“We should’ve listened to you more,” she says. “I’m sorry.”
Hugo bites his lip. “I’m sorry too.”
“About what?”
“There’s something I didn’t tell you….”
His dad smiles. “About the girl?”
“You know?” Hugo asks, astonished.
“Alfie again,” Dad says. “He’s always had a bit of a big mouth, hasn’t he?”
Hugo laughs. “You’re not cross with me?”
“Consider us even,” Mum says ruefully. “Where is she now?”
“I’m on my way to see her.”
“I thought you were with her.”
“I was, but…it’s a long story.” He pauses. “I’ll tell you when I get home.”
Their faces brighten straightaway.
“It’ll be nice to have you back,” his mum says. “Even if just for a bit.”
Dad smiles, too, a smile that’s just for Hugo. “Yes,” he says. “We’ll be sure to have a plate waiting for you.”
The train rounds a bend, and the craggy coast comes into view again. The waves are tipped in white as they rush to meet the sand, and closer to the tracks, the scrubby grass ripples in the wind. It all looks so surreal, so wild and beautiful, that Hugo forgets about his parents for a second. When he hears them say his name, he turns his mobile around.
“Look,” he says, moving it so they can see the view.
His mum inhales sharply. “Wow.”
“I know.”
“It’s just so blue,” she says as Hugo presses the phone to the window. And for a long time, they stay there like that, the three of them watching together.
The moment she stepsout of the airport shuttle, Mae instantly feels happier. There’s something about the air here, which smells faintly of flowers. The sky is a blinding, cloudless blue, and the palm trees rustle as the breezes sweep through them.
She’s standing across the street from the admissions office because her flight was late and her meeting starts soon and there’s no time to stop at the dorm first. Her boxes arrived there days ago, and she’s already heard from Piper—future roommate and imaginary travel buddy—that the room is tiny but nice. She can’t wait to see it.
Her backpack—which has been such good company this week—is slumped on the sidewalk next to her, and, looking down, she feels a surge of fondness for it.
It makes her think of home.
It makes her think of her travels.
It makes her think of the future.
But mostly it makes her think of Hugo, which is ridiculous because it was only a week, and now that week is over. She’s the one dragging it with her into this new chapter like it meant more than it did.
She gives the backpack a little kick, and it topples over. Then, with a sigh, she stoops to grab it. But before she can, someone bends to help her.
To her astonishment, she looks up to see Hugo.
Her first instinct is to laugh because it’s so impossible. But then she sees the way he’s grinning at her, and she wonders if maybe it’s not.
