A/N: Hmm…Not much to say here other than some of your other OCs will be introduced. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own POTC, Nina, any of the students, or characters people have volunteered to be in the story. I only own Angel, Sandra, Snickers, and Carrie Ann.
Chapter 11
Emily's eyes shot open. Darkness greeted her and she remembered it was still night. Her hammock swung lazily with the rocking of the ship as they continued their voyage to Tortuga. She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes and slid on her boots. She reached for where she thought the door was and grabbed onto the handle, creaking it open slightly. Suddenly, a thought hit her. She turned back into the room and knelt down at Angel's bunk, which was directly across from hers.
"Hey," Emily whispered as she poked the sleeping girl. "Hey, I need to ask you something."
Angel gave a frustrated moan and rolled over to face Emily. "What?"
Emily hesitated at the snappiness in Angel's voice. Apparently, she was not a morning person. "Where did you say the bathroom, er, head is?"
"None of you bloody listened ta me an' it's cost me a night's sleep!" Angel shouted and Emily immediately began trying to calm her down. "There's no point bein' quite. They're all gone."
"I'm sorry," Emily whispered. "Where did they all go?"
"Same place you want," Angel replied tiredly. "A lot of 'em came in 'ere askin' me where it was when I had already bloody told 'em. Jus' go up on deck an' look fer a group o' girls."
"Thanks," Emily replied quietly. Angel rolled back over and Emily stood and left the small room. She quietly navigated the corridor and soon found herself up on deck. The moon was full and bright, glistening off the water that surrounded them. This only intensified Emily's dire situation. She soon spotted some girls standing on the opposite side of the ship and hurried over to them.
"I hope you didn't wake up Angel," came a greeting. The voice sounded like it belonged to Angela. "She wasn't in a very good mood when I woke her up to ask about the bathroom."
"I did," Emily replied with a tired sigh as one of the girls at the bathroom, which was beyond view, shouted for toilet paper. "And I had the opportunity to get snapped at."
"We all did," Mary said sympathetically.
"Yeah, I risked it too because I figured I better go while there were no men around," Jibsi said as she walked up to the group from where the head was located. "Thing is, though, there isn't any toilet paper."
The three blinked at her several times. Finally, Angela asked, "What's everybody using then?"
Jibsi shrugged. "Everybody's just getting creative." Then, with a carefree grin, she waved as she turned to go below deck. "Have fun."
Emily groaned to herself and rolled her eyes as Catalina approached the group. She turned and looked out at the ocean, but quickly brought her gaze back to the ship. "Who's up there now?"
"Currently, Sandra," Angela replied somewhat impatiently. With another bored sigh, Emily looked out to the ocean once again.
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The next morning, some of the girls practiced climbing up the ropes again and shortly after lunch, Will had them swordfight again. Benjamin had to stand by the side of the ship for most of the day, but this time Sandra stood with him. Both were feeling seasick due to the rougher waves. Finally, Emma remembered the dried up ginger they had given Ben the day before, so she and Catalina went in search for more. Neither let out the monkey this time. After that, Ben and Sandra were feeling more up to sword fighting and even eating lunch, so long as they did not eat much.
It was a few hours after lunch when Jack finally announced that they were about to make berth in Tortuga. The group was thrilled to finally be at the famous pirate port. Then they realized they had to make berth themselves.
"Go on, gather up th' sails!" Jack shouted to the group as he turned the wheel to the right a bit. "Catalina, hold on ta that rope! Don't let it go!" He squinted down at the group. "You, redhead, leave Angel be an' do as yer told!"
The ship seemed to slow until it almost stood still. Gibbs looked over the sides then looked up at the sails. "Don' bring 'em up that much!"
Mei and Emily, who had been chosen to climb up the mast from their rope climbing performance the day before, quickly began untying the ropes and letting the sails down little by little until Gibbs told them to stop.
The sailors watched uneasily as the girls rushed around the deck once again to perform their orders. Why anybody thought women running a ship was a good thing, they would never know. Most of the girls seemed unsure of what to do until told by Gibbs, Jack, a more experienced classmate, or one of the crew. But ever so slowly, they made berth. It was almost a relief until Jack ordered the anchor to be let down.
Mary and Ben rushed towards one anchor and Sandra and Lissie hurried for the other. The first anchor, which was Mary and Jibsi's, was released fine, but Sandra and Lissie's grazed against the side of the ship. The two watched in horror as it slid down the ship and into the water.
"Please tell me that didn't just happen," Sandra said quickly, the fear already rising within her. "Please tell me we didn't just mess up Jack's ship."
Lissie shook her head, eyes wide. "Maybe if we act like nothing happened, he won't notice."
The two slowly stood up from the looking over the side and looked at each other. Both were afraid.
"Who are we kidding?" Sandra asked. "This is Jack's ship! Of course he'll notice sooner or later."
"Hopefully later than sooner," Lissie mumbled and looked over the side once again. The long, ugly cut stared back up at her. She grimaced just as she heard footsteps coming their way.
"What are you two starin' at?" Jack asked suspiciously. The two glanced at one another before giving him a couple of nervous grins. He furrowed his brows and pushed his way past them. They scurried away just as his eyes widened. "What the bloody heck 'appened?!"
"It was an accident!" Sandra called. The two had managed to run down the stairs and take refuge within the group of students who were making their way off the ship. They all looked back at the two with confused looks.
"How is it possible you've done wha' none o' me other men 'ave ever done when lettin' down a bloody anchor?!" Jack asked as he took one last look at it.
"It was an accident," Angel repeated calmly as she walked over to Jack. "Whatever it was."
"It's a bloody cut in me ship!" He exclaimed angrily.
"They'll fix it," Angel replied with a look over in Sandra and Lissie's direction. The two nodded quickly in agreement. "See? Now let's get some rum, aye?"
Jack took one more look over his shoulder at the side where his beloved ship had been damaged before agreeing and warning the girls that they had better fix it correctly. How it was to be fixed correctly, though, was left to them to ponder. Angel looped her arm through Jack's and they left the ship together.
Sandra watched them go as Lissie slowly paced around the deck, trying to think. The blonde looked up from her thinking to see the other girl watching her worriedly. "Bloody help you are. Good thing I've already thought of something…"
"What is it?" Sandra asked desperately, hurrying up to her.
"We'll paint over it," Lissie announced. "With black paint. And if you don't like it, you try to come up with something better!"
"No, it's fine," Sandra said slowly, mulling over the thought in her mind. "But where do we get black paint?"
"We'll ask one of the natives," the blonde said nonchalantly as she strolled off the ship. Sandra hurried to catch up with her. "I'm sure they've got black paint somewhere. How else would he have gotten a black ship to begin with?"
Sandra glanced back over her shoulder at the black ship. Hopefully, there would be enough paint in stock to cover up their mess.
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Angel left Jack comfortably seated in the pub with a few of the girls from the school and walked with Elizabeth to try to find Will. After they had entered the city, the two had gotten separated and Elizabeth was wary about walking down the streets of Tortuga alone. Especially with the large amount of drunken pirate men running around. She was very grateful when Angel agreed to walk with her.
"Of all th' places ya had ta loose Will, ya chose Tortuga," Angel teased as she took a sip of her rum she had "borrowed" from the pub.
Elizabeth watched her with mild disapproval as the girl continued consuming the stolen beverage. "You know, if I had met you before you were kidnapped, I would have never believed you would be a pirate."
Angel shrugged. "Never can tell, can ya? I thought th' same myself, considerin' I hated pirates."
Elizabeth nodded to herself as she continued to scan the streets for her husband. She needed to find him before night fell and even more drunken men and women came out. It was already getting late in the evening, but the sun had not set yet. She figured she still had a few hours of daylight left.
"Hey!" Angel shouted and Elizabeth turned to see the girl trip and spill her rum all over the ground. Elizabeth reached down to help her up, but she would not accept. Angel stood and glared at a girl behind them. "You bloody tripped me an' made me spill my rum!"
"Angel, please…" Elizabeth whispered and tugged on the girl's arm. "Let's not start a fight in the middle of the street."
"It was an accident!" The other girl exclaimed, her dark mahogany colored eyes widening with fear.
"We all seem ta be full o' accidents today…" Angel mumbled to herself, remembering Sandra and Lissie's mishap earlier that evening.
"I'll buy you more rum to make up for it, alright?" The girl asked hopefully, managing to give the two a nervous smile.
Angel crossed her arms. "Fine. C'mon, then."
The girl smiled excitedly and hurried up next to them as they continued their walk down the street. Angel still seemed sore about loosing her rum, but Elizabeth chatted away with their newfound addition to the group.
"So tell me a little about you," Elizabeth said. "Your name, age…those type things."
"Well, I'm Serenity," she said, pulling her light brown hair with blonde highlights behind her, "and I'm seventeen. I've pretty much lived here on the streets my whole life-"
"You poor thing!" Elizabeth interrupted, grabbing the girl in a hug. "I can't believe some one would let a child grow up in a place like this!"
Angel coughed, more to herself than anybody. Elizabeth rolled her eyes at the girl and continued, "You should come with us and get out of this place. There are plenty of other girls your age, including Angel. She's seventeen as well. She could probably use some friends, though. You see, she's having a fight with another girl…"
"Will!" Angel hollered and hurried over to him. With a quick glance over her shoulder to see Elizabeth and Serenity slowly walking towards them, she added quietly, "Save me."
Will chuckled. "Why? It seems you two have picked up a new friend."
Angel did not have time to reply before Elizabeth said, in an agitated tone, "Where did you go? I was worried about you!"
"I was looking at these swords," Will said, motioning behind him at the sharp blades. "I thought of getting one, but I know I can make a better one. So who's this?"
"This is Serenity," Elizabeth said and introduced her. "She'll be coming with us. She grew up on the streets here."
Serenity smiled happily as she shook Will's hand. Elizabeth then took hold of her husband's arm and began leading him back down the street towards the docks.
"So when can I get you more rum?" Serenity asked, walking beside Angel.
The other girl looked at her with a surprised look. She had certainly not expected that to be asked. "Uh…whenever I want some, I s'pose."
"Alright, just let me know," she said contentedly and spoke no more, but walked with a smile on her face.
Angel studied her for a moment, decided there was something definitely wrong with her, and took a few steps to the side to put a little distance between them as they walked on.
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Mary sat at a table in the corner of a pub with Emily and Jibsi. Both girls were laughing and chatting about how much fun the ride over to the island had been, but Mary was distracted. A boy with short, black hair who sat across the large room kept staring at her and what frightened her most was that she thought she recognized him. As she continued glancing over at him, it became clear to her who he was.
"Hey, I'll be right back," she said absentmindedly to the two girls sitting at the table. They watched her get up and head across the room before shrugging to themselves.
Mary's apprehension grew as she neared his table and finally she was positive she knew who he was. His brown eyes watched her walk towards him and a smirk formed on his face. He stood and walked towards her.
"Well, well, well," he said as he eyed her. "Look who's here."
Mary did not reply. She quickly glanced around before grabbing his arm and dragging him outside. When they were a fare distance away from everybody, Mary turned to him and whispered, "What do you think you're doing here, Greg Darkstone?"
"What's with all the whispering?" He sneered. "Nobody cares that you know me."
"Well, I do," she replied quickly, keeping her voice low so that nobody would overhear. "Now tell me what you're doing here."
"It's an accident, really," he replied casually, shoving a hand into his pocket. "When I sent you back here with the Time Staff, I had no intentions of coming here myself."
"How come you didn't just zap yourself back to our time, huh?" She asked, getting somewhat frustrated.
He gave a vague shrug, unwilling to answer. Mary controlled the urge to shout at him and only crossed her arms and said, "You better keep away from my friends or else-"
"Or else what?" Greg asked defiantly with a smirk on his face.
"You know what I can do with water," she replied threateningly as she shoved her way past him.
"Oh, I'm so scared!" He mocked and laughed as he watched her round the corner. With a chuckle to himself, he turned and walked the other way.
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"Hold on tight, men!" Mr. Gibbs hollered. The few men that had been ordered to stay behind and guard the Black Pearl grabbed onto the rope and held on as tightly as they could. "A'right, second group!" A few more men grabbed onto the second rope and held on.
Sandra glanced over the side of the ship and gulped. "Nice knowing you."
"Don't have that attitude!" Lissie ordered as she swung one leg over the side of the ship, tested the rope around her waist, and hopped off the side of the ship. The men holding her rope gripped it tightly as it suddenly became taut in their hands. The girl suddenly stopped in midair and laughed. "That was fun!"
"Easy for you to say…" Sandra muttered to herself as she swung her legs over the side of the ship and dropped. She screamed as she fell, but suddenly came to a stop only a few feet above Lissie's head.
"Ready fer th' paint?" Gibbs called down to them.
"Aye!" Lissie shouted up excitedly.
A small, makeshift crate soon appeared at the top of the Pearl and was quickly lowered down to the girls. Sandra grabbed out a large paint brush and a jar of paint. Gibbs continued lowering it until it reached Lissie and she was able to get her supplies. Then the two began painting, Lissie starting at the bottom and Sandra starting at the top.
"Paint fast, lasses," Gibbs called down to them. "Their arms are startin' ta hurt."
"We're trying!" Sandra called up to him as she continued painting as quickly as she could while still doing a good job.
"You better not drip paint on my head!" Lissie joked as she dipped her brush into the paint again.
Sandra chuckled and continued painting. This was definitely not her favorite position to be in, seeing as she was scared of heights and she was dangling in midair at this very moment. She quickly shoved the thought from her mind as asked to be lowered a bit more.
Gibbs watched the girls paint, wishing they could do it faster for the sake of the crew's arms. The girl were by no means heavy, but after a few minutes of suspending them in the air, they seemed to get heavier by the minute. Finally, much to his and the crew's relief, the two met at the middle of the scratch, painted over it, and announced that they had finished.
"Pull 'em up, men!" Gibbs shouted and watched as the crew tugged at the ropes, slowly lifting the two girls until they could climb onto the deck on their own. The two scrambled up and immediately untied the ropes from around their waist and rubbed where it had been. "Let's see 'ow ye did."
Gibbs peered over the edge. The light from the setting sun glistened off the wet paint, but he could not see any of the scratch peeking through it. He figured Jack would check on it in the morning, since he would not have much daylight left, and by then the paint would be completely dry and no one would be able to tell there had even been a scratch.
"Good job," he said with a smile as he turned to them. "Jack will be pleased."
They girls' relief showed on their faces and the crew looked relieved as well as they dismissed themselves to various areas of the ship. Gibbs patted each girl on the shoulder before heading below deck.
"Now what?" Sandra asked.
"You follow me ta th' pub," came a voice from behind them. The girls turned to see Angel. "Almost everybody else is waitin' there, so we'll get somethin' ta eat there…unless you 'ave a better idea?"
"No, no," Lissie replied quickly. Even though she hated pubs, she was starving and ready to eat. "Anywhere's fine."
"Good," Angel said and turned and began walking away. The two girls followed her as she continued speaking, "An' don't be surprised if ya find a girl named Serenity followin' me around everywhere…"
"What do you mean?" Lissie asked, confused.
"Oh you'll see…"
The two girls shrugged to each other and continued following Angel through the crowded streets. They would never have known which direction the pub was in, but were glad Angel did. At least they hoped she did. But they did not have to worry because Angel got them there safely.
The place was already beginning to get crowded by the time they arrived. Both men and women lingered outside, most of them very drunk by now. The girls hurried inside before any of the drunken men could change their minds about the local prostitutes and opt for something new. Once inside, the three made their way past the crowd to a mostly private corner where the rest of their group was sitting. Most of them were already eating the roasted chickens, bread, and apples that had been brought out.
"You know, I'm surprised a pub would even have something to eat," Sandra said to Lissie as the two seated themselves near Elizabeth, "much less something decent to eat."
"I was really surprised too," Emma said, swallowing a mouthful of the chicken. Elizabeth agreed, letting them know this was her first time actually eating in a pub as well.
Sandra giggled to herself as Angel squeezed around to the side of the table against the wall. The side where Jack sat. She quickly ordered a girl with light brown hair with blonde highlights to move from the place she had obviously been saving beside Jack. Sandra admired Angel for being more than a puddle of mush around Jack. She silently wished she could be that way too then quickly realized many of the other girls at the table probably did too.
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After they finished eating and the prostitutes finally left Jack alone, mainly because of Angel and sometimes Emma threatening them when they would not, the group left the pub for the noisy, busy streets of Tortuga. Once there, Elizabeth and Will left for the Black Pearl, explaining that they would much rather sleep there than in one of the dirty inns.
"Wait, we're not going to have to sleep there, are we?" Angela asked after Will and Elizabeth left.
"It'll be better than the streets," Serenity, who had had experience with that, supplied. "I'd much rather sleep in an inn."
"Who the bloody heck is this, anyway?" Christine asked, frustrated that nobody had answered her question before.
"Serenity," Angel replied curtly before addressing Angela's question. "An', aye, we have ta sleep in th' inn."
There were mixed emotions about that as they tromped to the nearest inn, which also happened to be one of the cheapest. After Jack got rooms for all of them, he randomly began passing out room keys, but made sure not to give Christine and Angel neighboring rooms after the last time they had stayed at an inn. Then, with a very quick goodbye, he left the group alone, much to his fangirls' dismay.
After some of the girls recovered from Jack's absence, everyone began pairing up according to which rooms they shared. Luckily for all who were involved, Angel and Christine were on opposite ends of the building, which meant a peaceful sleep for all…or not.
"Something bit me!" Jibsi exclaimed as she jumped up form the bed she was forced to share with Mei.
The other girl did not respond, but merely jumped out of the bed as well. The two peered down at the thin, old mattress they had been attempting to sleep on, but did not see anything.
"Is is safe to sleep on?" Mei asked quietly, scanning the bed for any sign of the intruder.
"I wouldn't think so," Jibsi replied with a sigh. "I don't want any bugs eating me alive, so I'm going to sleep on the floor."
Mei nodded and pulled the sheets off the bed and made a thin pallet on the floor. The two fetched their worn out pillows from the bed and laid down. It was not nearly as comfortable as the bed had been, but that had not been very comfortable either.
"Night…" Jibsi mumbled as she squirmed around, trying to find a comfortable position. Mei muttered a quiet reply and the two settled in for a long night.
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A/N: And…done! Ok, so I just wanted to say that I'm not sure if it would be possible to scrape the anchor along the side of a ship, but I just put that in there for a bit of humor. For those of you whose volunteered OC wasn't introduced this chapter, they'll probably be introduced next time, ok? Oh, and if you need any help creating or developing an OC, be sure to visit my forum! Now, please review!