Free Nora & Kettle by Lauren Nicolle Taylor Page B

proudly, his high cheekbones seeming to stick out even prouder.
    I roll my eyes. “What people? Cat people?” I say sarcastically.
    Kin ignores me but I can see his nostrils flare as he looks left and right, holding a piece of his sandwich out in front of him and shaking it.
    A meow sounds out of place amongst the sloshing waves and seagulls cackling. Tiger Lily sidles up to Kin, rubbing her body against his leg. “She won’t eat anything else,” he says dotingly as he feeds her with one hand and pats her with the other. She purrs.
    She tries to rub against my leg and I shift it, tempted to push her into the water. “You need to stop wasting your food on that thing,” I growl, pointing. “Look, she’s getting fat.”
    He picks her up under her arms and smiles, almost touching his nose to hers.
    “Ugh!”
    “You’re not fat. You’re just growing, aren’t you, Lils?” he says to the squish-faced ball of fur.
    I arch an eyebrow, but there’s nothing I can say. He never listens to me anyway.
    ***
    “This looks good,” I say to Kin, pointing down the alley between two buildings in opposition to each other. A burnt-out, ‘affordable housing’ project next to a luxurious, historical brownstone. It still smells faintly of smoke, but it should be quieter than the average alley as there’s no one in the apartment building and I’m banking on the brownstone residents keeping to their side.
    “I think you’re confusing good with dirty and unsanitary,” Kin quips, narrowing his eyes. He rolls his shoulders and starts in on the conversation I hoped we could avoid. “I can’t believe you stopped me today, Kettle. That man, if you can even call him that, was being a jerk.”
    I sigh. “He just bumped your shoulder. You need to learn when to walk away.”
    Kin shakes his head like he’s so disappointed in me. “You heard what he said. The word he used.”
    I purse my lips. “It doesn’t matter. You need to ignore it. It’s not worth getting in a fight.”
    “Then what is? How far do we let them take it before we say something?” he asks, his voice getting stronger, more agitated. We’ve stopped on the corner, and people are starting to stare. I grab his shirtsleeve, and he shrugs me off. My eyes dart around, checking for men in dark blue or green, gold stars sparkling on their lapels.
    I glare up at him, trying to warn him with my eyes. “Really far, Kin. Really, really far.”
    I jerk my head toward the alley, and Kin stalks ahead of me. This fight will go nowhere, and he knows it. I wait a few seconds before following, making sure no one’s looking in our direction. Lamps are flicking on, the dark swarming over the buildings and dripping down the walls. My bones ache inside my salt-crusted, slightly sunburned skin. The walls from the two buildings lean close to each other over the alley. Kin stands right in the center with his hands on his hips, his shadow lengthening as the sun begins to set. I look up. I won’t get to see it tonight. Too risky. Maybe sunrise…
    Kin shouts, “Dumpster or cardboard box?”
    I approach him quickly, hoping he’ll quiet down.
    His temper has flared and burnt out already, and he smiles at me as I throw a soft punch to his shoulder. “Who am I kidding?” He laughs. “There’s no cardboard box.”
    I laugh, though it’s not funny. I’m thinking of home. The Kings. The golden light dancing on sandy walls.

 
    13. FIELD TRIP
    NORA
     
    It’s been three weeks since Mr. Inkham visited and gave me the incomprehensible news. Since then, my father and I have slipped into a monotonous, but safe pattern. Avoidance. He leaves early, returns late. He’s working on something important, and we do our best not to run into each other.
    The foyer tiles are wearing down, skirting where she landed. We’re digging a line in, carving a path around the shape of her body.
    “Nora, are you listening to me?” Miss Candace, our tutor, swipes a hand in front of my face, a warm breeze