ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING
Chapter Eight
Jack, Rose, Tommy, Autumn,
Adrienne, and Fabrizio were walking out on deck when they saw a little girl
with brown, curly hair who looked to be about five or six crying behind a deck
chair. Rose went up to her because she seemed awfully familiar, and when the
little girl raised her head, she knew who she was. Her cousin, Cora Cartmell.
Rose was shocked. She had never expected to see anyone she knew on this ship
besides her friends and parents, let alone her little cousin.
"Cora?" asked Rose,
looking at the little girl’s tear-stained face.
"Rose? Rose!" said
Cora, giving her older cousin a hug. Rose picked her up.
"What’s wrong, Cora?"
asked Rose, holding her.
"I can’t find my daddy! I
don’t know where he went! He was gonna get some food, but he didn’t come back
for a little bit, so I went to find him, and now I’m lost!" Cora wailed,
clinging to Rose’s shirt.
"Don’t worry, Cora. We will
find him, but first I want to show you to my friends," said Rose, taking
Cora to her friends, who looked shocked to see Rose carrying a little girl.
"Cora, this is Jack, Autumn,
Tommy, Adrienne, and Fabri," said Rose. "Guys, this is my cousin,
Cora Cartmell, and she can’t find her dad, so we are going to help her find
him." She took Jack’s hand as they went to look for Rose’s Uncle Bert.
They found him looking by the pool for Cora. Rose tapped him on the shoulder
and he turned around.
"Cora! Rose!" he said,
surprised to see Rose with her. "Rose, thank you so much for finding her
for me! Why are you on this ship?"
"It’s an early eighteenth
birthday present for me--to get to go on a cruise with all my friends,"
she informed him.
"Well, introduce me to your
friends."
"Okay. This is my boyfriend,
Jack, and over there are Autumn, Adrienne, Fabrizio, and Tommy," she told
him. They waved. "Guys, this is my Uncle Bert. My Aunt Cassidy died a few
years ago."
"I’m so sorry," said
Jack sympathetically.
"It’s okay. It could not
have been prevented," replied Bert, before turning back to Rose.
"Rose, where are your parents?"
"They’re on the Dolphin
Deck, Room 2054," said Rose. "Well, we’d better get going. We are
supposed to meet my parents for dinner."
"Well, it was nice meeting
you all," said Bert. "Have a good vacation."
Cora gave Rose a hug, and said,
"Bye, people."
"Bye, guys," said
everyone. Rose and her friends left to meet her parents for dinner.