Point of View: Tintin
"Tintin! Let's dance!" Gina walks up to me on the dance floor as I see Diana walk out of the scene. "Is that Diana?" Gina says, frowning. "Yes, why?" I ask her. "Nothing," she replies. "Are you going to dance with me or not?" she asks, putting both of her hands on her waist. Her blond hair was curled in a cascade of ringlets. She wears a gold, tube gown decorated with a big flower on one side. Her lips are very red from the makeup. She looks weird for me. "The man is supposed to invite the lady to dance," I tell her. "So?" she says. "I didn't ask you to dance with me," I tell her. "Don't be so choosy now! Come on!" she says, pulling my hand.
I sigh. I was forced to dance with someone I didn't even invite, and the lady who I invited was the one who told me to dance with this lady. Why did Diana walk away after I asked her about having someone special? That made me think so much. And I could've sworn I saw her blush when she looked at me before letting go of my hold.
"You look sad. Are you troubled?" Gina asks. I look at her. Now I notice I'm not focused on dancing with her. "No," I reply. She looks down for a while. "Tintin," she says, getting my attention. "What is it?" I ask her. "Will you…will you give me a second chance?" she asks me seriously. The question made me shock I accidentally step on her foot. "Ow," she groans. "Sorry," I say, looking at her. I know what that second chance means. Both of us are standing now, not dancing. "I…don't know," I tell her. "I'm sorry, Gina. I'm not in the mood to talk about this." This time, it's me who let go of the one who was dancing with me. I walk away, leaving Gina on the dance floor alone.
I walk back to our table, where I see Snowy helping himself with the food left on my plate. He happily munches on it as he stands up on my chair. "I knew this would happen," I say. "Off the chair, Snowy." He whimpers and his ears fall, and then he jumps off the chair. I sit back on the chair, holding up the leftover meat he had eaten. "Ah, I should have given this to you a moment ago. Now I need to ask for a new plate. Here," I tell him, throwing the meat on the floor as he catches it happily. I rest my cheek against my fist, thinking of the unexpected events that just happened. "Ah, Tintin! Here, drink some," Captain Haddock approaches me, holding up a bottle of whisky to my nose. I gently push away the bottle, not wanting to smell anymore of the stuff inside. "Thank you, but I wouldn't want to drink some," I answer him. Captain Haddock looks at me. "What happened?" he asks me. "Huh? What are you talking about, captain?" I ask him annoyingly, turning my face away from him. "I see you got a problem there," he says, sitting down the chair. "It's just…Gina," I tell him. Captain Haddock looks shocked. "Gina? Gina Maxfield? The girl who always comes inside Marlinspike Hall last year?" he asks me. "Yes," I answer. Captain Haddock leans closer to me. "Tintin," he says. "I heard that some people on the ship are plotting to get some treasure in the island. I don't think the treasure thing is real."
That caught my attention. "You think so, captain? I believe it," I tell him. "Why, Tintin?" he asks me confusedly. "The treasure we got in the Marlinspike Hall is enough to convince me that there's a chance that the rumored treasure on Borione is real. We should watch out for these people, they might do something," I tell him. "Wow, you're still sober, captain. How many bottles did you drink?" He chugs down his bottle of whisky. "Just this. They gave me only one bottle, said that I should be sober. I insisted, but they pushed me away from the table," he explains. He tips his bottle upside-down, and one drop of whisky jumps out from it. "Blistering barnacles, it's already empty," he says annoyingly. He puts down the bottle on the table. "Where are the others?" he asks.
"Professor Calculus is off to dance with someone," I tell him. "Dance? With whom?" Captain Haddock asks me. "I don't know. Thompson and Thomson just went off to talk with some people," I answer him. "Eh, what about Diana?" he asks again. "Well, Diana just…" I mumble as I remember when she looked at me and let go of my hold. I shook my head to get the memory out of my mind. "She just went off to get some fresh air. I think she don't feel well in a crowded area," I answer Captain Haddock in a much clearer and louder voice. "Do you know how long before we arrive at the island?" I ask the captain. Captain Haddock taps his chin. "From what I heard, it will be three weeks. They said that they will be traveling at full speed, and the waves are helping us move faster," Captain Haddock answers. "The ship moves so fast."
"That's a good thing," I tell him. "Tintin," Captain Haddock says. "Someone told me that there's a sea monster lying at the bottom of the sea. They told me that it was the cause of the failure of the first two expeditions," he says to me. That caught my attention. "A sea monster? That's impossible," I tell Captain Haddock. "Tintin, with the mysterious appearance of Borione, aren't you convinced about the sea monster? You believe on the treasure lying on the island, but on the sea monster within the seas, you do not believe," he says. "I believe it, Tintin. Many ships sailing this part of the ocean have sunk. They also told me that two of the five professors on the first two expeditions died on this part of the ocean, caused by the sea monster. Other crew also died," he says. "I don't know if I should believe it or not, captain," I say. Captain Haddock leans closer. "I think you should believe it. The stories convince me," Captain Haddock says. He looks at me, and I'm thinking of what he had said. "I don't feel very well, captain. I think I'll just go to my cabin and rest for a while. I'll think about what you said. I'll be back," I tell him. He nods, and Snowy and I leave the ball room.
I see Kurt leaning against the metal handles. I walk closer to him. "Good evening, Kurt. How do you do?" I greet him. "Oh, Tintin, it's you. I'm fine; I just don't get along with my sister and with the others at the ball. She keeps looking for someone. She doesn't pay me any attention, so I left her. Nobody wants to dance with me either," he says as he laughs. "Sister? You have a sister here?" I ask him, surprised. "Yes. Actually, she's my stepsister," he tells me. I feel ashamed asking him about his personal life. "Wait, sorry. I'm not supposed to ask you that, right?" I apologize. He smiles. "It's okay. I'm used in telling people my personal life. I'll continue. We have the same mother, but different fathers. She's older. Our mother left my sister's father and she currently lives with my father. Good thing my sister gets along with my father very well," he tells me. I nod. "Can you tell me what she does in the ship?" I ask him.
"She does nothing in the ship," he says, laughing. "Actually, she isn't one of the crew; she just paid her way here. She insisted some of the guards who are guarding the ship a while ago, but they won't let her in. So she paid them with a big amount and let her board the ship. Said that she is following someone," Kurt says. I froze in my position, knowing what he said. I just can't believe the possibility of these events. "I can't believe that my sister would go this far of stalking someone," Kurt says, laughing softly. I feel my sweat trickling down the sides of my head. "Kurt," I try to say, clearing my mind. "By any chance, is your sister named Gina?" I ask him.
"Gina? Yes. How did you know?" he asks me confusedly. "Well…" I mumble. "I met her in an event last year. We became…friends," I tell him. Kurt nodded. "She wanted to use my father's surname, but my mother told her to use her father's surname instead," Kurt says. "So you have different surnames?" I ask him. "Yes. We are always mistaken to be friends, not siblings. Of course, we are so different from each other. With me having coffee bean brown skin and Gina having pale skin. Since I haven't met his father, I assume our fathers are so different from each other," he says. "Yes, you're very different from each other," I tell him, laughing softly; hoping that it wouldn't offend him. Fortunately, he returned my laugh. "I will be going now, Kurt. Thank you for the story," I say. Kurt waves his hand as Snowy and I step down the ladder.
"Snowy, since we're here, I think we should find Diana," I look at him, and he lets out a bark of approval. We peek in different areas, but we couldn't find her. "Let's look for her in her cabin," I tell Snowy. We both go to her cabin. I knock my fist gently at the door, hoping she would answer. Seconds later, she opens the door. "Huh? Oh, Tintin, it's just you," she says, opening the door wider than before. Her wisps of hair beside her hair are obviously wet. Eyeliner was smeared down her eyes. "What happened to you?" I ask her, surprised. "What? Oh," she says, as she wipes her eyeliner with a cloth. "I don't want to go back anymore. I'm not used to crowded areas, and I'm not comfortable wearing makeup," Diana says to me, wiping the rest of her face. "Come with me. You need some air, too," I tell Diana. She smiles, and then nods.
We lean against the metal handles and breathe in some air. She looks down at the sea water, looking worried. "You looked worried," I say. I stare at her, and I think she got prettier. It's been a long time since I last saw her. I blush, and I shook the idea out of my head. She looks at me, and back at the water. "Nothing," she says, clasping her necklace. We are silent for a moment, but then Diana speaks up. "Tintin," she says. "Do you remember the time when I rescued you from the bullies?" I smile. "Yes," I reply. "What did you feel when I rescued you from those bullies?"
"I feel that someone really cares for me," I say. "I feel braver. After seeing you fight, despite your fear, I feel that I should be brave. If you were in the same situation like mine, I will fight against the bullies, even if I was afraid," I continue. "Why would you do that?" she asks me. I straighten my back. "I think you know that answer to that. Because you're my friend, of course," I tell her, holding her shoulder. She bends her head lower. "Yes. Friends," she mutters. "Friends," I repeat. I look at her, and her expression becomes gloomier. She stands up straight, and she faces me. "Tintin," she says. "This necklace you gave me when I left is the symbol of our friendship," she continues. She removes the small hourglass from its detachable hook. She takes my hand and places the hourglass in my palm, and she closes my hand. "Keep the other pendant. Every time you turn it upside down, and the sand falls, it means our friendship is not over. But if it stops, it means it's over. That pendant is so important to me. So please, take care of it. Don't let it get broken. Make every sand fall, or you'll lose me," she says to me. I feel myself blush when she said about losing her.
I look at the hourglass in my hand. I turned it upside down, and the sand begins to fall. I smile. "Don't worry. I won't," I tell her. I look at her sea green eyes and smile. I blush more, but Snowy barks at us happily, distracting us. She kneels to pat his head. "Of course, Snowy wouldn't be forgotten," she says, as I laugh softly and I see her pat Snowy's head. I look at the dark sky, and I'm amazed at the number of stars. "The sky looks amazing tonight," I say. Diana says nothing, but I assume she's smiling. I look at the sky more, but I hear Diana gasp.
"What is it?" I say, looking down at her direction. One of her hands is cupped over her mouth, and the other one is at Snowy's head. They are both looking at the sea water. "Diana, what is it?" I repeat. "I think I saw…" her voice fades. "Nothing," she says. She puts her hand on her forehead for a while, and then she kisses Snowy on the forehead. She stands up. "I think I should have a rest. I thought I just saw an eye on the water. Good night, Tintin. Thank you for the talk," she says as she walks away from us.
For a moment, I look at the water, thinking if I really should believe Captain Haddock or not.