Digimon Adventure 02 – Summer in Alaska
Day Three
KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!
Skyy woke up with a start. The loud pounding on the hotel room door frightened her awake. Sora and Mimi had been awakened too because they raised their heads and peered from under their covers.
"What the hell was that!" Skyy blurted. Sora shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't know, go answer so we can go back to sleep…"Sora grumbled stuffing her face back into her pillow. Skyy sighed and the pounding sounded again.
"Fine! Fine! I'm coming!" Skyy shouted angrily in English. She swept up from the bed and wandered over to the door. She opened it a little crack and peeked out.
"Finally! You're awake! I was calling and calling but you guys didn't answer!" Tai said crossing his arms. Izzy stood silently behind him. They were both wide awake and all ready dressed with their suitcases behind them.
"Tai! Are you friggen insane!" Skyy grumbled angrily. She didn't want to fully open the door or else Izzy would see her all gross because she just woke up.
"What? I'm I friggen insane? Are you friggen insane? Do you know what time it is?" Tai asked. Skyy looked down at her wrist watch that she had forgotten to take off the night before. Once she saw the time her eyes widened.
"What! CRAP!" she cursed then slammed the door in both of the boy's faces.
"Meet us downstairs with your luggage!" Tai shouted from the other side of the door. Once Skyy turned the corner both Sora and Mimi were upright in their beds.
"Skyy? What's wrong?" Mimi asked, rubbing her eyes.
"It's almost 11! We're supposed to board the ship at 1! We have two hours to get ready and get our suitcases packed, return the rental cars, and go down to Pike Street!" Skyy said hurriedly packing any of her loose items into her blue suitcase. Mimi's eyes widened.
"What! Oh no!" she said as she bolted from bed, Sora followed suit.
The three girls tried to get ready as quickly as possible. They had wanted to check out the market place on Pike Street today, but at this rate they wouldn't even be able to set foot in it. Skyy quickly showered and got some clothes on. She stuffed all of her stuff into her suitcase instead of doing it neatly because they were short on time.
Just like the previous day Sora and Mimi took a little longer so Skyy left the room with her stuff to meet the boys downstairs. Once she got downstairs she saw Tai and Izzy waiting at the luggage drop off. She waved at them to get their attention and Izzy waved back in recognition. Skyy jogged over to them whilst rolling her luggage behind her.
"Hey, where's your luggage?" she asked, noticing neither of the boys had their suitcases with them anymore.
"Oh, we put them on hold at the luggage holding place…thingy…we don't want to be rolling our luggage around the market place do we?" said Tai with his hands on his hips casually. Skyy beamed.
"Oh! We're still going!" Skyy asked. Izzy smiled.
"Yup, we're not going to come to Seattle and not visit the market place," he said. Skyy sighed in relief.
"Yay! I thought because of the time we wouldn't be able to go, because we had to return the rental cars and everything…" Skyy said.
"What do you mean? Matt's returning them right now to the same guy who gave them to us," Tai said. Skyy raised her eyebrows.
"Oh really? Well…that's handy…" she mumbled. Izzy nodded.
"We won't get that much time at the market place though, we might not even be able to go in it…" Izzy said worriedly, Skyy's smile faded.
"Oh…well we'll get to see the outside of it then right?" Skyy said pouting a little bit. Tai chuckled.
"Sure, sure, you really wanted to go, so we'll go okay?" Tai said ruffling her hair. Skyy beamed again.
"Yay!" she squealed, Izzy gave her a soft smile. Izzy and Tai helped get Skyy's luggage checked in with theirs so the hotel would hold them whilst they went out. They had to give up their rooms at 12:00 so they wouldn't be able to keep their suitcases in them anymore. Skyy waited with the two boys for Sora and Mimi and soon Matt came up from the car park to join them as well. As soon as Mimi and Sora showed up and had their luggage checked in as well they walked off for Pike Street. It wasn't a very long walk; Pike Street wasn't that far away from the hotel.
The crowds on the side walk began to thicken as they got closer to the market place. They stopped beside a Starbucks and Sora scanned the small little coffee shop.
"Hey, apparently the first Starbucks ever is on Pike Street! Maybe we should visit," Sora said. Matt shook his head.
"Nah, we won't have enough time to visit, it's too far into the market place. But we're spending practically another whole day in Seattle after we come back from the cruise, so maybe we can go see it then?" Matt suggested, everyone agreed. They were indeed short on time. They would only be able to spend about 20 minuets there before they had to start walking back to the hotel for their luggage.
Skyy loved the whole air to the market place. There were mobs of shoppers and even some groups of people holding up signs and protesting things like gays and soldiers in Afghanistan. Skyy had heard a little about these things at school and the news. But it didn't really concern Japan that much. There was an vintage trolley car station with some old trolleys that were taking people to different places. You could smell all the smells of fish and crab that wafted from under the tents of the market place. Also the famous Market Place sign stood tall with the little clock on the side of it. Skyy took at least 5 pictures of the red sign at different angles to see which she eventually would want to paint. There were tones of little bars and shops located outside the market place that all had their own magical feel. Of course Skyy felt a little silly for thinking that little shops were magical…
Mimi spotted a little crumpet shop across the road beside the entrance to the market place and insisted to go get crumpets. As they walked across the road to the crumpet shop Skyy spotted a boy on the corner street singing and playing a guitar for money. The boy was young, maybe 16 years old. Izzy caught her looking at him.
"What is it?" he asked, trying to get her attention away from the boy.
"Ah nothing! I just think that boy is really cute! Ha ha!" Skyy blushed slightly, "He's so confident to be singing and playing the guitar like that!" she said. Izzy frowned and glared at the boy as his insides started squirming.
"Oh please…anyone can do something like that…he's not that skillful," Izzy fumed. Skyy eyed him not understanding why he was so offended.
"Don't worry! I bet if you got a guitar and practiced, you could be as good as him!" Skyy said patting Izzy's back. Izzy mentally slapped his forehead.
"Uh…that's not what I implied…" he mumbled, but Skyy didn't hear him. They all walked into the café-like shop. Izzy held open the door for everyone and his fingers lightly hovered behind Skyy's back as he guided her in.
The shop was really small with about 10 or 12 little café styled tables with maybe 2 or 3 chairs each. They all split up but sat in tables close to each other. Immediately Skyy started clicking pictures of the inside of the shop.
There were balloons hanging from the ceilings and paintings of scenes from Alice in Wonderland all over the walls. There were also different colored streamers hanging from rafters and lights on the ceiling. Skyy also noticed a bunch of pictures along the walls of photographs of Pike Street back in the 50's. Skyy loved the old photographs and it was amazing to see all the differences from then till now. Skyy sat at a table with Mimi and Tai. Mimi had left to get crumpets for them which left Tai and Skyy alone chatting happily.
"Ahh I'm like so freakin' excited to go on the ship! Seattle's great and all but I'm already a little tired of it," Skyy said as she watched the people walking outside the shop windows. Tai nodded.
"Yeah! No kidding! It's nothing we haven't seen in Tokyo, but I've never been on a cruise before," Tai said sipping his lemonade that he got from the free drinks counter.
"I don't think any of us have been on a cruise ship besides Mimi," Skyy said rolling her eyes and turning to face Tai.
"We definitely should stay up super late tonight!" Tai said. Skyy cocked her head.
"Why?"
"I dunno, wander around, and party? Mimi said there was clubs right?"
"Well yeah…but we won't know anyone…"
"That's why we gotta get a bunch of friends from the teen club and get a big group of people to hang out with."
"But there are already six of us…"
"So? We need more friends! We'll be like a big mob!"
"What's with you and needing a huge possy or something? Besides you can't speak English, you wouldn't be able to talk to anyone," Skyy said laughing. Tai shrugged.
"That's why we have you and Meems as translators. The more people the more fun right? Plus you guys were talking about getting guys; we might wanna get some girls!" Tai said referring to what the girls had been joking about at the airport on their first day. Skyy narrowed her eyes.
"We were only joking, well at least I was…and don't you dare introduce Izzy to any cute American girls!" Skyy hissed, she said the last part in a whisper so Izzy, who was sitting behind Tai, didn't hear. Tai grinned.
"So I can introduce him to cute Irish girls, or cute Australian girls?" Tai snickered. Skyy glared at him, anger and jealousy boiling in her gut.
"Tai!" she scolded bringing her face closer to his, "you know what I mean!"
"Okay okay! I was just kidding!" Tai said rolling his eyes. Suddenly Mimi came up with a small tray with some crumpets on them.
"So sorry, did I interrupt a couple's spat?" Mimi said with a crooked smile as she glanced from Tai to Skyy. Skyy jumped away from Tai, he did the same.
"Huh! What do you mean couples spat!" Skyy said and she noticed Izzy turned at the commotion and was looking at her with an odd expression. Mimi looked taken aback.
"Well, I mean you two are super close so I just thought that it was a matter of time—" Mimi mumbled with a flash of emotion in her eyes. Skyy quickly raised her hands and shook her head furiously.
"No way Meems! As if me and Tai would like each other! There's just no way! Right Tai!" Skyy panicked, she didn't want Izzy getting the wrong impression of her and Tai. Tai perked up when she said his name.
"Uh… yeah, obviously, just friends," Tai muttered resting his hands behind his head. Mimi relaxed a little and let out a small sigh of relief. She sat down and gave Tai and Skyy their crumpets. Skyy's face was getting warm but she glanced up and saw Izzy quickly turn his head away and start talking to Sora and Matt. She was getting a little worried now…what if Izzy thought she and Tai liked each other! She'd have no chance! What if Izzy thought that and tried to hook them up! Skyy would never be able to confess to him at anytime after that…not that she was planning to any time soon. What if Izzy wanted them to get together? Skyy bit her lip. The thought made her feel…maybe…a little scared?
Skyy shook her head slightly. She was taking this too seriously, she obviously just denied Tai big time so there would be no reason that Izzy should think that, right? She looked up at Tai and could see he was also struggling with inner turmoil like she was. Maybe he was nervous that Mimi thought they liked each other, or maybe he was nervous about Sora? Skyy's head started to hurt so she tried to push the thoughts from her mind and dig in to her crumpet.
As soon as they finished their crumpets they starting heading back to the hotel. They walked back through the mobs of people that eventually began to thin as they got further away. Skyy was walking alone with a couple of her friends in front of her and couple behind her. Suddenly she heard the clacking of Mimi's shoes as she jogged up beside her.
"Hey Skyy!" she said in a cheery voice. Skyy smiled at her.
"Those crumpets were really good right?" Mimi said with stars in her eyes.
"Yeah, they were pretty good," Skyy said. Mimi glanced and her with a little frown
"Um, about before, you know the 'couples spat' thing, I'm sorry if it bothered you so much," Mimi said. Skyy looked up at her.
"Nah, it's nothing, plus I thought you liked Tai," Skyy said smirking and keeping her voice a little hushed. Mimi turned pink, but didn't deny what her friend said.
"Well…I mean…I think I do actually," Mimi mumbled. Skyy's eyes widened.
"What! I was just teasing! You actually like him!" Skyy gasped but still kept her voice hushed despite her excitement. Mimi nodded slowly.
"Yeah, I mean I didn't before, but up until a while ago we've been talking more online…and I don't know…something clicked and he seems so grown up and…cool, and he's really nice and sweet to girls," Mimi said turning a little bit pinker as she talked about him more. "And his eyes are reaaallly mesmerizing, and I like his laugh…" Mimi mumbled. Skyy's smile got bigger and bigger as Mimi talked.
"Well, I don't know about grown up, or mesmerizing eyes, but yeah everything else seems to fit the bill. Wow, that's really great Mimi! I'm so happy for you!" Skyy squealed whilst giving Mimi a hug. Mimi giggled with embarrassment.
"Thanks, the only reason I said that thing before at the crumpet shop was to see how you guys would react. I mean I had my suspicions for a while because whenever I talked to Tai online or over the phone, you'd always be there with him," she said. Skyy made and 'o' with her mouth.
"Ohhhh, I see. Nah there is no way in hell I'd ever have those kinds of feelings for Tai! We're best friends and that's that. We just hang out a lot because its fun. It's kinda like he's my brother so we're always together. But not to worry I will never have feelings for him," Skyy said smiling happily. Mimi smiled back.
"Well that's good…but well what if Tai likes you?" Mimi mumbled again. Skyy's mouth dropped.
"What! No way! I unbelievably, seriously doubt that! Besides, Tai already knows who I like and he's even trying to help me out…"Skyy said. It was Mimi's turn to be surprised.
"You like someone? Oh my gosh Skyy why didn't you tell me? Does anyone else besides Tai know!" Mimi said getting all wiggly and excited. Skyy chuckled.
"Only Umimon knows… I guess I didn't tell you because I didn't have the need to," Skyy shrugged. Mimi rolled her eyes dramatically.
"Well jeez Skyy! We're girlfriends you need to tell me these things right away!" Mimi scolded. Skyy shrugged her shoulders again. Mimi got a little closer and cupped her hand beside the her mouth.
"Soo, tell me! Who is it!" Mimi asked. Skyy felt her face heat up again.
"Uhh…well it's a guy…" Skyy stalled. Mimi frowned.
"Well, yeah no duh!"
"Heeey, what if I was a lezbo? I could've said it was a girl! So you can't say "no duh"!" Skyy said. Mimi pulled away a little bit.
"If you were a lesbian, believe me, I'd already know," Mimi said. Skyy laughed.
"True, true," she said. Mimi huffed and crossed her arms.
"Fine! I can tell when someone doesn't want to tell me something! I'll leave it at that," Mimi said as if all the fun in the conversation had gone completely. Skyy put her palms together and bowed slightly.
"Sorry Meems!" Skyy said. Mimi just waved her off with her hand.
"Whatever, but you will tell me eventually!" Mimi said.
As they reached the hotel they quickly checked out their luggage and went back to the entrance to hail some taxis. Once they got two they piled their luggage in and headed for pier 4, which was where the boat was departing from. As they got closer Skyy kept trying to see around buildings for the cruise ship. Once they were about 5 minuets from the pier and huge mass of white appeared from behind a building and Skyy took a deep breath.
The boat was huge. Like, huge is an understatement, it was gigantic. There were ramps coming from the ship to the pier where passengers and staff were going in and out. A line of flags billowed over the top deck of the ship and Skyy could already see little dots walking along the different levels. She also spotted a huge white screen on the open deck up top where they played movies and sometimes video games for the teens (Mimi had explained that to her). She could see a pool on the top deck just below the screen. Apparently you could go swimming and watch a movie at the same time! There was also a mini pool on the end of the boat and a huge suspended area above the pool that Mimi said was a night club. Also the side of the boat was the crisp image of the Princess Cruise Lines insignia and the name of the boat, The Golden Princess. The windows where fairly big but the lower the deck the smaller the windows got. Some decks had little balcony's protruding from the sides.
Unfortunately Izzy had already explained that the girl's room didn't have a window because it was near the middle of the ship, the boys had one because their room was opposite and was near the side of the boat. Skyy would've liked a window so she could watch the waves as she fell asleep, but hey- your on a cruise ship, you shouldn't be so picky.
Skyy got her camera out and started taking pictures of the ship as they drove closer and closer. As the taxis drove onto the pier they stopped at the drop off and registration area and were surrounded by other passengers, crew members, and taxi cabs. The drop off and registration area was a huge building at the end of the pier beside the boat. They all climbed out of their taxis and the driver's helped take out their luggage. Matt and Mimi stayed behind and paid for the taxis whilst everyone else started rolling their luggage over to some crew members at the entrance of the building. Skyy gazed up at the ship, which looked even bigger close up.
As the teens approached the crew members they noticed the men were giving out room tags. When they asked what the tags were for the men explained that they had to put these tags on their luggage and write the number of their stateroom so the right suitcases were delivered to the right rooms. When they all got tags and attached them to their individual bags a couple of men in bright orange vests rolled their luggage away and put it on a large cart with many other suitcases on it.
The crew members told them to follow the signs and as they all walked inside they eventually ended up in a very large room about a football field wide. There were a bunch of desks and very long lines filled with passengers. This was where you registered your rooms and got your card keys. Card keys were the keys to your staterooms and also cruise credit cards. What you could do is attach your credit card number to your card key and whenever you wanted to purchase something on the ship you would use you card key to pay.
Matt spotted the shortest line and they all quickly got behind an American couple that were snuggling and talking about how private their stateroom was going to be. Mimi started explaining what they were doing and how everything was organized. First they would get registered as passengers and earn the keys to their staterooms. Then they would get their boarding passes approved and they could officially board the ship. Then they would find their staterooms and settle in. After that the rest of time they could go explore the ship. The ship officially left port at 4:00 so they still had a while before the ship's engines would roar to life.
Skyy was quickly getting bored waiting in line. They were slowly budging forward. Mimi was going off about all the things on the cruise ship but Skyy had already heard most of this from Izzy on their first day so she eventually started to tune the perky girl out. About half an hour later they eventually reached a desk and a crew member welcomed them happily. It took a little longer than usual because Mimi had to help translate everyone's passports and talk to the crew member to organize who was who and how old everyone was. Skyy would've helped her but she didn't know how these cruise registration things went. Mimi had been on cruises before so she knew what to do.
Finally Mimi and the crew member finished talking and everyone got their boarding passes approved and their room keys registered. Mimi had a gold card whilst everyone else got blue ones. Mimi was the only one who got a gold card because she had been on more than 3 cruises with Princess Cruise lines. She was officially a gold member.
Everyone decided not to connect their credit cards with their room keys and agreed pay for anything they wanted with cash. Skyy figured if she had all of the money in her bank account at her fingertips she would start spending money uncontrollably. As they left the large room they headed for the exit were their boarding passes and card keys would be checked once more and they finally would be able to climb the ramp up to the cruise ship.
As they reached the exit they were all just itching to go on the ship. As soon as the crew member approved their boarding passes and key cards they practically speed walked up the ramp. At the top Skyy stood on her tip toes to see if she could see furthering into the boat. More crew members stood at the end of the ramp and they took the keycards and slid them into a machine that took each of their pictures so that when they got off or back on the ship at ports their picture would show up when the card key was slid into the machine to verify their identification. When the men let Skyy pass she held her breath and walked into the entrance of the grand ship. But as soon as she held her breath it was taken away from her.
They walked right into the middle level of a grand Piazza. The floors of the Piazza were all marble and marble staircases curved from the bottom to the second and third floors. Two elevators could be seen and were covered by glass and a thin sheet of carved wood that had peacocks and flowers and other birds carved all the way up to the ceiling. A violin player played his violin at the base of the elevators and he was surrounded by a small garden with tropical plants and flowers held in marble pots that were melted into the floor.
On the outside of the Piazza was a little cake shop and a sandwich/ soup shop with a baker and chef serving morsels to passengers. On the upper floors were elegantly decorated shops which included a Jewelry shop and Beauty store that sold perfumes, make-up, and souvenirs. On the third floor was the passengers help desk. It also served as the area where you booked tours and excursions at each of the ports visited.
The violin's music drifted all through the grand Piazza and Skyy started taking pictures of every little detail. On the roof of the Piazza was a huge chandelier that looked like giant glass leaves that folded into the ceiling with different colored lights glowing from the inside.
The Piazza was so elegant and all the friends looked over the railings to take in its magnificent ness. Skyy kept clicking picture after picture until she felt and warm arm press against hers on the railing.
"It's beautiful isn't it...? The architectural construction is very well executed and dynamic and it gives off a very eccentric feel," Izzy's voice said. Skyy could tell he was truly amazed at the openness and grandness of the Piazza. Skyy stopped taking pictures for a second to take in the whole scene with her eyes again.
"Yes…it's like we're in a castle and not a ship," Skyy said. Izzy nodded.
"We'll definitely just have to hang out here one day…eat cake and sandwiches and listen to the music, it'd be very relaxing," Izzy said. Skyy nodded.
"Yeah! That sounds great! But the others might not want to," Skyy thought of how the others would want to wander around and have fun and party. Izzy glanced at her.
"Then just the two of us will do it, "Izzy said shyly. Skyy smiled at him.
"Great! It's a date!" Skyy said, Izzy's mouth dropped open.
"W-w-w-w-what! A d-d-d-d-date?" he stuttered as his face got beat red. Skyy laughed at his reaction.
"It's a joke Iz, a joke!" Skyy laughed and took a picture of his flustered face.
"C-mon you two! We're going to find our staterooms!" Tai called suddenly. Izzy and Skyy looked over and noticed their friends had walked further away. They quickly ran to catch up.
On one side of the Piazza were hallways that led to an art gallery and a bar. The other side led to the elevators and past on to one of the two grand dining halls. Mimi then figured out that they were on deck 6 and their cabins were on deck 12, which happened to be one deck below the pool deck. They boarded the elevators and it slowly climbed up to the 12th deck. Once they got off on either side of them were hallways that were lined with staterooms. They read the signs beside the elevators that indicated which rooms were where. They all turned down the hallway to the left of the elevators to start counting room numbers. On the left side of the ship were the odd numbered rooms (A side), and on the right were the even numbered (B side). Their rooms where near the back end of the boat but also near the middle so they weren't directly at the end.
Skyy counted the numbers as she walked. 'A237…A239…A241...A243…aha! A245!' Skyy thought and she slid her card key into the slot in the door. The door beeped and she heard the click of the door unlocking. With a great heave she pushed the door open and Sora and Mimi peeked around her to see inside. Skyy skipped into the room and started exploring. Sora and Mimi followed eagerly.
The stateroom was small…but what do you expect? There was a tiny bathroom that was basically a miniature version of a normal bathroom with a small tap, sink, shower, and shelves on either side of the mirror. The only normal sized things were the toilet and the mirror. Opposite the bathroom was a hanging closet to hang clothes that could not be folded like dresses and fancy pants (formal suits). A thin wall was behind the closet and on the other side was a vanity table with a little mini fridge beside it, and a mirror covering the whole flat surface of the wall. Just above the mirror in the corner and close to the ceiling was a little shelf with a decently sized T.V., around 22 inches diagonally. Then across from the vanity table were two twin beds with two little side tables, each baring a lamp that was nailed to the surface. Above one twin bed, a bunk bed was folded down from the wall and the ladder was just resting on the covers.
Skyy again started taking pictures of everything. Sora jumped on the twin bed under the bunk bed.
"This place is so tiny and cute! I call this bed!" Sora said lying down and spreading her arms and legs wide over the covers.
"I know! It's so much better than I imagined! I call the other twin bed!" Skyy said. Mimi came out of the bathroom after inspecting it.
"It's a little bit smaller than what I usually have with Mom and Dad but hey, they were buying 6 tickets for this cruise so I guess they had to get cheaper rooms," Mimi sniffed as she opened and closed the drawers under the vanity table and mumbling something about needing more room for her clothes. Sora and Skyy rolled their eyes.
"Oh please Meems! This room is great! And it's our new home for the next week," Skyy said as she finished taking pictures and jumped on her own bed. Mimi reached up and took the ladder off of the bunk bed which was now hers considering both of the other beds were taken. She hooked it onto the ledge of the bed and climbed up. She collapsed on top and spread her limbs out like Sora had on her bed.
"Wow, I've got to admit though this bed is really comfy!" Mimi smiled in spite of herself. Skyy jumped up off of her bed.
"Who wants to check out the guy's room with me!" she aid, Sora quickly got off of her bed too.
"Me!" she chimed and she headed for the door.
"It's just gonna look the exact same as ours," Mimi said as she got up and started climbing back down the ladder. Skyy shrugged.
"Meh, we're looking for the sake of looking," she said and followed Sora out the door. Mimi straightened out her outfit and followed after.
Mimi was right, the boy's room was exactly the same, except on the wall that the bed's headboards were up against there was a huge round window facing out towards the water. The boy's room was right across from the girls' so it was easy to remember. It was room A248. Skyy walked right through the doorway that was being held open with Tai's shoe (he wedged it under so the door would stay open) and shouted.
"Make way, hot chicks coming through!"
Tai poked his head around from the bathroom and laughed.
"Hot chicks? Huh? Where?" he teased, Skyy hit him playfully. Sora and Mimi filed in after her. Sora greeted Matt first and went to sit with him on his bed which was the equivalent of Skyy's bed in the girls' room. Izzy was lounging on the bunk bed which Skyy assumed was his bed and he already had his laptop on and running. Skyy walked over and stood on her tip toes so she could see over the edge of the bunk bed. Izzy grinned at her.
"Boo!" Skyy said smiling. Izzy chuckled and poked her forehead with his finger.
"You're such a kid," Izzy said, Skyy stuck her tongue out.
"Coming from a dude who's a year younger than me," Skyy smirked. Izzy frowned.
"Shut up…" he muttered. Skyy grinned.
"Hey, you're turning 17 in December, that's not so bad right?"
"Yeah… It still feels like I'm at least two years younger though," Izzy said.
"So? What does age matter?" Skyy asked.
"It matters," Izzy mumbled. Skyy shrugged and glanced at Izzy's laptop screen.
"So, you got good Internet access here?" Skyy said peeking around him. Izzy nodded.
"Yeah, my infrared Internet access is 100% up and running," Izzy smiled at his computer.
"Woo! That's awesome!" Skyy cheered. Izzy smiled.
"So if you ever want to e-mail your folks all you have to do is ask, I can even hook this up to the ship computer printers and print typed documents," Izzy said. Skyy raised her eyebrows.
"The ship has computers? Printers?" she asked. Izzy nodded.
"Yeah, there's an Internet café on the other end near the theater. I investigated everything on this ship before, didn't I tell you about it when we went to the Cheesecake Factory at the airport?" Izzy asked giving her a confused look. Skyy shrugged.
"Maybe, I was so excited I may have forgotten some stuff," Skyy sighed.
"Then I'll just have to tell you everything over again!" Izzy grinned and ruffled her hair. Skyy pouted and fixed her hair.
"Heeey, don't do thaaaat. Anyway we could just go around and explore instead right?" she said. Izzy nodded.
"Yeah, that sounds more suitable," he turned back to his computer and Skyy turned around and sat down on the bed underneath Izzy's.
"Yo whose bed is this cause I'm sitting on it!" Skyy said, Tai came back around from the bathroom and raised a hand.
"Miiiine!" he said and flopped down beside her.
"These rooms are pretty sick right?" Tai said grinning. Skyy nodded.
"Yeah! They're so tiny!" she squealed. Tai chuckled and turned to face Matt and Sora who were on the bed opposite.
"So! Who wants to go explore! Maybe find some food?" he asked everyone.
"Dinner's going to be at seven, we have a seating plan in the dining room," Mimi said sitting on the edge of Matt's bed with Sora and Matt.
"Good! We have plenty of time until then!" Tai cheered and quickly got up from his bed. The movement caused Skyy to bounce up and down a bit on the covers.
"Let's go explore!"
The 6 teens wandered around the ship and seemed to cover almost the entire surface. On the deck above their rooms were the indoor and outdoor pools, and the buffet that was open at all times. On the deck above that was the spa and adult pools (21 and older). The club that was suspended from the back of the boat, now known as the Skywalkers Club, that Skyy had seen earlier was actually the teen club and the ages ranged from 15-21. They all made a mental note to go to the club after dinner. As they wandered they found the two different formal dining rooms (also checking out the menu for that night as they looked), and the grand theatre near the front of the boat. As Izzy had said before there was an internet café just outside of the entrance to the theatre, but you had to pay to use the computers for a certain amount of time. They also found the movie theatre and all of the sports areas. The sports areas included a basketball court, a tennis court, shuffle board, and a jogging track that went around the whole boat. They also found many lounges that had many comfortable looking chairs and a small little dance floors and stages. There were at least three or four different lounges on the entire ship. There was also a steak restaurant and about 10 bars here and there.
After they started wandering in circles and arriving at the same places twice they just decided to go to the pool deck and mingle until dinner. Once they got there they all stood by the railings and watched all the people on the pier. Suddenly Sora gasped and pointed down at the pier.
"Look! We're moving!" she said. Skyy looked more closely and noticed that very slowly the ship was edging away from the pier.
"Wow! I didn't even feel the ship start to move!" Skyy said. Mimi nodded.
"Yeah, the ship moves so slowly that you don't even notice it's already leaving, but as we get out into the ocean it'll go faster and you'll feel it a little bit more, not that much of a difference though," Mimi explained.
"That's incredible, it's so smooth," Izzy said also looking down and watching the pier slowly drift away. He was standing beside Skyy had his arm sort of arched around her body so it was almost like he was holding her waist. Skyy noticed this she immediately got a little happier.
"I know, sometimes you forget you're on a boat until you actually see the waves passing you by," Mimi sighed and leaned against the railing.
"It's kind of hard to believe just a couple days ago we were all just living in our apartments and now we're living on such an extravagant boat for a whole week!" Sora squealed. Mimi just shrugged- she was used to being on cruise ships by now.
The six of them all leaned against the railing chatting softly and watching the pier get smaller and smaller as the boat sailed away.
"Hey! Since we still have some time, let's play truth or dare!" Tai said perking up suddenly. Izzy turned but still had his hands slightly touching Skyy's waist. Tai had a little glint of mischievousness in his eyes which suddenly gave Skyy a nervous feeling. Was he planning something all of a sudden?
"Sure, sounds fun, who's first?" Matt said. Tai hmm'd and after a minute of thought, pointed to himself.
"Me! I'll go first I guess, someone ask me truth or dare!" he said grinning widely.
"I want to ask!" Sora piped up. "Truth or dare?" she asked Tai. He smiled even wider.
"Dare, obviously!" he said putting his hands on his hips. Sora thought for a moment.
"Uummmm…how about…find something and make a cape, then go around telling everyone your superhero name!" Sora said suddenly. Tai's smile faltered a little and everyone else burst out laughing.
"Aww man Tai! You have to do it now, you started it!" Mimi said, smirking. Tai crossed his arms.
"That is a cruel dare…what kind of impression do want me to have on everyone?" Tai mumbled to Sora.
"The total retard, now go do it or we'll announce you the minister of cowards!" Sora said her laughing ceasing as she spoke. Tai's eyebrow twitched at the name.
"Like hell! I'm the crest of Courage! I can do anything! A stupid dare won't stop me! You just watch I'll blow you guys away!" Tai snapped. He took a deep breath and walked away. Skyy, Sora, Mimi, Matt and Izzy all headed up one deck because there was a little balcony surrounding the pool and you could look down and see everyone. They all leaned over the railing to get a good look and Skyy got out her camera and turned it on whilst scanning the small crowd for her best friend. They quickly spotted Tai in between some tables and Skyy started snapping photos of his progress in the dare.
Tai glanced around to make sure no waiters or staff was nearby and quickly snatched a tablecloth off of an unused table. He then tied it around his neck very quickly and raised a clenched fist in the air. Skyy got a close up of his face and noticed he was blushing with embarrassment already.
"I am Ramen Man!" he shouted suddenly in Japanese. All of the girls burst out laughing and Izzy and Matt were trying to hold in theirs as best they could.
"R-ramen Man! What a stupid name!" Skyy gasped between bursts of laughter. Her stomach was already starting to hurt from laughing so much. Still she managed to keep her camera steady and take pictures of Tai. He started running around with his fist in the air and his other fist on his hip. He would stop at random passengers and shout "I am Ramen Man!" in their faces before running off to some other passengers. Everyone on the pool deck looked unbelievably surprised and some were laughing. Tai almost got halfway around the deck before some crew members rushed over to him and told him kindly to please stop his behavior. Tai's face was beat red with embarrassment as he handed over the table cloth and trudged up the stairs and over to his cruel friends. Skyy held up her camera.
"That was a good show Tai! Good thing I got it all on camera!" she sniggered. Tai glared at her.
"Okay, I have officially embarrassed myself in front of the entire ship and am probably on the hit list of the crew members, now it's my turn!" Tai snarled. Everyone was still giggling. Tai huffed and crossed him arms.
"Okay, okay, shoot. Who do you pick?" Sora said fanning herself because she was laughing so hard.
"I'm asking all of the girls! Truth or Dare!" Tai said. Mimi, Skyy and Sora all raised their eyebrows. They all glanced at each other and it was almost as if they all read their minds.
"Truth, after that little display there is no way we're picking dare," Mimi said. Tai smiled.
"Good, I knew you'd say that!" he said. "My question is: if a guy was to get your attention because he likes you, what would be the most romantic way for him to do it?"
The girls stared at him.
"Seriously? That's all? After we made you do that dare this is the question you ask? It's too simple! What's the catch?" Skyy said with suspicion in her eyes. Izzy perked up a little and gave Tai an odd expression. Tai shook his head.
"No catch," he said, still smiling. Sora shrugged.
"Well I guess for me it would be a straight out confession. There's nothing more romantic than a guy who can show you his feelings straight out and not be afraid of embarrassment. A guy that is strong enough to except whatever your answer may be," Sora said simply, giving Matt a quick glance. He noticed it and a light pink dusted his cheeks. Tai nodded and turned to Skyy and Mimi for their answers. Mimi fidgeted with her fingers a little before opening her mouth to answer.
"Well…I guess for me it would be straight out too, but not directly…something out of the ordinary, like perhaps in a song or something. Or maybe written in the sky," Mimi said. Tai nodded and turned to Skyy.
"A riddle," Skyy said simply.
"Huh? What do you mean a riddle?" Tai asked.
"Like, sending a series of notes with riddles on who the sender is and then eventually either the girl would figure out who it is or they'd appear suddenly and confess that way, it's a mysterious kind of romantic thing that would always keep the girl on her toes," Skyy explained. Tai raised his eyebrows.
"Wow, didn't think you were into that kind of thing," Tai said.
"Well if you say it directly it's kind of boring, no offense Sora or Mimi," Skyy said.
"None taken, that's a neat idea Skyy. Kind of like something from a shoujo manga!" Sora giggled. Skyy blushed slightly.
"You've thought of this kind of thing before haven't you?" Tai smirked and Skyy blushed a little deeper.
"No I haven't! Shut up!" she said turning away from him and stomping off to lean over the railing facing the water. Tai chuckled.
"Anyway, are we still playing the game?" Matt asked. Tai shook his head.
"Nah… I've achieved my original motive!" Tai said resting his hands above his head. Izzy gave him a quick glance. Sora and Mimi left to go stand with Skyy and watch the water. Soon the guys went over too and they stood watching the ship sail away from Seattle. Izzy returned to standing next to Skyy and put his arm back around her waste- a little protectively this time. Skyy was mentally swooning at the feel of his arm around her. Tai, Matt and Mimi started to resume playing truth or dare, but just sticked to asking truth questions.
Suddenly the ship's horn honked extremely loudly as the boat left the harbor and gave all of them a little jolt. The ship was about halfway out of the harbor now and was saying goodbye to Seattle. Seagulls would fly around the top until the ship was too far away from land for them to follow anymore. Sometimes little sailboats with people on them would drift by and they would wave up at the passengers on the cruise ship. The digidestined friends hollered hello's back at them and waved as well.
As the sun started to set, the brilliant colors started to paint themselves across the sky and got more vibrant as the sun got lower to the horizon. The six teenagers were so taken with the setting and watching Seattle fade away that they barley noticed the time.
When Matt finally checked his watch he gasped at the time.
"Holy cow! It's almost seven, dinner's gonna be soon," Matt said everyone snapped out of their dazes. Izzy looked down at his clothes and bit his lip.
"Does anyone need to return to the rooms or are we just going to dinner dressed presently?" Izzy asked everyone, referring to how they were dressed. They weren't really sure if they were supposed to dress formally in such an elegant dining room.
"It doesn't really matter what we wear in the dining room except on formal nights when you have to dress all fancy," Mimi said shrugging.
"So I guess we can just head down there now then?" Tai asked, everyone nodded except for Izzy.
"Uhh, I'm just gonna turn back to the cabin for a moment, I'll meet you there!" Izzy said removing his arm from Skyy's waist and turning to leave.
"Oh! Our table number is on your key card so you'll know where to find us!" Mimi yelled as he jogged down to the rooms. He waved back in recognition. Skyy suddenly felt a little bit colder as his warmth left but waved goodbye anyway.
It took them all a minute to remember which direction their dining room was in. it was the same dining room that was just beside the Piazza when they first boarded the ship. When they arrived at the entrance there was already a small crowd of passengers waiting to be seated. They didn't have to wait very long before a kind waiter led them to their table. They had a very nice table. It was big and round so it could fit all six of the teens and it was right next to a window so they could watch the sunset and the water sailing by. Waiters were bustling around taking orders and disappearing and reappearing with trays of food. On the ceilings of the dining room where many twinkling lights that resembled stars. Skyy recognized them as the little twinkling lights that are usually on the ceilings of limos.
A waiter came shortly after they all sat down and handed out menus as the assistant waiter took their napkins and placed them on their laps.
"Hello, Welcome to the Golden Princess Grand Dining room! I am Gabrielle and I will be your waiter during this fine voyage. This here is Habier and he will be your assistant waiter, now to start is there anything I can get you fine people to drink?" Gabrille said. He was very tall with short blonde hair and striking blue eyes. He had a slight Russian accent. Habier was a Mexican man and was shorter with black hair.
Mimi and Skyy started translating orders and Gabrielle disappeared to go get their drinks whilst Habier started filling their cups with ice water.
Izzy came just is time for Gabrielle to take their orders. Once again Mimi and Skyy helped translate all of their friend's orders. The dinner was very nice and the food was delicious. Skyy had tortellini and spinach soup with mozzarella for an appetizer, home-style chili with rice and sour cream for a main course, and a sugar free moose cake for dessert. Everyone kept gushing over how good the food was except for Mimi because she was used to it. Skyy took pictures of all the neat little desserts. They all had little decorations on them and little chocolate sauce designs on the plates.
It was a little strange though at the end when they were finished and they didn't have to pay a bill because all of the food was already added to the cost of the cruise. They said goodbye to Gabrielle and Habier and headed back to their staterooms.
Skyy had never felt fuller in her entire life! She was definitely going to gain weight on this cruise. Mimi had warned all of them about that. She said that it was very easy to gain weight on a cruise because so much food is available 24/7. Skyy vowed to do a couple laps of the jogging track a much as she could during this cruise, or maybe all the walking she was doing to get everywhere would be enough.
The girls were surprised to see their suitcases sitting outside their door when they got back to their stateroom, the boy's weren't there and Skyy had assumed that Izzy brought them in before when he went back to his room before dinner. The boys decided to do a little wander around and meet the girls at the teen club for 10:00. Skyy sighed heavily as Sora slid her room key into the slot on their cabin door. Sora grabbed the handle of her suitcase and tugged it in through the door and inside. Mimi did the same with her pink suitcase and pulled it in after Sora. Just as Skyy was about to follow them in with her suitcase a stewardess came up and tapped her on the shoulder.
"Um, excuse me, are you Skyy?" the stewardess asked. Skyy turned to face her.
"Huh? Yeah I am" she said in English so the woman would understand her. The woman started reaching for something in her pocket. Skyy watched her curiously wondering what she wanted with her and why she knew her name.
"Oh great! I am the stewardess in charge of the cleaning of your room! A young boy around your age I suppose came by earlier and asked me to give this to you, He didn't want me to tell you who he was but he was very dashing I might say," the woman said handing Skyy a piece of folded paper. Skyy raised her eyebrows and took it eagerly.
"Oh thank you! If you see him again can you confirm that I have it?" Skyy asked politely. The woman nodded and hobbled off back to her cleaning cart further down the hall. Skyy looked down at the paper in her hands.
"Hmm, that's weird…" she mumbled in Japanese and rolled her suitcase through the door and up to the side of her bed.
"What did that lady want?" Sora asked. Her suitcase was open on her bed and she was unpacking all of her neatly folded clothes.
"She said some dude wanted to give this to me and he didn't want her to tell me who he was," Skyy mumbled. She lifted her suitcase with a grunt and flopped it on top of her bed.
"ohhh a secret love note? Weren't we just talking about that before dinner?" Mimi asked. She was over by the closet hanging up some of her dresses.
"Oh yeah! Maybe some guy thought you were hot and overheard you saying your answer to Tai's question up on the deck!" Sora squealed sitting up and huddling over to Skyy.
"I don't think it's a love note…"Skyy mumbled. Mimi walked over too to see the note.
"Quick open it and let's see!" Sora squealed getting a little closer. Skyy unfolded the letter. It was a hand written note. Skyy read it aloud.
"I just want you to know; I admire you from afar, but am closer than you think. Signed, X" She read in English, for the letter was written in perfect English. All three girls stood quiet for a second. Then Mimi erupted in squeals and laughter.
"Oh my god Skyy! Only a couple hours on a boat and you've already got boys knocking on your door!" Mimi giggled. Skyy blushed at the note. Sora tugged on Skyy's arm.
"What! What does it say?" Sora asked excitedly. Mimi translated it using a deep baritone voice as if she was imitating a guy. Sora squealed after and gave Skyy a big hug.
"Yaay! Skyy you have a secret admirer! This is so cool!" Sora squealed loudly. Skyy was still speechless staring down at the words. Was this possible? She hadn't even been on the boat for that long, unless someone had secretly been following her. That was a creepy thought. Still, Skyy started to feel a little more attractive because she had gotten this note. At first she thought maybe it was for Mimi or Sora, but the stewardess did say that the note was for a "Skyy".
"Eeee! Let's go find the guys and tell them!" Mimi said happily and starting to head for the door. Skyy's head snapped back to reality in a second.
"No!" she gasped grabbing Mimi's wrist. Mimi turned and gave her a surprised look.
"What? Why not?" She asked. Skyy bit her lip. She didn't want Izzy finding out about this X guy. She had to keep it a secret.
"Just…don't tell the guys, I don't want them to know. Besides wouldn't it be better to just keep it a secret between the three of us?" Skyy said. Mimi's face lit up.
"Oh yeah! That sounds better! Okay, I won't tell anyone!" Mimi said, Sora mimicked promising she wouldn't tell. Skyy sighed in relief. She appreciated the note, but she already liked Izzy…she would probably have to turn this guy down but she'd have to find out who he was first.
Skyy hid the note in-between the pages of her sketchbook. She didn't want anyone to find it and people don't usually sneak through sketchbooks. The girls changed clothes for the sake of changing clothes and as it came closer to 10:00 they headed up to the Skywalkers teen club.
Skyy wore a jean skirt with fish net tights and long black boots. She wore a white tank top with dark blue feather designs on it and four long golden chained necklaces around her neck. She decided to keep her hair down a wear two large golden hoop earrings.
Skywalkers was all decked out for welcoming the teens. Different colored lights shawn all over the glass dance floor and music pumped from the DJ table. Many teens – all of different ages- were already sitting and chatting and playing board games at all of the tables and benches. The three girls quickly found the boys lounging on some cushioned benches right beside the window so they could look down at the small pool below and the waves coming from the back of the ship. Skyy was pleased to see Izzy's face when he saw her in her outfit. He had a light blush and his eyes didn't leave her for a full minute until Tai nudged him out of his trance.
Not too long after the girls arrived did the supervisors start quieting everyone down and turning down the music. A larger woman with blonde hair took a microphone from the DJ table and cleared her throat. She introduced herself as the head supervisor of the teen club and asked everyone to participate in an "introducing game". Everyone would pass around the microphone and would say their name, where they were from, and something about themselves. As the woman passed the microphone out, the 6 friends listened as everyone introduced themselves. Mostly everyone was from America, but some were from Australia, Canada, and even Ireland. When the microphone got to the little group Skyy was the first to grab it.
"Hi! I'm Skyy Tsutsumi and I hail from the tiny land of Japan!" Skyy said in clear English. Some people ooo'd in the audience and some random dude yelled "konichiwa" really loudly. Because he'd said it a little wrong Skyy laughed between speaking. The blonde woman gasped at how far Skyy had come.
"Ummm, I guess one thing about me is…I lived in Canada for 3 years before moving back to Tokyo," Skyy said shrugging and not thinking of anything else to say. Mimi quickly grabbed the microphone.
"And she's a friggen INSANE painter! She's reaaaallly good" Mimi said in English, some people in the audience chuckled and Skyy's face heated up a little bit. Izzy and Tai beamed at her but she didn't notice. Skyy snatched back the microphone.
"Yeah whatever!" she said into it. Skyy then turned and pointed to each of her friends.
"Now because not all of us speak the best English I shall introduce everyone else to you," Skyy started, "This is Tai, his hair is too big for his own good, this is Matt, he's too cool for his own good, this is Sora, she's too pretty for her own good, and this is Izzy, he's too smart for his own good," Skyy said. Mimi snickered and quickly translated what Skyy said to each of her friends. Tai frowned.
"Heey! My hair isn't that big! I got it cut!" Tai whined in Japanese.
"Whatever, it's still huge, you don't know the meaning of short hair," Skyy answered back in Japanese. Some people in the crowd chuckled but most had confused looks because they didn't know what Tai or Skyy had said. Skyy held the microphone back up to her mouth.
"Anywaaaay, we're all from Japan! Except for this daaarling right here who is an American," Skyy said passing the microphone to Mimi as some Americans in the crowd cheered. She took it happily.
"Yeah, Hi I'm Mimi! I'm Japanese but I live in New York! One thing about me is that I've gotten offers to be a model and I'm only 16!" Mimi said flaunting off her talent. Skyy quickly grabbed the microphone back again.
"Soon to be 17 on Thursday! Happy Birthday Meems!" Skyy cheered into the microphone. Some people wow'd at Mimi's talent and some shouted happy birthday. Mimi grinned and blushed slightly as she handed the microphone to a boy standing next to her.
After the crowd of teens had all introduced themselves the woman supervisor explained that they could basically do whatever, dance, play board games, play air hockey or foosball, or just hang out. There was going to be a foosball tournament a little later on and around 1:00 they were going to go out on the pool deck and play Guitar Hero on the big movie screen.
A couple of random people came up to talk to the 6 friends after the introducing game, but only two boys and three girls actually stayed to hang out with them. The boys were both brothers and they were 16 and 19 years old, their names were Aaron and Brandon and they were from Seattle. The three girls were all very bubbly. Two of the girls were American and one was from Canada. The girls' names were Hailey, Naomi, and Sara. Hailey and Sara were both 18 and Naomi was 15, she got along well with the 16 year old Brandon from Seattle.
All 11 of them got along very well, Izzy and Aaron talked together a lot and Mimi, Sora, Hailey, and Sara got along very well. Skyy didn't talk to them much because they were talking about shopping and girl stuff which Skyy found boring. Skyy mostly talked with Tai, Matt, Izzy and Aaron. Brandon and Naomi were more interested in talking to each other. As time passed the teens played the odd board game or danced on the dance floor.
When the foosball tournament started Matt and Skyy signed up to be on a team together. As they played a small crowd formed to watch. Skyy and Matt had a quick victory and everyone cheered as they creamed all the opposing teams. Matt and Skyy also cheered and gave high-fives as they received little silver Princess Cruise's medals. The two of them were crowned foosball champs and even after the tournament people kept asking for foosball matches.
The 6 digidestined friends were having a blast and Skyy didn't remember the last time she laughed or had so much fun in one day. She seemed most happy though when she was dancing with her guy friends which also included her newfound guy friend – Aaron, who kept asking to dance with her. Skyy would accept his dance proposals but they didn't end up dancing together for long before either Tai or Izzy would butt in and steal her away. Aaron would always come back and start dancing with Skyy though, which did become slightly annoying after a while but Skyy never refused his dance offers.
As 1:00 neared at least half of the teens who were originally there had gone to bed or left to do something else. The 10 new friends stayed though because they were waiting to play Guitar Hero on the big screen outside. Naomi was the only one who left early, saying her parents would be expecting her. Brandon was a little saddened at her leaving but he hid his feelings well.
As soon as the woman supervisor announced it was time for Guitar Hero, Skyy quickly bounced up and was eagerly waiting for everyone to shuffle outside. It was dark outside and it was a little windy but they were all allowed to go get coats and jackets before going out on the deck.
Skyy had played Guitar Hero many times at Tai's house, but it seemed so much more epic on the huge screen on the pool deck. There were two guitars so people had to take turns playing. Meanwhile for the people who were waiting they just stood in little groups and goofed off. Skyy and Tai kept creaming people until Aaron finally beat Skyy. Tai quickly beat Aaron though and kept rubbing it in his face.
They didn't stay outside for very long until it got too cold and too late. Izzy and Sora were yawing every five seconds and the 6 original friends finally decided it was time to hit the hay. They said sleepy goodbye's to their new American friends and headed down one deck to their staterooms.
When they got down to their rooms the girls said their good nights to the boys and filed into their own cabin. Skyy collapsed onto her bed and Mimi was in the bathroom with her toothpaste, toothbrush, and face wash within 3 seconds of coming through the door. Sora changed quickly into her PJs and squeezed into the bathroom with Mimi.
Skyy rolled over on her bed and spotted the remote control for the television. She grabbed it and clicked the T.V. on. She flipped through the channels until she found Wall-E on the kid's channel. She stayed there and hoisted herself off of her bed to get changed and ready to sleep.
The rest of the night was short. After the girls had changed into their PJs and washed up, they watched Wall-E until one by one they all fell asleep. Mimi was the last one awake so she turned off the T.V. and darkness filled the room. The only light that was visible was the very small sliver of hallway light coming in from under the stateroom door. The light creaking and swaying of the ship could be heard as the three girls were rocked into a deep sleep. Meanwhile in another room, somewhere, a teenage boy was planning what to write in his next secret letter to the beautiful girl with golden hair.
End – Day Three
