The Journey The Only Survivors

Chapter XIII: A Stain of Pain

"I'm not hungry," Dad said the next morning. He held his stomach.

"Me neither." I plopped down on the couch. I was still in my nightgown.

"I'm not eating," Bryan said, falling down next to me.

"Let's skip breakfast then," Dad said.

Perfect. We looked like zombies as we held our stomachs, spread out on the couches, still full, from the night before. We got plenty of sleep, so we weren't zombies from that, but the 8:35 a.m. breakfast bell did wake us up.

"Maybe we can work off some of our food with a good swim?" I said. Bryan and I had found the pool the night before. It was bigger than I expected.

"I don't think there's a pool," Dad said.

"It's on F deck near the third-class rooms."

"Oh, good," Dad said. "But we don't have any swimsuits."

"I think there are some in our bedrooms. Go check your closet, Dad. I'll check mine."

Apparently, the woman who was supposed to be in this room only packed two bathing suits. She packed her husband's as well— two full body swimsuits that looked like a tank top and short shorts. I laughed inside.

I came out of the room and handed the two full body swimsuits to Dad.

"I think I saw robes in the closet too. You guys can wear those to the pool." I retrieved those from my room as well.

Bryan came out of the boys' room and looked at Dad holding the swimsuits. "They don't have trunks?"

"Apparently not," Dad said. "At least, we have robes."

"I don't think I will be swimming." Bryan shook his head.

"Why don't you just put it on and wear the robe to the pool?" Dad said. "That way you can hang out with us, and, if you decide to go in, you won't have to go all the way back to the room to change."

"Fine." Bryan yanked the swimsuit out of Dad's hands. "Oh, and here's a swimsuit for Amy." He threw it at me.

I walked back into the girls' room to give it to Amy. Then I went back into the closet to get swimsuits for Bella and me. "Do you know how to swim?"

"Yes," Bella said. "But what are these suits for?"

"To wear, to go in the pool. . ." I didn't understand what she meant.

"You don't just go naked?" She asked.

I laughed. Wow, these times I've been to are strange.

"We don't go anywhere without clothes on. Everywhere you go, unless you're alone, you wear clothes." I said.

"Okay. . ." She held out her hand for the swimsuit, and I gave it to her.

"Did you have pools back then?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"We swam in lakes and the Mediterranean Sea."

The swimsuit was suitable for this time period, but it was not what I'd call an everyday swimsuit. It was full-bodied and looked like a dress. I worried it wouldn't fit me correctly.

We met back in the living room at nine fifteen in the morning. Everyone had on a robe and seemed more self-conscious. My swimsuit barely fit around my waist, and I was afraid it would fall off when I went in the water because it was so loose. "Shall we go then?" I asked, a little unsure.

No one moved. We were all feeling a little uncomfortable.

"Oh, come on," Bella said. She grabbed the door handle.