Chapter One

Alex sat in the kitchen with her arms crossed and stared at the red and white checked pattern on the tablecloth. Her stomach growled. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Aunt Sophie approaching in her paint-splattered jeans.

“C’mon, kiddo, eat up.” Aunt Sophie placed a plate of scrambled eggs in front of her. “These are eggs like you never tasted—from my own chickens.”

“Not hungry.”

Her aunt sighed and sat down.

Alex turned away and looked out the window at the ocean off in the distance.

“Alexandra,” Aunt Sophie said, “I can live with the grumpy face, but you have to eat.” She pushed the plate closer and plunked a glass of apple juice down beside it.

“Don’t want it.” Alex nudged her chair away from the table. “And my name is Alex.”

“Alex, then. You’ve been here for two days already. You can’t keep sneaking the cookies and pop I bought as a treat for you and not eat regular meals.”

Alex’s head snapped up in surprise.

“Hey, I can see when a cookie box is empty as well as anyone.” Aunt Sophie smiled. “Sorry, kiddo, I’ve got to pull out the responsible adult act here. You’ll just have to sit there until you finish it.”

“Fine!” Alex scowled and stabbed her fork at the yellow mound, stuffing in a mouthful. The eggs were soft and creamy. Her stomach growled even louder.

“See, it’s not so bad.” Aunt Sophie patted her shoulder and got up from the table. “Besides, you need your strength. It’s a sunny day, finally. We’re going out.”

Alex gulped down the cold juice. Out? She couldn’t think where they would go. Brier Island had no mall, no movie theatre, and no arcade. There was nothing at all to do.

They strolled down the dirt road. Aunt Sophie didn’t drive unless she had to. Alex could see a sketch pad peeking out from her aunt’s bag. Hmmm, she’s probably going to try to get me drawing again, Alex thought. Her aunt was wasting her time.

“Oh, look.” Aunt Sophie stopped suddenly and pointed to a cluster of yellow flowers by the side of the road. “These are endangered.”

Endangered flowers? That was silly. They looked like plain old buttercups—nothing special about that. A fat bumblebee droned past her and landed on one of the yellow petals.

“What a great shot,” Aunt Sophie said. She pulled her camera from her bag and started snapping away. “So unusual, too—I’ve only seen Eastern Mountain Avens in Big Meadow in the nature preserve.”

Alex glanced across the field at the water. She could hear waves crashing against the shore. The sun was warm. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes. The rays felt good on her face.

After a few minutes, Alex noticed the camera had stopped whirring and clicking. She opened her eyes to see what her aunt was doing.

Aunt Sophie was staring at her with a weird expression on her face. Was she going to cry?

“What’s wrong?” Alex glanced back over her shoulder. There was nothing but the flowers, the cliff, and the ocean.

“What?” Aunt Sophie seemed to snap out of a trance. “Oh, it’s nothing. I thought…it looked like you were almost smiling there for a minute. It caught me by surprise.”

Alex didn’t say anything and resumed walking. Her aunt kept pace beside her. They travelled in silence for a while. Butterflies and bees continued to cross their path.

“You know, if you want to talk—”

“I don’t,” Alex said. She clenched her hands and started walking faster, almost tripping in her sneakers. They were dark blue and a size too big. Dust from the road billowed around her.

“Okay, slow down! Forget I said anything.”

Alex ignored her, practically running now.

“Please stop, Alex.” Her aunt jogged beside her. “I promise I won’t mention it again.” She touched Alex’s arm. “I promise.”

Alex slowed down and let out a deep breath. An old man riding a bicycle smiled and waved at them as he passed by. The bicycle was rusty with huge tires. It looked like it was from a museum. So did the man. With his frail hands and wispy white hair, he looked like he was made of parchment paper.

“Hi, Henry.” Aunt Sophie waved back.

Alex didn’t wave or smile.

The tide was out. Mustard-coloured seaweed covered the rocky shore like a blanket. A bright white and black seagull sat amongst the thick strands, its beak clamped around a purple mussel.

Not that long ago, Alex would have been reaching for the coloured pencils and sketch pad that she always used to keep with her.

Instead, her gaze was drawn to the ferry as it sped away from the dock towards Long Island. Only one thought was in her head.

How could she sneak on board and escape from this island prison?