Chapter 2


The next morning, the pair rose ready to explore the wonderous ship. Ceceila was only fascinated of how many men batted their eyes at Madame Cle'am. This was probabably because she was the only woman in first class who wasn't overly plump by eating too many luxurious foods. Madame Cle'am wanted to see everywhere at once. First she wanted to see the swimming pool, then she wanted to see the promenade deck then she insisted on sending a letter to her sister in America from the mail room. Ceceila only wanted to relax in her stateroom.

This, however was not possible if Madame Cle'am had anything to do with it. The ship was just too exciting to some people more than others.

The first place the pair went to was the library. Madame wanted to see the books on the amazing ship. She loved books and wanted to see if the selection was as massive and extravagant as the ship.

At the library, Mdame Cle'am went absolutely bonkers! She had to see and touch every single book. Ceceila lingered around a stack of romance books. Ceceila only wanted to take a nap but was forced to hang around a bunch of books. Sometimes she felt as if everything was unfair and this was a time when she knew it was true. She was an orphan, she was forced to go on a ship she wanted nothing to do with, and she couldn't even take a nap! Nothing was right for her. Nothing would ever be right for her.

Finally, Madame Cle'am was finished looking at books. However, Madame Cle'am took so long that when the pair were ready to leave, it was time to eat. The two gravitated to the dining saloon. Madame ordered her usual meal but Ceceila, being unusually hungry ordered more than a biscuit. Ceceila ordered a beef soup and a side salad.

After dinner, Madame and Ceceila went to their stateroom to freshen up and then went to relax on the first class promenade deck. The two lounged on chairs chatting over the days activitys. It was April 12 but Ceceila wanted to get off the floating prison. Madame Cle'am was talking her head off and Ceceila just wanted to take a nap. Madame talked about how great the ships book collection was. She also talked about how polished the wood looked on the promenade deck! Every little detail of the ship Madame Cle'am went crazy over it! All it did was bore Ceceila but made Madame Cle'am feel excited. Ceceila knew it was not polite to interrupt adults ( respected members of society) so she kept her opinions to herself.

When they grew bored of the promenade deck, they took a walk. As they wallked, the saw a variety of people. There were small children playing games, people walking dogs, couples walking hand in hand, and even some people in work out gear. She guessed that cruising on a luxury ship made everybody eat more than they usually did.

One particular encounter gave something for Ceceila to ponder over. A young gentleman- about 13 or 14, nodded to Ceceila and kissed her hand. She thought that she was just an orphan being helped out by charity, but someone seemed to actually llike her for her and not just walk away with their head to the ground. Ceceila thought about this for a long time and was soon ashamed that she did not get his name or any classification of who he was exactly. To Ceceila the young man was a mystery but for some strange reason it felt like he knew her. She just couldn't tell.

After their walk, Madame insited on going back to the library to read her romance novel before bed. She absolutely refused to check the book out for fear that she might lose it. So Ceceila was dragged into the library once again. This time, however, she encountered the mysterious boy looking at a selection of adventerous books.

As soon as the boy saw her, he rushed over and repeated the same gesture from earlier that day.

" Hello, I'm Roberto", the boy said.

"My name is Ceceila,"she replied." May I ask why you pay so much attention to me?"

"Oh," he said in a shy voice, " I saw you and was taken by your amazing beauty.

"That's um... so sweet, no one has ever said that to me before," she said sweetly.

"I only speak the truth is all," he answered.

About that moment Madame Cle'am called Ceceila to go back to their stateroom.

"Gotta go ," she said, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

With that Ceceila turned around and followed Madame.

Back in their stateroom, Ceceila slipped into her nightgown thinking of Roberto. The way he spoke to her made her feel special and loved, a feeling she had never felt before. It was new to her and she liked it. For once in her life she had something more than disappointment. More than struggling to have a good day. She felt wonderful. As she lay in bed that night she couldn't stop thinking of his kind blue eyes and they way they sparkled when they looked at Ceceila. She felt like dancing on the clouds. She had more happiness in one night than she had in her entire life. She thought; "I could get used to this", as she drifted off to a peaceful sleep.

That night Ceceila had a dream. Not a horrid dream like she was used to, but a good dream. A wonderful, magical, unforgettable dream. She dreamed that she lived in a castle. A castle covered in diamonds that glinted against the sunlight. In her castle, she and Roberto lived a wonderful life. They had not a care in the world. They no longer had to struggle for money or food, they thrived in luxury. She was a princess, a princess with brilliant gowns of all different colors with gold, real gold, everywhere on it. She had the most spectacular array of shoes and hair ribbons. Roberto had a brilliant life of luxury, much different than his life classified as steerage. They were very well off and, to Ceceila, were the most perfect couple.

Ceceila was feeling wonderful.

Nothing could ever hold her back from her dreams, even her lost dreams.