Taking Off

Chapter 14

Once all twelve students had jumped into the water to be sea animals for twenty minutes, as well as Figg who went in alone, they were allowed to roam around the Aquarium on their own.

"Make sure you're all back here in an hour, okay? Otherwise I'll be calling your names over the speakers and you will be very embarrassed if you're the missing person," Figg said before she let them go out on their own.

"How absolutely incredible was that?" Vanessa squealed as soon as they'd broken free of the group.

"Oh my god, absolutely amazing! Callum was right!" Tia replied, adrenaline still running through her body. They had been so close to the sharks and the animals. She felt so natural and at one with the world.

"It was bloody exciting! Much better than that pit of snails," Elijah agreed, nodding.

"Anything is better than that, mate," Aladdin replied. "But yeah that was epic. They were so close, absolutely amazing, it's true," he added, walking up to the glass that a couple of huge frogs were behind.

"They're enormous!" Elijah commented, putting his face against the glass.

"You don't have to get that close. They're going to get scared," Tia said. Elijah rolled his eyes.

"Oh yes, I'm sure mine is the only face they've ever seen pressed up against this glass," he said.

"I'm sure it isn't. But you don't have to act like an over-excited child. You can see them perfectly fine from where we're all standing," she replied.

"Do you just want to suck the fun out of everything?" he snapped. She gasped.

"I do not suck the fun out of everything!"

"Yes, you do. You're a fun-sucker," he said, nodding.

"Am not!" she cried.

"Are too! Fun-sucker, fun-sucker, fun-sucker!" he chanted. She was about to respond, very heatedly, but Aladdin stepped in front of her.

"Oh look! Baby turtles!" he said, pointing at another glass window. Tia turned her head and instantly forgot her anger. She almost melted at their cuteness, whilst Elijah was left to stare after her, annoyed at Aladdin's interruption. He liked getting her wound up. It made for good entertainment.

-

After roaming around the aquarium and making a stop at the gift shop, from which they all bought little souvenirs, they went to a restaurant in South Yarra for dinner. It was quite delicious, and the view was unlike anything they'd ever seen.

"Yes, this view is rather astonishing, I know," Figg commented at the end of the meal. "But just you wait until you see what we're doing next. You're all going to love it!" she said, excited.

The thing they were doing next was going on a cruise along the Yarra on a ferry with a deck they could all stand on and look out at the crystal-clear water. They had to sit through a twenty-minute briefing of safety procedures in case anything went wrong, but once that was over they were able to move around and look at all the sights they were passing. There was commentary, also, on everything they were seeing. Tia didn't miss the photo opportunity, snapping almost fifty in that two-and-a-half-hour tour.

"This is absolutely breath-taking," she sighed, leaning on the edge of the boat and looking out at the city lights.

"I know. I've never seen anything like it before. They don't have lights like these in London," Aladdin commented, snapping a shot of the full moon hanging in the sky.

"That's so true. The lights there seem so dull and colourless compared to these," Tia agreed.

"I think that's because of the weather," Elijah said. Tia looked at him.

"What do you mean?" she asked. He shrugged.

"I dunno," he replied, even though he did. He just couldn't be bothered explaining. She smirked.

"Well, you shouldn't have said it then," she replied.

"I can say whatever I want to say," he said.

"Yes, but 'can' and 'should' are two very different words," she answered simply, and snapped a picture of his confused face.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, blinking rapidly because of the bright flash. "You'd better delete that," he said.

"Why? It's funny," she answered, turning to the water again.

"Because I don't want you laughing at my face," he replied.

"I'm not laughing at your face. I'm laughing at the face you're making," she clarified.

"That isn't any better," he said, squinting, annoyed at her.

"Oh, stop making such a fuss and enjoy the view! And you call me a fun-sucker," she laughed.

"That's because you are," he said, quickly.

"I'm not the one always looking to start an argument," she snapped.

"Oh please! Vanessa, in your completely honest opinion, who is it that always picks the fights?" he asked Vanessa beside him. She looked at Aladdin who shook his head, discreetly.

"I'd rather not get involved in this conversation," she answered, strategically.

"Oh, come on!" he said, exasperated. But just when she was about to speak, Figg called from inside that there was only ten minutes until they return to the port.

"Can we just enjoy these last ten minutes of this beautiful ride?" Tia asked, still staring out at the sea. Elijah grumbled but decided she was right. He promised himself he wouldn't let her ruin this trip for him and he would keep that promise. He looked up at that incredible shining bright white moon and forgot the world.