1.17 I heard you're looking for me

I stare at the expansive horizon in front of me, trying to process the fact that I'm on a massive ship at 8 AM on a Monday. I do not like ships. They make my insides swirl like crazy. I look around me. Students from Hell Park High are milling about, completely finding this a normal trip for their school's Foundation Week. My kidnappers are nowhere to be found. As soon as we arrived at the port, Kier and Brad took no time to wander off. Hopefully, they're now far enough for me to even remember they existed. Ari, on the other hand, promptly yanked me into the ship and left me to get the Dramamine she promised. After making sure that the ship's exits were blocked by some staff, of course. She never misses a thing, that one.

As if conjured by my thoughts, I spot Ari making her way towards me, a glass of juice in one hand a familiar packet of pills in the other. "For the last time, where are we going?" I ask.

"The Amusement Park," Ari answers in the same exaggerated patience that she had the entire drive from my house.

I take a deep breath. "Ari..." I start to ask again. If she answers like that one more time, my fist might have to connect with something.

"Girl, we have a huge problem!" a petite, slim Korean girl approaches Ari. She has glasses on her nose and her hair looks like some birds have been living in it for a while.

"What? What problem, Olive?" Ari jumps, panicking. She turns towards the girl and they start whispering urgently at each other. It takes a while before she turns back to face me. "Dina, I am so sorry. I have to go. Here, make sure you take this, okay? I'm just gonna go murder Brad."

Oh. So, Brad is the problem. I can sympathize with that. "Okay. Make it painful for me." I tell her, carefully accepting the juice and the pill from her hands. She gives me an amused glance before heading off with Olive. I watch them go, putting down the contents of my hand on the small table behind me.

"Oh, wow," I mutter, almost losing my balance from the swaying around me. Ugh. Ships suck. I look at the pill in my hand before bringing it to my mouth. Tipping my head back, I gulp down the juice. Just then, the ship hits another wave and I feel my feet fail beneath me.

"Shit." I curse, bracing myself for the impact. But it does not come. Strong arms wrap around me instead, steadying me. I frown, looking up. It's David. His handsome face is amused.

"I heard you're looking for me," he tells me, keeping his arms in place. His warmth seeps into me and I revel in it. I've been denying it, but I realize I miss the guy.

It would be a cool day in hell before I admit that, though. "What? Of course not. Why would I?" I snap at him, trying my best to look annoyed. The corners of his mouth lift as if he knows something that I don't. In my periphery, I see Sebastian making his way towards us, and without thinking, I elbow David in the stomach.

"Ow!" he grunts, his face contorted in pain. He grasps his gut and slumps on the chair beside him.

My hands flew to my mouth. "I'm s--I'm so sorry." I gasp.

Arriving at the scene, Sebastian takes one look at us and shakes his head. "Do we have to hold another trial, Ms. Matthews?" he asks me.

"He started it!" I screech. I'm probably overreacting, but I can't help myself.

"You're welcome," David answers, his breath strained. I know he's referring to the help he offered me earlier, but I obviously can't thank him now that I've hurt him. Agh. Why do I have to act before thinking?

Sebastian chuckles at the both of us, then his eyes turn serious as he addresses David, "Hey, I heard what happened. How is she?"

I look at David, curious. Despite Sebastian's question, his attention is on me. There's a sadness in his eyes. His Grandma must be in bad shape. Now I feel even more horrible for attacking him.

"She'll be fine," David tells Sebastian, his smile reassuring.

The guilt inside me rose up, "Sorry!" I blurt out.

They both raise their eyebrows at me.

"Shut up," I tell them and they laugh. Though embarrassed, I give a slight grin. If David can still laugh like this, that would mean that his grandmother's condition is truly not that serious.

"Well, that's all I came to ask here. Both of you, enjoy the sea." Sebastian says, wagging his eyebrows meaningfully. I scowl at his retreating form while David looks at a distance, distracted.

I clear my throat awkwardly. "If you must know, your friends kidnapped me. And as of the moment, I still don't know where we're going." I announce.

David turns his gaze to me, giving a low chuckle, "What are you talking about?"

"They basically dragged me from home, dressed like weirdos. Every time I ask them where we're going, they just keep saying, 'To the roller coasters, at the amusement park'. And then, suddenly, we were at the port, boarding a ship."

David looks on as I narrate, amused. Without saying anything, he points at an island on the horizon. I squint at it, half-covering my eyes to protect them from the sun. "So, there's a small island there."

I still don't get it so I look at him questioningly.

"That's The Amusement Park. That's where we're headed." David tells me.

"An island? I didn't know there was an island with an amusement park here in Georgia." I say, gawking at it.

"That's 'cause it's private. Kier's family owns it," he tells me. Then, in a nostalgic tone, "It was our playground as kids." he shares.

I stare at him, dumbfounded. Of all the absurd things that came out of this guy's mouth, this one trumps everything. Their playground was an island? I mean, I know they're rich and all. They practically own HPH. But this is just preposterous.

"Who even is Kier?" I ask him, incredulous.

"He's a Livingston."

My jaw drops even further. "L-Livingston Inc.?" I whisper under my breath. It's only one of the largest companies in the entire world. They have hotels, malls, hospitals, and...everything.

"Shit," I murmur.

Beside me, David cackles.

"What about you?" I ask him.

"Me?" he gives me a look of confusion.

"Is your family rich too?"

"Wealthy." he corrects me, knowing I'd give him an annoyed look. "And yes, I guess you can say that. My mom...she used to work for the government back home and my Dad, he earned well from his work as an engineer too. We're not Livingston level though if that's what you're wondering."

I stare at him, noting his use of the past tense. I clear my throat, "Well, I wasn't expecting that you are. I mean, he has an island as his playground."

David smiles at me and we look at what's ahead of us in silence. It's funny. I started the year thinking I'd be in Botswana by the end of it. Now, I am in a world that is so completely different from what I was used to before. I wonder what my Dad and Koko would say if they could see me now.