Snippet #1833310

The way Xeina described the situation – the blind signing of a contract with so many unknown factors – made Toby grin distinctly. When you put it like that, it did sound pretty ridiculous. But then it wasn’t like anything bad had come of it, they were all together on an exotic island and so far seemed to be having a good time. He did wonder where the others had got to though...hadn’t one of them mentioned swimming? Another was exploring the house...maybe eventually they could head back in and look for an obvious common area where everyone would migrate back to.

“Yeah really eh.” He laughed at the whole situation, looking down at the soft inviting sand and setting himself down next to Xeina, close enough for them to be able to talk over the sound of the rolling waves, though the air moved with only a perfectly gentle breeze. “I never thought about it like that until now. Still, no going back now eh?”

He smiled and ran his fingers into the sand, feeling the dry warmth. “You’re right though, if we’re all here for...well, that reason you’d expect us all to be...hah, different I suppose! Maybe that’s the problem. Not enough people back in the ‘real world’ appreciate the value of ‘different’.” He added a wink at the end in reference to Xeina’s previous remark about being different.

“If I’m honest,” he replied, “most of my free time is spent figuring out what I wanna do at college! My problem is that not many things keep my attention for that long. Finding a subject I could study consistently for three or more years is hard.” He looked out over the water thoughtfully and chewed his lip, “Maybe that’s why I’m here too. Because most people don’t hold my interest for long enough. Never really realised that before either.”

He leaned back on his elbows and blew out a breath of air. The coastal sand was as comfortable as any couch or bed, and he was certain that it would attract the others out sooner or later.

“What kind of stuff inspires you?” he asked, “I guess art allows you to look at lots of different kinds of things. Must give you a lot of...intellectual freedom I suppose. Not being tied to any particular subject matter.”