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She stops unpacking her suitcases and joins me at the window.
“Yeah?”
“You see that bird, right?”
She crowds in so she can see out the small, dirty window.
“Huh, it looks like it’s looking right at us. Weird.”
“Yeah, but is it?”
“Optical illusion,” she shrugs. “Or it is and we’re about to have the wildest adventure ever. Wanna know why?”
“Why?” I ask, tearing myself away from the odd bird.
“Because we’re in Scotland baby!” she grabs my arms and jumps with excitement.
I jump along and we sing-song that we’re in Scotland incredibly off-key I’m sure but she’s right. Over our loud singing the raven screeches as it flutters right past our window. Savannah and I both jump in fear, whirling in time to see the black wings flutter right before they disappear from sight.
“Okay, that was weird,” Savannah says, then we laugh it off.
Chapter Two
After dinner that night, we go to the hotel bar. There’s a singer/guitar player for entertainment in one corner of the room who’s performing for the small crowd of what looks like locals and a handful of fellow tourists.
As soon as our loose group walks through the double doors, we’re given the once over by those already gathered before they return their attention to their conversations. In the far back corner, cast mostly in shadows, one man seems to pay particular attention. Although I cannot make out his face, the strangest feeling that he’s staring at me causes a chill to race down my back. Savannah pulls on my arm, breaking my attention away from the stranger.
“What you drinking?” she asks.
I smile. “Beer is fine.”
When I glance back to the corner, the man isn’t there. I scan the room to see where he might have gone but don’t see any sign of him.
Our group gets our drinks, then we take over one of the U-shaped couches while the performer does passable covers of pop hits that are ten years out of date. I’m only half-paying attention to the conversation while my thoughts wander.
“Quinn,” Ryan says, jerking my attention to him. Gail has her legs tucked under herself and is leaning against him while he has one arm around her.
“Yeah?” I ask.
“You were pre-med, right?” he asks.
“I was,” I say, then take a sip of my beer.
“How does a pre-med student end up on an archaeology dig?”
“How does a high school jock end up doing anything that requires higher than a 2.5 GPA?”
Savannah laughs. “Oh, burn!”
Ryan laughs too. It seems like a real laugh; I can’t tell if he’s embarrassed and covering or not; his brown skin with orange-red undertones makes it impossible to see if he’s blushing. I doubt it, though; he’s too good-natured and self-aware.
“Good one,” he says. “It’s rare, but occasionally, God sends perfection to Earth. You’re welcome.”
“Oh baby,” Gail says. “You’re impossible.”
As she tilts her head back and they kiss, I avert my gaze, uncomfortable with the public display of affection though no one else in the room is paying attention to us.
“Now seriously, why’d you switch majors?” he asks, once he has finished.
