Disclaimer: I do not own the Black Pearl or any of the characters except for Michelle.

Michelle woke up with a start. It was the middle of the night. "I'm late for work!" she thought and rushed around her apartment to find a dress. It was only after she couldn't find a dress she remembered she did not work at Christina's anymore and what little possessions she had were in storage. She was a pirate now, or will be in a couple of hours. She tried to go back to sleep, but the excitement of the thought that she would be on the Black Pearl soon kept her awake. She decided she would practice using a sword. She went over to her sword and practiced some sword motions. The more she practiced, the better she seemed to get and the less heavy the sword felt. Looking out the window, she saw the sky was starting to get lighter. She put the sword back in its sheath and made her way out to the docks.

While she was walking to the docks, she realized that she didn't know which ship was the Black Pearl. Cursing under her breath for forgetting this important detail, she walked onto the docks. There were a lot of boats there, but one ship caught her eye. It was the biggest ship there. It must be the Black Pearl. There were men walking on board and a couple hauling barrels on board. She walked up to a man with wavy brown hair and asked, "Excuse me, but is this the Black Pearl?"

He put down his barrel and turned around to face her. Now that she saw him standing up, he didn't seem at all like a pirate. But when Michelle was going to apologize to the man for mistaking him for a pirate, he said, "Yes, it is. Who are you?"

This took her by surprise, because if he said it was, then obviously he was a crew member. Michelle replied, "I'm Michael. I met with Gibbs yesterday and he told me to come here."

"Ah, so you're the new crew member," said the man. "I'm Will, the first mate." He offered his hand to Michelle and she shook it. "Now, take a barrel and bring it on board."

Michelle took a barrel and climbed up the ramp onto the Black Pearl. Men were bustling about putting stuff away and messing with ropes. Someone pushed into her and she remembered she was still holding the barrel. She looked around and spotted Will putting his barrel down. She walked up to him and said, "Where should I put this down?"

"Just put it here," he said pointing to the spot next to his barrel. Michelle put it down and asked, "What's in these barrels?"

Will gave her a half smile and replied, "Rum."

They finished loading all the cargo onto the ship when she spotted someone with a familiar swagger coming toward the ship. "So, Captain Jack Sparrow finally decides to come," Michelle thought to herself. She felt someone brush past her, and when she looked saw it was Gibbs. She walked over to him and said, "So, are we going to set off soon?" "Aye," he replied.

Suddenly, there was a tap on her shoulder. Michelle spun around and was face to face with Jack. "Who are you," he asked. Michelle could smell rum in his breath. Before she could say something, Gibbs said, "He's Michael. He's joining the crew."

Jack looked at her for a couple of seconds and then walked off, barking orders to the crew. Michelle let out a sigh of relief. Looks like she'll be staying after all. Her good feeling vanished as soon as she realized everyone was moving around but she was just standing there. She looked around and spotted Will. She walked up to him and said, "Um. Will?"

"Yea," he replied.

"I've never sailed on a ship before," she said slightly blushing.

"Well, now's your chance to learn. Take this rope and securely tie it there," he instructed. Michelle did as she was told. After a while of his coaching, she realized it was not as hard as she thought and started working without Will telling her what to do. "You see, it's easy," he told her.

Soon, they were sailing. Michelle looked out at the water and felt a surge of happiness inside her. She felt so free with the wind hitting her face and sea on all sides of her. She felt someone watching her and turned around to see Jack's eyes watching her from the wheel. She walked up to him and said, "I don't know how I have never been sailing before. It's amazing."

"Yea," said Jack gazing off to the horizon with a small smile. They then heard someone screaming that breakfast was ready. Jack asked, "Wanna go down and have something to eat?"

"No," Michelle replied. "I'm not hungry."

"But you have to eat something," Jack replied. "You're so skinny. Too skinny for a pirate. You need to eat and get something on your bones."

"No really, I'm fine. I'll stay up here and eat later." This was a lie, but Jack seemed satisfied and left her up there at the wheel as he went to go get something to eat. Michelle hardly ate anything at home because she didn't have enough money to buy enough food for two meals a day. It wasn't bad, though; she was used to it. She looked down at the deck and saw Will come out of a cabin and walk up to her. She gave up the wheel to him and asked, "So Will, what were you just doing?"

"Resting," he replied. "I was on night duty last night. I was so tierd."

A sickening feeling entered Michelle's stomach. "Will! I don't have a room. Where am I supposed to sleep?"

Will thought about it and said, "Well, since all the cabins are taken, you'll have so share with someone."

Michelle thought about the crew members and their rotten teeth and the color drained from her face. She didn't want to have to share a room with one of them! Will noticed her uneasiness and said, "Don't worry, you can bunk with me. We may have some cots lying around. I'll get you one and get it set up."

"Set up?"

"Yea. The bed needs to be nailed down to the floor so it doesn't move around."

Michelle mentally hit herself on the head. Of course it needs to be secured to the ground. She was on a ship. "Thanks Will."

"No problem."

The hours slipped by, and soon it was dinner. She walked her way down to the mess hall and got her dinner: some bread and stew that had weird lumps floating around in it. She ate the bread and only picked at her stew. Not only was it gross, but she also wasn't that hungry. She walked back on deck and looked up at the stars. They looked brighter over the water than over the city. It was beautiful. She was about to tell that to Will who had just walked up behind her, but thought better of it because guys don't usually go around saying the stars are beautiful. Instead she said, "I think I'm gonna turn in. Where's the room?"

Will lead her through a door that lead to a hallway. He opened the first door on the right, which opened up to a spacious room with two beds in it. It also had a chest of drawers, a mirror, a wash bin, and a small window. Michelle told him thank you and laid down on the smaller of the two beds. She lay awake listening to the sound of the waves and feeling the sway of the boat. Slowly, she sunk into a dreamless sleep.

[A/N: Ok, I know it's kind of, well really boring, but it's going to get more exciting. I'll try to write the next chapter as soon as I can. Please R/R!]