Chapter 12- Deckchairs and catfights
"Thank you so much, Mr. Wellington. We really appreciate the help" Micheala said to the steward, batting her eye lashes flirtatiously.
"Hmrph".
I bit my lip and looked away, trying not to laugh. Desiree, beside me was doing the same. So was Alex.
We were sitting on deck chairs by the ship's railing, enjoying the ocean. Sadly, the sun was hidden by dark clouds in the sky, indicating a tropical storm. But it was nice enough to lounge there and do nothing for the entire morning. We had all agreed that we needed to relax for the day.
So here we were, Desiree and me sharing one chair, Alex on our right and Micheala on our left. Next to Alex were Ken and Mary.
Ken was simple fuming; Micheala had spent about 15 minuets talking to the cute steward, Wellington, and flirting non-stop. And the man was eager to respond to her unnecessary friendliness. Ken was so angry that he'd been scowling and making snide comments under his breath, not thinking we could plainly see what was going on.
Which is why the three of us had a hard time holding in our giggles. Mary was curled up, fast asleep. Alex held up his sports magazine studiously but I could tell he was listening to the flirting.
"Did you have to suck up to him that much?" Ken demanded as the steward strolled away. He was failing at his attempt to be inconspicuous. We could see through him easily but Micheala chose to feign nonchalance. I could see through her too, noting the frigid shoulders and icy glare.
"I don't have any idea what you're talking about" she snapped, pulling on her sunglasses and lying back.
"Oh come on! Even a two year old could see what you were doing. Desperate much?" Ken yelled. Micheala sat up, yanking off those sunglasses in anger.
"At least I'm doing something that will help us when we dock at Mombassa! I got us plane reservations back to the States through Wellington and I was just thanking him for it" she screamed in Ken's face.
"Yeah, I am sure that's ALL you were doing with him" Ken snarled and looked away, steaming.
"WHAT did you say, Mr. Kenneth?" Micheala spelled out each syllable clearly.
"Nothing" Ken muttered. No I had to admit, it was getting a bit too serious.
"What was that?" Micheala persisted.
"I said NOTHING! Absolutely nothing" Ken shouted. I drew back in surprise. I had never seen Ken this mad before. Or even Micheala for that matter.
"Really? Because I heard something!" Micheala refused to back down.
"Oh stop being a big whiny baby, Micheala!" Ken yelled, finally losing the last straw of his patience and leaving the deck in a huff.
"I thought he'd never leave!" Micheala mumbled and shoved the sunglasses back onto her face before lying onto the deck chair.
I wondered why Micheala bothered wearing sunglasses; it looked like it was going to rain any second and the sun wasn't to be seen anywhere.
"This is awkward" Desiree murmured to me.
"Micheala?" I said to her.
"What, Arsenio? If you're trying to take up Ken's side of this, I think you should go right ahead" Micheala snapped acidly.
"I wasn't…" I began but she cut me off.
"No, I don't wanna heard it". And something inside me snapped.
"Well, I can see why Ken's having a fit" I muttered darkly.
"What did you say?" Micheala rose. When I didn't reply she yelled, "If you have something to say to me Arsenio, you need to say it to my face!".
"Oh for crying out loud" I said, getting up. I scowled at Micheala before marching off the deck.
"Arsenio?" I heard Desiree's voice behind me but I ignored it.
I went into the cabin to find Ken. I saw him standing broodingly at the balcony. I joined him silently. I could literally feel the waves of anger rolling off him. I had to admit, I was pretty mad too.
"I had a row with Micheala too" I told him, trying to break the silence.
"Yeah, well, who wouldn't? When she's being such a b****" Ken said, glowering at the water. I was taken aback; Ken never spoke like that, to anyone let alone Micheala.
I guess tempers were all running high on account of the tragic mishaps of the past week. So it made sense that someone hit a nerve somewhere. But not like this. I mean, this was just too much.
"Ken, don't make mountains out of this molehill" I told him comfortingly.
"Why, Arsenio! I'll do whatever I want! Make as many molehill-mountains as I like" Ken whipped around to face me in annoyance.
"No Ken..I…" I started, "You shouldn't dig a bigger hole with this. I think you need to close it now" I told him.
"Well, I'll dig as many holes as I want! I am a digger; a shovel, an earth mover!" Ken declared and stopped, realizing the sheer stupidity of what he had just said. We both burst out laughing at once.
I smiled at Ken; he had a hot temper but we were just like that, we made a stupid joke and laughed it off. Ken and I had grown up together and I could read him like an open book. I knew he could read me too.
"You really like her don't you?" I asked him quietly although I really knew the answer.
"YOU really like HER, don't you?" he threw the question back at me.
We both considered for a moment before answering together,
"Yeah, I do".
"Aw, glad to see you guys are friends again. Now kiss and make up" Desiree teased us from the doorway.
"Who are you calling gay?" Ken demanded, pretending to be upset. "And besides, he's unavailable".
"Too bad, Kenny" Desiree laughed tauntingly.
I took a few steps towards her warningly. "You think I'm gay?" I asked her threateningly, towering over her. I could see she was a bit nervous and back away from me a bit. But her back pressed against the wall and I trapped her.
"Do you?" I persisted.
"Yeah I do" the voice came out shaky.
"Maybe this will change your mind" with that, I leaned forward and kissed her. I felt her fingers interlock through my hair. And for the billionth time, I thanked my lucky stars that I had found Desiree.
"Ew, you two! Get a room" Ken complained, making gagging sounds.
We broke apart, breathing heavily and blushing. I guess it was easy to forget that we weren't alone. I cleared my throat awkwardly.
"So, um, Ken, are you okay now? 'Cause two minutes ago, you resembled a storm cloud" Desiree asked.
"I'm fine though I am now a bit disturbed after watching you….." and he cut off by knocking.
The three of us turned around to see a fuming but surprisingly composed Micheala leaning on the doorframe. My previous irritation flared at once. She cleared her throat before speaking.
"Can I talk to Ken, you guys? Alone…if that's okay" she said tightly. I didn't move but out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ken's jaw tighten convulsively.
"Sure, Micheala" Desiree specified deliberately and towed me along, practically having to drag me past Micheala. I saw her shut the door after us but Desiree didn't let me stay and listen in on them.
"Desiree! Kenny needs me out there" I whined, scowling.
"Oh stop it. It's between Ken and Micheala and should stay that way" Desiree told me seriously. "I mean, if it were between us, would you want Mary or Alex to listen in on us?" she asked me.
"You mean I have to imagine a situation where you were throwing yourself at a steward and I had to watch that?" I threw back.
"N-no" that stopped her for a moment. I realized that my statement had hurt her a little but I made no apologies.
"I am sorry Arsenio, but I want you to know that THAT will never happen" she snapped at me.
"You won't ever flirt with a steward like that?" I clarified.
"I promise" she batted her eyelashes at me. I laughed and hugged her tight. And we twirled around like that, giggling like school kids. I suddenly felt her stiffen against me and wrench herself away from me.
I was confused; what was she doing?
Before I could react, she pulled back and shoved me hard. Normally, I would have been able to resist her push but she caught me off guard and I fell back against the railing which gave away underneath me. I felt myself falling headlong into the icy ocean waters. And heard Desiree's piercing scream of pain.
A\N: What cause Desiree to shove Arsenio, the love of her life, off the ship? (Not that it would make a difference to him; he could catch up to the ship and all). Something happened.
Possibly something big.
Read on to find out!
