CHAPTER 1
It was 23:40 when Bird was walking down the corridor. She was very exhausted after the long day she had: having to wake up at 4:00 am every morning to start the food prep for breakfast was tiring her out. 2Dads was walking down the stairs leading to the corridor; he scared the living day lights out of Bird as she walked past.
"BOO!" 2Dads shouted and jumped out in front of her.
"Shit!" Bird shouted, jumping back, (and slapping a hand to her chest in alarm.)
"I got you!" 2Dads said, rubbing her shoulder.
"Way to get a girl," Bird joked (with a grin).
"You're like the boys' little sister, and what guy doesn't play pranks on his little sister?" 2Dads said teasingly.
"I'm going to bed," Bird said, (turning to walk) (walking) to her cabin
"Oh come on Bird, let's go play some poker," 2Dads suggested, (pulling poker chips from the pocket of his fatigues).
"You don't have to wake up at 4:00am, do you 2Dads? You can sleep till 7:00am, I'm going to bed," an angered (annoyed) Bird said while slamming her door shut (in his face).
"You don't have to wake up at 4:00am do you ner ner ner," 2Dads said mocking Bird, he went to the galley, got something to eat, then went to his and R.O's shared cabin.

Bird's buzzing alarm clock went off, she rolled over to her side. 'I'd kill to sleep in just one morning,' she thought to herself. She got up had a nice hot shower, put on her uniform and went into the galley to prepare the food for the day. For breakfast she made fried eggs, toast, bacon, hash browns, omelettes, fruit salad and cereal.
The first to arrive was Swain; he was always the first to arrive. He was smart to get in there before Charge (could steal) steals all the food.

"Morning Swain, what would you like," Bird said (as she took) while grabbing (taking) the plate out of Swain's hands.
"Ah, some fruit salad, toast and cereal please Bird," Swain said.
"Shore leave tonight, yeah!" shouted a happy 2Dads as he skipped through the corridors.
"Someone's a bit excited," Swain said (observed), grabbing a knife and fork (off the dispenser).
"Mmmmm. Smells great Bird, I'll have some … bacon, eggs and toast," 2Dads said, smiling and rubbing his hands together.
"Sure," Bird said (as she scooped some food onto his plate) putting the food onto the plate. (She slapped the plate down with attitude.) (Side note: remember Bomber: "Is that attitude Bomber?" "No ma'am, it's chicken.")
"Ohh. Someone wake up on the grumpy side, did they?" 2Dads said (sarcastically) in a sarcastic voice (tone), as he walked over to the dining table (and sat down/plopped himself down)
"Morning Bird," Dutchy said (with a cheerful smile and a stretch).
"Hey Dutchy, the usual?" Bird asked, seeing R.O and Charge she got their usual as well.
"Morning crew," XO said as she stepped out of her cabin (and into the galley)
"Morning Ma'am," the crew said in sync.
"Just some cereal and fruit, Bird," XO said, smiling, "and the same for the CO as well, I'll take it to him."
"Sure Ma'am," Bird said, heaping the food onto two plates then handing them to XO. She grabbed food for herself and took a seat in between Dutchy and 2Dads.
"2 hours till we're back in port!" 2Dads shouted (excitedly.)
The crew cheered. (excited about their impending shore leave)
"That was lovely Bird," Swain said
"Thanks," Bird said, picking at her food. (She wasn't feeling very hungry/she didn't feel like eating.)
"Does anyone know who this Lacie chick is, that's joining the crew?" Charge asked.
"I hope she's hot," 2Dads said (with a cheeky grin.)
"Is that all you ever think about?" Dutchy asked, (reaching over to smack him lightheartedly on the arm.)
"No…not all I think about" 2Dads laughed
"She's not much older then you Bird, you'll have someone to talk about boys, and fashion and you know all that teenage girly crap," 2Dads said cockily.
Bird ignored 2Dads and got up, taking the dishes from the boys and walked back into her galley. (As she did so) Dutchy got up and walked into the galley, giving Bird a hug from behind.
"What's wrong?" Dutchy asked, (concerned/worriedly).
"Nothing," Bird said and flashed a smile to ease his concern.
"You sure? You seem a bit off today," Dutchy said.
"No, everything's fine," Bird said (with a forced smile).

The hours went by and it was time for the crew to pack their bags for shore leave, Dutchy entered Bird's cabin and knocked on her door. "Hey, we're in port," he told Bird. "I was thinking, do you want to go out for dinner tonight, just us?"
"Sure," Bird smiled, and grabbed her bag, ready to go. (She walked down to the boat deck with him.)
The whole crew met out the front, and talked about meeting for drinks later that night around 10pm, they all agreed and went their separate ways.
Later that evening Dutchy dropped by and picked up Bird, and took her out to dinner. They shared laughs and talked about everything; Dutchy and Bird were close, there were like brother and sister. Once they finished their dinner, they went to the pub and met the others. 2Dads was a bit tipsy (as usual), alongside Spider and Buffer.
"BIRD!" Spider shouted as he ran up and gave her a massive hug, squeezing her tightly
"You reek of alcohol" Bird said as she pushed Spider off her (with both hands), and walked over to the crew who were sitting around a table.
"How was dinner?" Kate whispered to Bird.
"It was fun," she said, smiling.
"What was good?" shouted Buffer (from across the table.)
"Nothing," Bird said evasively, trying to avoid conversation.

The crew sat and laughed until about 1 in the morning. 2Dads and Buffer were wasted, so Charge drove them home, setting an alarm to wake them up early in the morning as a practical joke. Dutchy took Spider and Bird home and Kate left by herself after Mike decided not to turn up.

The following morning Bird awoke to the morning sunlight shining in her eyes. She grabbed her uniform, packed her bags, had a shower and set off for the port. She went and stopped by 2Dad's unit and waited for Buffer and him to get ready so they could both catch a taxi to the port.

"That's $20," the taxi driver said.
"I've got $10 on me," Bird said as she pulled out her money.
"I've got $5," said 2Dads and Buffer as they paid the taxi driver.
"What's going on, on the deck?" Buffer asked, confused.
"We're late!" Bird shouted, running up the gangplank.
They ran onto the deck and started apologizing.
"I was waiting for the boys to get dressed," Bird explained.
"I don't want excuses Bird! You could have gotten here and left the boys," Mike said angrily.
"Sorry sir," Bird said, ducking her head.
"Now we don't have lunch or anything, because you've left it too late," Mike grumbled.
"I can go now, and get it started, it might be half 'n' hour late but it will be served," Bird said.
"Uh, sir, we told Bird to wait for us, it's not her fault," Buffer said, (trying to calm Mike down._
"You're supposed the be responsible sailors, if you wanted to get up on time then maybe you shouldn't have drunk so much," Mike shouted.
"I didn't drink sir, as I said I was waiting for the boys," Bird said, as politely as possible.
"Just go do what you're good for Bird, making us food," Mike said, dismissing her.
While the crew looked around shocked at his outburst, Bird went and put her stuff in her cabin, and noticed another lot of bags in her rack. The stuff she left on the boat was all thrown on the bottom rack. 'What the hell!'She thought to herself. She walked back to the bridge.

"Why is all my stuff thrown all over my rack? Why are there another lot of bags in my cabin?" she demanded.
"Well, maybe if you were here on time, you'd have gotten to meet our newest member, Lacie. She's the new seaman that transferred from HMAS Hobart," Mike said.
"Well, who threw all my stuff over the floor?" Bird asked, annoyed.
"Not sure Bird. But Lacie's out on the deck with X. She's showing her around, go ask her," Spider said smiling, and coming to give her a hug.
"Don't touch me," Bird said to Spider, pushing him off. She made her way over to Kate.
"Ah! Bird. Just the person I was looking for. This is Lacie, she will be sharing a cabin with you. She transferred from -" Kate was cut off by Bird.
"Yeah, HMAS Hobart, I already know. Why did you throw all my stuff on the ground?" Bird said, looking at Lacie.
"Ah Bird, you don't need to be so rude. What is your problem this morning," Kate said, walking off.
"Why did you chuck my stuff on the floor?" Bird said in an angered voice.
"Well, Bird, I am the seaman, you are the gap girl. I get higher priorities than you," Lacie said.
"I was here first; beds don't have anything to do with 'ranks,'" she told Lacie firmly.
"Whatever Bird. I'm not having those photos up in my cabin," Lacie said, walking off, hitting Bird's shoulder.
"It's a shared cabin!" Bird shouted after her, as she walked away. She went to the galley, and when she got there she found Buffer and 2Dads getting a brew.
"Hey, sorry you got in trouble this morning Bird," 2Dads said while grabbing his cup.
"Yeah, you didn't even say anything, thanks," Bird said, walking straight passed him to the fridge

"Well, my job's more important than yours," 2Dads responded.
"Why don't you just shut up 2Dads?" Bird said, pushing him out of the way.
"Whoa, whoa. Settle down Bird," Buffer said, taking her shoulders.
"Why don't you go introduce yourself to the new girl?" Bird said to them, twisting free.
"Fine. We will," Buffer said, walking off.
"Geez, what's her problem?" 2Dads said to Buffer.
"Whose problem?" Swain asked, interrupting them. "Go talk to Lacie, I think she'll be a keeper with you young boys." He laughed.
"Where is she?" 2Dads asked, looking around for her.
"She's up on the bridge," Swain said.
2Dads and Buffer rushed to the bridge and introduced themselves to Lacie, telling her that anything she needed they will get for her or do for her. The boys really liked the new girl, just because she was very pretty, they had no idea about her personality or what she was really like behind that long blonde hair and blue eyes.

It was dinnertime for the Hammersley crew. Bird had made a beautiful dinner and was pleased with herself. The crew started to drift in.
"Looks good," Swain commented, passing a plate to Bird.
The boys and Lacie sat down at the dining table; Bird heaped a pile of food onto her plate and moved towards the table. She looked and saw there was no seat for her, none of the boys moved over. It was like Bird wasn't even there. She walked back out again and headed for her cabin.
"Bird?" X said.
"Yes, Ma'am?" Bird responded.
"Why aren't you sitting in the mess with the rest of the crew?" a concerned Kate asked.
"Oh, it's too crowded, there's not enough room for me. They need a seat more than I do. I'm just gap year," Bird said, and forced a smile to show she wasn't upset.
"Give the boys a bit of a shove over," Kate chuckled.
"No, it's okay. I'm just going to go sit in my cabin," Bird said, and then walked off.
Kate was unimpressed and walked to the dining room where the crew was.
"Ah. Anyone know who's missing?" Kate asked
"No one's missing X," 2Dads said, ramming his mouth with food.
"Really? So where's the girl who cooked the food your ramming in your mouth?" Kate asked, none-too-thrilled with his behaviour.
"She's uh…" 2Dads looked around for Bird.
"Exactly," Kate said as she turned on her heel and walked away.
Meanwhile, in the galley things were heating up.
"On Hobart, We used to have food fights all the time, with the leftover food," Lacie said, with a cheeky grin.
"We don't have food fights on this boat," Swain said, placing his plate on the bench.
"I think we should," Lacie said, exchanging a nod with 2Dads.
Dutchy, Buffer and Spider left their plates on the bench for Bird, before leaving the galley, leaving Lacie and 2Dads alone. Lacie jumped the bench into the galley, and he picked up the leftover pie and threw it onto the ground. Lacie got gloves and smeared it over the table. They found cold food, and threw it at each other. Lacie threw custard towards the door, but the door opened and Bird walked in, making the custard splatter all over Bird's uniform.
"Yuck! What the hell…" Bird said, wiping the custard off her uniform as best she could.
2Dads and Lacie cracked up laughing, Lacie walked out leaving Bird and 2Dads in there.
"What's on the floor?" Bird asked nervously.
"Me and Lacie had a food fight," 2Dads said, laughing.
"Have fun cleaning that up," Bird said, walking off to the fridge.
Lacie walked back in, in time to overhear Bird."You're the chef, so you clean it up," Lacie said, pushing Bird out of the way.
"You made the mess, you clean it up," Bird said firmly, giving Lacie the mop.
"Girl. Do you understand me?" Lacie said slowly.
"And what's that supposed to have anything to do with cleaning up your mess?" Bird yelled at her.
"Hands to boarding stations, hands to boarding stations, hands to boarding stations," X said across the P.A system.
"Oh, would you look at that, I have to go, so that leaves you cleaning this up," Lacie said as she walked out, pushing Bird against the wall as she left.
Bird grabbed the mop and started to clean up the pie that was all over the ground, when Swain walked in.
"What happened in here?" Swain said, frowning.
"Uhm... I dropped the pie," Bird said, keeping her head down.
"And, it happened to smudge all over the floor and the table?" Swain said as he got a cloth and wet it with warm water.
"Yeah," Bird replied, getting up.
"What's all over your uniform?" Swain asked, concerned as he noticed the stains on her fatigues.
"Custard, it fell on me," Bird said, taking off her jacket.
"Just like the pie mysteriously fell onto the floor?" Swain asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I didn't do it, if that's what you're thinking," Bird said quietly.
"I didn't say anything, who did it?" Swain asked her.
"Lacie," Bird replied softly.
Swain walked off to go tell the CO what happened, and Bird didn't realize what she just got herself into.
"Swain! Please no! You don't need to tell the CO. I can handle it myself, it was just a misunderstanding," Bird said walking faster to catch up to Swain.

Lacie walked into the galley were Bird was making tea, dressed in her PJ shorts and tank top. It was around 10:30 and she was about to go to bed.
"Wow, a gap girl really has nerve to go and tell on a seaman," Lacie hissed, leaning closer to intimidate Bird, " no one would believe you."
"Not my fault if Swain didn't believe me when I said I did it," Bird said while she went to pour the boiling hot water into her cup.
"You think you're so great don't you?" Lacie said, narrowing her eyes.
"No, I'm not like you," Bird said. "The boys will soon see straight through you."
Lacie pushed the boiling hot tea over, spilling over Bird's wrist and all down her leg.
"Ouch! Shit!" she yelled. "You bitch! You did that on purpose." Bird got cold water and an ice pack, and put it on her burn.
Lacie walked off and after 10 minutes, Bird went and got burn cream out of the first aid kit and walked back to her cabin. She was supposed to tell Swain and write it up in an incident report, but she didn't. She walked to her cabin and went to open it, but it was locked. Lacie had locked Bird out. She had no where to sleep and Lacie wouldn't open up the door, no matter how hard she banged. Bird went to the dining room and lay on the booth and tried to go to sleep, but the pain from the burn was severe. She was cold, and had no pillow or blanket. Spider walked into the galley to grab a drink of water and noticed Bird lying on the couch.
"Bird?" Spider said, walking over to her.
"Hey Spider," Bird said, sitting up.
"Why are you here? Did you fall asleep?" Spider asked, worried.
"No, Lacie locked the door; I can't get into my cabin," Bird said putting her hand over her burn.
"Why would she do that?" Spider asked.
"She hates me," Bird explained.
"I'm sure she doesn't, she might not have meant to, she seems like a nice girl," Spider said.
"Go away Spider, you're just like the other guys, falling for her looks. I bet she didn't tell you that she got the leftover food and chucked it all over the ground and left it for me to clean up? She also threw custard at me, and what does 2Dads do? He just stood there and laughed! She got the tea I had just made, which was boiling hot, and knocked it over, spilling all over me and down my leg," Bird said, moving her hand away from the burn.
"I didn't know, you should have said something to someone about the food and about the burn, not to mention the cabin," Spider said putting her hand gently on her leg.
"She's a seaman remember Spide. No one will believe me," Bird said, moving to get up.
"Bird, who gave you the idea that no one will believe you?" he asked.
"She did! She's turning all of you against me," Bird shouted.
"Come on. We'll go tell someone," Spider said, getting up.
"No! Just leave it, just do one thing, talk to me, make room for me! You're all forgetting who I am, and you're all acting so different now that she's around," Bird said.
Spider took her to the wardroom, and got a blanket out of his rack. He draped it over her and he stayed with her for the night. Spider woke up to his and Bird's name yelled across the P.A system. He woke Bird up, and Bird went to her cabin, to find that it was finally unlocked. She got changed and made her way to the deck where most of the crew were.
"Nice of you to finally wake up Bird and Spider," Dutchy said.
"Sorry Dutchy, but if my cabin wasn't locked by someone last night I wouldn't have been late," Bird explained, "Spider too."
"Your cabin was locked?" Dutchy said. "You need to get a new excuse Bird," he added.
"You don't believe me?" Bird asked.
"Well, no. Who do you think locked it Bird? The fairies?" Dutchy questioned.
2Dads and Lacie just laughed.
"Just forget it," Bird said, turning to walk away.