Chapter 11: Traghetto Cleaning

The summer middays in Neo-Venezia are hot and sultry as ever. The bright sun shone down on the buildings, casting away all but the smallest of shadows on the streets and gondola-filled waterways. As most residents are now at work or are busy, the traghetto service only runs one boat every half-hour. Tomoe and Arya cast off a short while ago with a small contingent on board - including a couple of tourists looking to travel around the city by foot, remarking at how cheap their service was.

"Well, that was a first," Ayumi remarked. The two other employees nodded as they ate sandwiches in the empty waiting area. As summer had rolled in, they brought out the lighter summer uniforms, featuring a looser fit and shorter sleeves. The usual ribbon with a small green glass bead that adorned the top of the dress was removed, resulting in a much plainer design. A vertical green bar ran through the white dress as usual.

The blond employee sleepily faced Ayumi. "Ayumi...when was the last time we cleaned and recoated the boats' hulls?" The rust-haired girl perked up and furrowed her brow, deep in thought.

"Huh. We totally forgot about that…"

Eliza perked and spoke up as well. "It's been three months since we started working... We probably should start cleaning before the drag slows us down significantly. We do have the scrapers and the cans of coating in the closet."

"Oh, have you done this on your Pair training?" The two junior employees nodded. "Well, it should be warm enough outside that we can put on a couple of coats on the boat we have right now - and it would be ready for the afternoon rush. It would also be valuable practice for you two, especially once we get new people and extra boats in our service - they might rely on you to help them."

"Kaela, get the scrapers and coating from the closet. Eliza, help me with the struts so we can pull the boat up the ramp." The blonde girl walked briskly to the office building while the other two girls grabbed two large struts leaning on one corner of the waiting area and carried them to a small concrete landing to the side of the dock, putting them in a line close to the water's edge. Ayumi signaled Eliza to wait at the landing while her senior untied and cast the boat off towards the landing. Stopping the boat, the girl tied a rope securely to the prow and threw the rest of its length to Eliza, who caught it and tied it to a metal post.

"Eliza - don't tie it, just keep it in your hands."

"Ah, right."

The rust-haired girl brought the boat in line with the two struts and signaled Eliza to pull. With one mighty stroke from the gondolier and a pull from the brunette on the landing, they were able to beach the boat on the struts. Ayumi quickly hopped off the boat and pushed it further up the landing until the boat was out of the water from fore to aft. The slimy hull was speckled with barnacles and mineral deposits. Kaela walked down to the landing, holding a can, a burner, and three scraping tools. The blonde girl set to work lighting the burner and placing the can above it, heating the tar to coat the boat with.

"Let's get to work!" The three girls brightly cheered and set to work, delicately chipping away at the debris. Little by little, the barnacles and stuck debris fell to the landing as the girls puttered around and under the hull.

"I'll grab some pails and sponges for the rinse." Ayumi straightened and walked to the office while the other two girls finished up on the scraping. She opened the closet and grabbed two pails and enough sponges for the three of them, and went back to the landing. The waiting area was occupied by a resident, who greeted her.

"Good afternoon," Ayumi returned the greeting. "How are you today?"

The resident smiled. "It's been a good day for me. I hope nothing bad has happened with that ferry boat your employees are working on."

The rust-haired girl chuckled and shook her head. "We're just cleaning it. It should be ready by the afternoon rush."

"I hope to ride it when I go home tonight, then."

Ayumi exchanged goodbyes and headed down to the landing. A nearby faucet provided clean water for their buckets as the three rinsed the hull and sponged away the slimy films and salt accumulations. The three girls heard a voice calling for them and looked to see Tomoe at the prow waving at them. The green-haired woman walked to them after the few passengers left and walked away from the square.

"Oh, are we cleaning this boat?" The three nodded. "Ah...I did feel like we forgot something. It has been three months…Do you want us to cover you for the next half hour?"

"Please," Ayumi nodded. "We still have to recoat the hull. It should be done by the time you arrive, though."

Tomoe grinned. "Alright, we'll cover you for just one more ride. You better finish by the time we get back!" The four exchanged goodbye, and the green-haired woman walked up and guided the waiting passengers to the boat, where Arya was waiting for them. The three girls called out goodbyes to the two gondoliers as they cast off and rowed up the canal.

"It looks clean. Let's rinse it and dry it off." The three girls poured and splashed water on the now clean hull, running their hands along the coated wooden surface. Pressing their sponges dry, they wiped the hull dry to prepare it for coating. Getting thick mitts from the waiting area, Kaela gingerly lifted the can of tar and put it on the ground to the side of the boat. Without words, the three girls picked up brushes and set to work coating the hull with the freshly melted tar. The excess tar dripped to the concrete floor, blemishing the previously gray with drops of black. The smell of tar also drifted to the waiting area, where a couple of customers watched on.

Mid-afternoon in Neo-Venezia brought little relief from the heat. The sun continued shining from a lower perch in the sky, casting shadows under the buildings. A crowd of passengers gathered around the dock to see a beached traghetto. Ayumi stood at its side and two girls stood in front of its prow.

"Alright - let's push it back to the water slowly," Ayumi called over the murmurs and small conversation at the dock. Tomoe and Arya nodded, the pale girl untying the rope and taking it in her hands and the senior helping Ayumi push it from the other side. With small pushes, the three girls slowly slid the boat to touch the water. Ayumi climbed up the prow and walked into the front perch, taking an oar and using it to push the boat further into the canal. With one final push, the boat smoothly glided onto the water amidst applause.

The girl pulled the rope into the boat and walked all along the boat's length, checking for leaks - there were no obvious ones. She then smoothly maneuvered the boat onto the dock, quickly tying it to the posts before standing to meet the other employees waiting for her up the landing.

"It rows much, much smoother," Ayumi gushed. "We really shouldn't forget this stuff."

"I was about to say that the boat was dragging a bit more than I remembered," Arya murmured. "I'm glad we remembered about it - I forgot as well." Nods came around the group in agreement.

"It's no problem - all went well!" Ayumi grinned. "We probably will work on the other boat tomorrow noon." She looked at the crowd at the waiting area - it was full of eagerly waiting passengers forming on an orderly line

The girls giggled. "Guess we should get back to work."

Author's note: Sorry for the really late delivery! I already have an idea for the next chapter, though, so it should arrive on the weekend.