
"Are you seriously going without me?" Anna called after them. "You're so mean!"
Ari turned around and looked at her sister sympathetically, but Adam just pulled her along. The last things she saw was Winston approaching Anna, undoubtedly to comfort her, as he would always do when one of the Bates kids were upset.
"Anna messed up, so I don't see why we should stick around at ORCA watching her mope." Adam said, as they walked to the elevator.
"But she's upset we're leaving her behind," Ari protested.
"So at least the lesson might stick," Adam responded.
Ari knew he was right. Anna got into trouble all the time, but often evaded consequences since she was the baby of the family and a little spoiled, especially by her older sister. In the end, Ari admitted to herself that it was nice to have some time alone with Adam. On their swim out to the island they greeted Charley, who was happy to see them. Once on the island, they did what they have done since they were small kids, climbing up to their mum's old nest to jump into the lake again and again, and later racing each other along the wide beach.
When Ari heard Adam returning with the cracked coconut, she opened her eyes and smiled.
"Here you go. Sorry it took a while, I had to sharpen the knife first," Adam said.
Ari frowned. "You know Dad said we kids were not do that."
"What he doesn't know…" Adam muttered under his breath, then added indignantly, "besides, I'm not a kid anymore."
Ari chuckled: "Yeah, you're about to get a job." She took a sip from the coconut and handed it to her brother.
"I AM in cadet training," Adam added importantly, and took a big, manly gulp, inadvertently spilling some of the coconut water over his face and shirt.
Ari laughed, then she pulled up her legs and propped her chin on one of her knees. "Do you WANT a career at ORCA?"
Adam, who removed his shirt to let it dry next to him, shrugged. "Why not? It worked out for Dad. Don't you want to enroll in the training when you're 14?"
Ari looked wistfully into the distance. "I don't know. I doubt I'd be very good at it."
Adam set down the coconut emphatically. "Nonsense, I know how smart and strong you are. There's more to becoming a leader than having a big month, you know that, right?"
Ari felt warm by these words. "Yes, I do."
"So stop selling yourself short. You're a future Queen after all."
He squeezed her arm encouragingly. Then, he stretched out in the sand and closed his eyes. This conversation was over as far as he was concerned.
Ari looked up at the sky. Somewhere in the far distance was the place that indeed would be hers to reign, some day. She usually tried to suppress the thought when it came up, too daunting a task it seemed to her to ascend the throne currently occupied by Grandma Shalamorn. She took another sip from the coconut, and reminded herself that for now she could thankfully just be Ari Bates.
A/N: Joey8, thank you for your kind review and story subscription. I'm happy you're coming along on the ride, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. The next one will bring back the focus on Neri and Jason, in case you missed them in this chapter :)
