Wrecked (7 page)

Sarah reached out and casually hit Candi on the shoulder with the back of her hand.  “I wouldn’t waste my time on him.  He doesn’t get serious with girls, and he never goes out with the smart ones, even if they are cute.”

Candi stood there in horror, realizing that Sarah was on to her, somehow having figured out that Candi was in puppy love. 
How embarrassing. 
She couldn’t think of anything to say so decided to go with denial.  “Who me?  Kevin?  Don’t be silly.  He’s totally not my type.”

“Oh, yeah?  So who is your type then?”  Sarah asked, a challenge in her voice.

“Well, smart.  Of course Kevin is smart, I’m not saying that he isn’t or anything … ” 

Sarah raised her eyebrows.  “And?”

“And, well, he would be strong and athletic … which I know Kevin is also, but I’m not talking about Kevin … ”

“Continue … ”

“And he would also be nice and serious, too,” she finished lamely, knowing she’d pretty much just described Kevin to a T.

“Alright.  Let me get this straight.  Even though you just described a person exactly like my brother, he’s not your type.  Okay.  I get it.”  She went back to ignoring Candi and reading her magazine.

Candi stood there, alternately staring down at the floor and up at the ceiling.  Her strategy to engage Sarah in conversation hadn’t gone exactly as she’d planned; now she was roped into buying a bathing suit that was going to take half of her savings to pay for and probably going to make her feel practically naked – and Sarah knew she had a crush on Kevin. 
Shoot me now.

***

The shuttle dropped the Petersons and Buckleys off at the port where the cruise ship was docked.  The air was already starting to get heavy with the Miami humidity.  All of their baggage was piled in front of them.  The men found some carts and loaded the bags, as the women headed towards the check-in area.

It was like a huge cattle call.  There were hundreds of people – families, couples, singles – all standing in one giant room that had several agents checking people in at counters on the far side of the high-ceilinged space.  After people checked in, they left their bags with the agents and walked up a ramp that led them out of the reception area, presumably to where the boat was waiting.

The Petersons and Buckleys stood in a group, staring at the mass of people in front of them.  

“Okay, everyone, let’s get in line!” said Frank enthusiastically, a big grin plastered on his face.  

Sarah rolled her eyes, watching as her brother grabbed a cart of luggage and started pushing.  Jonathan tried to do the same, but he wasn’t making much progress.  His cart was really loaded down.  Candi moved over to help him, and together they wrangled it over to the nearest line.  Angela and Candace followed directly behind them.  Glen had his nose buried in a cruise brochure and didn’t realize he was being left behind.  Sarah strolled behind the group, wishing she wasn’t with them.

“Dad, come on!” yelled Jonathan.  

Sarah looked back and saw Glen glance up at the sound of his name, lost.  Seconds later, realization that he was alone dawned on his face.  

He hurried over to join them in line.  “Oops, sorry about that.  I was just reading the technical brochure.  Did you know that this ship was recently retrofitted with new Wärtsilä diesel-electric generators to reduce fuel consumption?”

Everyone but Jonathan stared at Glen with empty looks.  “Oh, yes, I did read that.  It’s exciting.  I wonder if we’ll be able to tell any difference.”

Glen chuckled.  “It’s not likely, son, since we’ve never been on a cruise ship before.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”  Father and son shared a smile.

Sarah couldn’t help but stare at them.  They were like aliens in her world.  A kid who got along with his dad like that?  The look on her face said it all –
that is just not natural.
 

Sarah looked over at Candi and noticed a mutinous expression on her face.  She’d been watching Sarah carefully.  Candi looked over at Sarah’s father, barely disguising her dislike before looking back at her father.

“Cool, Dad.”

Mr. Buckley smiled at his daughter.  “So, Gumdrop, what’s the first thing you’re going to do when we get on board?”

“I don’t know.  Maybe explore a little bit?”

“Actually, Gumdrop,” interrupted Kevin, “you have to stick around your room and get ready for the muster.”  He wiggled his eyebrows up and down at her and smiled.

“Muster?  What’s that?”

Jonathan jumped in to answer. “The muster drill is when all of the people who are onboard the ship respond to the call, which is seven short blasts of the ship’s horn followed by one long blast, to report to their lifeboats with life jackets on.  It’s like a practice run for a sinking ship situation.  International law requires that it be conducted within twenty-four hours of departure.  The captain of the ship is required to instruct the passengers on the escape routes and use of life vests,” he paused a millisecond to take a breath, “and you have to stay totally silent during the drill so you can hear what the captain is saying.”  He smiled at the group that was now standing around him with their eyes glazed over.

“Okaaaay,” responded Candi.  “Thanks for that very complete answer.”

“You’re welcome,” responded Jonathan cheerfully.

Kevin chuckled under his breath. 

Sarah pressed her fingers to the bridge of her nose, as if she were fighting off a headache.  “Seriously, Jonathan, you need a hobby or something.”  He couldn’t be more textbook nerd than he was.  She didn’t know whether to be fascinated or irritated.

The adults turned their focus to checking in the families, their turn finally coming up.  Once that was done and all the bags identified and stowed away with the agents, they followed the crowds walking to the ship.

Candi kept glancing back towards the bags with a concerned look on her face.

“Don’t worry – they’ll deliver them right to our rooms.  When we’re done with the muster, they’ll be there,” said Kevin.

“Oh, yeah, okay.  That makes sense.”

“Why’d you look so worried?  Are you carrying some contraband in there or something?”

“What?!  Oh, my god, no.”  She was all flustered.  

He started laughing at her, but not in a mean way.  Sarah was intrigued by the look on her brother’s face.  It’s almost as if he was … charmed or something.

“Oh, you were joking.”

“Yeah, I was joking.  I’ll bet you’ve never even touched anything remotely considered contraband in your entire life, right?”

Candi looked down as she walked, not answering right away.  Sarah could tell she was embarrassed and wrestling with some inner demons.  She wished she could read the mouse’s mind.

“Yeah, you’re right.  Never.”

Kevin patted her shoulder.  “Good for you.  Don’t get mixed up in that stuff.  Stay straight.  It’s not good for the body or the mind – and you’ve got a good thing going on there.”  He smiled lecherously.

Sarah saw it as a chivalrous attempt to take Candi’s mind off of whatever was making her frown right now.  She couldn’t figure out why he kept flirting with Candi, though, since she definitely wasn’t his type.  Maybe he was just trying to make her blush.  The girls he usually ran with weren’t the blushing type, and Candi’s face was on fire now – like it usually seemed to be whenever Kevin was around.

“Yeah, okay.  And thanks.  I think.”  Candi looked at the ground, refusing to meet his gaze.

Just then they reached the door to the inside of the ship.  The interior looked dark compared to the outside where they were nearly blinded by the bright Miami sun reflecting off the side of the dazzlingly white ship.

Frank took charge.  “Okay everyone, get your ticket and your IDs out.  And let’s make a plan for meeting up later.”

Sarah looked down at her ticket, frowning.  She looked over her mom’s shoulder to see her ticket.

“What the hell, Mom?  You guys have an ocean view with balcony and you have us on the inside without windows?  Are you friggin’ kidding me?”

Frank stood there with a fake smile frozen in place.  He spoke carefully through gritted teeth.  “Yes, that’s right.  Kids below decks and parents above.  Someday when you’re buying the tickets, you can spring for a balcony.  Until then, deal with it.  Okay, sweetie?”

Sarah huffed out a breath of air and stormed off, knocking a couple of guys out of her way, ignoring the catcalls that followed her.  

***

If Sarah had turned back she would have seen Candi and Jonathan sharing a look.  They had no idea what the big deal was.  Who needs a window in a room you’re just going to sleep in anyway?

Frank continued as if the tantrum hadn’t just happened.  “Let’s meet up after the muster drill for dinner.  We’ll do the first seating at the Nautique Restaurant at six o’clock.”

Candace and Glen nodded at one another.  “Sure, Frank, that sounds great.  We’ll see you later, then.”  Glen turned to Candi and Jonathan.  “Kids, just get settled in and do the muster drill, then we’ll see you for dinner, okay?”

Candi and Jonathan agreed immediately.  Candi knew they were both thinking the same thing – freedom!  She was happy to be getting away from their parents.  Not that she was planning to get into trouble, but it wasn’t often that she and Jonathan did things with other teenagers and no adults around outside of school activities.

“It’s party time, guys, let’s hit it.”  Kevin clapped Jonathan on the back as he walked by.  Jonathan stumbled forward, catching himself before he fell into his father.  

They all entered the dimly lit interior, using the map given to them to find their rooms.

Candi noticed that Sarah and Kevin were traveling down the same hallway as she and Jonathan.  Eventually, they stopped at the door directly next to her and Jonathan’s door.  

“Oh, shit, they actually have us rooming together, Kevin,” said Sarah, looking down at her ticket.

“That’s lame,” he responded. Then he looked up at Jonathan and Candi.  “You guys rooming together too?”

They looked at their tickets, comparing them.  Jonathan responded, “Yep, looks like it.”

Kevin and his sister exchanged knowing looks.  Sarah shrugged her shoulders.  Kevin looked at Jonathan and said, “How ‘bout this Jon … you change tickets with Sarah and come room with me.  Then the girls can be roommates next door.  That way, we don’t have to deal with hair stuff and makeup all over the bathroom, and we can take a dump with the door open.”

Jonathan just nodded his head, a stunned expression on his face.  Candi was pretty certain he was trying to picture a situation where he’d want to go to the bathroom with the door open and another guy in the room. 

Candi was grateful that her brother seemed temporarily speechless.  “Yeah, that’s fine with me,” she agreed.  This way, she could have some more quality time with Sarah.  If they roomed together, maybe they could become friends and … 

“Well, it’s fine with me, but I’m going to be the first one in the shower every morning, and I call the table inside for my makeup area.  You can put your stuff somewhere else,” said Sarah.  She held her hand out to Jonathan.

He stood there looking at it, confused as to what she wanted.

“Hello, McFly, key please.”

“Oh, yeah, sorry!”  He handed her the plastic card key and took the one she offered.

Candi looked at her brother.  “See you later, Jon.”

“Yeah, okay.  We’ll come and get you and go to the muster together.  We’ll be in the same lifeboat area.”

Candi nodded her acquiescence.  Now all she had to do was figure out what she and Sarah could possibly talk about that wouldn’t be humiliating, unlike her super crush on Sarah’s brother or her lack of proper cruise attire.

CHAPTER THREE

Making Waves

Sarah used the key card to open the door.  She stood staring at the inside of the cabin.  “Holy shit, this sucks.  I can’t believe there’s no window in here.”  She casually gestured towards Candi.  “If I vomit on Sugar Lump here, it’s not going to be my fault.”

 Kevin took a quick look inside their cabin while saying absently, “That’s Gumdrop, idiot, not Sugar Lump.”

“Whatever.”  Sarah brushed off her brother’s correction and went into the room.

Candi followed, trying not to think about being vomited on by someone who wouldn’t care one bit about doing it.  She could probably ask her brother for a seasickness remedy.  If she knew him, he had one in his backpack somewhere.

Candi shut the door to the cabin, leaving the guys standing out in the hall.  She looked around and realized there wasn’t much room to move around.  Candi saw that there was a small table with a mirror in front of it off to the right, opposite the bathroom door, which she guessed was the makeup area that Sarah had claimed for herself.  Candi didn’t much care since all she wore for makeup was some occasional eyeliner and mascara, if that.  Lots of the time she went without any at all.

There was a knock at the door.  Candi turned around to open it expecting Jonathan to be there, but it was a man in a white uniform with their bags.  He left them on the bed and then continued on his rounds of bag delivery.

After he left, Candi watched Sarah open up one of her bags and start rummaging around, mumbling under her breath.  “Where is that thing? I know I packed it … A-ha!  There you are!”  She pulled out a small piece of material in a leopard print.  She was humming as she reached to open another, smaller bag, pulling out a pair of very high heels from inside.

“What are you doing?” asked Candi.  She looked at the material and shoes, thinking Sarah was putting on some kind of negligée and heels, which didn’t make sense since they were going to be leaving the room soon.

“I’m getting ready to muster.”  And with that, she started pulling off her clothes.  

Candi stood there speechless, not used to strangers just stripping down in front of her.  Sarah was wearing a really sexy, lacy bra and matching g-string panties.  Candi thought about the serviceable white cotton underwear and flesh-colored bra that had zero lace anywhere on it that she was wearing, feeling embarrassed that her things were so plain.  She looked at the bathroom to gauge whether it was big enough for her to change in so maybe Sarah would never know.