The week passed quickly. In between accompanying Hayden to jobs during the day and trying to maintain a somewhat healthy level of sleep, I barely had time for my family and friends. But of course they were busy too. My uncle, Nico and Robert managed to snag jobs that got them recognized by Fairwell and moved up to the slightly higher paying work opportunities, while Jessie also managed to break through the boundary by—to everyone’s horror—applying for a Mining Assistant job. She had two unlucky tries with low paying, non-construction ones, and out of frustration threw caution to the wind. Thankfully, there hadn’t been any bleeding whales around, and she managed to get through the day without much incident, earning herself 160 coins, her highest payday yet. I was sure her ears were still ringing from the rebuke her mother had given her, though, especially since Jessie hadn’t warned her in advance.
I wanted to pay a visit to my parents to see how they were doing, but since there was no bridge connecting their islet to any of the other islands, I had no choice but to wait for a job to appear that was located over there. At least I could get an update on Sunday about how Bea was doing.
Bea. It felt like an age since I’d seen her, even though it had only been days.
Come Thursday, the weather took a worrying turn for the worse. Since I’d arrived at Fairwell, every day had been sunny, but when I awoke that morning, dark storm clouds lurked in the sky, accompanied by heavy rainfall, which made me even more concerned about my parents on their miniscule island. I remembered what Anna had said about the artificial islands being particularly vulnerable in the face of storms, and I imagined the islet had to be even less stable. I could hardly focus on getting ready to leave for work, with thunder rumbling off in the distance and the occasional flash of lightning. The wind was also picking up.
But, of course, I had no choice but to head off to the bridge and catch the shuttle, as usual, forced to trust in Fairwell’s ability to prevent hurricanes. To keep us safe.
Hayden provided me with a thread of comfort when I met him, informing me that he’d experienced stormy activity twice since he’d been here, and that it evaporated quickly once the “diffusers” were dispatched.
Winds lashed the islands all day and the rain continued to pour, but by the end of the next day, to my relief, Hayden had been right. All traces of the storm had faded, the sky returning to its former brilliant blue. Later that evening, I spotted a fleet of dark, bulky aircraft in the sky, descending near the meteorologist center at the top of Founders’ Fortress. I guessed it would have been a lot worse without them.
With the threat of the storm behind us, as we arrived at the end of the work week, my mind started to linger once more on the issue of my earnings. Honestly, I had suspected after the second day with Hayden that I wasn’t going to make enough that week, but the following days confirmed it. The pay was still too low on the selection of jobs that had been made availableto me. Every day my parents remained in that grim islet building was a day of extra suffering. I needed them with me, so at least I could care for them and see that they were okay. Make them feel as at home as was possible in our current circumstances. They would probably also recover faster in a private, comfortable environment. But to get them out of there I needed at least 10,000 coins.
I had to figure out how to break through to a higher pay level like Hayden had somehow done to earn bronze within a month. I’d caught a glimpse of his screen, and he had a much larger variety than me; some even located next to the fortress, which I guessed had to pay much better. It almost seemed like he was choosing to take on the same jobs as me that week for my sake, maybe just to keep an eye out for me. That left me uneasy, half-guilty that he might be passing up better pay, half-irritated that he evaded telling me how he’d managed to level up so fast.
Getting hit by another 50-coin utility bill on Friday morning didn’t help my mood.
It was then that I decided I would call Anna on Monday and try to get her to ‘throw me a bone,’ as she’d hinted she might. Tagging along with Hayden wasn’t doing either of our earnings good. He seemed to be holding back on accepting better jobs, and I clearly needed to navigate my own way through this system. I hadn’t told him yet about my decision, but I couldn’t delay it much longer.
There was also one small thing I wanted to do for him before we went our separate ways… I wasn’t sure how often I’d see him after Monday. Maybe not at all, or at least not like this.
After a day of cleaning medical equipment at Beauchamp Hospital on Saturday, I headed to the floating market that had stopped at our island. It held three rows of stalls, which mostly sold household equipment, groceries, and clothing. I walkeddown the aisles until I found a little stand displaying raw textiles and sewing equipment. I sifted through the mini rolls of colored thread curiously, chose three of them, then selected a small strip of stiff fabric and a needle, all of which cost me five coins.
Then I headed back to my house and began to sew. My Uma had gifted me some of her seamstress skills, and now I found myself reveling in a creative challenge, more than I’d previously thought possible. It made me feel alive in a way I’d almost forgotten, even though I’d barely been here for two weeks.
I worked swiftly, my fingers dancing around the fabric, weaving to and fro, and I fell almost into a trance at the nostalgia and therapy it brought me. Once I was done, I turned over the result of my labor in my hands and felt pleased. It came out better than I’d expected. Hopefully Hayden would like it.
I phoned him later that evening.
“I wasn’t expecting to hear from you so soon,” he said when he picked up, that rough edge making it difficult not to smirk. We’d only parted a few hours ago.
“Yeah, well,” I said, picking at a loose thread on my sleeve. “I know your birthday’s tomorrow. I was thinking… maybe we could take the day off? I need to see my sister, but you could come along if you want. We could meet at my place in the morning and head to the main isle together. Make a day of it.”
There was a pause, long enough that I pictured him frowning at his phone, caught off guard. When he spoke again, his tone was a little lighter, maybe even cautious. “I… Sure. If you’re sure you want me there.”
I almost laughed at how genuinely surprised he sounded. “Yeah. Nine o’clock work for you? It’s a bit of a hike to my place.”
“Yeah, that’s fine,” he replied, his voice quieter now. I could almost hear him trying to figure out what had prompted this. After a beat, he cleared his throat. “Alright. I’ll see you in the morning, then.”
“See you then,” I said, and ended the call. I didn’t know what to expect from tomorrow, only that I wasn’t dreading it.
SEVENTEEN
Hayden arrivedat 9:00 exactly the next morning—just after I’d finished a small breakfast of sandwich paste—and my aunt and uncle were close on his heels. We would all have to walk up to Martha’s place, because this morning the shuttle service was down for maintenance for that route.
When my aunt and uncle noticed Hayden standing next to me, their eyebrows shot up.
I suppressed a smile. “Good morning,” I said, stepping out onto the porch and giving them a brief hug. “This is my employment officer, Hayden,” I said, then added, “It’s his birthday.”
Hayden shot me a look, the barest roll of his eyes, but he offered his hand anyway. My uncle shook it, giving him a polite nod. “Happy birthday,” he said gruffly.
“Thanks. Nice to meet you both,” Hayden replied, just a hint of color rising on his cheeks.
My aunt’s gaze lingered on Hayden a little longer than was strictly polite.
“Shall we head out?” I said quickly, ushering everyone off the porch and pulling the door shut behind us.
