The Raider

Chapter V

RECAP: I frowned at the thought that Lucas was doing the exact same thing by now, and wondered, if he really wanted to be a pirate or not.
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Lucas's POV
SWABS SUCK!!! I realized that as soon as I stepped into that place they call the bathroom-I mean-head, I had to use the toilet to barf, bad mistake. It smelt like some skunk had just laid a big one, then a bunch of rats came and ate it! And the worst part, was that the atmosphere in the head made it hard as crap to breathe. And for someone with asthma, oh, even more so!
Anyways, other than my job, being a pirate wasn't all that bad. Corrine Marten was the crow, and probably the only person who was nice to me. And that Stagger guy was kinda creepy. He had dark brown hair that covered one eye, and strange jewellery that was made of gold, diamonds, and probably plenty of other valuable jewels. He was always so perky, like he thought someone was gonna jump out at him from every direction. The captain also scared me every time I looked at him.
It's been a few days now since I've seen Devon, but things are fine. Every night, the other crew-fellows have some sort of weird meeting, where they talk about things like "How much rum did you bring?" Or "Did you see that lady on the beach? She was huge!"
Once I went to their table and listened for a few minutes to the conversation they were having. The first few minutes were about nothing specific, but then things got interesting. They started spreading rumours about Joshua Stagger that made my heart skip. Of course I didn't believe any of it but it was still interesting.
Murdoch, one of the captain's officials, started it by saying "Have you heard that Stagger killed Owen Raven's wife?" Everyone shook their heads. "They say he got Keelhauled for it." Now everyone rolled their eyes and started to leave. "He got stranded on an island for years." Murdoch was deaf, and three-quarters blind so he kept talking after everyone else had left.
Another thing that sucked about being on the worst ship in the league, was that there aren't enough beds. So me, being the scrawniest kid EVER! had to share a hammock with Durk. Durk was a really big, and hairy guy. His job was the only job that was only on the Leopard shark. He had to lower, and raise the anchor by himself! And he could do it with one hand! But he always made the hammock really sweaty and sticky.
Another reason I wanted to be a pirate was because I thought I'd learn something. So far all I've learned is how to scrape coral off the hull, and scrub toilets. But every Saturday, the new members would have a lesson about fighting. Apparently, we were supposed to bring our own pistols, but no one ever told me that. They did give us swords though. I thought I was pretty handy with a sword. I knew how to sheath, and unsheathe my sword, and I knew how to swing like a mad ox.
Mr. Wing was our instructor in sword-fighting, and always started the class with a horrible line for a pirate. "Today, is a beautiful day. The sun is shining, the waves are crashing, my hook is looking mighty spiffy. Anyways, I need Ms. Corrine, and Mr. Lucas to pair up. "
He always put me with Corrine, thank goodness. Since there were only three students, Mr. Wing would duel with Joshua. And he'd lose every time! Joshua didn't even need the lessons. Maybe those rumours were right.
After the day, I'd always crawl into the hammock with scrapes and gashes from both Corrine's great skill, and her fingernails. She was very smart. She'd always use her long, blonde hair as a distraction. So she could slice me one.
I always had loved playing with Devon and his little wooden swords when we were young. That was fun. My dad would always encourage me to go to the docks and have fun, but then, he disappeared. And that's what motivated me to being a pirate.
At about midnight, I was sleeping in my hammock, with Durk. When all of a sudden, someone comes crashing down the ladder with loads of weapons. Everyone gets up and huddles to a table. I stayed in my hammock and wondered what they were doing. I wondered if they were talking about that thing they were talking about earlier. A rivalry with the Scarlet Diamond