Charlie stared out of the door that exited his room and out into a lush jungle forest, wondering why his mom had to take the medical position that had been offered her. Breathing in the various smells of animals, wood-smoke and vegetation turning sour in the Caribbean heat, Charlie listened to the various noises coming from the jungle, the grunts of pigs and the cackling of chickens before turning away and shutting the door and looking at his room.
According to his mom, it was the biggest in the house, but this really didn't impress Charlie at the moment as he thought about the single-story dwelling that he was sure might have been a barn or something at one point before it had been converted into a house.
"Hey," his mom suddenly said, distracting his attention and looking at the other door going into main section of the house, he listened as she asked, "How you doing?"
Shrugging, Charlie mumbled, "I don't know."
Still smiling, his mom told him, "Well, give it a shot. I'm sure you love this place," and turning, she started to leave, but stopped and said to him, "Why don't you go down to the town and look around. I'm sure that you can find something interesting to do there."
Shrugging again, Charlie looked about his room again, muttered, "Suppose," and was just about to do so when something came to mind and looking at his mother, he asked, "Do I have to go to St John Preparatory School? Why can't I just start to junior high, like any normal kid my age," thinking of how he had just turned twelve a couple months ago, right before they had moved to this Caribbean island.
"Give it a chance," his mother told him. "I'm sure you love it and you'll get so much more out of it than some public school."
Unsure how to respond to this, Charlie shrugged a third time. As his mom left to continue to doing whatever it was she had been doing, Charlie gazed about his room and decided that maybe he will walk down to the village and take a look around. "Who knows," he thought sardonically. "This place might actually have something that would make it worthwhile."
*****
Leaving the store, Charlie huffed in agitation at the poor selection and looking at the open water, he wondered once again why it was his mother's job had brought her here and what exactly she was doing. Sure that any more time in town would just be a waste of his time, he thought about walking back home, but decided to look at a couple more shops. Wandering down the dock, he turned onto a street that was unpaved like a lot of other streets and after a bit, wandered into another shop, not even paying attention to where he was going.
As he wandered, he glanced about, noting that everything in the store was aimed at girls and deciding he really had no business in here, Charlie turned and was about to leave when something caught his eye.
Approaching a rather old looking mannequin wearing what Charlie thought was a rather bright and flowery dress, he reached out and took the medallion hung round its neck in hand, amazed that it was so heavy and wondering who would actually wear such a thing. Gazing at the image, he thought it looked like somebody in throes of a very painful transformation and turning it over, he saw a world printed on the back that he thought must be some Caribbean word.
"Find anything of interesting," a voice asked behind him and causing him to drop the amulet and nearly toppling over the mannequin in process.
Glancing behind him, he saw a dark-skinned woman wearing a dark-coloured dress and shrugging, he commented, "Just the medallion. My mother might be interested in it," as he reached out, grasped the mannequin in an attempt to keep it from falling over and when it was steady, he reached for the amulet and picked it up again.
"Strange," the woman replied in a thick accent. "I have never seen this product before," and grasping the amulet by the chain, she took it from Charlie.
As the woman examined the strange medallion, Charlie glanced back at the dress and thought, "It really is a pretty sundress," and than, realising what he was thinking, he glanced back at the woman, who was saying, "I guess, if you are really wanting it, I could let it go for about fifteen dollars."
Knowing he didn't have it on him, Charlie asked, "Can you hold it? I can come back later today for it."
"I can hold it up for twenty four hours," the woman told him as she turned and headed over to a counter holding what Charlie was sure was the oldest cash register he had ever seen.
Following the woman, Charlie unconsciously brushed his hand against a couple other dresses and as the woman asked him, "Name?" he automatically told her, "Charlie Pukermyn," as he glanced about the rest of the shop, taking in various other garments.
"Okay," the woman said as she wrote his name down, and nodding, Charlie suddenly found himself really wanting to get out of the shop.
Commenting, "Be back later," he turned and nearly dashed across the store and outside.
As he breathed in the smell of salt coming off the sea, Charlie wondered what the hell had gotten into him, as he had no interest in girl's clothing. Glancing back into the store, he wondered if he should return at all and then decided that, if nothing else, he would buy it for his mother and glancing up and down the street, he began to wander.