《Ocean Breeze》索鸽

3、Chapter 3: Departing Chapt

　　Chapter 3: Departing
　　“Mel, psst, wake up!”
　　It was six in the Morning. John Hanson had already been up for at least an hour, walking back and forth in his room, struggling on whether if he should wake his sister up to pack or not. There was certainly enough time, but he was too excited for this trip that he literally couldn’t go back to sleep after waking up and finding that it was only five o’clock.
　　And finally, unable to bear all his thoughts in his mind, he turned up beside Melinda’s bed.
　　“What… John, seriously” Still drowsy from being woken up so early, Melinda pushed back her covers, forcing herself out of bed, “It’s… six o’clock in the morning….”
　　“John You might wanna pack your sunscreen, I’ve noticed you missed that!” Mrs. Hanson’s voice came from downstairs, shouting as her footsteps echoed across the whole house.
　　“Just great. Now we really gotta wake up.” Melinda whined as she rubbed her eyes, jumping down her bed, as she lifted her eyebrows and nodded towards the stairs, “Go get your sunscreen, John.”
　　A few minutes later the twins found themselves sitting beside the kitchen table, having a perfectly well-prepared breakfast as Ms. Hanson started to check their items non-stopping.
　　“Melinda, remember to put on sunscreen right after you go out of the cabin, once three hours, yes And John, don’t fight with your sister, ‘cause if anything happens it’s your fault. (John rose his eyebrows as he said: “You think I wouldn’t, mom”) And I’ve put a formal dress in your suitcase, Melinda, your dad once told me that there will be a ball at your team’s fifteen-year ceremony. John, please treat your suit neatly, you’re going to dance with your sister after all…”
　　And all Melinda and John literally said for the whole morning was “yes mom”.
　　After kissing their mother and sister goodbye, the Hanson twins were officially on their journey. At first they were kind of surprised that the team actually sent a car to pick them up, but remembering that their father used to have private drivers too, it didn’t seem like so much of a surprise.
　　They arrived at the port after half an hour, and what they saw literally blew their mind off.
　　To be honest, Melinda thought that for a scientific research, the preparation should’ve been simpler than some of the tasks they’ve been on before. But it seemed like the government had a different idea, and thought that this was a huge thing. Or, maybe it really was like something mom said, it was a 15-year anniversary for the founding of the Sail’s Adventure Team.
　　The ship that currently anchoring in the harbor was literally huge. Given the name of “New Sailor”, this ship was of no doubt, new. The mast and the deck of the ship had no traces of wind or waves hitting against it. It was like a young man who has just started a new life. There was one floor below the surface of the water, which was where other staff members on the ship will be staying, and three levels above the water. The twins felt tired even just looking up for a short time.
　　The words “New Sailor” was painted huge on the side of the ship in blue, as the logo of the Sail’s Adventure team was drawn right next to it. The windows above the water was so clean that you could see sunlight bouncing off from them, sparkling down across the surface of the ocean. The steam whistle blew, and sent seagulls flying off with calls that reminds people of nature and paradise.
　　“Wow, I am so glad that we agreed to join this team years ago right now.” John said in amaze as he, despite how tiresome it is just to look up, admired the ship for nearly a minute.
　　At this time there was still an hour and a half before they depart from the port. As Melinda and John walked in, finally putting their suitcases down and resting for a second, they entered a hall on the first floor, right above the ocean’s surface. It wasn’t exactly upscale as how it seemed from the outside, but it was big enough for Melinda starting to sing and trying to hear her own echo.
　　“Welcome, kids!”
　　Hearing this, Melinda and John turned their heads, facing the stairs as they saw Captain Mark walking down the stairs. He was already in his team uniform, his brown hair and beard neatly tidied and looking vigorous. He smiled at the twins as he stroke down, holding a cup of soda in his hands, “I see you guys arrived early again. Come on, I’ll show you to your rooms and put down your bags. We’ll meet on the first floor later. You two are in room 205 on the second floor, which reminds me, the dining room is in the middle of the third floor. We’ll be eating there whenever we’re still on the ship. Oh, here’s your key to your room. Stick to it. Now, kids, we’d be expecting all the other teammates a while later, so get yourselves ready.”
　　Melinda and John were only able to say “thank you” and got hold of their keys before Mark left again, heading to the control cabin, as well as leaving them alone, standing in the middle of a gigantic hall. But they will be having company soon, as that someone came in, who clearly, wasn’t the happiest one to see Melinda and John around.
　　“Morning, Hansons,” Said Louis as he strode across the hall, with one hand on his suitcase and the other on his hat, as always. His eyes took a quick glance at the twins, then turned over to face the path that leads to the control cabin, talking to the twins though not at all looking at them, “I suppose he’s gone that way, did he”
　　John nodded and squeeze out a “yeah” as Louis turned over, narrowing his eyes, clearly unsatisfied with either his answer or the way he said it.
　　Perhaps both.
　　“As I said, has anyone taught you manners, children No greetings, not even a ‘sir’ while answering my questions. Why, I see you very differently while being in front of the Captain, do you”
　　Melinda nearly burst out a “so are you” before she stopped herself from causing any trouble. She simply added the word “sir” and pulled John to go upstairs. The latter followed her, though glancing back at Louis after going a few ways up.
　　“Well that was really frustrating,” John said with a pant as they finally reached somewhere they were sure Louis couldn’t hear from.
　　“Tell me about it.” Melinda shook her head disdainfully and scoffed at what Kept just said. John sneered as they continued walking, till the sign “205” finally caught their attention among all the other rooms on the floor.
　　“So much for being tortured by that man,” John said, unable to hide his excitement from spilling out though his words, “we’re having our personal space, sis!”
　　Melinda didn’t respond, but John knew that she was relieved to realize this, too.
　　But the greater surprise was what they saw when entering their room. Well, at least no one would’ve expected it to be bigger than a normal-sized teenager’s room, but it was a lot more than that. Bunk beds for the twins, separated bathrooms, a sofa, it’s even better than their own room, which only had one bathroom, and needed Melinda and John to go one by one, which is awkward. But this is different. You can see the view outside the balcony through the glass door, which how the blue sky and ocean meet in a perfect shade, and the busy port in this blue background also appears leisurely and beautiful. There are many intimate signs everywhere, such as the most suitable temperature for bathing water, which lamp is suitable for reading, and ... The lamp that is perfect for candlelight dinner... Presumably this was supposed to be for a couple, Melinda frowned as she thought.
　　The twins put their luggage on the shelf, and Melinda took the first step to grab her bag and threw it onto the upper bunk: “I called dibs!”
　　“What choice do I have then” John shrugged as he dumped his bag on the lower bunk, “You’re my sister, man.”
　　Melinda pretended not to hear as she lay on the top bunk and allowed herself to relax, staring at the ceiling.
　　John says this sentence so often that Melinda sometimes even feel annoyed. But she cannot deny that every time he says so, a warm memory comes into her mind and softens her heart. She wouldn’t admit, but it was the first time she started to think differently about what kind of a person her brother was.

　　It was only and ordinary afternoon at school, and it was recess, a time every kid enjoyed the most. The playground was already filled with swarming kids, chasing each other around.
　　A little girl was sitting on the swing alone, going up and down as she was reading a book. Apparently she was sinking deep into it, since the swing was going slower but she didn’t seem to notice at all. Her short black hair waved in the wind as her eyes were absolutely focused on the pages.
　　“Well, who do we have here Melinda Hanson.”
　　Frightened, she stopped her swing in a slight gasp, and her book fell on the ground. Just when she was about to run over and pick it up, the senior boy who just talked in a mocking voice stuck his feet out and stepped on the book.
　　“Huh. Sailing Histories of USA… You know, I really did think that you wouldn’t get nerdier than you already were, but who knows”
　　The kids behind the boy laughed with tease. The boy sneered and picked up the book, throwing it on Melinda’s face. She quickly dodged, but it was too late. The book hit her right on the face with a sharp pain.
　　Her tears were swirling in her eyes, but she was too scared to run or avoid.
　　“My mom nags on about you all the time. Man, are you just perfect. Straight-A student, the best kid one could ever have,” He continued, as he and the other kids started to walk closer. Melinda backed down, shaking, until she hit the cold, hard wall and was forced to stop.
　　“Well, taste this, perfect kid--”
　　“STOP!”
　　Just before the boy could get any closer, a familiar voice came from behind.
　　“John!” Melinda cried out, as the senior boy turned around to face his challenger. The surprised on his face was immediately replaced with a sneer.
　　“You! Her skinny and idiotic brother from fourth grade Yeah, I’m so darn scared I could pee my pants now.”
　　“You leave my sister alone right now, or I swear, you’ll pay for it.”
　　John’s closed fist was trembling with anger, he strode towards the boy, black eyes flaring, as Melinda found him as a shield and dodged behind her brother. The latter protected her from in front with his arms.
　　The senior boy snorted, challenging the young and scrawny boy who he didn’t think would stand a chance against him. He stuck his hand out towards Melinda, but—
　　Whack!
　　John did his part first, giving the heaviest punch towards the boy, who backed off with anger. Then the battle started, kicking, punching, and twisting on the ground. John was practically bloodied up, but he was like a frustrated beast, roaring with fury, and it didn’t seem like he’d ever give up trying.
　　“John, cut it out! I’m OK, just stop it!”
　　Melinda yelled meaninglessly, as she tried to bring her brother away from the battle, but clearly that was of no use. However, the teachers finally noticed the fight going on during recess, and hurried over to make an end to it.
　　Being pulled away by the principal, John was still panting and struggling to return to his fight. The senior boy, however, has lost his pride and even flared a look of fear.
　　“Don’t you dare, ever, do that to her again.”
　　John threatened, his voice croaked yet powerful, and face washed by blood. He spat out some, too, and was soon being taken to the school nurse.
　　The boy made no reply, but from his look Melinda saw the answer. She made no hesitation, and went to chase her brother.
　　“What… what was the matter with you!” Melinda cried out, wiping off the blood draining from her brother’s face, her voice shaking.
　　John’s look was gentle, like being another person judging by how he was during the fight. He touched her sister’s hand, and smiled, their eyes meeting.
　　“You.”
　　“What…”
　　She asked in a whisper, confused.
　　“You, you’re the problem, man. You’re my sister, and there is no way someone’s going to hurt you. No, not when I’m here.”
　　She would always remember that look in John’s eyes, so tender it almost felt wrong.

　　“What’s wrong Somethin’ stuck on that ceiling”
　　Melinda’s flashback was cut out by John’s call. She realized she had been staring at the ceiling, thinking about her brother for nearly a minute, and it really seemed weird.
　　“Oh, n-nothing… I was just, well, having a rest. So What’ll we do now” Asked Melinda, hanging up-side down on the guardrail with her legs. As John turned over he saw Melinda’s reversed face and literally scram out until he realized what his sister was doing. Melinda couldn’t help laughing at her brother’s shock-filled face as he shouted furiously: “THAT WAS NOT FUNNY!”
　　“All crew members, please gather up at the first floor now, we will make some notices before departure.”
　　Just before Melinda could spat back at John, a loud and strong voice started to echo across the room from some sort of speaker. The twins only had to look up to realize that a large audio speaker was put on the corner of the ceiling.
　　“Probably Captain Mark’s got some sort of a radio thing in his cabin. This feels like school, man, with all the large speakers and teachers’ voices and stuff.” John complained, standing up from his lower bunk but apparently forgot that he was still there and bumped his head on the upper bunk.
　　“Ooooooooouch,” he whined as Melinda jumped off the top bunk, grabbing on her phone as she leaped towards the door, hurrying her brother to come along.
　　John followed, well, basically being forced to, as he whispered, “Hey, am I the only one to notice that Kept wore a different kind of Cologne”
　　He was left with a simple answer, “Yeah, I bet you are.”