Chapter 3
~A Pain In The Ribs~
Russ cautiously entered their cabin, rapping his knuckles on the doorframe.
“Hello, Captain.” Cevin sat up, holding her blanket to hide her chest.
“Um, are you guys… good?” He asked, stepping closer to the bunk bed. “I am very sorry. I neglected to tell you where the water was located. Do you need anything?”
“I’m sorry for not asking where it was, Sir. I knew both Aspen and I needed it, but I didn’t speak up. It really isn’t your fault. But, um, could you possibly get us some water?” Cevin responded awkwardly, glad she was in the top bunk so Russ couldn’t see her wince.
“Oh. Of course. I should have thought ahead and brought it with me.” Russ turned, heading up the stairs, “Again, sorry.”
“That was weird.” Cevin sighed.
“Yeah…” Aspen watched the doorway as he retreated.
“Do you think this is the first time somebody has collapsed under his command?”
“Probably.” Aspen chuckled, “He looked so worried. What does he think we’re going to do?”
“It’s not every day you have girls sneaking on board and-” Cevin stopped herself, eyes going wide as she stared at the door.
“I remembered the water this time.”
“Thanks. We both greatly appreciate that you did not forget…” Cevin mentally slapped herself, glad he hadn’t seemed to have heard anything.
“Don’t drink too fast.” Russ warned, handing a glass to each of them.
Cevin sat up carefully, keeping an arm across her chest as she sipped the water.
“Thank you, Sir. We’ll get back to working as soon as possible.” Aspen promised from her place on the bottom bunk.
“Oh, um, of course. Don’t push yourselves too hard, though… Bye.” Russ backed out of the room, closing the door.
“Well…” Aspen trailed off uncomfortably, “That was something.”
“I was so sure he heard us.” Cevin nodded.
“We should work.”
“Better get up, then.” Cevin gritted her teeth, climbing down the ladder.
“This means we have to put those bandages back on, doesn’t it?” Aspen grumbled, rolling out of bed.
“Unless we want to get kicked off at the next stop.”
Aspen continued muttering complaints under her breath as she wound the bandage back up. “At least we don’t have to move any more crates. That was awful. You just had to get us on a cargo ship.”
“If I’d gotten that letter a day earlier we could be on a passenger ship right now.” Cevin groaned, following close behind as she put on her cap.
“So all of this is the delivery man’s fault?” Aspen turned to face Cevin, “I think I hate him.”
“Hey, George is a decent guy. He just shouldn’t have joined the letter delivery service. He’s got the right build for a crew member, though.” Cevin smiled to herself.
“We should have taken a mail delivery job instead. We could’ve been riding horses.”
“Do you even know how to ride a horse?” Cevin laughed.
“I could learn.” Aspen pouted, turning back around to scan the deck, “It looks like we’re doing more knots.”
“My favorite.” Cevin chimed sarcastically.
“Get over here, you two.” The man with the clipboard barked, “Enough gossiping like a bunch of girls.”
“If he only knew.” Cevin smirked, hurrying over to join the crowd of inexperienced sailors.
Aspen laughed quietly, “I take it back. George is fine. I hate this guy.”
Cevin snorted, covering her mouth as she tried to put on a more neutral expression.
“You.” The man who was teaching pointed at Cevin, “What do you think is the most important thing to keep safe on this ship?”
“The mast?” Cevin guessed under her breath.
“Close, but no.” The guy seemed almost disappointed, “The most important thing to keep safe is the crew. Your safety will always come first. We can afford to lose some cargo or repair a damaged ship, but we cannot afford the cost of a human life. If you feel unsafe doing, or do not know how to accomplish a task given to you, it is okay to ask for help. The crew comes first. That’s why attending these lessons on time is so important.” He stood, “That’s everything for today. Practice will save your lives, so do it.”
“If the ship was in bad enough shape we’d all die stranded in the middle of the ocean, so…” Cevin murmured, staring after him as he left, “Mr. Clipboard probably wouldn’t think the crew is most important. He doesn’t care for our health at all.”
“It isn’t my job to care about your health, Kevin.” The man with the clipboard spoke up from behind them, “My only concern is the inventory. If you want someone who cares, go talk to that idiot, Theo.”
“Theo is an idiot, but I don’t think he cares too much about us, either.” Cevin retorted, “You have a name, don’t you? It would be better than referring to you as Mr. Clipboard behind your back.”
“Mr. Clipboard?” He pulled a face, “You have no respect for superiors. My name is Mr. Carl Atherton, which you would know if you had paid any attention to the Captain’s speech before handing in applications this morning.”
“I respect those who respect me. I am apparently just as important as anyone else on the ship, regardless of being merely a crew member. Tell me, Carl, do you treat your mother this way?” Cevin asked, disregarding what he said about the Captain’s speech.
“How dare you bring my mother into this.” Carl fumed, “One more smart comment and I’ll have you thrown into the brig.”
“I should not have said anything about your mother. That was uncalled for and I’m sure she’s a lovely woman. Do tell, how is the weather from up there on your high horse, Sir Atherton?”
“You insolent fool.” Carl scowled, gesturing for a sailor across the deck to join them, “Aren’t you at all concerned for yourself? The man I just called holds the keys to the brig, where you are headed unless you apologize this instant. I expect your apology to be done properly and sincerely on your knees.”
Cevin glared darkly, ready to argue when she looked back at her friend to see how she was taking it. Her eyes softened at Aspen’s pleading, slightly panicked expression, and Cevin sighed. She avoided Carl’s smoldering gaze as she knelt on the wooden deck. “I’m sorry.”
“That’s what I thought.” Carl huffed, stalking away only to call out over his shoulder, “Any more of that behavior and I’ll toss your friend in, instead.”
Cevin stood, relaxing her fists. “He only proved my point.”
“Kevin, right?” Theo waved, strolling onto the deck, “Are you busy?”
“Not at all.” Cevin walked over to join him, “I could use a distraction. What do you need?”
“Well, uh…” Theo scratched the back of his neck, “I seem to have misplaced one of the crates of medicine. It’s probably down in the cargo hold somewhere. Can you look for me? It’s likely buried.”
Cevin held back a groan, thinking about all of the boxes they would have to move, “Yes, of course.”
“Great! I’ll leave it to you, then.” Theo grinned, heading back to the medical bay.
“I swear I’m going to strangle that man. Who loses an entire crate?” Cevin muttered, descending the stairs to the cargo hold.
“I was looking forward to not moving boxes.” Aspen whined.
The hold was stacked several rows high with large crates and barrels in neat piles, all labelled.
“I'm going to kill your boyfriend in the most torturous method I can come up with.” Cevin got to work in the first section, “I'm looking forward to hearing his screams alongside Mr. Clipboard’s.”
“And I’ll help you kill them- Wait, boyfriend?” Aspen stammered, “He’s n-not my boyfriend.”
“Not yet.” Cevin smirked, lifting another box with a pained grunt, “But I’ll be your bridesmaid one day and you will let me give a speech at the wedding.”
Aspen cleared her throat, pretending to be unaffected as the blush spread from her cheeks to encompass her entire face.
“We found the box.” Cevin growled.
“Oh, thanks. Where was it?”
“In your quarters. But don’t worry, we didn’t end up check every box in the cargo area before discovering it wasn’t there in the first place.” Cevin laughed mirthlessly, trying not to tackle the idiot then and there.
“Oh, good. I’m glad you didn’t have to check all of them.” Theo laughed, oblivious as ever, “You missed supper, by the way. Goodnight.” He yawned, closing the door to the medical bay in their faces.
“Everything hurts.” Aspen grumbled, struggling not to tumble down the stairs on the way to their cabin.
Cevin did her best to steady her friend despite her own shaky legs, “Can I kill him before the wedding?”
“Let’s kill him tomorrow.” Aspen ducked her head to hide her glowing cheeks, “And I told you, I don’t like him.”
“Sure, you don’t.” Cevin replied tiredly, looking up at the ladder to the top bunk with a groan.
“Don’t bother climbing up or you’ll never get down again.” Aspen sighed, tugging her blanket and pillow off the bottom bunk, “I’ll sleep on the floor, you take my bed.”
“No, I just need to take off the binding first. I’m not letting you sleep on the floor.” Cevin argued, unwrapping herself and getting up into bed. “Goodnight.”
Aspen grunted acknowledgement, drifting to sleep right away.
