A/N: Um…yeah…no author's note this time.
Disclaimer: I still don't own Pirates, Nina, or these students. I only own Angel, Sandra, Snickers, and Carrie Ann. That's it!
Chapter 10
The next morning after breakfast, the students that had not completed their assignment given to them by Carrie Ann the previous day headed out to the town to finish it. They soon realized that it would have been better to do it the day before because now there was a lack of pirates in the pubs and around the docks. While they were out searching for their projects, the students who had cleverly finished theirs practiced their sword fighting with Will in the backyard of the school. Even though they had not been there for a week quite yet, their muscles did not ache nearly as bad after each training session with Will and they each felt that they were getting better. At least most of them felt that way. It was shortly after this training session that Lissie brought up the popular subject of Carrie Ann.
"What was with the bloody headmaster yesterday?" She asked as they all relaxed their weary muscles in the den area.
"She…" Angel began from her seat on the couch, pausing briefly to consider her words, "she…can't sail on a ship."
"What's she going to do when we actually get away from here?" Jibsi inquired. "Like when we go to Tortuga and all those places?"
"Don't know," Angel sighed. "She'll prob'ly stay 'ere with Norrington. She's fond of 'im, you know."
"Eeewwww!" Emma cried and visibly cringed. "That's disgusting!"
"Pretty much," Lissie nodded in agreement.
"Am I really that disgusting?" Came a sarcastic voice from the doorway. All eyes turned to see Norrington leaning against the doorframe. "What's this about going to Tortuga? Women learning how to be proper ladies shouldn't visit such places."
"And Benjamin!" Jibsi quickly added and pointed to the young boy. "He's learning to be a gentleman."
"The question still remains as to why you're going to Tortuga," he said calmly and looked around the room. "Angel? Do you have an explanation?"
Her hazel eyes darted around the room quickly as she tried to come up with a logical lie. She opened her mouth to speak, but just as she did Catalina hollered from the entrance hall, "We're back and we completed our pirate report thing! Now where are you guys?"
Norrington's eyes shot back over his shoulder then back to the group before him. "Pirates! I knew it! Why else would Sparrow be here?"
"He came-" Angel began, but the man rushed out of the room and up the stairs. She jumped up from her couch and stood in the doorway and listened. Nobody moved.
"Took us long enough to-" Emily started, but Angel cut her off with a stern look. The tall girl stopped and looked into the room then turned and shrugged to Catalina.
Suddenly, Norrington rushed back down the stairs with Nina following him close behind, pleading with him not to go. Carrie Ann stood at the top of the stairs, shouting ever conceivable thing that came to mind. Neither stopped the man as he threw open the door then slammed it shut behind him.
"Someone find Captain Sparrow!" Carrie Ann screamed from her position atop the stairs. The group, who were frozen in place moments ago, found new life and rushed about the school in search of the captain. Some of them scurried down to the docks and the pub in hopes of finding him there. All the while, Catalina sat in a chair, upset that she let out the secret and dreading the punishment that was sure to come.
Finally, after half an hour of searching, Jack was found below deck on his own ship and told of how Norrington found out the school's secret and was on his way to tell someone in a higher position. Then Jack, in no hurry, pulled out of the port and began sailing after Norrington.
Carrie Ann, who was in too much of a panic to punish whoever let the secret slip, put Nina in charge of the students and hurried down to the docks to wait for Jack and his crew to return. Nina, who was not near as strict as Carrie Ann, decided to lighten the mood.
"So who wants to play a game?" She asked excitedly. "Or maybe sing a song?"
"What game and song do you have in mind?" Lissie asked almost warily.
"Oh!" Angela jumped up from her seat. "Lets play Twister!"
"Wait!" Christine interjected. "What's Twister?"
The girls from the twenty-first century grinned at one another as if sharing a secret.
"We'll show you," Sandra said with a grin.
After getting a table cloth from the cooks and dying rows of different colored circles on it, Emma stood to the side and called out randomly which circle to put their hands or feet on. At first, the girls' hands and feet got stained from the still wet dye, but no one minded.
As soon as the first game was over with Angela as the victor, the group from the seventeenth century joined in on the fun. Their hands and feet got quite stained as well, but, once again, no one cared. They were all having fun laughing, falling, and sliding on their new game with new friends. Even Christine and Angel managed to put off their differences for the duration of the game!
"Well, look who won!" Angela, who had been the caller that time, exclaimed.
Mei grinned shyly as she was congratulated by the rest of them. "Thanks."
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With Nina in charge, the group soon forgot most of their troubles. They were able to skip their cooking class and even their sword fighting class since Will was on board the Black Pearl. It was soon decided that if they ever had the choice over who would run the school, they would choose Nina over Carrie Ann any day. Needless to say, that made Nina very happy.
The day was spent resting in the school or hanging around town. It was a nice break from the packed schedule they had been given since day one. Many of them got to know one another better than they had. Mei even broke out of her shell and said a few sentences throughout the day.
The Black Pearl arrived back to town in the late afternoon. The students were eating their supper when, much to their delight, Jack and Will appeared in their crude dining room. Both men seemed exhausted, so, even though they wanted to speak to them desperately, the fangirls left them alone for once. But, even though they were tired, Jack gave a quick explanation to every one that Norrington was in one of the cells in the Black Pearl and would stay there until further notice.
Carrie Ann almost passed out from relief.
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"You should know how ta get up by now!" Angel bellowed in the halls the next morning. "Come on, everybody! You'll be happy ta know that we're headin' for Tortuga after lunch today!"
Feet hit the floor faster than she could say another word. From out in the hall, she could hear girls squealing excitedly as they got dressed and she even thought she heard some one open a window and tell "Snickers" to go outside. With a shrug to herself, she turned and began walking down the hall.
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"I'm so excited to be back on the Pearl again!" Jibsi squealed happily as the group once again stepped onto the deck of the famous ship.
"We all know that, missy," Jack said somewhat impatiently, glancing over the group's heads. "Yer head-master…oh what's-her-face isn't comin' is she?"
"She can't sail on a ship, remember?" Angel reminded.
"Ah!" Jack grinned widely, but the smile soon disappeared when he saw Nina on board his ship. "Is she…?"
"She's cool!" Angela answered, defending their newfound friend. "She's nothing like Carrie Ann."
"And I won't be in the way," Nina added, trying not to act like fangirl around Jack.
Jack seemed hesitant about her coming, but quickly went on, "You remember th' rules, right? No touching anything, don't go below deck without someone, always stay in me sight?"
The group nodded eagerly.
"That's not what yer s'posed ta do when I ask ya a question an' th' answer's yes," Jack corrected. "Ya say 'Aye, Cap'n.' An' ya always refer to me as Captain Jack Sparrow. 'Specially on me ship, savvy?"
"Aye, Captain!" They chorused loudly.
"Good!" Jack grinned. "Now, yer to get th' ship out o' th' port. If ye remember th' names of all the parts and ya watched me men last time, you should 'ave no problems. Jus' listen to me orders."
"What about the sails and stuff?" Mary asked. "Do we have to climb up there?"
"Not this time since ya don't know 'ow," he answered, then added, "but you'll be learnin' 'ow to climb ropes while we're out on the ocean."
The girls looked to one another hesitantly, but did not have time to worry before Jack issued the first command. They quickly scrambled around, trying to perform the duties quickly enough to keep up with how fast he was giving new ones. Poor Benjamin took the duties that he could, but ended up standing near the side of the ship most of the time while the girls attempted to do what they were told.
Many men from the crew trailed the girls, checking what was done to make sure everything was done properly. Gibbs was in a state of almost panic over all that was happening and kept checking with Jack to make sure he was not out of his mind. But ever so slowly, the Pearl drifted out of the port in one piece and with out a single hole. As soon as that was announced, the girls cheered joyously and flopped down on deck for a rest. Benjamin stayed by the side of the ship with his head hung over the edge.
"I've heard dried ginger is good for seasickness," Sandra said as she looked over to Benjamin with pity.
"Lets go find some!" Emma said excitedly, jumping at the chance to explore the Pearl.
"And we won't be breaking a rule because the three of us are going," Catalina added just as excitedly as Emma.
The three glanced around and quickly stood and hurried to the hatch. They knew a few of the crew members were watching, but they did not know the rules Jack had laid down for them. Besides, they would only be there for a minute or two.
They scurried down the stairs, Sandra in the lead, and looked around. The crew's quarters were on that level, so they hurried down another set of stairs.
"Get a lantern!" Sandra ordered to Catalina, who was in the back of the line. Emma huddled up next to the other girl as the two waited for Catalina to return. "It's really wet down here."
"Yeah," Emma agreed as Catalina reappeared with a lit lantern. "Ok! Lets go find that ginger!"
Now, with Catalina in the lead, they made their way through a jungle of cages, wood, cloth, and even animals. There was no sign of the kitchen, or galley, rather. They turned around and began to march back to the stairs when they heard a loud screech. Catalina screamed, jumped, and almost dropped the lantern, but clutched it to her, burning her hand in the process. The other two girls, after screaming, huddled next to one another and peered around.
"What was that?" Emma asked in a shaky voice. Catalina lifted the lantern high and swung it around to the sides.
"Hey, is that…" Sandra started and took the lantern. She took a few steps forward, holding the light in front of her. "Jack!"
"Jack?" Catalina questioned.
"The monkey, remember?" Sandra bent down so that she was at eye level with the animal and cooed, "Hey, little guy. They locked you up, huh?"
The monkey peered up innocently through the bars of the cage and fidgeted with his tail.
"Don't get too attached," Catalina said. "We still have to find the ginger."
"Yeah," Sandra stood back up and began leading the way. "Come on, Emma."
Emma quickly glanced at the two and waited until they were out of sight before hurrying up to the monkey's cage. "You can't possibly cause too much trouble."
She quickly fiddled with the lock and opened the door. The monkey screeched again and leapt from the cage and onto her head before jumping into the mess behind her. It was only then she realized she had made a mistake. With a quick glance to either side, she rushed after her friends.
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"A'right, go on up!" Jack instructed Mei. The girl looked up the rope ladder, pulled back her black hair and began to climb. "Don't get yer feet tangled!"
The rest of the group watched as Mei climbed up the rope ladder that led to the top of the mast. Even though Jack and the crew were supposed to be instructing her on how to climb, she was already an expert and was able to climb to the top of the mast where another crew member waited before coming back down. When her feet hit the deck, a round of applause went up from the other girls and Mei grinned sheepishly at them.
"Very good," Jack stated simply before motioning for Christine to attempt to climb the ladder. Mei beamed at him as she took her place with the rest of the group. "You saw me an' Mei climb th' ropes, so jus' do what we did an' you'll be fine."
Christine grudgingly stepped up onto the railing and hesitantly grabbed the rope and began her ascent. She was about half way up when a large wave rocked the ship. Christine clutched the rope tightly and shut her eyes.
"I'm coming back down!" She shouted to any one who was near enough to hear.
"What's the matter? You scared?" Angel shouted up to her with a smirk.
"What's th' problem?" Jack hollered up to her, ignoring the other girl's comment.
When no reply came, Will shouted even louder, "What's the problem?"
"I can't stand it up here! I feel like I'm going to fall!" She answered as she began to climb down.
"If ya can't stand it now, what are you goin' to do if I need ya up there durin' a storm?" Jack shouted.
Christine hesitated and looked up. With a quick breath, she continued her ascent once again, determined to complete the challenge. As soon as she was at the top, she hurried back down before another big wave could come along and rock the ship. More cheers went up for her and some girls patted her on the back, telling her that it was alright now. Angel was not among them.
"A'right, next," Jack said to the group and Angela stepped forward eagerly. "Go on up, then."
Angela quickly got up on the rail, grabbed the ropes, and started climbing. She was making good progress and was nearing the halfway point when a loud screech startled her. She let out a scream as something landed on her head. In a desperate attempt to get it off, she let go of the ropes so she could swat it away, but fell into the ocean.
"Woman overboard!" Gibbs shouted and the crew scurried around to get one of the longboats into the ocean. The group from the school gathered around the side of the ship, shouting words of encouragement to their friend.
"Let down the anchors so we don't lose 'em!" Jack ordered just as the longboat splashed into the ocean. Other men from the crew rushed to the front of the ship to carry out the order.
The girls and Benjamin watched as the crew in the ship finally reached Angela, who was easily keeping afloat. The men pulled her up into the boat and began rowing back to the Black Pearl, which had come to a complete stop.
The girls cheered when Angela finally reached the deck. She was wet, but smiling and even laughing a little.
"Are you alright?" Several girls asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine!" She replied as she wiped some of her wet hair out of her face.
Upon hearing this, Jack ordered for the crew to pull the anchors back up so they could continue their voyage to Tortuga. Soon, they were back at the speed they had been going before they had stopped.
"A'right, where is it?" Jack asked angrily as he peered around people and up the mast.
"Where's what?" Angel asked, following his gaze as he looked around.
"Th' bloody monkey!" He explained, not stopping his search. "Mr. Gibbs, gather th' crew an' go find th' monkey."
"Aye, Cap'n," Gibbs quickly turned and began rounding up the crew.
"Who let it out?" Jack quickly turned back to the students. When no one answered, he continued, "Th' thing was in a cage. A locked cage. It couldn't 'ave jus' gotten out!" Again, no one said a word.
"Jack, we'll find it," Will said calmly. "Calm down."
Ignoring what the other man had to say, Jack turned his attention back to the group. "Angel, who let it go?"
Angel jerked her gaze from the crewmen searching for the monkey to the man before her. "Um, I…" she looked to the girls on either side of her. "I only know three girls went below deck ta search for somethin' ta keep Ben from being seasick."
"It's working too," Benjamin added quickly, hoping to defend the girls who helped him. "I haven't thrown up since."
Jack made a disgusted face at the statement before asking Angel, "Who were they? An' don't say ya don't know 'cause I know you know all their names. And 'ave even given the redhead a few more…"
With a sigh she mumbled, "It was Sandra, Emma, and Catalina."
"I wouldn't have told…" Christine said loudly enough for the girl to hear.
"Well 'e wasn't bloody askin' you!" Angel shouted.
"A'right, a'right!" Jack shouted and the two stopped their bickering. "Sandra, Emma, an' Catalina, for releasin' th' monkey you'll scrub th' decks an' not 'ave a hammock 'til we get to Tortuga, savvy?"
"Aye, Captain," they muttered, upset that Jack of all people had punished them.
"Good," he stated. "Th' climbin' lesson will be postponed 'til we get th' monkey back in a cage."
He turned to leave, but Angel quickly asked, "If they catch th' monkey, can they keep their hammocks an' not have ta scrub th' decks?"
Jack turned and paused to consider the question. Finally, he said, "Aye, if they get the monkey back in it's cage, they escape punishment."
He turned and left, leaving the group by themselves. As the girls who were not in trouble eased away, Emma grabbed onto Angel's arm so she could not leave.
"Thank you so much for getting us out of trouble," Emma said with a grateful smile.
"Yer not out of it yet," Angel reminded.
"How are we supposed to catch the monkey?" Catalina asked hurriedly. "The crew isn't going to help us are they? Captain Jack is going to stop them from hunting, right?"
"Aye," Angel nodded, thinking on the question for a moment. "I'd advise ya ta try food. Th' monkey loves bread, or so Captain Jack says…"
She walked off, leaving the three to figure out how to use food in their hunt for Jack the monkey.
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Twenty minutes later, Sandra had told the crew to keep away from their trap so as not to scare the monkey off. Emma had gotten the cage and Catalina had gotten the bread, even though it seemed pretty stale. They had placed the bread in the cage with door open and crouched behind a few barrels to wait.
"It's not going to work…" Emma frowned as they watched the monkey walk around the outside of the cage. "It knows it's about to be caught."
"It's an animal, how can it possibly know that?" Catalina objected with furrowed brows as the monkey sat up on its back legs and looked over in their direction.
"Shh!" Sandra hissed, watching the animal intently. It got back down and continued its search of the cage. Then, ever so slowly, it reached through one of the bars and grabbed the bread. With a quick glance around, it pulled the chunk towards itself, but the bread was too big to fit through the bars. The monkey jerked harder, but with no luck. Finally it dropped the bread with a frustrated screech and scurried around to the door. It hesitantly eyed the cage and its door, but its hunger for the bread won the battle and the monkey scurried into he cage and grabbed up the bread.
"Ok, go!" Catalina whispered excitedly.
Emma leapt from their hiding spot and sprinted over to the cage. The monkey was busily eating he bread and did not see her coming until she was within arm's reach and had locked the cage. It screeched angrily and jumped around, trying to break out.
"We did it!" Catalina shouted happily as she and Sandra rushed over to Emma.
"To be honest, I didn't think it would work," Sandra admitted.
"I see it did."
The three turned around to see Jack. They quickly attempted to brush off their clothes and fix their hair as discreetly as possible.
"I'll take this," Jack said, taking the cage from Emma, who flashed him a big smile. "As I said, yer out of yer punishment this time. But if ya let it out again, I won't let ya out of yer punishment jus' for catchin' it, savvy?"
"Aye, Captain!" The chorused happily.
"Tell all th' others ta leave it in its cage," Jack ordered as he turned and began walking away, the monkey screeching angrily at him the whole time.
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A/N: And I'll stop there. So sorry for making you guys wait! I…have no excuse. Does anybody forgive me? Hopefully? Will you review and make me feel better about not updating recently?