Uh oh, Rosemary thought. Eloise never calls me Rose unless something is going on. Rosemary sat there

with her worries for a while, staring up into the endless sea of stars. For a moment, just one moment, her mind

drifted into those stars, seeking help, seeking guidance, seeking care. And as if her prayer had been answered,

she snapped out of her trance, as Ricky yelled, “Land!”

Rosemary nearly fell off the boat after hearing that. “What? Where,” she hastily said. 

“Over there,” Ricky blurted out,” pointing ahead and slightly to the left.

          Rosemary looked where Ricky pointed, and sure enough, a little island was about 200 meters away. There

was a bit of fog surrounding it, but the island was beautiful. Hundreds of flowers dotted the island’s shore. “Oh

wow,” Rosemary said in barely a whisper, “oh wow.” 

          The other children had the same reaction. They were all gawking at the spectacular island. “It’s amazing,”

Eloise said. She grinned and yelled, “speed up the canoe!” The canoe leapt through the water, rowed by

excited kids, until they reached the shore. Rosemary felt so relieved, but her mind immediately wondered if

there were people on the island, and if they would help them. 

 

          Hope had returned in all the children’s eyes, including Eloise’s blue ones. As soon as the canoe reached

the shore, she jumped out and said, “let’s explore!”

         
          Rosemary immediately put a dampener on Eloise’s enthusiasm, saying, “I’m not so sure. The children 

need to rest.”

         
          “OK,” Eloise said reluctantly. “We can sleep in the canoe for now.” They were all so tired they immediately

fell asleep.

          The next morning, Eloise was up early. As soon as the others awoke, she insisted on exploring. “Alright,”

Rosemary agreed this time. They walked through the tangle of trees and brush until they reached a clearing.

The clearing was about 20 yards across and wide with a stream running off to its side. Best of all, they found

edible berries. They were so hungry they stuffed their mouths with them. Mmm, they were the best berries

they had ever had. With their bellies full and water beside them, the kids realized that despite their

predicament, they were having fun. 

          “Here,” Eloise declared. “Here is where we will build our temporary shelter.”

 Rosemary seemed uneasy. “Are we staying here?” Rosemary asked.

           “Well, temporarily, unless you know the way back, then in that case, let’s go find it,” Eloise

said sarcastically.

“You know I don’t” Rosemary mumbled.

“Then we better get to work building a shelter,” Eloise said.

          The children began leaning logs against trees. They filled up the cracks between the larger logs with

smaller branches. They softened the ground inside the shack with moss. By the end of the day, their arms and

legs ached, and they were exhausted. The shack was barely big enough to fit them all, but at least they had a

roof over their heads tonight.

          Eloise looked around the shack. Sila was huddled up into a ball, Molly and Mary hugged each other, and

the boys talked quietly in the corner. Suddenly, Eloise couldn’t contain her emotions. Sadness filled her whole

body, and hot tears fell down her cheeks. I’m the one who got us into this mess, Eloise thought. Now I’m the

one who needs to get us out.

 

          Chloe awoke early that morning. She looked around their tiny shack and noticed Eloise was gone. She

walked out and looked around the clearing but still no Eloise.She ran through the trees until she broke out onto

the sandy beach. There was Eloise, sitting on a log by the water. Chloe took a few steps forward and noticed

she was sharpening a stick. Chloe walked closer to Eloise. “What are you doing? Chloe asked.

“Sharpening a stick so I can fish” Eloise said. 

“You can’t! Chloe yelled.

“Why not?” Eloise asked.

Chloe was a vegetarian and did not like fish being hurt. “I’m vegetarian,” Chloe mumbled. 

          “Well, I guess you will be living on berries for who knows how long,” Eloise said sarcastically. “Eat fish or

starve.”

“Eat fish,” Chloe said.

          “That’s what I thought,” Eloise said. “I knew the genius wouldn’t get something wrong,” Eloise smirked.

          Chloe had enough. “Just stop it! I’m in the same grade as you and you are just as smart as me. Just

because I skipped a grad doesn’t mean I am a genius,” Chloe said angrily and stomped off back to the shack.

When she reached the little stream in the clearing, she sat down. It’s always genius this, genius that from

Eloise. When would she stop being mean and calling her genius? She listened to the water trickle down the

stream. She ran her fingers through the cold water and wondered if they would ever get out of here. This

island. Our island. The children’s island.

          That night, Rosemary and the kids brought back tons of berries and Eloise brought home some fish. The

boys managed to get a fire started and roasted the fish on sticks.

“Here Chloe,” John said, handing her a piece of fish. 

          “Thank you John.” Chloe forced herself to take a bite. To her surprise, it wasn’t bad. But, food does taste

better when you are hungry, Chloe thought. She glanced at Eloise and saw she was watching Chloe and

smirking. Anger bubbled inside Chloe as she thought about that morning. She marched into the shack, huddled

against herself, and thought things over. Maybe she should have a talk with Eloise. Could they ever be friends?

These thoughts troubled her mind as she drifted off to sleep.