Eden Island: Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Not Quite Alone

I heft the last of my belongings into Wanda’s SUV. I remember when she first bought it. Her entire life, she’d driven a car that barely worked. Then, alongside my trust fund, she’d been saving up for a brand new car. She’d always wanted a dark blue Audi SQ8, saying that it looked expensive. And it was. Whenever I worked any kind of job, I would always split my check and part of it would go to her car fund, of course. She never knew. Wherever I went, I made sure that I was trying my best to pay her back for the love she’d given me. Wanda was the closest thing to a mother I would ever have. I planned to become something big and make lots of money, so I could give her a comfortable life where she could help people worry-free.

Eventually, she gathered enough money to buy her dream car. She now had a fancy car that made her feel good, so it certainly wasn’t a waste. Every time I saw her in that car, it reminded me of how hard she worked for the sake of those around her. Simply thinking about it brought a smile to my face.

I close the trunk of the car, thinking about how long it will be until I can see her again. I climb into the passenger seat, fiddling with my hands. Wanda slides into the driver’s side, and fastens her seatbelt. I don’t look up.

“Yuna, it’ll be all good. You can call me whenever you want. I promise. This will be good for you, I’m telling you,” she says, turning to me.

I nod, not meaning it. If she’s happy, then that’s what I’ll focus on. I wouldn’t think about how I wouldn’t see her for a year. How I’ll be surrounded by rich, priveliged kids. How I wouldn’t be able to earn money if I was on that island. Shoot. I was already thinking about it.

The car rumbled to life, and we backed out of the driveway of my latest foster home. This one hadn’t been that bad, in all honesty. The father had been alright. He treated me fine and all. His wife had been the issue. She didn’t particularly like me, only the money I allowed to be brought in. I worked, so I had enough money for food. Wanda let me use her old clothes. I slept in their garage. It wasn’t my first time, but perhaps it would be my last.

We drove in silence to the docks. I was supposed to get a ferry to the island, though I wasn’t entirely sure. I had no idea what to expect.

The docks were crowded with students. Some knew each other, some hung back and analyzed others. I was positive I would be joining them. Wanda pulled out an orange envelope with all of my documents in it. Apparently, Eden needed my entire life to come with me in order for me to go to their stupid school on their stupid island.

Wanda turned to me and held out my documents. I took them from her hands without a word.

“Just a second, please,” she said, a smile forming on her face. She reached into her bag and pulled out a box.

“Open it,” she said. I smiled, mumbling thanks as I took the box. It was wrapped in white paper with a silver bow tied neatly across it. I gently pulled at the ribbon, and peeled the expertly applied tape from the paper. Wanda took the paper from me. I gasped as I saw what was in the box.

“New headphones!?,” I exclaimed, my fingers flying over the packaging. Wanda laughed.

“Honey, I had enough saved up for you in your college fund to send you to an Ivy League university, and some to spare.” She said with a sheepish grin.

“But how? That’s not possible!” I said, my mind scrambling to figure out how she had done it.

“I won the lottery,” she said, clapping her hands together. I laughed, elated.

“How much? Do you have enough now to be set for life?” I asked, still excited. She nodded.

“I won a fair bit. I have a retirement fund now. I’m not quitting my job, though. I love you kids too much to do that,” she said, winking. I smiled, and wrapped my arms around her.

“I love you, and I’ll miss you. I wish you could come with me,” I said, feeling tears form in my eyes. This would be the first time I would be without Wanda.

She hugged me back tightly.

“It’ll be alright, kiddo. You got this. You work hard, okay?” She said, pulling away and looking at me. I nodded wordlessly. If I spoke, I knew I would start bawling right here and now. She hugged me one last time before turning away

“See you in the Winter Break, honey!” she called, waving. We had arranged that during Winter Break in December, I would come and stay with her. She would be legally adopting me, since we could now afford to. Eden was taking me on full scholarship. I waved to her as she walked away. For the first time, I was truly alone.

I turned to the sea of students. Over the throng of people, I could see three booths with giant signs over them. One read ‘RETURNING STUDENTS’, which was crowded with students. The other read ‘FRESHMEN’, which had a fair amount of students and on the far end, was the one that read ‘NEW STUDENTS’, which was empty. That would be where I went.

I pushed my way to the table. There was a man there who looked to be in his mid-thirties. He smiled.

“Hi there. What’s your name, sweetie?” he asked, his voice friendly. I smiled back coldly.

“Yuna Seo, sir,” I responded quietly. He nodded and looked down at his clipboard. I couldn’t help but notice that there were only two names. I felt a rustle beside me, and there was a boy there. He was tall and handsome, with dark hair styled into a classic middle part. He had pale, healthy skin and wore average clothes. He had a shoulder bag on, and a single suitcase like me in his hand.

I turned back to the man at the table, who was picking up boxes and a clear plastic package with some information about the school in it. He handed it to me, smiling.

“The paper on top is your ferry ticket.”

I nodded thanks, and turned to leave but stopped when I noticed the boy staring at me.

“What?” I said, looking down. I wasn’t dressed weird, was I? It was hot outside today. My t-shirt and shorts weren’t out of the ordinary. Maybe he’d seen them at Walmart or something.

“Are you a junior?” he asked. I nodded.

“Do you know anyone here?” he said. With sudden clarity, I could see the nervousness in his eyes. I shook my head. He let out a sigh of relief.

“Me neither. Are you also an overpriveliged rich kid?” he asked. I shook my head again, and he smiled. I returned the smile genuinely.

“Wanna wait for me? We should be friends. Birds of a feather, and all.” He said. I smiled again.

“Sure.” I put down my bag. He turned back to the man at the table, who waited expectantly.

“Wurin Song, sir.” he said politely. The man nodded, and pulled out the last of the objects from under the table. The boy, Wurin, took the stuff from his bag.

“Thanks,” he said before turning around. “Shall we go?” he asked. I smiled and nodded.

We walked to the ferry in silence. We showed our tickets to the ticket master, who ushered us into the boat.

It was big and spacious, with many floors structured like an airplane. We found two seats together by the back. He took the window seat, and I took the aisle seat.

“Yuna, right? Yuna Seo?” he said. I nodded. “Seo… Korean, then?” he asked.

“Yep,” I said, staring down at my phone case. I looked at him, and a grin had broken over his face.

“You too?!” I said, suddenly excited. He nodded.

“Do you speak Korean?” he asked. I nodded again.

He leaned back in his chair, laughing relaxedly. He looked back at me.

“Do you mind if I speak casually to you?” he asked in Korean.

“Sure,” I said with a smile. “I’ll speak casually too, then.”

We talked some more as the boat started to fill up with students. It turned out that he had also lost his parents. He remembered them, though. I didn’t. I hadn’t even seen pictures of them. We talked about school, about Korea, about food. I learned that his favourite food was ramyeon, like me. We high-fived over it.

The loudspeaker over our heads crackled to life.

“Hello, students! This is your captain speaking. Welcome to another year at Eden Academy!” A round of applause ensued. Wurin and I looked at each other and laughed, clapping with everyone.

“Your ride to Eden Island will be about 4 or 5 hours long, so get comfy! We have complementary Wi-fi, and free food coming around soon! We also have bathrooms, and we invite you all to get drinks from the cooler! Catch up with friends, make new ones, and have fun! On the first floor of the ship there’s a mingling area, in case some students would like to sleep. Enjoy your time, kids! And once again, welcome to Eden Academy!” The loudspeaker clicked off, and students started making their way to the mingling area. I stayed put, and Wurin made no move to leave.

Eventually, it was us and one other girl. She put headphones in and closed her eyes. I turned on my phone and opened a playlist. Wurin put in headphones, and I did as well. I closed my eyes, and the gentle rocking of the boat put me to sleep.