Page 10 of A Discovery: Love and Other Things
I hoped to God she was right.
Chapter 6
Note to self: Angela Bowman was a liar and her previously occupied seat as “best college friend who happened to always score free drinks” was now available to the highest bidder.
Things hadn’t improved on the site. Dr. Campbell’s annoyance had becomemoreevident, and it was only the second day. The rest of the group wasn’t spared from his snappy nature, but I seemed to bear the brunt of it.
Anytime I hesitated for more than three seconds before answering one of his pop quiz questions, he’d bark at me for wasting his time. If I took too long grabbing him a tool that he was too lazy to get on his own, he’d mutter far too loudly that I was holding him back from his schedule. The man was incorrigible.
The only bright light of this internship was the generosity of my team members,sansIsabella, of course. Felipe had been kind enough to loan me an extra notebook and pen and Sean had gifted me a reusable canvas bag with “Waterstones” printed in large font over a sketch of books sitting on shelves.
As far as clothes were concerned, Angela had done only a slightly better job atstylingme today. The tan Banana Republic jumpsuit with cuffed sleeves and legs was less body-hugging than the previous day’s outfit, but I looked like a zookeeper doing lunch at the café on the third floor of a Nordstrom department store. At least my nipples weren’t ready to rip through fabric anymore.
“Sanura, what is taking so long?” The sharp edge in Dr. Campbell’s voice had the uncanny ability to my eye twitch.
While my team members and Dr. Campbell’s workers were preoccupied digging and clearing away debris from around the temple foundation, he had sent me on a hunt for specimen bags to secure some pottery fragments.
I couldn’t find them.
Sweat slicked my skin in the suffocating heat. Even though I was shielded from the hot afternoon sun under the tent, its presence was inescapable under shelter. I had never sweat so much underneath my boobs in my life, and the synthetic material of Angela’s jumpsuit wasn’t helping one bit. What I wouldn’t give to undo one, or four, of the gold buttons down my chest and air out like a thirsty spring-breaker in a bikini. I was sure that view would give a few of the older workers a stroke right on the spot.
With my unruly hair already in a topknot on my head, I fanned the back of my neck with my hand as my eyes scanned the area again, searching for the elusive clear plastic bags.
“Check in there.”
I looked up to find one of the workers, Abdul, nod toward a utility carrier on wheels. It was overflowing with brushes, mattocks for digging, rope, and trowels. I had already done a quick check of the contents and hadn’t found what I was looking for.
“I already checked,” I replied to Abdul in Arabic.
He was dressed in a white floor-length tunic with long sleeves, and I wondered how he could stand to be so covered up when it was sweltering out here.
Instead of being frustrated with me like Dr. Campbell always seemed to be, Abdul offered me a genial smile and came over to the carrier. He fished through it again.
“There they are!” I exclaimed as relief washed over me. I could have kissed Abdul, but instead, I offered him an appreciative, “Shukran,”which meant “thank you.”
Abdul nodded his acceptance.
But that voice roared through my ears again. “Sanuraaa!”
It was funny how my own name could grate my ears, but it seemed anything in the deep baritone of his voice could make the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
My feet scurried in the direction of a visibly fuming Dr. Campbell with his fists testily perched on his hips. The uneven rubble coupled with the unsteady sand had my steps twisting and turning in the clumsiest of ways. Suddenly, I lost my footing on a loose rock and jolted backward, sending clear bags soaring into the sky. Air rushed out of my lungs in a shrill screech as my ass slammed painfully onto the ground and my legs sprawled out in front of me.
My ankle!It throbbed murderously as I clutched my shin too scared to touch the injury.
“Kitty!” Angela called out as she ran to me. “Oh, my God! Are you okay?”
Within seconds, I was surrounded by the entire work team, all murmuring in various languages as they huddled over me. I wished some strategically positioned quicksand would magically appear and swallow me into the earth so I wouldn’t die of humiliation in front of everyone.
The crowd parted to let Dr. Campbell through. Without hesitating, he knelt, quickly taking in the tears that had fallen down my face.
My shoe had flown off during the whole debacle, so Dr. Campbell directed his attention to my bare foot. He hastily rolled up the leg of my jumpsuit to just below my knee. His hands were about to land on my skin when I pushed them away.
“I’m fine,” I managed to lie through the pain. I knew I needed medical attention, but it was too strange having my mentor fuss over me like an invalid.
“You’re crying, Sanura. This isn’t the time to play shy,” he growled.
Mortified, I swiped at the tears on my face but held my tongue as he examined my ankle.
