Much to Max and Rachel's relief, Nathan didn't bother them after the incident. It gave Max a certain degree of satisfaction, having put him in his place. Without having to worry about Nathan, they could finally focus on Max's full recovery and Rachel's immediate graduation. Due to Rachel's care, Max had fully recovered from her injuries in no time and she made ample sure to show Rachel her appreciation for it.
The prom that Blackwell hosted had everyone in great anticipation. It was no surprise that Rachel was declared prom queen, a title she was all too willing to carry. Her date for the dance was, of course, Max, an honor that once more led to her becoming the envy of everyone at Blackwell. At times, Max had a hard time believing how much her perception of Blackwell had changed since she came here. She was no longer the laughing stock of the likes of Victoria or Nathan, but instead, a well-respected student that people admired.
The day of Rachel's graduation wasn't quite what they had originally imagined though. The rift caused between her and her family made the atmosphere very uneasy. Even though James and Rose did attend, it was obvious that things were far from perfect. Not once did Rachel speak a word to them, other than a brief mention of them during her graduation speech. As a matter of fact, Max didn't even notice her doing as much as looking at them once. She hoped deep down that this divide wouldn't last forever, however, with Rachel having graduated and no longer being a student at Blackwell, the school no longer allowed her to stay in Max's room. She was allowed to visit, but that was as far as Principal Wells was willing to go in terms of leniency. This meant she was forced to move back in with her parents, which put her on edge.
Max, in order to not only comfort Rachel but also to ensure that she wouldn't suffer a repeat of her previous meltdown, moved back in along with her for the time being. Rachel kept herself busy, faced with all the free time in the world, having set up their trip to the Caribbean and the flight to Texas. It was all set to go.
The evening before their big trip, Rose had begged for everyone to attend dinner together, in order to ease the tension a bit, as she didn't want everyone to part in bitterness. She allowed Rachel to cook for the night, in hopes that this would lift her spirits a bit. Max sat at the dinner table and waited. Across from her sat Rose and James took his preferred seat at the end of the table like he usually did.
In order to break the silence, Max decided to speak up.
"This smells so good, I can't wait to see what she made.", Max said.
"It does, at times I wonder if she out-cooks me at this point.", Rose agreed.
Rachel brought everyone their meal. It was Spaghetti Carbonara, a pasta dish with a heavy cheese sauce and tiny chunks of ham.
"That looks awesome, Rachel. I can't wait to dig into that!", Max exclaimed.
Rachel mustered little more than a slight smile but remained quiet.
Deafening silence had hung over the table like a dense cloud. Max knew that Rachel held grudges, but was concerned that there might be more going on that she wasn't aware of.
"This is really good Rachel, outstanding.", Rose complemented her.
"Thanks.", she replied quietly, seemingly staring down into infinity.
Max gently laid her hand on Rachel's, in order to show her that she was there for her, but Rachel hardly reacted. Eventually, though, she started eating, although it took a while.
"The Caribbean is a beautiful place, you will love it. I wouldn't mind going myself there one day.", James said, breaking his silence.
With Rachel remaining quiet, Max responded instead.
"It looks stunning from what I have researched, I can't wait to see the places where we will go on shore."
"Where is it that you plan to go ashore?", he asked.
"First, there is Cozumel, then the Grand Cayman Islands and finally Roatán.", Max replied.
"I take it you guys have been properly vaccinated? You can never be too careful."
"Yeah, we've already taken care of everything we need. At this point, it's just a question of getting to the ship."
"I'm glad you get to do this, it's not something everyone can afford or experience.", Rose stated.
"Oh, I'm extremely grateful, I plan on savoring every single moment of it."
"What about you Rachel, what are you looking forward to the most?", Rose asked her.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?", she asked, having only now come out of her trance-like state.
"I asked if there was anything you are particularly looking forward to on your cruise?", Rose repeated her question.
"Probably the grandeur of it all. To have an entire ship to yourself and all these exotic places to see. That is what I'm looking forward to.", Rachel replied.
"These ships are like floating cities, any service or amenity you can imagine within walking distance, it's quite a miracle of engineering.", James said.
"That does sound nice.", Rachel said, who avoided making eye contact with James.
After dinner, Max wished to speak with Rachel to find if there was something else going on that she was unaware of. While they double and triple checked whether or not they packed everything they needed, Max asked her question.
"Hey Rachel, is there something I should know about?"
"Like what?"
"I know you weren't exactly looking forward to eating with your parents at the same table, but I feel like there is something else going on. What is really bothering you?"
Rachel looked down again as if she was ashamed of something.
"Max... I'm not sure if I want to talk about this.", she replied.
"Rachel, you once told me that you hate being left in the dark and that I could trust you with anything. I still believe that, but I want you to know that the same goes the other way. If there really is something wrong, then please tell me, you know I would never judge you, not after what we've been through together."
"You are right, Max, those were my words. Fine, I will tell you what's going on."
"Go on, I'm listening."
"Max... I'm scared."
"Of what?"
"Life? Destiny? Call it what you want. Ever since I spoke with my other me back in that junkyard, I've been debating back and forth about what my goal is supposed to be. The truth is, I don't know."
"You mean like finding a job or something?", Max inquired.
"Yes, that for instance. I'm torn between wanting to be a stage actress or a model. Had someone asked me a year ago or so, I would have said model without a doubt. But, ever since that last drama class at Blackwell, I'm not so sure anymore, as I'm missing that feeling of being on stage greatly. With me no longer being there, I feel like I'm lacking purpose. What do you think?", she asked, looking Max in the eyes.
"Rachel, we are young, we got all the time in the world to figure this out."
"I suppose, but still, it just always seems to hang over my head, you know?"
"We can worry all about that when the time comes. Who knows? Maybe you will find inspiration where we are going?", Max suggested.
"As always, you are right, Max. I will try not to dwell on it too much for now and enjoy this journey with you.", Rachel said smiling.
They embraced and then commenced packing their stuff for the flight in the morning. They would have to wake early and take the car to the airport in Portland. Rose volunteered to drop them off at the airport, so they wouldn't have to pay the ridiculous cost of parking a car for over a week there.
They found hardly any sleep, being way too excited about their trip. Max had never flown before, so this was going to be a new experience altogether.
When Rose drove them at 3:00 AM in the morning, they caught a little bit of sleep while in the car together. Getting to the airport, they got their bags out and commenced inside, getting in line to get their ticket's printed so they could check in their bags. The place was crawling with people from all kinds of countries and she could hear them speak in many different languages, some sounding familiar, some completely alien. It really felt like the whole world came together in places like this.
With the tickets for both the flight to and from Texas, they turned in their bags and then got in line for the security checkpoint. This is where they had to bid goodbye to Rose, as she could not follow them past this point. Rachel actually had tears in their eyes at this moment and in a way, Max was glad to see that. It meant that not all hope for healing and reconciliation was lost.
The security screening was a bit of a hassle and made Max rather nervous, but it was over before she knew it. It was a good thing Rachel decided to leave her knives at home, as there was no way those would have gone through without being confiscated, although her bullet necklace prompted some need of explaining, much to her frustration.
They made their way to their gate and waited to be let on the plane. They arrived so early, they had to wait a good hour, sitting mostly by themselves during this time.
"Are you nervous?", Rachel asked Max.
"A bit, I have never been on a plane before.", she admitted.
"I have, once. It's been a long time, but I can remember it fairly well. Just imagine you are getting on a really, really big bus."
"A big bus flying 10,000 feet in the air?"
"Try not to think about it, it seriously helps."
After finally getting on the plane, the whole thing looked and felt so much smaller than Max expected. She felt like walking through a tin can, rather than a bus. On the flight to Galveston, Max got the window seat, with Rachel next to her.
The flight attendants went through a safety demonstration, such as how to use a life jacket. Max knew this was just the standard procedure, but it didn't exactly trigger any comfortable thoughts in her mind. After getting buckled up, the plane started slowly moving towards its departure runway. Once it faced the right direction, the plane came to a complete stop. She had a feeling what was about to happen and grabbed hold of Rachel's hand, holding on tight.
"No worries, Maxter, literally thousands of people do this every day.", Rachel said calmly.
"I know, but that doesn't mean I'm used to it!"
Suddenly, Max could hear the engines outside powering up and the plane started accelerating along the runway. Everything started shaking and then, the plane left the ground. Max's stomach felt like it floated upwards for a second and a rush of adrenaline flooded her body with excitement. She could see the ground rapidly moving away from under them, within seconds, buildings that looked like giants suddenly seemed so much smaller. The cars on the roads looked like toys that moved by themselves and Max felt like a child looking down at the contents of its playpen.
Then they breached the clouds and for a while, she could see nothing but white mist outside. Rachel remained relaxed like she'd done this a million times already, which Max envied, still holding on to her. Once they were above the clouds, Max gasped. The world below looked like a giant network of fields, roads, and cities, each organized like on a blueprint. It was most certainly a unique perspective. It was too bad she couldn't use her camera in here, those shots would have been extraordinary. The view above was what appeared to be nothing but a blue-domed ceiling with seemingly no end and without visible stars, the clouds around resembling something one could call a landscape. She literally felt like she was in between worlds.
"Wow, that is amazing.", she said to herself in awe.
"Told you that you would enjoy this.", Rachel said.
However, once the awe and wonder had faded, boredom set in. Despite the fact they were flying at several hundred miles per hour, at this altitude, it felt like they were just standing still, suspended for all eternity among the clouds. It also didn't help that Max felt somewhat claustrophobic, having mere inches worth of room in front of her and virtually none to the sides. She tried sleeping to pass the time, but sleep would not come, despite her feeling dead tired still. The subtle but ever-present vibrations of the plane, plus the cramped space just gave her no feeling of comfort. Rachel had it easier, she had fallen asleep with no problem. For now, it seemed as though Max had to endure this flight to the end. At the very least, they had a small computer screen provided that had movies and music, which kept her distracted. The breakfast provided on board was somewhat tasteless, but Max didn't feel like complaining, it was better than starving at any rate. The trip took a little over four hours, but to her, it had felt like twelve.
Upon landing, they got out, which took a while due to the cramped corridors full people reaching for their carry-on luggage and they then went to get their bags again. Having solid ground under her feet had never felt better to Max and the sizzling Texas heat welcomed her. It must have have been almost 90 degrees Fahrenheit, way warmer than Arcadia Bay got most of the year. Reunited with their luggage, they got on a shuttle bus that would take them straight to the harbor, where their ship was waiting for them.
Galveston was a nice looking place, not entirely unlike Arcadia Bay, but way warmer and bigger. This place alone would make a fine vacation spot. As they approached the harbor, the ship came in sight, which had Max feeling in awe all over again. It was utterly giant, like a very long Skyscraper, it's shiny white exterior bathed in the bright Texas sunlight. Rachel had also remained in awe for a moment.
"This is it, Max. That is what I was dreaming about ever since you first suggested this.", Rachel said with a big smile.
"Let's mark this occasion.", Max said.
"How?"
"Wait until we get off, you will see."
Once off the shuttle, Max could not resist the opportunity and pulled out her camera from her backpack, taking a selfie of them and the ship's name in the background, which read "Tempest of the Seas". They would always remember this moment, as their best adventure yet was about to begin.