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Authors: Lisa Williams Kline

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BOOK: Blue Autumn Cruise
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At the same time, I was wondering,
How in the world did he get on the ship?
Someone would have had to bring him on board. But why?

10
S
TEPHANIE

I
didn’t know what was going on with Diana. She acted so jealous of Lauren and me at first, and then she started acting like she didn’t care what we did.

I had been trying to include her with what we were doing. Like, I asked her several times to come down to the employee part of the ship with us to videotape. She wasn’t interested.

When Lauren and I first went through the door that said Employees Only, I did feel strange, like we were
doing something we shouldn’t be doing. But Lauren just went straight through without hesitating. We walked down the hall, by all the closed doors. Daddy had said there were almost as many staff on the ship as there were guests, so there were a lot of employee rooms.

We peeked into a bar, with bottles lining a mirrored wall behind the counter, which was just for employees. Lauren was going to shoot some video, but there was hardly anyone in there, so she changed her mind.

Then we found the employee cafeteria, or mess hall, and a lot of people were in there eating dinner. It wasn’t as nicely decorated as the parts of the ship that were for customers. The tables were long rectangles, in tight rows. Most of the employees were still in their uniforms. We even saw Manuel eating dinner, and Lauren started videotaping him while he was having a conversation with the guy across the table from him. Manuel didn’t see us at first; he and the other guy were leaning in, and their conversation was pretty intense.

Suddenly Manuel shook his head, and then he glanced up and saw us. A look of anger came across his face, and he wasn’t as friendly and polite as he had been when we interviewed him in our room. “What are you girls doing here in the employee cafeteria?”

“We’re just working on that project for school,” Lauren said, taking the camera away from her eye
and holding it close against her body, “and we’re videotaping in different places on the ship.”

“Did you ask the cruise director if you were allowed to come down here?”

“No,” Lauren said. “We didn’t think there would be anything wrong with it.”

“Sorry,” I said. I felt terrible!

“You should get permission before coming down here,” said the guy sitting with Manuel, who looked and sounded American. I wondered if it was the American roommate he’d told us about.

Manuel put down his napkin and stood up. “Let me walk you young ladies out.” He herded us out of the cafeteria and down the hall. “The management is very strict about who is allowed down here,” he said in an apologetic tone. “If you ask the cruise director, and he says yes you can come, then that would be okay.”

“We just want to know what goes on behind the scenes,” said Lauren.

“Go see the cruise director and see what he says.” Manuel held the Employees Only door ajar for us. “Bye, girls,” he said. “See you later!”

We stood in the hallway outside the door.

“We should have asked before going in there,” I said. “I hope we’re not in trouble.”

“Dad says it’s better to ask forgiveness than to ask
permission. I’m glad we went! And we can ask the cruise director. Manuel sure seemed anxious to get rid of us, though, didn’t he?”

We headed down the long hall and then took the elevator back up to the teen-club deck. Back in the teen club, Guy and Evan stopped playing video games long enough to ask about the video we’d shot in the employee section of the boat.

“Oh, we just took a short little piece,” I said. “They told us we had to leave.”

“Can we see it?” asked Guy.

Lauren shrugged. “Sure, let’s watch it.” Lauren plugged the camera into one of the video monitors near the editing suite.

We saw her wide shot of the employee cafeteria, with the plain linoleum tables lined up. Then we saw the camera pan across the various people in uniform eating at the tables and focus on Manuel and the guy with the American accent talking.

“Turn it up,” said Evan. “See if you can hear what they’re saying.”

Lauren turned up the video, and we watched.

Manuel said, “It is gone, that is all.”

The American said, “What do you mean, it’s gone? How did it get away?”

“I do not know,” said Manuel.

“You have to find it,” said the American.

“I have looked. I cannot find it anywhere.” Then Manuel shook his head, looked up, and saw us. He asked us what we were doing there.

Lauren paused the tape. “So, that’s their conversation.”

“I wonder what’s gone?” I said curiously.

“Yeah, rerun it,” said Guy.

We watched the scene again, then sat quietly, thinking.

“So something has gotten away, and the American told Manuel that he had to find it,” said Lauren. “I wonder what it is. I wonder if it’s connected to what Diana heard them talking about before.”

“What’s that?” asked Evan.

“Diana overheard them talking about doing something illegal,” said Lauren.

“Whoa,” said Guy. “Weird.”

“I don’t like talking about this,” I said. “Manuel is so nice. And he has all those little children at home in the Philippines.”

“Yeah, but something is definitely weird,” Lauren said.

“Let’s just have fun on our vacation and forget about this, Lauren,” I said. “I don’t want to think about it. Grammy’s birthday celebration is tomorrow,
at the dress-up dinner, and we have to make plans for that. I want us to write speeches or maybe a poem for Grammy.”

“That’s so like you, Stephanie, wanting everything to always be so perfect,” she said. “Well, sometimes things just aren’t.”

“All you have to do is ask the cruise director. He’ll probably say yes, and then you’ll be able to investigate,” Guy said.

“Meanwhile we can keep an eye on Manuel when he comes to straighten our room,” Lauren said.

Josh came over to us. “What’s up, guys? Your faces look like trouble.”

“Do you think we could get permission to videotape down in the employee part of the ship?” I asked.

“What for?”

“We just want to see what goes on behind the scenes,” Lauren said. “It’s for a school project, since we’re missing a few days of school to come on this trip.”

“My first thought is the answer would be no,” Josh said. “They’re pretty strict about guests not going into the employee area. But I suppose I could ask the cruise director.”

“That would be great,” said Lauren.

As soon as Josh left, Evan said, “Hey, it’s almost time for
Pirates of the Caribbean
to start on the outdoor screen. Should we go?”

“Yeah!” Guy said.

We checked with the ‘rents, and they said it was okay, so we took the elevator to the top deck and headed out under the stars. The staff had arranged all the lounge chairs in rows for watching the movie on the big screen. Warm blankets were neatly folded on each lounge chair. A lot of people were already out here, and waiters were bringing drinks and snacks for the movie.

“Ooh, this looks comfy!” Lauren said. She climbed onto a chair and spread a blanket over her legs.

We were only able to find three lounge chairs together.

“Well … two of us could share, I guess,” Lauren said. “Come on, Stephanie, you and I can share.”

“Okay!” Giggling, I crawled under the blanket with Lauren.

Guy took the chair on my side, and Evan took the chair on Lauren’s side. We scooted the three chairs close together so they touched.

It was a beautiful night, and brilliant stars were spread out over us. The water all around us made a hushed noise, and the boat’s engines purred beneath us.

All of us had already seen the movie when it first came out, but we were always up for watching
Pirates of the Caribbean
again. In this one, Jack Sparrow was searching for the Fountain of Youth, but so were Black-beard and his daughter.

“I can’t wait to see the part about the mermaids again,” I told Guy. “I’ve always loved mermaids.”

“These aren’t good mermaids, though,” Guy said.

“Well, one is,” I said.

“I wish I could order something from one of those waiters,” Evan said. “I think it’s so cool to sit out here and order something. You just charge it to your room, right?”

“Yeah,” Lauren said. “Hey, check out those people making out over there.”

We all looked over at two people not far away sharing a lounge chair. They were wrapped around each other under the blanket, their faces close together in the dark.

“Oooh,” said Evan. He made a kissing noise.

“Evan!” said Lauren. “Be quiet!” But she giggled.

I curled both arms underneath the blanket. As I watched the movie, I was aware of Lauren snuggled next to me on the lounge chair. I was even more aware of Guy next to me on the other side. The evening air was cool, and he was warmer than Lauren, and fidgeted less.

There was one scene in the movie where a scary mermaid popped out of the water next to a boat, and I screamed and put my hands over my mouth. As I took my hand away, Guy reached over and took it. I was
surprised at first, but I didn’t pull away. His hand was warm. I could feel my heart beating and could hardly pay attention to the rest of the movie. I let my hand remain in his, where all my nerve endings were at full alert and my whole arm began to tingle.

Once the movie was over, Lauren wanted to wander around and videotape some more. Evan said he’d go with her.

“Want to just stay here and look at the stars for a few minutes?” Guy asked me.

“Sure.” My mouth felt dry, and my heart thudded, but I wanted to.

“Okay, so you guys are staying here?” Lauren said carefully.

“Yeah, just for a few minutes. We’ll meet you back at the teen club,” I said, ignoring the look she gave me.

As soon as Lauren and Evan were gone, a silence fell over us. I couldn’t think of a thing to say. At the same time, I was acutely aware of Guy sitting right next to me. My mind raced through a dozen thoughts as I scanned the star-spangled sky, and my heart began to beat faster.

“So, what’s with your stepsister, Diana?” he asked. “She isn’t hanging out with us much anymore.”

“I don’t know. She’s definitely been acting a little different,” I said. “But she isn’t much for groups.” I didn’t want to say anything negative about Diana.

“I get that. I don’t like big groups that much either. Because of my diabetes, I’ve always felt a little different. People watch me when I test myself and bolus and ask a bunch of questions, and sometimes it feels awkward.”

“Bolus? What’s that? Now I’m asking questions.”

“That’s okay. That’s when I give myself a dose of insulin to correct my blood sugar. But anyway, having diabetes has helped me understand what it’s like for people who might be different. And sometimes people can be mean.”

“Are people mean to you?”

“Sometimes.” He turned on his side and snared me with a challenging look. “Once in a soccer game, the coach put me in, and another guy on the team said, ‘I can’t believe you’re putting
him
in!’ like I was the worst player on the team or something. I know it was because I have to be careful about my blood sugar when I’m exercising, and I have to sip Gatorade through practice. That hurt. Anyway, are people mean to Diana?”

“Yeah. Some kids call her ‘annn-i-mal’ in the hallway at school.”

“Where’d that come from?”

I hesitated. I hadn’t told anyone about this. “I think it came from me.”

“You’re kidding. You said something mean about Diana? I thought you were close.”

I sat up to explain. I wanted him to see that I hadn’t meant it. “I told someone once, when I was mad at Diana, that she liked animals better than people. And then I guess that girl told some other people, and some kids started calling her ‘annn-i-mal.’ I didn’t mean to start it. I didn’t mean anything by it. I didn’t know the girl would repeat what I said.”

“What does Diana think about it?”

“Oh, it really hurts her feelings when people say that. But she doesn’t know that it was me that started it.”

“You have to tell her and say you’re sorry,” Guy said.

I didn’t say anything. I knew he was right.

“You have to take responsibility for what you did,” he added.

“But do you think she’ll forgive me?”

Guy regarded me seriously. “Maybe not right away.”

“I don’t know if I can do that. She’ll get so mad.”

Guy was silent for a few minutes. He seemed to be thinking about saying something and then changed his mind. He looked up at the sky. “The stars are so bright out here on the ocean.”

I knew he was thinking that I wasn’t brave enough to tell Diana. And maybe that’s what it took. Bravery.

He raised up on his elbow and pushed my hair back from my forehead. Then he reached for my hand again.

I could feel myself blushing. Something was about to happen.

It was as if the ship stopped there in the middle of the ocean and the earth stopped turning.

And then he leaned down and very lightly pressed his lips onto mine for a moment. His lips were very soft and warm. He pulled away, and I could hear him breathe, then he touched his lips to mine again. Mine tingled for a long moment after his lips were gone. His breath smelled like peppermint gum.

My first kiss!
Under the stars in the middle of the ocean!

“Hey!” Suddenly Lauren was right up in our faces, running the video camera. “I got it! I got it on camera!”

Gasping, Guy and I jerked apart from each other. “Lauren!”

“You knew I wasn’t going to leave you alone for too long,” Lauren said, laughing. Guy and I both sat up, embarrassed. “Besides, it’s almost curfew. We have to go back to the room.”

All in a rush, before I even knew what was happening, I was saying good night to Guy. He lightly touched my elbow as he moved away.

“I can’t believe you did that!” I told Lauren as we headed down to our deck on the elevator.

“Well, I didn’t want you to get in trouble by being late for curfew.”

“Still, you didn’t have to videotape us!”

“It was just a joke!”

“Well, I don’t think it’s very funny, Lauren!”

“Well, I mean, did you have anything to hide?”

“No!” I said, confused. “But whether we had anything to hide or not, you didn’t need to videotape us.”

BOOK: Blue Autumn Cruise
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