Ready to Run

t w o

Eddie stood at the end of the boarding dock, a wide smile on his face as the salty air ran through his hair. he walked up the ramp leading to the giant cruise boat, handing his ticket to the staff member at the entrance. his plain black suitcase followed behind him, packed full of his plain travel essentials and rattling from his wide selection of medication.

after the end credits of the Kardashians came on last Sunday, Eddie received a phone call informing him that he'd won the cruise trip for two. He considered asking someone to join him, but ended up donating the second ticket back to the church.

after checking in at the front desk and placing his things in his astonishingly well-decorated room, he headed out for an adventure.

it wasn't so much that Eddie didn't like change, just that he never had much chance to experience it. the vast variety of areas and events on the ship astounded him and he couldn't wait to begin his journey.

/⛵️\

the plain boy walked up and down the length of the ship in search of something fun to do. after taking a glance at a map, he decided on going to the waterpark on the front deck. he grabbed his things from his grand suite and made his way there.

upon entering he was swallowed by the loud noises and the massive crowd. apparently someone was having a family reunion, because surrounding him was a rather abundant group of people all wearing the same t-shirt. People relaxed together in groups scattered across the deck, and Eddie began to wonder if the cruise had been a mistake. He hadn't considered the possibility that he could be the only single person on board. Becoming overwhelmed with emotion, he walked to the edge of the deck and looked out onto the water and the boat below him. The sun had begun to set and the view was spectacular. Eddie was stood between two lounge chairs in a long line adjacent to the pool, and After staring off for a few minutes, he sat down.

Across the pool from Eddie, there was a boy. He was sitting back on a chair, his bright Hawaiian printed shirt unbuttoned, revealing his tanned chest. His eyes were covered by a pot of huge sunglasses, but the serenity of his being suggested they were closed. Eddie had never seen a bigger smile in his life. Earbuds were playing music in the boy's ears, and Eddie wanted nothing more than to know what song.

But, Eddie was a plain boy. He liked things to stay the same. And he figured that a cruise was enough change for one day. Eddie fell asleep, soaking in the sun. He dreamed of the boy in the Hawaiian shirt.

—

Eddie awoke the next morning in his suite. After his nap on the deck, he returned to his suite and ordered room service for dinner. That night, he decided that each day on this cruise he would try one new thing. That day, Eddie decided to try one of the classes offered by the cruise. The selection was vast, and they offered everything from cross-stitching to combat. He looked through the list for a while, then settled on a pottery class. Pottery wasn't anything too new, but it wasn't something he had tried before. Plus, maybe attending a class would allow him to make a friend.

It was 10am and the seminar was scheduled to begin at 11. Eddie swung by the breakfast buffet on his way to the class and grabbed some fruit. He didn't want to be late and wanted to make sure he got a good seat if a lot of people attended. However, it became apparent to Eddie that everyone else had this same idea when he walked into the classroom and it was nearly full. He surveyed the room, noticing mostly couples sitting together in front of those pottery skinny wheel things. Everyone had their own, and Eddie was one of the last to take a seat, sitting at one in the back near the door.

It was 10:55 when the instructor began giving the lesson. Eddie tried his hardest to follow along, but was easily frustrated and distracted by all the other people in the room. He had a hard time hearing the instructor from the back of the class, and copying instructions by looking at what others were doing was too complicated. He tried his hardest, but clay in his hands and hair Eddie decided enough was enough. He turned off his spiny thing and began to try and sneak quietly out of the classroom.

As fate would have it, just as he looked toward the door it opened, and another person busted into the lesson. But it wasn't just any person, it was the boy in the Hawaiian shirt. Although, this time it was a new, just as elaborately printed button up. His sunglasses were retired onto his head and his hair was as curly as ever. He was standing closer to Eddie than ever before, although when the door swung open it almost hit Eddie in the face.

When he opened the door he made no effort to do it quietly, and had drawn everyones attention to him. Noticing the attention, he cracked a smile and held a finger gun up to his face and then pointed it at the instructor. Everyone was silent.

"I'm here for the pot," he said in a serious tone.

Everyone was still silent.

The class was full of couples, sure, but they were all over sixty apart from Eddie. Sending the awkwardness, the boy slowly moved his hands out of the gun, put on his sunglasses and let out a deep sigh laced with laughter. Meanwhile, Eddie had been trying as hard as he could to keep his laughter inside. The effort however, was to no avail, and as everyone else turned their attention back to the instructor, the boy turned his to Eddie.

"I'm Richie," he said with a smile and extended his hand for a shake. "Love a guy that can appreciate a good pot joke," Richie paused, allowing  for Eddie to say something, but he couldn't seem to get any words out.

A familiar feeling had flooded Eddie's lungs. His asthma had returned. Eddie patted his pockets in search of an inhaler before he realized that he hadn't carried one since high school. His doctor told him that asthma went away with age, and he didn't believe it would return. The panic of not having an inhaler only made him breathe harder, and if Richie hadn't tapped him on the shoulder who knows what would've happened. With his left hand Richie handed Eddie an inhaler and smiled.

"Looks like I took your breath away."