Chapter 3.13

It was a regular Sunday at the Maldini household.

Esmerelda baked blackberry pie, like any regular grandmother who wasn’t a master thief would.

Jet and Isla decided to pass time while waiting for the pie to cook by sparring in the dining room.

Caleb was a skilled martial artist, and he had started training the two teens.

It was the beginning of Autumn, and that Sunday Tristan spent almost the entire day out in the yard raking leaves.

After he raked the leaves into piles, he set fire to them.

This was the quickest and easiest way to dispose of all the dead leaves, but it was best done in open spaces…

It seemed like it would be all be fine – until one of the hanging chairs caught alight!

Derek ran out to see what was happening.

“You set the chair on fire you fool!” he shouted as more family members rushed out to see what the commotion was.

Tristan didn’t take kindly to being called a fool, and continued to blast Derek with the fire extinguisher for several moments after the fire had been put out!

This ordinary Sunday was the lead up to an exciting Monday for Caleb, Jet and Isla. Caleb had a job to do for the family business overseas, and he was taking the two teenagers with him. Seeing as they had taken such an interest in martial arts it seemed fitting that they should get to visit the country where the practice had originated.

They arrived in Shang Simla around noon.

After they had put their bags away in their rooms, they decided how they were going spend their first afternoon in China.

Their first stop was the martial arts training center. Set up in the hills, it was place of tranquility and meditation where all the best martial artists visited to train.

Jet and Isla were both fast learners, and very disciplined so it wasn’t long before they moved up to the next grade of belt.

They soon decided to test out their new moves in a friendly sparring match.

Isla won the first match 2-1, but Jet was determined not to be outdone, and beat her in their second bout, while Caleb practiced some flashier moves in the background.

They ended up spending the entire afternoon at the training center before heading back to the base camp for a hastily prepared meal.

After dinner, Jet and Isla went outside and sat on the balcony.

“I can’t believe we’re really here!” Isla said as she stared out at amazing view.

“I know,” Jet replied, “It’s pretty amazing. I mean we’ve never even been out of Twinbrook before and now we’re all the way in China!”

“I just want to stay here forever,” Isla said, and shifting around, she lay down on her back with her head resting on Jet’s lap.

“What are you doing?” he asked, surprised.

“Looking at the sky,” she replied, “There’s so many stars here.”

Jet looked down at Isla, taking in the minute details of her face, with her creamy smooth skin and long black eyelashes. His eyes traced the soft curve of her full lips and he found himself wondering just what it would be like to… NO! You can’t think about that, he told himself sternly, she’s your cousin!

She’s only your mother’s cousin, she’s not even that closely related… a second voice in his head whispered.

We grew up together, he argued with himself, she’s practically my sister!

“Are you alright?” Isla asked, staring up at him, a quizzical expression on her pretty face.

Jet smiled at her and forced himself to relax, “Yes, I’m fine.”

She smiled back and he felt his heart skip a beat.

You’re being ridiculous, he told himself, as he lay back and stared up at the sky, with the warmth of Isla’s head resting against his stomach, before this trip you practically never even noticed she was a girl and now you’re feeling all strange just because she smiled at you, and thinking about… well… stuff you shouldn’t be thinking about. I really hope this goes away! Maybe it’s just being in a different place that’s making me look at her differently.

Their first day in Shang Simla was already over, and as Jet stared up at the sky he could only wonder at what the next day would bring.