8:32 AM Monday, January 6th 2020. Port of Baltimore, Baltimore, MD

"Riley, do you know where-"

"Ewww, why people gotta be so damn nasty?" he cut me off, picking up a used condom from underneath one of the beds and throwing it into the trashbag. "Man, I'm so done wit all this"

I sighed, "Riley, do you want him to give you the toilets again?"

He scoffed, "You'd be complainin' too if you seen all the shit I seen! I'm sick of cleanin' guest cabins!"

I had to admit, it wasn't his fault. Our boatswain, Dewey Jenkins, was a sadistic asshole who treated the both of us like garbage ever since we started working on deck. He would give us the nastiest jobs to take care of, barely paying us what he'd promise. We've been up since 4 AM, cleaning and keeping the boat under maintenance.

At first, the two of us started off as ordinary seamen. Our tasks were not the best, from cleaning disgusting guest cabins to sweeping water off the decks, it was tiring. I got my license a year later and was able to move up a rank as an able seaman. The differences aren't that evident, but I didn't have to do as much dirty work Riley was going through, I did more electrical work as well as standing guard and steering the ship too.

It wasn't the best job ever, but it payed better than those minimum wage jobs back home in Chicago, which we couldn't afford to live on at the moment. My grandfather was a close friend of the captain, and he was nice enough to provide Riley and I with jobs after his death.

Because Dewey is only a rank higher than me, he acts all high and mighty. Sometimes, he gave us tasks that didn't fit our proper training. I noticed he was stricter on Riley since my younger brother always bickered with the guy. He was about 6'0" and only a couple of years older than me. He was appointed boatswain by his uncle, Ray, who was our captain.

"Ay Huey, what time these new people gonna be boarding?"

"Tomorrow by 9, why? "

"Nothing man, I just hope it ain't crazy or nothin, I don't want to deal with drunk old nasty swingers again...eww"

Our last departure wasn't a very pleasant one, let's just say that I don't want to ever see another 75 year old naked body, ever again. Nude cruises are just wrong, especially all exclusive senior citizen ones.

"I think it's a bunch of college kids this time." I stated

His eyes widened, "Ay forreal? Maybe I'll bump into one of those smart good looking broads…"

I rolled my eyes "Whatever you say"

The two of us whipped our heads back to the sound of somebody singing in the halls, "One, Two, Three… Mos Def and Talib Kweli.."

Moments later a figure stood at the door, he took his earphones out and greeted us, "Hey Huey my man, what's good Riley?"

"You're in a good mood today…" I replied nonchalantly

"Yep!" He replied cheerfully, "Guess who got picked to be the host…"

"Let me guess, you?"

"Yeah man! Ray actually gave me the job himself! Somethin' about budget cuts, apparently we had to let the old guy go. Oh man, It's gonna be lit Huey! Imma get the chance to get on those turntables on the upper deck."

"Man this sum bull!" shouted Riley

Caesar laughed "What's wrong Reezy? I thought you liked your job, you know, cleanin' old people's sperm and sh-"

"Shut up!" he was cut short by Riley throwing an old shoe in his direction, which I dodged easily.

"Ow!"

"How come Caesar gets to do something fun while I'm still here scrubbin' toilets!?"

Caesar scoffed and rubbed his cheek where he got hit, "I don't know Riley, maybe if you ain't pickin fights with Erika Badewey so often you'd be on his good side."

As if on cue, Dewey entered the room "Why are you three niggas always messing around? Do you want me to give you plumbing duty? You need to stop being so lazy!"

The three of us went silent, until Riley opened his mouth. "Why don't you stop bein' a gay ass nigga first."

Caesar let out a small chuckle that earned him a glare from Dewey, who looked infuriated. "Never mind your punk ass, I just got sent here to let you all know that the Captain is expecting you guys to behave, especially cause we got a younger crowd sailing with us this time…"

"whatever nigga" muttered Riley under his breath

"And, you guys are asked to wear these new badges at all times, in case a student or faculty member needs your assistance with anything."

"Where are we going this year?" asked Caesar,

"We set sail to Cara Island, apparently the university is using the ship as a research vessel as well, sorta like a study-at-sea program. But aside that, we'll have regular passengers on board as well."

"Uh, are you sure this boat's big enough for that?" I asked

"Yeah yeah, we gave them a suitable price anyways. Their budget isn't extremely high, we have about 500 people. We got a lab installed in the basement already, and ya'll need to be wearing those red shirts and badges at all times. Your schedules are on your cabin door, so you better not be late to any shift and tell me you didn't know where to go."

I rolled my eyes. Although most cruise lines could handle to about 4,000 people, the Santiago cruise was a much smaller ship with a maximum capacity of 400. I don't know if they've taken proper security measures on this laboratory they've installed either.

Don't stress it. I thought to myself.

The nuisance made his way out of the cabin, I couldn't stand that man at all. He never thought things though, which made it bad on us because of every mistake he's made, we were the ones who ended up suffering.

I complained to him once that one of our pipes was leaking and needed proper maintenance by a professional, he began to yell on about how we didn't have enough money and that we had to solve the issue ourselves. Luckily, someone from our crew was just able to fix it before a huge storm hit us. He was just about to get fired for something until Dewey realized that he was the head of maintenance.

Abruptly, Dewey waltzed back into the room, "Oh I almost forgot, Huey, they need you in the boiler room."

"What happened?" I asked

"I don't know nigga, go find out." He stated and left the room.

Riley and Caesar burst out into laughing, I scowled deeper and left the cabin.

It's gonna be one hell of a day

Nine hours later

"Man, I'm exhausted." Exhaled Caesar, throwing himself on the small bottom bed.

"I'm sayin, I dunno if I could handle anymore cleaning." Whined Riley from atop the bed

"At least you didn't get electrocuted." I groaned,

Riley laughed "Yeah nigga, that was pretty funny."

Caesar sat up "You know what's not funny though, is these small ass cabins they be givin' us."

"Yeah, I agree.. the three of us can't even stand up in here together without putting them away."

To say that the layout of our cabin was small is an understatement. The place barely fit us three, they provided us with two beds that were grounded, and we had the option to pull out another bed from each side of the ceiling. Aside the bedding, we had no windows, one closet to fit all our stuff in, and a very small corner bathroom with a toilet and a shower. It wasn't the best but somehow, we made it work.

"Ya'll should get some sleep, we gotta be up early to greet the passengers." I stated

"Yeah you right, Esco gotta look fly for them new bitches."

Caesar laughed, "you ain't impressing no lady with that attitude"

Riley scoffed "Man, what do you even know about bitches?"

"Uh, I know that women don't like to be called that…" he replied back

"Whatever nigga." Riley smirked, thinking of his chances with an older college girl.

I tuned out of their conversation and shut my eyes, hoping that sleep would come to me peacefully this time. Truthfully, I don't remember the last time I had a proper night's sleep. Unsettling dreams and images from the past came back to haunt me every time I would fall asleep, so I just began to avoid it.

Sighing for the fiftieth time today, I thought to myself "I really hope tomorrow goes smoothly…"

8:47 AM Tuesday, January 7th 2020. Port of Baltimore, Baltimore, MD

"This is it Hiro…"

"Wow, it's…"

"amazing?"

"No, I was gonna say tiny."

"It's not that tiny!" I exclaimed, sticking my tongue out

Hiro and I had just finished going through security and baggage at the port authority, we were currently at our port of call at the Baltimore Harbor. In front of us a stood a line of about 300 people waiting to board the cruise ship. It wasn't as big as those commercial ones you see on TV, but it was like…a smaller version of it. It was pretty chilly outside, I wore a burgundy sweater dress that reached my thigh with black tights underneath, and boots to match. Hiro on the other hand decided to go in grey Adidas sweats and a Nujabes Hoodie.

By now you've probably figured out that I made it into the top 10 of the class. I got a 97! I beat Hiro's score and teased him endlessly about it. Though I didn't think he really cared… I was still very proud of myself.

But my moment of joy was cut short, again. "Jazmine?!"

Oh no…

I quickly pinched Hiro's arm, "Ow! What the hell?"

"He's here!" I whispered

"Who's he-" I rolled my eyes and moved his head towards the annoying guy in the back, he was waving at me in front of a sea of people.

"-ohhh"

"Yeah, I'm gonna try to move up in front of the line or something, whatever you do don't tell him I was here!"

"Jazmine, he saw you! You want me to lie?"

"Will it kill you?" I sneered and ran further down the line, making sure I was out of Cairo's sight.

I uttered countless 'sorry's and 'excuse me's as I made my way to the front of the huge line, I bumped into many familiar and unfamiliar faces. Why are there so many people? Are these kids all science majors?

I finally stopped when I thought I was away from him, so absent-mindedly that I turned around only to be met with his face a foot away from mine

"What the hell!?" I screamed, jumping in surprise.

"Jazmine! I thought I saw you… What's going on! I see you passed Viktorio's class, what did you get?"

I was shocked by his ability to get here so quickly, "Cairo how did you even-?"

"I saw you were getting ahead of the line, did you buy a VIP pass or something?" he asked very quickly, taking a step forward each time.

"No I wasn'-"

He cut me off again, noticing how uncomfortable I was getting, "Jazmine, let's get one thing clear, what happened on that night-"

"Cairo, go away." I let out in frustration and turned my head away. I was so close to the gangway, just a few steps ahead and I could board the ship.

I could hear him call my name, pleading for me to listen. This was definitely not the place to start talking about things like this, not that I wanted to in the first place. I ignored his pleas and continued to push past the crowd, not caring if I got yelled at. I just wanted to get away from this idiot.

I took a glance at my watch, 8:50. They gates should be open in ten minutes

Just make it to the gangway and wait it out Jazmine

Huey (thirty minutes earlier)

"Caesar, make sure you put those signs up on the elevators, we can't have the passengers using them until we make sure their stuff is sent to their cabins."

"Got you, fam."

"Riley, you'll come down to deck one with me so we can open the gates and card everyone"

It was a busy day for us working on board, the three of us were assigned to take care of guest luggage and boarding. It wasn't a simple task, considering that there was about 500 people ready to get on board. I wasted no time standing around, I just wanted to get this over with.

Riley and I made our way down to the first deck, we both set up a gangway between the ship and land for the passengers to get on board. After making sure it was secure, we brought out two card scanners. Every passenger should have a card and a form of ID to get on board.

I felt a sudden vibration on my thigh, reaching down I grabbed my two way receiver.

"Caes to Big Hue, elevators are set on decks 1 to 5"

"Good. And don't call me that" I scowled

He laughed "Whatever you say, brother."

I took a quick glance at my watch, 8:59. In a minute, the gates would open, and the fiasco would start.

Jazmine 9:00

Just a few more steps.

I could see the gate in front of me, I was only behind a couple of people on the platform; single file. I cut in my way shamelessly, I did everything in my might to get rid of Cairo, but he stuck to me like a leech. He was almost behind me, I could hear him bicker with a few people waiting in line, telling them that I was his girlfriend and he needed to reach me. I felt extremely creeped out, and started to hate myself for leaving Hiro's side.

Please god, let this gate open now.

God must've heard my prayers, cause that door opened in an instant. The line began to move and I could see people inserting their cards in a metallic box. Card?- Oh crap! I left mine with Hiro! I began to cuss as I saw no way out, Cairo was right behind me, and I was almost next to get inside the ship.

I felt his cold hand grab my arm. "Jazmine! Why are you running from me?"

"Cairo I swear to God if you don't let go I will punch you."

"Look, I'm not gonna hurt you I just want you to listen."

"I don't want to talk to you!"

I peeled his fingers off my arm, when he started to come closer to me, I pushed him back with all my might, he fell into the crowd behind him, knocking a few angry passengers on the ground. He got up instantly and began to walk back up on the gangway, I panicked and stepped backwards too quickly causing me to stumble backwards and brace myself to face plant into the ground.

I definitely hit something, but it wasn't the ground… I felt, a heartbeat?

Immediately, I felt my face become flustered, and I looked up.

"H..Hi?"

Huey

I knew something was up when I heard really loud bickering in the crowd, "Riley, take over for a second."

"Cairo I swear to God if you don't let go I will punch you."

What the hell? I looked onward only to see a girl, she had golden curls and jade eyes that had me captivated for a minute..

"Look, I'm not gonna hurt you I just want you to listen." Someone else was with her, he seemed way too familiar. Was that, Cairo? What the hell is he doing here? I stepped more to the front, when I noticed that he had his hands around her. And it made me really angry for some reason, I don't know why.

"I don't want to talk to you!"

Before I could intervene, she pushed the guy and he fell down, knocking a few people over. Then she got up and ran towards my direction as he got back up too. Suddenly, she turned around and tripped over a step, on cue, my arms reached towards her and I caught her before she could plummet to the ground.

The crowd went entirely silent the moment she fell, she looked up into my eyes; her cheeks scarlet red. She stuttered, "h..hi?"

I was caught off guard by how beautiful she was, she left me speechless. I was never taken aback that easily by a woman before, I don't know what took over me at that moment. I felt like a complete ditz.

"A..Are you okay?" I asked, feeling myself getting hotter.

She looked at me and looked back at Cairo, who ran towards her. "I'm fi-"

"Jazmine! Are you oka- what the hell?" He cut himself off when he saw me.

I scowled hard at the frenzied guy, "Nice to see you too, Evans."

His attitude shifted instantly, he looked at me with anger "Huey Freeman? What are you doing here?"

Suddenly, a passenger from the back spoke up, cutting the awkward tension "Can you three continue this somewhere else? We're trying to get on board here!"

"Jazmine!" another person came through the crowd, he was of Asian descent and held something in his hand. "Are you alright? I tried calling you but you left before you could take your card…"

The girl- or Jazmine, let go of my shoulders and straightened herself up, "I.. I'm sorry." She spoke, then she grabbed the card from her friend.

Another angry passenger shouted at her friend "Hey kid! Get in the back of the line!"

He held his hands up in defeat "Alright, alright, jeez, I just had to give my friend something…"

I let out a deep breath that I found myself holding in, I had no idea what was happening, but I needed to sort things out and get back to work.

I faced the girl with the cinnamon curls, "Miss, can I see your card and ID?"

Jazmine

I've never been more embarrassed in my entire life.

I searched my purse and showed him my license, he proceeded to scan the card and stared intensely at me. I tried to hide the blush that crept onto my face by facing the floor. His wine eyes stood evidently, making it extremely hard to keep my eyes off of his. He stood tall with his afro adding more height and an intimidating aura.

"Jazmine Dubois?" He asked

I nodded.

"Welcome aboard, your room number is-" he stopped when he noticed Cairo standing directly behind me, so he leaned into my ear and whispered the deck and cabin number. It probably looked so awkward but it made me shiver.

I thanked him and began to walk past him, until I heard Cairo's voice utter a lie from behind me

"Come on man, tell me what her room number is, she's my girlfriend."

"I am NOT your girlfriend!" I yelled at the top of my lungs

"Even if she was Cairo, I am not allowed to give you that information." Huey replied

How does he know Cairo? And just who is this guy?

"Man, fuck you." Cairo sneered at the afro-headed boy.

Whereas Huey chuckled, "I can easily call security to dispose of your ass, if I catch you bothering that girl again I will make sure you get off this boat in a heartbeat."

I looked at Huey and mouthed a 'thank you'. Cairo groaned and looked at me, I turned away quickly and made my way up the stairs. Thankful that this dramatic scenario was over. Don't let this ruin your trip Jazmine, be hopeful.

A/N: Please review! I'll update soon, I just want to know if you guys enjoyed it so far!