Lifeboat Lighthouse

Chapter 13

Cruise Day 13 – Rhodes, Greece (Freen's POV)

I'd never really been a morning person. Trying to have a conversation with me before 9am had roughly the same success rate as starting a philosophical debate with an egg, it just wasn't going to happen. Even as a kid, I really hated when I stayed over at friend's houses and they got up super early to watch cartoons; it just wasn't my thing. So, when I started working on the ship, the early morning shifts were a bit of a shock to the system. They started at 5am, which meant I had to get up at 4:15am and, really, there should be some kind of law against that. It was difficult enough on a decent night's sleep, but recently I'd been staying up texting Becky until at least 1am, which basically meant I was a zombie the next day.

It was just after 8am, so I was 3 hours into my shift; 5 hours to go until freedom. Just thinking about how amazing the nap I was going to have once I finished was making me a little bit emotional.

"Excuse me?" A female voice called out as I passed their table. I turned to see two passengers staring up at me with curious eyes.

"Can I get you something, ladies?" I asked in the best 'I like serving problematic customers first thing in the morning' voice I could manage.

They both stared back at me blankly for a moment, looking awkward, until one of them nudged the other in the ribs, prompting her to speak.

"Uh, are you Freen?"

"Yeah?" I answered, skeptically. I didn't recognize them and I wasn't wearing a name badge, so it immediately unsettled me that they knew my name.

"I told you that was her," the other girl said to her friend triumphantly.

I furrowed my brow. "Um, sorry... do I know you?" It probably came out sounding a little ruder than I originally intended.

"Oh, no, you don't... you might know of us, though? My name is Nam and this is Irin," the girl explained, gesturing to the girl beside her.

It suddenly clicked with me who these girls were. They were the friends Becky had mentioned, but I had been under the impression that although they knew about us, they had no idea who I was. That was clearly no longer the case. I couldn't help wonder why Becky hadn't told me, and why the hell did her friends think it was ok to approach me while I was working and we were surrounded by other passengers?

"What makes you think I know you?" I immediately snapped back.

Both girls looked taken aback by my bluntness. "Um, we're Becky's friends..." Irin explained.

I stared back at them blankly "So?"

"So, we wanted to introduce ourselves... you know, since you're basically dating our friend." I could hear the annoyance in Nam's voice now which pissed me off even more. How did they expect I'd react?

"Or maybe you should mind your own business. Also, I'm not dating anyone." I said venomously.

The two girls gave each other a look.

"Ok, then...Nice talking to you." Nam added sarcastically.

"What a bitch, Becky can do so much better," I heard Irin mutter to her friend under her breath as they walked away.

It hit me like a slap in the face, not because it hurt that that's what they thought, but because I agreed. Becky deserved better; I knew it, they knew it, and it was only a matter of time until she realized it too.

***

I knew my run in with the two girls would get back to Becky, but I couldn't have imagined how quickly. It had barely been 15 minutes when I heard a familiar voice behind me and felt a small hand placed on my lower back.