where the water meets the moon | e.d.

six

ethan

"so if we circle around this area enough, we might come in contact with another research boat. and then we can meet and..." captain avery's voice trails off to a mumble as he focuses on the open water ahead, steering the ship.

when i was younger, i took a cruise in mexico with my family. my brother threatened to throw me overboard twice, and i threw up in the gift shop on a particularly choppy day.

i never thought i'd be back in the yucatán waters, but here i am with three random strangers trying to figure out if a certain bacteria even exists.

we all sit in the wheelhouse, looking out the slightly grimy windows covered in years of salt water.

addison seems to be looking out for any signs of animal life, evan's trying to strike up a conversation with avery, and i have five pieces of notebook paper in front of me.

each piece is a letter to someone that i'll send out as soon as friday hits, and the grocery/mail ships come in.

they all seem to think i have them to take notes, so i don't debunk the theory.

as i scrawl out kendall's name at the top, i begin o write about what it's been like so far and how much better it would be if she was here.

kendall,

i miss you. like, a lot. the boat is pretty small, but we do okay with everything. no exploration has really started yet, but in about five minutes they're going to find a spot to drop the anchor. i wish you were here. it would've been so fun to stay up late  and watch the sunset. i've learned that they're especially pretty over the water, and i know you always liked sunsets. my shipmates are okay, but i don't really know them that well. my captain is a lunatic. anyway, i just wanted to say that i love you and i can't wait until july when—

"what are you writing?"

i scramble to pull my paper back from addison peeking over my shoulder very rudely. her face looks innocent as i look up at it, my ears turning red.

"s-sorry," she stutters out. "i thought you were the notetaker or something—"

"i'm not," i cut in firmly. "don't you ever mind your own business? i was writing something."

her face is now as red as mine, but for opposite reasons. embarrassment, not anger.

she doesn't respond and simply sinks down back into her seat, keeping her eyes trained on the water. evan shoots me a look that says 'really?'

i shrug with wide eyes. how was i supposed to know the girl would start crying?
she didn't, but i thought she was going to for a second.

"alright," captain avery yells joyfully, pulling some sort of lever that stops the boat from cruising.

i wish i knew more about ships before i came onto one.

"i think this should be a good spot. i saw that no other boats from the lab had claimed this area for today on the chart. ethan, can you help me with the anchor process?"

i freeze up, dropping my pen.
i didn't pay attention at all during the anchor presentation.

he looks at me expectantly and i stumble over an excuse as to why i can't. maybe a rope allergy? i have sweaty hands?

"i can help you," addison offers, starting to stand up from her spot.

he gives her a funny look, but motions to follow him anyway.

i sigh out, grateful that i don't have to be chewed out for not listening to something important.

"she saved your ass."

i turn to evan with a blank expression. "thanks, captain obvious."

"you could really be nicer to her."

"yeah," i snort. "and she could really jump off the side of this boat for all i care. there's an island a couple miles east. i hope she knows her north from her south."

he shakes his head and that's when i realize i might've crossed a line.

i don't have a reason to hate addison, really.

it's just hard to see another girl on here when it should've been kendall.

it should've been kendall.

"just... leave her alone. if you're not going to be nice, don't even talk to her at all," he orders firmly and leaves to go to the observation deck.

i sit there for a few moments, soaking up his words.

if you're not going to be nice, don't even talk to her at all.

okay. i can do that.
seems like a win for the both of us.

so hide my half written letter along with other papers, grab a notebook and a pen, draw a data collecting table, and meet them out in the fresh air.

the wind is blowing softly, causing addison's long hair to constantly blow in her face. she finally just huffily throws it into a messy ponytail that sits high on the back of her head.

"what we need to do is find a shallow spot next to the big rock up there," captain avery nods out to the west wing, where a rocky formation juts out of the water.

we don't seem to be as deep as we were earlier this morning, rather closer to the island and shallower open water.

it's not crystal clear, but it's also not a murky brown.

"i say we start today by just taking notes of our surroundings, marking spots where we could try later in the month, and getting used to the fauna out here," addison mumbles, messing with the rope tied to the front nose.

i'm about to come up with something snarky to respond with, but i shut my mouth when evan glances at me.

he nods, giving me a smile that says i did the right thing.

but i didn't do it for her sake.

i did it so i don't even have to acknowledge the girl.

captain avery goes into a long rundown of the morning, when we'll eat lunch, and if we'll stop by another boat to converse about our findings of the area.

and the whole time, i'm thinking about the half-written letter to kendall that sits in the wheelhouse.