Lifeboat Lighthouse

Chapter 3

Cruise Day 3 - Somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea (Becky's POV)

I woke the next day with a pit of anxiety in my stomach. The thought of a full day trapped on the ship in the middle of the ocean with no way of escape didn't sound like my idea of fun. I knew Freen was working today and, as much as I would have liked to turn up at whatever bar or restaurant she was in and hang out there all day, it didn't really seem like the best idea after she had turned me down last night. I needed something to get my mind off her though, a distraction.

I began to scan through a leaflet of things to do on the ship, and eventually came across a beginner's cookery class that was being held by an award winning chef in one of the restaurant kitchens. I was a terrible cook, so I guess if I was going to spend my day doing something productive, it might as well be something that would come in handy this time next year, once I was finally able to move out. As much as I hated to admit it, I couldn't survive off sandwiches, bananas and cereal forever, which were basically the only things I ate when someone else wasn't cooking for me.

The class didn't start until 2pm, so I spent the morning messing around in the pool with Rosie and then joined my parents for lunch in the open air restaurant on deck. They were more than pleased to hear I was actually doing something other than reading today, almost so pleased it made me reconsider going to the class at all.

Once 2pm rolled around, I made my way to the restaurant. I felt sick to my stomach at the prospect of putting myself so far out of my comfort zone; this was kind of a big step for me. As I arrived into the kitchen, Chef John Reece was already talking to the class. I walked in quietly and took a place at the back.

"Because of the large numbers that have turned up today, we're going to put you into groups of 3 to work on your recipe, but I expect an equal effort from everybody, no slackers in my kitchen." the chef announced assertively. He then began to split everyone off into their groups, putting me with two girls around my age that seemed to have came to the class together.

"Ok, five minutes to get to know each other, then we'll get started." he informed us, before moving his way around the room to sort out ingredients for each group.

"Hi, I'm Irin." one of the girls announced confidently, holding out her hand to shake mine. "And this is my friend Nam." The girl beside her smiled in response.

"I'm Becky." I offered up shyly.

Nam looked at me for a moment inquisitively before speaking. "I don't think I've seen you about the ship before?"

"Yeah, I've mostly been with my family and stuff." I replied. Silence fell between us as I searched my brain desperately for something else to say. "So....how do you guys know each other?" I asked after a few awkwardly long seconds.

"We met on a cruise last year actually, and then we kept in touch after." Irin said, looking over to her friend to give her a quick smile. "Have you met any of the other teens on board yet? There seems to be a lot more on this cruise than our last."

"I met a few of the guys.." I said, hesitating before I continued. "Let's just say the experience was...interesting." I tried not to come across offensively, in case they were people the girls knew.

At the mention of boys, Nam suddenly got very excited. "I've seen a few cute boys! The guy who's dad owns the ship seems pretty hot."

"Seng? That's one of the guys I met actually." I admitted.

Nam's face dropped. "And? Spill? What's he like?"

I looked back and forward between the two girls. "Honestly? He's a pig." I said bluntly. They both broke out in a chorus of laughter.