Captain

First Day || 6

I awoke to a loud pounding on the door and looked out of the port hole. It hadn't yet begun to brighten outside. Inwardly groaning, I threw on a light sweater and opened the door.

"G'morning, Delilah. Time to start the day!"

"It's too early, but good morning to you too, Tom."

"Welcome to life on a ship," he smiled. 

"Oh, trust me, I didn't miss it." 

He looked at me curiously and opened his mouth, but before he could speak loud footsteps came to my door. Ben swung inside and hid behind me as Clyde ran up to us. 

"Have you seen Ben?" Clyde asked.

Even though he could obviously able to see over my head, I played along with him. 

"I haven't seen them, have you, Tom?" I replied.

"Nope."

"Hmm, maybe they're somewhere else." Clyde turned as if to walk away when Ben jumped out from behind me. He ran and climbed onto Clyde's back. 

"There he is, Clyde," Tom laughed. 

They flashed small smiles at each other before Clyde dashed away with Ben hanging on tightly. I looked at Tom again as he spoke.

"Captain said she'd have to come 'round to your cabin after breakfast if that's alright," he said. "By the way, I hope you're in good shape because she usually makes everyone do a mini workout before we eat."

"Sounds good to me. Is there any particular reason for her visit?"

"The clothes you brought. She wanted to go through them with you and give you some new ones. I'll allow her to be the one to explain further."

"Okay, thanks Tom. I'm going to get dressed and I'll be right out for breakfast," I said.

"Okay, Delilah. We'll all be on the upper deck. See ya in a few," he smiled and walked down the hall towards the forest. 

I closed my door behind him and turned to face my room. To the right of the door was the small chest bolted to the floor, and I opened it to pull out some clothes. Based on what Tom had said, I didn't think a dress would be appropriate for the day, so I pulled out my only pair of trousers and a loose linen shirt. I put on my underwear and clothes before turning to look in my full-length mirror. 

It was then that I remembered where I was. 

Thankfully the loose pants almost look like a skirt, I'm not like Bellamy. She can wear anything and look stunning from what I've seen. I would be uncomfortable in pants, particularly around the men.

I brushed my hair and put it in a bun on the back of my head, and put on socks and boots. Hopefully the workout won't be too strenuous, or else I'll barely be able to get through the day. I'd hoped the women wouldn't have to do much, but it seems as though this ship isn't run the way the world expects. No petticoats and no exceptions for labor. This will be interesting. 

I walked toward the ladder and stared in awe at the trees for a minute. I quickly rushed to the ladder so I wouldn't be too late. I climbed the ladder and ran to the prow of the ship. 

Everyone was already seated and turned to look at me, except for Ben who was facing the complete opposite direction.

"H- Hey, everyone.."

"'Morning, Lila. Punctuality is appreciated, but since it's your first day I'll cut you some slack," Bellamy greeted. 

"Thank you." I smiled and sat down beside Tom and Clyde. A few people who's names I didn't know sat nearby, but as they conversed I found out their names are Ida, Will, and Sam.

Bellamy stood and said, "Alrighty, before we eat what I'm sure will be a delicious breakfast," she glanced at James and everyone nodded in agreement. Bell continued, "As you all know, we have a new crew member. Her name is Delilah," she gestured to me. "So we'll have an easy workout thanks to her."

A few people cheered.

"First things first, 4 laps around the deck. After that meet back here."

I noticed everyone removing their shoes so I mimicked them and we all stood in a line including Bellamy. 

"On your marks!" Tom yelled.

"Get set!" Clyde continued.

"Go!" screamed Bellamy.

Everyone took off at once. 

Lap one, no problem.

Lap two, I got a little tired and fell behind.

Lap three, I fell further behind to last and started sucking in gulps of air. 

Lap four, the final lap, and I was barely running. I had to walk a few times and my face burned as sweat dripped in my eyes. All the other people were standing but I plopped down on the deck and tried to breathe. 

Luckily it didn't seem like too many crew members were judging me, and I assume they've been in the same position before.

"Nice job everyone. James won yet again, with a time of five minutes and forty-three seconds. Ida wasn't far behind with just over six, I came in third with six minutes and twenty-five seconds. Ben in fourth with six minutes and fifty seconds." 

We all clapped and I realized the  morning run was a sort of unofficial race. My own time was well over 10 minutes and I hoped to improve it over the course of our travels. 

"I know we're all hungry and thirst after that, so we'll drink some water before the rest of the workout," Bellamy said. "Today, as I said, we're going easy. So after a few sips of water, we will each do 10 push-ups, 15 sit-ups, and 10 squats."

Each of us nodded in turn and I gratefully accepted the cup of water someone passed to me. I drank a bit and started the rest of the workout. 

By the time we were all done, each of us were getting warm, so we went below deck to the galley. James came over and handed me a plate with eggs, bacon, and potatoes. After I thanked him, I took my plate and sat beside Tom and Clyde again and started to eat.

"James is an amazing cook, right?" Tom said.

"Yes, definitely!" 

Clyde nodded in agreement and we all resumed devouring the meal. I drank more water than I have in a long time.

*a/n this is my longest chapter yet, but I apologize for the wait. I've been super busy with school and sports. this wasn't really edited, so please point out errors. thank you for reading, have a good day/afternoon/night!!*

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