Ari McCain gets sucked into what she doesn't know is going to be a whirlwind four and a half weeks when her mom wins a summer cruise at work. Follow Ari through twists and turns in love, family, friendship and much more.
"Arabella Elise McCain! Get dressed and get down here right now!" My older sister, Tessa Amelia, yelled from downstairs. "In a minute!" I shouted back. I wrapped up what I was doing on my computer and went to my closet. I grabbed my red high tops, white high-waisted jean shorts, and a red tank crop top, and threw them on. I grabbed my rose gold headphones and my phone and ran downstairs. "Pack your bags, we're going on a 4-and-a-half-week cruise!"(AN: I know this probably doesn't really happen but just go along) My mom is very spontaneous. Tessa and Quincy raced up to their room. I ran up the stairs to mine. I grabbed my duffel, my suitcase, my backpack, and a couple small bags. I packed all things that I would "need" on this trip. I bounded down the stairs with my bags and scarfed down some waffles. "Five minutes girls!" My mom called up to the twins. Quinn was first to come down and then Tessa, having spent half an hour doing her makeup.
(Fast forward a couple hours)
"Whoa, we have a suite?" Jess exclaimed in amazement. "Yep, I won it at work," mom said. We all raced into the giant space. I sped down the short hall to where the three bedrooms were. I peeked into a beautiful white room with gold accents and a huge window on one side, and yelled "I call this one!" down to my family. I figured that, like always, Jess and Quinn would share a room since they're twins, so I would get my own room. I put my stuff away in the huge dresser and closet and went back downstairs.
I explored the suite for a couple minutes, finding a beautiful loft area with a huge lounge space, an amazing balcony, both an indoor and an outdoor dining space, a small office, a small library, an entertainment center, and some other small things. (//AN: I looked this up and suites like this actually exist. I was making it up originally but just look up the Crystal Symphony's Crystal Penthouse.//)
I walked back out into the main, living room space and asked,"Can I go look around the ship?"
My mom replied, "As long as you're back here by six thirty, in four hours."
I walked back to my room, giddy with excitement. I grabbed the small white backpack I had brought with me, packed my phone, wallet, and my sweater in it, and headed out. I first headed to the main area of the ship to find a map to my preferred destination, the teen center. I got lost a couple times, but I finally came across the teen center about a half an hour later.
I was a little nervous at first, but was drawn in by the aura of it, with the bright colors and relatively quiet pop music. A girl started to walk beside me,"You've never been on this cruise before, have you?" she inquired with a warm smile. I shook my head. "Lily." she held out her hand for me to shake. I shook it, "Name's Arabella, but everyone calls me Ari".
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^Lily^
Lily showed me around the huge teen center and told me about some of the other teen activities as we got to know each other, then she took me over to a group of people sitting at a round table. "Everyone, this is Ari," she introduced, "Ari, all of us have been going on this cruise every summer since we were little, but I'm 100% sure you'll fit right in with us. Everyone introduce yourselves."
