Racing the Dark Read Online Free PDF Page B

Essel ..."
    Kali shrugged. "I don't know. I guess. Sometimes I just can't wait to get away from this place. It feels so stagnant here, like nothing interesting could ever happen."

    Lana might have agreed six months ago, but now she couldn't help but think that things were already changing, in a way that nobody wanted.
    Lana peeled away an orange rind and tossed it into the grove.
    "Okay, Kali. Let's make a pact."
    "For what?"
    "To go away together. To see all sorts of things we could never see on this island and then come back and tell everyone about it."
    "But you're a diver."
    "I'm not an elder, I can leave the island if I want. What do you think?"
    Kali placed the last orange wedge in her mouth and chewed slowly. "You know, Lana ... you're the kind of person who can do things the rest of us can't, but assumes that there's nothing special about you."
    Lana suddenly felt nervous again, but covered it with a smile. "Come on-do you want to travel with me or not?"
    Kali stared at the ocean. "If you want me to go with you ... if I can. Why not?"
    At the end of the day's lessons, Kohaku told Lana to stay behind after school. She loitered in the classroom as everyone cleared out, worrying. She felt terrible for falling asleep in class earlier and prayed that he wouldn't rebuke her for it. She watched him bustle about the classroom, picking up broken bits of writing gum and straightening the precious readers that he had brought all the way from Essel. She wondered if he ever regretted coming here-she knew their way of life must seem so primitive to him. She gathered that he was here looking for material to make his name in the great Kulanui in Essel. Maybe that meant he was using them, but Lana didn't mind as long as he taught her about the world. It was hard not to love someone who had shared so much of his knowledge with her. He was the very first teacher her island had ever had from the Kulanui, having come here because he had wanted to do his field study on a remote island near the outer shrines. She loved his exotic looks-his long reddish hair, his slim build, and his fashionable clothes.

    "Lana."
    Her heart started pounding. She had been so intent on studying him that his voice surprised her.
    "Yes?"
    Kohaku smiled. "No need to look so scared. It's nothing bad. Here, sit down." He gestured to a chair next to his desk. After a surprised moment, she sat down.
    "What did you want to talk to me about?"
    "You are a very promising student, Lana. I've given this very serious consideration, and I would like you to ask you to come back to Essel with me when I leave in two months and pursue your studies there. I hate the thought of you wasting away on a backwater island like this with your kind of talent. You could do great things, Lana. I see it in you."
    Lana's mouth opened, but her vocal chords didn't seem to be working. What was with everyone today?
    "But ..." her voice came out in a whisper and she cleared her throat. "But, I'm a diver."
    Funny how she now used the same excuse that she had so easily brushed off earlier that day.
    Kohaku frowned. "I know your island's traditions are important to you, Lana, but you have to understand the kinds of opportunities you would have on Essel. Do you want to live your whole life on this island without ever exploring your intellect?"
    Lana felt panicked. On one hand, Kohaku was offering her the exact kind of opportunity to see the world that she had always wanted-and, even more extraordinarily, to do it with him. On the other, she knew that something was wrong on her island. She couldn't just abandon everyone before whatever was happening became clearer.

    She shook her head. "I'm sorry ... I just don't know. I don't think I can leave right now."
    Kohaku put his hand over hers and stared earnestly into her eyes. "Don't say no yet, Lana. You still have some time. Just think about what I've said, okay?"
    Lana couldn't have said anything had she wanted to. She nodded.
    "Well, then. Your parents