OK, let's see if this works. I can't get into my Word Perfect files so I'm fooling around with
Word, which I don't use and don't understand. I'm really hoping this works.
Lucas woke slowly, listening to the sounds around him with eyes closed. A toilet flushing, people
laughing and talking, some heavy thuds. It took awhile for him to remember that he was above the
ocean, not under it. Sitting up, he stretched and saw the large shopping bag sitting inside the
doorway. So they were back. He wondered where they were and glanced at his watch, noting that
he had been asleep for over two hours. Going into the bathroom, he washed his face, and
straightened his hair and clothes, and then grabbed his room key.
Walking down the hallway, he realized how much better he felt after his nap. Taking his time, he
explored several decks, checking out the entrance to the casino, the movie theater and the night
club. He passed by the teen center, which had held no interest for him but the sight of several
laptops against the far wall made him double back. The two girls sitting at a small table helped
convince him that perhaps the teen center was not as dumb as he originally feared.
That's where Kristin and Nathan found him an hour later, pounding on a keyboard, sucking down
an iced coffee, surrounded by a half dozen teenagers cheering him on.
Nathan held out his hand and said to Kristin, "That'll be five dollars please," with a smirk on his lips. "Lucas always manages to sniff out the computers."
"And the pretty girls it would seem," Kristin answered dryly, miffed that she had lost the bet.
"Hey, I taught him well," Bridger chuckled.
"Do you mind?" Lucas flashed them an annoyed look.
Nathan and Kristin swallowed laughs as they noticed all the young people in the room had
stopped their activities and were staring at them.
"Ooops. Sorry, Lucas." Nathan knew that the boy hated to call attention to himself. Two adults
standing around making jokes at his expense would embarrass him. "See you at 8 for dinner."
Having turned back to the computer, Lucas nodded several times as he faded back under the spell
of the screen in front of him.
Figuring that was all he was going to get out of the kid, Nathan gave a small wave as Kristin
practically dragged him by the arm out of the teen center.
Wrapping an arm around Nathan, Kristin asked, "Did you get the feeling that we were NOT
welcomed?"
"Well, it seems that the kid will be busy for the rest of the afternoon. Would you like to check out the casino, Doctor?"
"That would be wonderful, Captain." Hand in hand, they made their way down the corridor for
some adult entertainment.
Back in the teen center, Lucas had made friends with a sixteen-year-old named Christopher. In the
middle of cuthroat game of Spit, Chris' watch alarm went off. "Damn. It's five." He threw his
cards down on the table and scrambled out of his chair. "I've got get back to my cabin. My mother
has this strange delusion that since it's a family vacation, we're got to move around like a school of fish. We're going to the show at six. Are you going?"
Lucas thought for a minute. "No, I think I'll stay here till dinnertime. Kristin and Nathan will
probably go but I'll pass on the unamusing talents of the great Professor Presto Chango."
"Wow, you call your parents by their first names? That's soooo cool. I wish my parents would let
me hang out here. Maybe I'll see you later, gotta go." He was gone before Lucas had a chance to
explain his unusual guardian situation.
After Chris left, Lucas decided to log onto his email and sent a message to Ben about what a great time he was having. Ben had gotten stuck on ship duty and he wanted to rub it in a little. Then he decided to go to the pool and swim until it was time to change for dinner.
Going back to his cabin after an afternoon of cannon balling into the pool, he was surprised that
the Captain wasn't there. Showering and changing quickly into a pair of black dress pants and a
light blue silk shirt, he hurried to their assigned dining room for the evening. When he arrived, he saw that the room was mostly filled and people were already started on their salads and
appetizers. Seeing Kristin and Bridger seated at a large table at the back of the room, he made his way back to them. As he sat down, taking the menu from the waiter, he asked, "Whats with such a big table for the three of us?"
Kristin and Nathan exchanged glances and Bridger pointed a thumb at the Doctor, saying,"It's her
fault."
Confused, Lucas saw the Mr and Mrs. Morgan approaching the table with Thing 1 and Thing 2 in
tow and then it all made sense. "Oh, no," he moaned, "You didn't."
"Now cut that out," chided Kristin. "They're very lovely people and very sorry about the accident
with your shirt this morning."
As if to prove Kristin was right, the two children stood in front of Lucas with identical solemn
expressions and presented him with a brightly wrapped box. "We're sorry that we spilled ice
cream on you, Lucas," the boy said mournfully.
The girl added,"We shouldn't have been fooling around and we bought you a new shirt to make
up for it."
"It's a souvenir from the ship. We had to pay for it out of our spending money," the boy
contributed.
"All right, kids. That's enough. Why don't we sit down and order our dinner." Charles directed the seating for his family with the children sitting next to Lucas. Everyone ordered and polite
conversation was made during salads and appetizers.
While he had not been happy when Kristin invited the Morgans to sit with them, Nathan found
that he was enjoying himself. Living on seaQuest meant close quarters; everyone knew everyone
else a little too well. It was nice to meet some new people and 'broaden one's horizons' as it were. Lucas was being quiet again but thankfully, the Morgan children were behaving well. Knowing
that Lucas had spent very little time with young children, Bridger decided that the teen wasn't
sure how to relate to them. Well, it was only dinner. He wasn't asking the kid to be their big
brother. So he ignored the teen and started to explain his work with dolphins to Mr. Morgan.
Kristin was relieved to see that Nathan was deep in conversation with Charles. Lucas was being
quiet but since there was no one at the table who was anywhere near his age, it was
understandable. Later, she would make sure to devote some attention to him. After living on
SeaQuest, it was nice to be able to converse with a mature woman about something other than
talking dolphins and seaweed.
Wondering how he got himself into these situation, Lucas debated how early he could escape this
domestic nightmare he found himself in. With the adults all but ignoring him, and Billy and
Melissa making a mess with the salt and pepper shaker, Lucas felt like he had entered the twilight zone. Nothing in his entire life had prepared him for a dinner like this. His childhood memories did not include family dinners. Most of the time he had eaten in the kitchen by himself or if he was really lucky, one parent was home. It had never really bothered him before, but now, surrounded by the poster family for domestic bliss... it depressed him.
A plate was placed before him and he automatically picked up his fork to eat, trying to suppress
the negative thoughts that were threatening to bubble over. Even now, when he was in the middle
of the best vacation of his life, his parents could still find ways to annoy him.
The rest of the dinner went smoothly, with the children entertaining them with bad jokes and
Charles telling funny ones. When the last forkful of dessert had been eaten and the adults had
finished their coffee, the Morgan children jumped out of their chairs.
"Can we go now, Dad?" asked Billy excitedly. "You said if we behaved at dinner we could go!"
Melissa had grabbed her father's hand, trying to pull him out of his chair.
Cheryl explained,"They were promised a trip to the arcade and then a walk on deck to look at the
stars."
With the twins dancing and spinning around, goodbyes were said and the Morgans left quickly.
"Anyone interested in going to the movie?" Kristin asked as she, Nathan and Lucas made their
way for the door.
Lucas shrugged. "Sounds good to me."
As they walked along, Nathan slung an arm around Lucas' shoulder. "Still up for kayaking
tomorrow?"
A bright smile lit up Lucas' face. "Yeah. I'm really looking forward to that."
Coming to a stop, Kristin?s expression turned doubtful. "I don't know if that's such a good idea,
Nathan. Cheryl told me that there was a series of tremors last night and that's why the ocean was
so rough. I'm not sure its safe to be out there in a small kayak."
Noticing the disappointed look on the teen's face, Nathan replied, "I'm sure everything will be all right. Millions of people kayak every year and nothing happens."
Opening her mouth to argue, Kristin immediately shut it again at the frown that Bridger gave her.
She knew that any further discussion would fall on deaf ears. Nathan was a brilliant scientist and diplomat, but when things concerned Lucas, he tended to think with his heart and not his head. Instead, she continued down the hall. "Come on, slowpokes. We'll miss the beginning of the
movie."
*****
(I miss my Word Perfect.)
Word, which I don't use and don't understand. I'm really hoping this works.
Lucas woke slowly, listening to the sounds around him with eyes closed. A toilet flushing, people
laughing and talking, some heavy thuds. It took awhile for him to remember that he was above the
ocean, not under it. Sitting up, he stretched and saw the large shopping bag sitting inside the
doorway. So they were back. He wondered where they were and glanced at his watch, noting that
he had been asleep for over two hours. Going into the bathroom, he washed his face, and
straightened his hair and clothes, and then grabbed his room key.
Walking down the hallway, he realized how much better he felt after his nap. Taking his time, he
explored several decks, checking out the entrance to the casino, the movie theater and the night
club. He passed by the teen center, which had held no interest for him but the sight of several
laptops against the far wall made him double back. The two girls sitting at a small table helped
convince him that perhaps the teen center was not as dumb as he originally feared.
That's where Kristin and Nathan found him an hour later, pounding on a keyboard, sucking down
an iced coffee, surrounded by a half dozen teenagers cheering him on.
Nathan held out his hand and said to Kristin, "That'll be five dollars please," with a smirk on his lips. "Lucas always manages to sniff out the computers."
"And the pretty girls it would seem," Kristin answered dryly, miffed that she had lost the bet.
"Hey, I taught him well," Bridger chuckled.
"Do you mind?" Lucas flashed them an annoyed look.
Nathan and Kristin swallowed laughs as they noticed all the young people in the room had
stopped their activities and were staring at them.
"Ooops. Sorry, Lucas." Nathan knew that the boy hated to call attention to himself. Two adults
standing around making jokes at his expense would embarrass him. "See you at 8 for dinner."
Having turned back to the computer, Lucas nodded several times as he faded back under the spell
of the screen in front of him.
Figuring that was all he was going to get out of the kid, Nathan gave a small wave as Kristin
practically dragged him by the arm out of the teen center.
Wrapping an arm around Nathan, Kristin asked, "Did you get the feeling that we were NOT
welcomed?"
"Well, it seems that the kid will be busy for the rest of the afternoon. Would you like to check out the casino, Doctor?"
"That would be wonderful, Captain." Hand in hand, they made their way down the corridor for
some adult entertainment.
Back in the teen center, Lucas had made friends with a sixteen-year-old named Christopher. In the
middle of cuthroat game of Spit, Chris' watch alarm went off. "Damn. It's five." He threw his
cards down on the table and scrambled out of his chair. "I've got get back to my cabin. My mother
has this strange delusion that since it's a family vacation, we're got to move around like a school of fish. We're going to the show at six. Are you going?"
Lucas thought for a minute. "No, I think I'll stay here till dinnertime. Kristin and Nathan will
probably go but I'll pass on the unamusing talents of the great Professor Presto Chango."
"Wow, you call your parents by their first names? That's soooo cool. I wish my parents would let
me hang out here. Maybe I'll see you later, gotta go." He was gone before Lucas had a chance to
explain his unusual guardian situation.
After Chris left, Lucas decided to log onto his email and sent a message to Ben about what a great time he was having. Ben had gotten stuck on ship duty and he wanted to rub it in a little. Then he decided to go to the pool and swim until it was time to change for dinner.
Going back to his cabin after an afternoon of cannon balling into the pool, he was surprised that
the Captain wasn't there. Showering and changing quickly into a pair of black dress pants and a
light blue silk shirt, he hurried to their assigned dining room for the evening. When he arrived, he saw that the room was mostly filled and people were already started on their salads and
appetizers. Seeing Kristin and Bridger seated at a large table at the back of the room, he made his way back to them. As he sat down, taking the menu from the waiter, he asked, "Whats with such a big table for the three of us?"
Kristin and Nathan exchanged glances and Bridger pointed a thumb at the Doctor, saying,"It's her
fault."
Confused, Lucas saw the Mr and Mrs. Morgan approaching the table with Thing 1 and Thing 2 in
tow and then it all made sense. "Oh, no," he moaned, "You didn't."
"Now cut that out," chided Kristin. "They're very lovely people and very sorry about the accident
with your shirt this morning."
As if to prove Kristin was right, the two children stood in front of Lucas with identical solemn
expressions and presented him with a brightly wrapped box. "We're sorry that we spilled ice
cream on you, Lucas," the boy said mournfully.
The girl added,"We shouldn't have been fooling around and we bought you a new shirt to make
up for it."
"It's a souvenir from the ship. We had to pay for it out of our spending money," the boy
contributed.
"All right, kids. That's enough. Why don't we sit down and order our dinner." Charles directed the seating for his family with the children sitting next to Lucas. Everyone ordered and polite
conversation was made during salads and appetizers.
While he had not been happy when Kristin invited the Morgans to sit with them, Nathan found
that he was enjoying himself. Living on seaQuest meant close quarters; everyone knew everyone
else a little too well. It was nice to meet some new people and 'broaden one's horizons' as it were. Lucas was being quiet again but thankfully, the Morgan children were behaving well. Knowing
that Lucas had spent very little time with young children, Bridger decided that the teen wasn't
sure how to relate to them. Well, it was only dinner. He wasn't asking the kid to be their big
brother. So he ignored the teen and started to explain his work with dolphins to Mr. Morgan.
Kristin was relieved to see that Nathan was deep in conversation with Charles. Lucas was being
quiet but since there was no one at the table who was anywhere near his age, it was
understandable. Later, she would make sure to devote some attention to him. After living on
SeaQuest, it was nice to be able to converse with a mature woman about something other than
talking dolphins and seaweed.
Wondering how he got himself into these situation, Lucas debated how early he could escape this
domestic nightmare he found himself in. With the adults all but ignoring him, and Billy and
Melissa making a mess with the salt and pepper shaker, Lucas felt like he had entered the twilight zone. Nothing in his entire life had prepared him for a dinner like this. His childhood memories did not include family dinners. Most of the time he had eaten in the kitchen by himself or if he was really lucky, one parent was home. It had never really bothered him before, but now, surrounded by the poster family for domestic bliss... it depressed him.
A plate was placed before him and he automatically picked up his fork to eat, trying to suppress
the negative thoughts that were threatening to bubble over. Even now, when he was in the middle
of the best vacation of his life, his parents could still find ways to annoy him.
The rest of the dinner went smoothly, with the children entertaining them with bad jokes and
Charles telling funny ones. When the last forkful of dessert had been eaten and the adults had
finished their coffee, the Morgan children jumped out of their chairs.
"Can we go now, Dad?" asked Billy excitedly. "You said if we behaved at dinner we could go!"
Melissa had grabbed her father's hand, trying to pull him out of his chair.
Cheryl explained,"They were promised a trip to the arcade and then a walk on deck to look at the
stars."
With the twins dancing and spinning around, goodbyes were said and the Morgans left quickly.
"Anyone interested in going to the movie?" Kristin asked as she, Nathan and Lucas made their
way for the door.
Lucas shrugged. "Sounds good to me."
As they walked along, Nathan slung an arm around Lucas' shoulder. "Still up for kayaking
tomorrow?"
A bright smile lit up Lucas' face. "Yeah. I'm really looking forward to that."
Coming to a stop, Kristin?s expression turned doubtful. "I don't know if that's such a good idea,
Nathan. Cheryl told me that there was a series of tremors last night and that's why the ocean was
so rough. I'm not sure its safe to be out there in a small kayak."
Noticing the disappointed look on the teen's face, Nathan replied, "I'm sure everything will be all right. Millions of people kayak every year and nothing happens."
Opening her mouth to argue, Kristin immediately shut it again at the frown that Bridger gave her.
She knew that any further discussion would fall on deaf ears. Nathan was a brilliant scientist and diplomat, but when things concerned Lucas, he tended to think with his heart and not his head. Instead, she continued down the hall. "Come on, slowpokes. We'll miss the beginning of the
movie."
*****
(I miss my Word Perfect.)