~Nick’s point of view~
After Brian left, the three of us went to Cassie and Michelle’s room.
“Hmm… what should I wear?” Cassie looked through her suitcase.
“No matter what you wear, I’m sure Howie will love it,” Michelle reassured her.
“Yeah, I know. It’s not him I’m worried about. Is Brian dense or something? He doesn’t notice me no matter what I do!” she pulled out a red dress.
“Ha! I knew it!” I jumped up. “But did anyone believe me? No!”
“Man, Nick, keep your voice down. We’re like three feet away,” Michelle rolled her eyes.
“How’s this?” Cassie held up the red dress for Michelle to see.
“It’s nice,” Michelle told her.
“How much time does it take you to get dressed?” I asked, incredulously. Girls.
“What? There’s picking an outfit, a hairstyle, make-up… did Brian say anything about me going out with Howie tonight?” she wondered.
“Nope,” I shook my head.
“Is that it? Help me out Nick, you’re his best friend!” Cassie pleaded.
“What can I say? He’s not normal. He spends most of the time thinking about music, sports and friends. Not girls. If some swimsuit model walked right past him on this ship, he’d be like, ‘I wonder when the Kentucky Wildcats next basketball game is.’ He likes you as a friend. And he doesn’t figure stuff like that out, so if you like him, just tell him, Cass.”
“He is unlike any other guy,” Cassie said, dreamily. “But that doesn’t mean my methods don’t work. They always do,” she said self-confidently.
“Whatever, dude,” I shrugged.
I turned on ESPN as Michelle helped Cassie get ready. Finally, Howie arrived.
“Nick, get the door! I can’t look like I’m just waiting around for him to get there!” Cassie said from the bathroom.
‘But you are!’ I thought. “Hey, man,” I greeted.
“Hi. Nick, right?” he shook my hand.
“Yeah. Come on in. Thank goodness your finally here! I’ve had to listen to them discuss eye shadow for like ten minutes!” I let him in. Cassie sent me a death look. What did I say?
“You look gorgeous,” he kissed her on the cheek.
“Aww…” Michelle said quietly enough that only I could hear her.
“Thanks. Ready to go?” Cassie asked him. Howie nodded. “Bye.”
“Finally!” I laughed. “I’ll never again ask why girls take so long to get ready. It’s ridiculous!”
“Hey, not all of us spend an hour,” Michelle retorted. “Just the types you choose to date! Maybe it’s a blonde thing.” she laughed.
“Hey, I’ll have you know, I once dated a redhead!”
“Wow, Nick, your really branching out,” she rolled her eyes as we laughed.
“I’m a man of variety,” I laughed. “Wanna go play Mario Kart? Brian and I hooked up a Nintendo system in our room.”
“Seriously? Sure! Let’s go.”
~Brian’s point of view~
It was 9:05, and she still hadn’t shown up. Where was she?
‘What’s my problem?’ I wondered. I was getting butterflies in my stomach just standing there waiting for her.
“Too bad Kevin doesn’t have the day off, or he could’ve come,” Michelle was saying to Cassie.
Cassie laughed. “The reason I invited you guys on the trip, too, was so that I wouldn’t have to spend time with my brother!”
“Maybe Aladdin can come with us some other time,” Nick joked.
But Michelle took him seriously, “well there is a beach party in a few days.”
9:09. Still no sign of her… wait a minute. I saw her coming through a crowd of people with a bucket hat on that complimented her layered hair nicely, a baby blue t-shirt, and a kacki shorts. She almost matched me in my midnight blue shirt and kacki shorts.
“Looks like Cassie isn’t the only girl who takes an hour getting ready,” Nick said.
“That’s when you smack him on the head and say ‘hello to you to,’” Michelle chimed in when August didn’t respond.
“Man you belong on Mortal Kombat or something. Such violent youth of America,” Nick shook his head.
“Alright, break it up. Let’s go before we miss the ferry,” Cassie led the way.
The five of us caught the ferry and found some open seats.
“So how’d it go with Howie last night?” Nick broke the silence.
“Oh… it was awesome!” Cassie answered, while pulling part of her hair back and placing a clip there to hold it. I smiled, noticing that the pink hair clip matched the color of her tank top. Why did girls always have to accessorize?
“We had dinner at Triton’s… they have the greatest seafood!... then we went and saw one of the shows. Howie is such a sweetie! Afterwards he even took me to get Daquiri’s at the Teen Club.”
“Yeah, he is really nice,” Michelle said.
I noticed Cassie staring at me, waiting for some type of response.
“We should invite Howie and his friend to hang out with us sometime. What was that other waiter’s name?” hopefully my approval of Howie was what she’d been waiting for.
“AJ,” August spoke for just about the first time today.
“Yeah, that sounds right,” I agreed.
“I’ll be right back,” Nick got up suddenly.
“So, August, what grade are you in?” Michelle asked.
“I’m going into 12th,” August replied.
“That’s cool. Us, too. So your 17, right?”
“I will be soon.”
“Do you have a car yet?” Cassie joined in.
“Hah, I wish! I want a bright blue or a lime green beetle.”
“No way! That’s what I have! Well, a lime green one, not a blue, too.”
“Seriously? That’s awesome! Your so lucky!?” August smiled, bright blue eyes shining.
“Where’s the bathroom at?” Michelle asked a moment later.
“I’ll show it to you,” Cassie got up and led her.
“So…” there was an uncomfortable silence.
“You were right, Cassie’s a great person once you get to know her,” August said.
“Yeah, she is. I’m so glad her brother invited us on this cruise.”
“Who’s her brother?”
“Kevin. He’s a lifeguard at the pool. He’s tall, black hair…”
“The one that looks like Aladdin?”
I laughed. “Yeah. At least, that’s what everyone keeps saying.”
“That’s a good movie.”
“Eh, I don’t really like Disney movies.”
“Why not?” she inquired.
“They aren’t realistic. I mean, take Aladdin. He falls in love with Jasmine ‘at first sight.’ And his first wish is to become a prince so he’ll be able to marry her after spending like five minutes with her! Or The Little Mermaid. Ariel falls in love with the prince guy and, without even talking with him, she goes to the witch and is willing to give up her life for him! It’s crap.”
“First of all, the prince in The Little Mermaid is named Eric. And they aren’t crap! Both those couples got married in the end, so the method seemed to work, didn’t it?”
“That’s the other thing. They all end with a ‘happily ever after.’”
“Don’t you believe in that?” August looked shocked.
“Nope, sorry. How can anyone?”
“If you don’t believe in happily ever afters, then what’s the point?” she asked. “But just because you don’t believe in them, doesn’t mean you won’t get a happily ever after. Sometimes the best candidates are the ones who don’t believe.” Her eyes sparkled when she said that.
“Do you get that from Disney movies?”
She laughed and nodded. “That’s what they have to teach us all.”
“Miss us,” Michelle announced her arrival.
Chapter Three
Chapter Five
Drowning
Frick's Fairytales