was such a nice change from the usual silence that Esti managed to calm down by the time she came back out, combing tangles from her wet hair.
She grimaced at the smell of broiling tuna, however. All she wanted to do was crawl into bed and bury herself under the covers until morning, so she could race down to the theater. She wanted to throw herself at Alan, demanding to know more—she sighed—so that . . . so that he could tell her to go away. Maybe she needed a hot boyfriend like the Rafe that Carmen warned her about, if only to snap her out of this growing desire for cold rejection.
Sighing again, she stared at her mom’s glass of wine. The lightning had gotten closer now, accompanied by growing rumbles of thunder.
“Tell me what you did today,” Aurora said. “I can’t wait to hear about it.”
Esti stabbed a bite of the fish with her fork. “Well, I found out that Lucia is a good actress.”
Aurora raised her eyebrows.
“I mean, Carmen said she was, but I’ve never seen her act. Lucia planned to try out for Lady Capulet, then Mr. Niles gave that to me. She has a bit part in the chorus and mostly works on sets. She comes to every rehearsal, though, and she has big chunks of dialogue memorized with an accent she learned from a British radio station. She and I worked on the boat this afternoon with her doing Lady Capulet, and me doing Juliet. Apparently”—Esti kept her face expressionless—“she’s been listening to me practice all semester after rehearsals.”
“Very good,” Aurora said in approval.
“Yeah.”
“Did you go to Manchineel Cay?” Aurora asked as the lights flickered. “It looks so pretty from here.”
“We stopped to see it, but we didn’t get out of the boat. The cay is cursed. Drumbeats and eerie wails and everything.”
“Really!” Aurora leaned back in her chair, taking a sip of wine. “Tell me more.”
Carefully choosing her words, Esti began to explain about zumbi magic and the infamous massacre of Elon Somand. “Since Manchineel Cay is so close,” she ended, “that’s why the jumbees come to Cariba. We’re supposed to bar up our windows at night and keep a pan of water by the front door, and a hundred grains of rice by the back door. That distracts jumbees if they try to sneak inside. Potted herbs work as repellents too, like rosemary.”
“Jumbee repellent.” Aurora chuckled. “That’s good.”
“Of course,” Esti added dryly, “ moko jumbees also live on Manchineel Cay. Those are the good spirits who fight evil and protect people.”
“Hmm.” Aurora looked intrigued. “Does Lucia believe all that too?”
Esti studied her tuna, wondering if she could change the subject now. “Lucia’s whole family is afraid of Manchineel Cay. They were nice to me, though. Lucia said none of her friends hold grudges against white people who were born on Cariba, even if their ancestors used to own slaves. They go to all the same big island parties as Lucia’s family, like Rodney’s upcoming Christmas feast.”
“Really? That surprises me.”
“It’s the Continentals they turn their noses up at. Manchicay School has brought in a lot of rich outsiders, and I think they resent us.”
“It seems quite a privilege that Lucia is friends with you, then.”
Esti nodded, although she still wasn’t exactly sure why. At least this was a safer topic of conversation than jumbees.
“And,” Aurora continued thoughtfully, “Mr. Niles probably teaches theater here because he’s a local. I know you don’t think he’s all that good, but it might be necessary to keep the peace.”
“Probably,” Esti said. “Carmen thinks the theater department is all about politics. Mr. Niles has been putting a lot of pressure on Danielle, with the show coming up so soon. I guess he plans to spotlight Danielle to a few select scouts from Hollywood and New York.”
“Your dad was a master at avoiding theater politics.” Aurora’s expression grew distant. “Especially after
She grimaced at the smell of broiling tuna, however. All she wanted to do was crawl into bed and bury herself under the covers until morning, so she could race down to the theater. She wanted to throw herself at Alan, demanding to know more—she sighed—so that . . . so that he could tell her to go away. Maybe she needed a hot boyfriend like the Rafe that Carmen warned her about, if only to snap her out of this growing desire for cold rejection.
Sighing again, she stared at her mom’s glass of wine. The lightning had gotten closer now, accompanied by growing rumbles of thunder.
“Tell me what you did today,” Aurora said. “I can’t wait to hear about it.”
Esti stabbed a bite of the fish with her fork. “Well, I found out that Lucia is a good actress.”
Aurora raised her eyebrows.
“I mean, Carmen said she was, but I’ve never seen her act. Lucia planned to try out for Lady Capulet, then Mr. Niles gave that to me. She has a bit part in the chorus and mostly works on sets. She comes to every rehearsal, though, and she has big chunks of dialogue memorized with an accent she learned from a British radio station. She and I worked on the boat this afternoon with her doing Lady Capulet, and me doing Juliet. Apparently”—Esti kept her face expressionless—“she’s been listening to me practice all semester after rehearsals.”
“Very good,” Aurora said in approval.
“Yeah.”
“Did you go to Manchineel Cay?” Aurora asked as the lights flickered. “It looks so pretty from here.”
“We stopped to see it, but we didn’t get out of the boat. The cay is cursed. Drumbeats and eerie wails and everything.”
“Really!” Aurora leaned back in her chair, taking a sip of wine. “Tell me more.”
Carefully choosing her words, Esti began to explain about zumbi magic and the infamous massacre of Elon Somand. “Since Manchineel Cay is so close,” she ended, “that’s why the jumbees come to Cariba. We’re supposed to bar up our windows at night and keep a pan of water by the front door, and a hundred grains of rice by the back door. That distracts jumbees if they try to sneak inside. Potted herbs work as repellents too, like rosemary.”
“Jumbee repellent.” Aurora chuckled. “That’s good.”
“Of course,” Esti added dryly, “ moko jumbees also live on Manchineel Cay. Those are the good spirits who fight evil and protect people.”
“Hmm.” Aurora looked intrigued. “Does Lucia believe all that too?”
Esti studied her tuna, wondering if she could change the subject now. “Lucia’s whole family is afraid of Manchineel Cay. They were nice to me, though. Lucia said none of her friends hold grudges against white people who were born on Cariba, even if their ancestors used to own slaves. They go to all the same big island parties as Lucia’s family, like Rodney’s upcoming Christmas feast.”
“Really? That surprises me.”
“It’s the Continentals they turn their noses up at. Manchicay School has brought in a lot of rich outsiders, and I think they resent us.”
“It seems quite a privilege that Lucia is friends with you, then.”
Esti nodded, although she still wasn’t exactly sure why. At least this was a safer topic of conversation than jumbees.
“And,” Aurora continued thoughtfully, “Mr. Niles probably teaches theater here because he’s a local. I know you don’t think he’s all that good, but it might be necessary to keep the peace.”
“Probably,” Esti said. “Carmen thinks the theater department is all about politics. Mr. Niles has been putting a lot of pressure on Danielle, with the show coming up so soon. I guess he plans to spotlight Danielle to a few select scouts from Hollywood and New York.”
“Your dad was a master at avoiding theater politics.” Aurora’s expression grew distant. “Especially after
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