Secrets at Sea

Chapter 5

We make our way over to the back of the ship and head up another level to the entertainment center. The entertainment center has windows opening up to all angles so you can see the entire main deck below. A main stage positioned in the center of the EC has dozens of round tables surrounding it. Our cruise director, Sarah, is a short, spunky blonde who should really be working a cattle auction because she talks a mile a minute. EC is what  Sarah refers to as the entertainment center. She also called it the "Heart of Fun" on the ship, but I personally prefer EC.

The EC is packed with the majority of the cruise guests, so it takes a little bit for Mason and me to find two seats next to each other. We end up having to sit at a table directly next to the east facing window, so our view of the main stage is a little obscured by all the tables in front of us. Sarah goes into the logistics of the cruise and the time frame it'll take us to get to Hawaii. Then she proceeds to go over all the protocols that are in place to keep the guests safe on the ship.

"We will be having two drills randomly throughout your stay on the ship. We ask that you study the pamphlets that are on each of the tables and be prepared to go through the protocols that go along with the potential drills." Sarah lifts up one of the pamphlets and points to a specific part of the guide. "This is a color code system that will alert you to what events are happening. Code Blue signifies that there are large waves inbound for the ship and that everyone should brace for impact. Code Red means that there is a terrorist on board the ship, however, this code is very rare and no one should concern themselves too much about it. All luggage was sent through the scanners before being loaded onto the ship, but law states that we must have protocol so that people know how to deal with this unlikely scenario."

I look over at Mason and roll my eyes. After all that's been happening in the world it's ridiculous that no one takes these things seriously.

"Onto a more realistic scenario, our final code, is called Code Orange. This code is for evacuating the ship in the case that our hull is breached." Sarah starts walking around the main stage as she continues to talk. "On the main deck there are crates positioned near the railing that hold life vests. Depending on your room number, you will have a designated crate that you can find your life vests. These crates will be automatically unlocked only in the case of a Code Blue or a Code Orange. Otherwise, they are locked up tight and are great benches to enjoy the view of the ocean!"

Sarah continues talking about the various activities that the ship provides during our three day long voyage to Hawaii. She really emphasizes that this is an all-ages cruise and there are games and events for every interest. I look around the EC and notice that there are a lot of people that look about my age. I had thought that this was just going to be a bunch of little kids running around and a handful of old people playing shuffle board, but Sarah was right in saying that the cruise caters to all walks of life.

My eyes continue to wander around the room until they land on a person standing beside one of the EC's exits. He's a little ways away and I can only make out a few features. The main one being that he's got this platinum blond hair that is spiked straight up. Unlike everyone else in the room his focus isn't on the main stage where Sarah's still talking, instead he is staring directly at me. I get an uneasy feeling in my stomach and I break my gaze away from the guy and look over at Mason, concerned. He's playing with the plastic leaves on the potted plant that's sitting in the middle of our table. I nudge him and he looks up at me with a mixture of confusion and boredom. I motion with my eyes over to the corner where the blond-headed creeper was standing and he slowly looks over. His eyebrow furrow and his glance turns into a glare. I look back over at creepy blond guy; he makes eye contact with me one more time then turns around and leisurely walks out the exit.

"What's his problem?" Mason whispers as he continues to glare at the empty spot where creepy guy was standing. I shrug and look down at the table. Sarah is still talking, but it has just turned into white noise at this point. I cross my arms on the table and rest my chin in the space between my forearms. Why was that guy just staring at me? And why did it feel like Mason got super protective all of a sudden? I look over at him and he's shifted his gaze back to the table again, however it's not the same lazy gaze that he had before. He's eyes are squinted like he's still glaring, and I watch as he clenches his fists then crosses his arms.

"I don't know, are you okay?" I question, still starting at him. His tan skin looks a little bit redder and he lets out a loud sigh before turning to me. There is a glimpse of anger in his eyes, but they quickly shift to the lazy, happy gleam that he's usually sporting.

A movement out of the corner of my eye catches my attention and I see the couple that was sharing our table stands up. I look around the room and see that Sarah is walking off the stage and all the other tables are being abandoned by the cruise passengers.

"I guess we should get going too. Do you even know what Sarah was talking about half the time?" Mason asks as he stands up and pushes his chair back under the table.

"Not in the slightest. Once she started going over the different cruise codes, I kind of lost interest." I get up and follow him towards the closest exit. "What I am interested in is seeing the ship leave the dock. Do you mind coming along?"

"Of course not! I was kind of hoping to see that too." Mason smiles at me as he holds the door open for me.

"Where do you think Chloe and Brooks were during the meeting?" I ask, looking around at the other people leaving the EC. "I didn't see them in the EC, plus, if they had seen us they would have joined our table. You know the two of them, they can't stand being alone."

"Very true," Mason chuckles and rolls his eyes. "They get uncomfortable sitting too long with their own thoughts. They probably found some cute guys to hit on and are pestering the fuck out of them right now."

"That or they are off trying to find a place for us to party tonight." I chime in. We walk back towards the front of the ship and away from the crowd of people that are stopping to examine the life jacket crates. "I don't want to sound like a downer, but I'd honestly rather stargaze or play a game of bingo in the EC than go party our first night on the ship."

"Yeah I understand completely, but Chloe's not going to be happy about that." Mason looks over at me and I nod.

"I know she won't, but it's my vacation too. I worked just as hard to get through school as she did. Scratch that, I worked twice as hard. While she was out flirting with random guys and stealing boyfriends, I was working my butt off to get my degree." I could feel anger start to bubble up from within me and I took a long, deep breath. This is so not work getting worked up over again. She'll just need to deal with the fact that not everything can go her way and that I'm doing what's best for me.

"You okay Sea?" Mason puts his hand on my shoulder and stops us.

"I'm okay." I reply as I look up at him. "She's not going to ruin this trip for me, because I'm not going to follow her around the ship waiting for the next thing that Chloe wants to do. Let's just do our own thing and if that aligns with what Brooks and Chloe are doing then it works out."

He stares at me for a few moments and it looks like he's trying to tell if I'm really okay. He nods and takes his hand of my shoulder; we continue heading towards the front of the cruise ship.