Yo!  Sorry I haven't updated, but I keep getting ideas for stories, and I started a couple more stories on fictionpress.com, and I have lots of homework, and I have guard, so I've been busy.

I have an announcement:  MY WINTERGUARD TEAM GOT 1ST PLACE AT OUR SHOW THIS WEEKEND!!!  WHOOOOO!!!!!  Lol…sorry, I'm just really happy.  It's the first time we've gotten first since I joined two years ago.

            Well, here's the next chapter of Teenage Pirates!

Oh, and at the beginning of this chap, *** means flashback.  Usually I use that either for flashbacks or the passing of time.

Shannon

  ***

            I strutted down the streets of Tortuga, looking for a customer.  So far all the good-looking pirates were taken, so I was just looking for anyone.

            I pulled the sleeves of my black dress down to my shoulders, smoothed my red hair, and swung my hips a bit more, hoping I would find a pirate soon.  If I didn't, I wouldn't have any meals tomorrow.

            I walked into the Faithful Bride, sure that I would find a man there.  I was right.  As I walked inside and looked through the fighting and drunk pirates, I spotted a lone pirate in the far corner.  He had long, ratted brown hair with little trinkets braided into some strands.  He had a red bandana on under a tri-corner captain's hat.  His clothes were loose and ragged, and he was very handsome.  Maybe there are some good ones left, I thought.

            I started toward him, and he didn't notice me until I was right in front of him, because he was so involved with his rum.  He looked up at me and grinned.  I smiled back.

            "Sit down, luv.  I'm celebrating another one of Jack Sparrow's daring escapes from Port Royal's Royal Navy.  You can join me," he said in his deep, rum-thickened accent.  (A/N:  I don't know how to describe his accent, except that he has a bit of a slur because of the rum…lol)

            I sat down on his lap and wrapped my arms around his neck.  He laughed.  "Well, that wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but it works."  He wrapped his arms around my waist.  His grip was strong.

            "I was looking for company myself.  What do you say we celebrate upstairs?" I asked him, pleading in my mind for him to say yes.  He was my last chance for a meal.

            Luck was with me.  He smiled and stood up, placing me on the ground.  "Let me get a key.  I'll be righ' back, luv."

            As he stumbled away to get us a room, I smiled triumphantly.  I may not like this job very much, but I was good at it.  I just proved that by getting the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow as a customer.

            When Jack came back, he led me to a large room upstairs.  When we walked in the door, he kicked it closed with his foot as I kissed him.

            That was one night I'll never forget.

  ***

            That was 9 years ago.  I still can't stop thinking about that night.  There was something there that night with Jack, something that's never there with other men.  I don't know what it was, but I know it was there all the same.

            I haven't seen Jack since.  He was gone when I got up, and I never saw him in Tortuga.  That wasn't unusual with customers, but I felt an odd sort of loss this time.  Again, I can't explain it.

            But I went on with my life as a Tortuga whore.  Today I walked down the bare streets of Tortuga in my signature black dress, looking for a place to eat.  My red hair was tied up to keep my neck cool under the hot Caribbean sun.

            I heard someone call my name and turned to see a small, thin pirate running up to me.  I waited, wondering what he wanted with me, since it was only mid-afternoon.

            "Shay!  I'm glad I found you!  I've got good news!" he yelled to me.  How does he know me?  I wondered.  I noticed that his voice sounded a bit high, and as he got closer, I saw that he didn't have even a shadow of whiskers, despite his age.

            Then it hit me.  I couldn't believe I hadn't thought of it before.

            "Wormtail!  Nice to see ya!  How long has it been?" I asked.

            She smiled.  "Took you long enough to figure it out.  It's been 5 years."

            Wormtail was one of the very few female pirates, and a friend of mine.  Actually, my only friends are the female pirates I know, because all of the women on Tortuga are my competition for business.  My other pirate friends are Padfoot and Prongs, otherwise known as Ginny Ross and Steph Johnston.  Wormtail's real name is Summer Ackerman.  But she hates her first name, so she doesn't let anyone call her that.

            Whenever Padfoot, Prongs, and Wormtail are in Tortuga, they have to dress as men, so that male pirates don't try anything.  That's why I thought Wormtail was a man at first.

            "You said something about good news?" I asked her.

            "I did.  News is goin' round Tortuga that Captain Jack Sparrow is lookin' for an able-bodied crew!  He lost some crew members in the storm.  Padfoot, Prongs, and me are goin'!" she told me, her mouth racing a mile a minute.

            "Well, good for you.  What does all this have to do with me?" I asked as we walked down the street.

            "Come on, you know you've always wanted to go on a pirate ship!"

            She had me there and I knew it.  I had always wanted to go on a pirate ship, but knew that no pirate would take a Tortuga whore on board.  Women are considered bad luck on a ship by pirates.  So I always pretended that I didn't care.

            Come on, Padfoot and Prongs can dress you up like a man, and you can come with us to try to get on the crew!" Wormtail rambled on.

            Could they really make a girl like me come off as a man?  Well, it's worth a try.

            "Alright, I'll do it." I cut in through Wormtail's rambling.  "Where are you staying?"

            "At the inn above The Faithful Bride.  Padfoot and Prongs are staying there.  I saw them walk in.": she told me.

            We walked to the Faithful Bride.  Pirates and whores were starting to come out now, because the sun was setting.

            "Why don't we just have a drink first?" Wormtail asked as we walked inside.  I agreed.  I was hungry, so I got a little food also.

            We were in there for hours, because Wormtail just couldn't put down her rum.  Now it was late at night, and I was sure Padfoot and Prongs would be asleep by now.  So I dragged Wormtail up to her room and laid her on the bed.  I lay on the other bed and thought about what I was going to do.

            I would finally see Jack again.

            I felt my heartbeat increase as I dwelled on that thought.

            My name is Shay Cartwright, and this is my story.