by Annie Bryant
“Hey, Katani brought more bags than I did!” Maeve retorted.
“Yeah, but yours are a thousand times bigger and heavier,” Isabel noted, trying to budge one of them to make more room for her shoulder bag.
The elevator chimed and the gold doors slid open. “Verandah Deck, Beacon Street Girls Level!” Mr. Ramsey announced.
Past the elevator doors was a long hallway carpeted in the same green-and-gold pattern of the Atrium.
Charlotte opened her map. “Carla said to take a right—”
Avery let out a whoop and threw her backpack to the floor, running off down the hallway. She stopped about twenty yards ahead. “I found it!”
Charlotte smiled at Maeve, Katani, and Isabel. “Or we can use the Avery method.”
The girls dropped their bags and dashed to the room, leaving Mr. Ramsey behind. Avery waved at them from inside the cabin. “You guys aren’t going to believe this!”
Their room was perfect! Life jackets and towels and extra linens were tucked neatly in their places. Two sets of bunk beds lined either wall, each made up with green blankets with gold stitching. There were two closets, two cube dressers, and a desk made out of dark wood. A small foldout couch covered in floral fabric rested against the far end of the room, right under a large porthole that looked out onto the water.
Mr. Ramsey poked his head through the open door. “I think you girls forgot something.” He nodded, indicating their luggage.
“Sorry, Dad!” Charlotte apologized, and the girls helped Mr. Ramsey bring their bags into their room.
“You girls settle in and unpack. I’m just through that door.”
He pointed to a door that was next to the closet near the entryway. He opened it to reveal a similarly appointed stateroom, although instead of bunk beds there was a queen-sized bed with a green-and-gold comforter and a gold-foil-wrapped chocolate on the pillow.
“I call top bunk!” Avery shouted, tossing her backpack up onto one of the beds.
“I’ll take the one under you, Avery,” Maeve decided. “I’m afraid I’ll wake up in the middle of the night, forget where I am, and fall off!”
“Does anyone mind if I take the couch?” Charlotte asked. “It reminds me of my writing nook in the tower.”
“Then Isabel and I will take the other bunk,” Katani said. “Top or bottom?”
“Top?” Isabel asked. She thought it would give her a better view out the porthole. She could already see gulls diving outside the window.
“Fine. I’ll take the bottom.” Katani began to unpack methodically, removing her clothes from her decorated bags, shaking out the wrinkles, and either folding them neatly and placing them in the oak dresser or hanging them on hangers. There was no point in packing nice things for a trip if you ended up looking like a human wrinkle when you got there!
The rest of the girls looked on, impressed. “I gotta look sharp. It’s part of the job of a fashion designer,” she reminded them.
“Katani, unpack for me, too?” Maeve begged. “I thought as a VIP I would have someone take care of that stuff for me.” She batted her eyelashes at Katani, who laughed and swatted her with a red-and-gold scarf. “I’m not going near those suitcases! They’ll probably explode when you unzip them!”
Katani and Maeve had gone to a fashion show in New York City together, so Katani knew all about Maeve’s packing problems.
Maeve sighed, dumped a wadded-up ball of clothes out of her first suitcase, and set it on her bed. She tried to mimic Katani’s folding technique and regarded her work. “Still looks like a wadded-up ball,” she complained.
“This is how you pack, girls!” Charlotte, the global traveler, opened her one suitcase and took out a few books to reveal lined-up rolls of clothing. All her toiletries were in a special pouch, and other compartments held things like a compass, binoculars, and a camera. “Each roll is one day’s outfit,” Charlotte explained. “So I don’t even need to unpack! This suitcase is all the dresser I need.”
“Charlotte, you’re totally amazing!” Isabel said, awed by her worldly friend’s packing talent.
“You guys are all crazy! This is how to unpack!” Avery called out from her top bunk. She unzipped her backpack and dumped out her belongings on the floor. “An unpacking world record! The crowd goes wild!”
Isabel giggled. “Impressive. But I think I’m going to try the Katani method since it’s too late to pack like Charlotte.”
The doorknob on their cabin started to jiggle.
“Is it your dad?” Isabel asked.
“Wouldn’t he come through that door?” Charlotte replied, pointing to the one next to the closet.
The doorknob stopped jiggling, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief—until the door began to shake like someone was pulling on it!
CHAPTER
2
Knock, Knock
The girls looked at one another nervously as whoever it was out there in the hallway knocked again!
“Who is it?” Avery yelled.
“I’m sorry to bother y’all. It’s just Kara-Lee!” a syrupy sweet voice answered back through the door. “I just forgot my lil’ ol’ key.”
Everyone relaxed. It was just a girl at the wrong cabin! Katani peered through the peephole and then opened the door to reveal a tall girl who looked to be their age. She was wearing a bright blue sundress, giant sunglasses, and a straw sunhat over her white-blond hair. At the sight of Katani, she pulled off her sunglasses. Her eyes matched the color of her dress.
“Oh, my word. I don’t know what happened. I thought I had the right…?” She giggled nervously.
“Yeah, this cabin’s full!” Avery declared.
“Please excuse Avery, that’s just…well, that’s Avery. I’m Katani.”
The girl smiled and held out her hand. “I apologize for disturbing you. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Katani.”
Katani shook Kara-Lee’s hand, and then introduced the other BSG. “That’s Isabel, and Charlotte, and Maeve, and well, you’ve met Avery. Sorry the place is so messy. We’re still unpacking.” Each of the girls gave a little wave as Katani introduced them, except for Avery, who threw a sock at Katani and missed by only a few inches.
“Hi, y’all,” said Kara-Lee.
“I love your accent!” Maeve gushed. “Where are you from?”
“I’m guessing the South?” asked Charlotte with a big smile.
“Why, yes. You are indeed correct,” Kara-Lee told them. “I just turned fourteen, and I’m from Savannah, Georgia.”
Katani had only known Kara-Lee for a couple of minutes but she was already impressed with how she carried herself. Even though she was only a little bit older than they were, she seemed like a real teenager.
“I have to say that I was dreading coming on this vacation, because all my parents do is play mini golf and sit by the pool. But now that I know there are other girls my age here who are just as fashionable as I am,” she said, smiling at Katani, “I am totally looking forward to this week.”
“We are too!” Katani blurted out. Her friends always complimented her taste in fashion. But for a perfect stranger to notice—Katani was thrilled! “Stop by anytime!” she said to Kara-Lee.
“I will. Now I’d better find my cabin before my momma sends the coast guard after me!” With a wave and a smile, Kara-Lee was gone.
A knock came at the adjoining door. “Now that’s gotta be my dad!” Charlotte exclaimed. Sure enough, Mr. Ramsey stepped through the door.
“Sorry, girls. Seems I must have fallen asleep!” He rubbed his temples gingerly. “Were you talking to someone? I thought I heard a voice I didn’t recognize.” The girls told him about Kara-Lee and the cabin mix-up.
“We asked who it was and then Katani looked through the peephole before we opened the door,” Charlotte promised her dad.
“Good,” he said, “because I want to take a second to continue our talk about safety onboard. Although the ship is pretty safe, we’re traveling with three thousand str
angers, and there are some basic guidelines besides what we have already gone over.”
Mr. Ramsey explained that they should always carry their identification, taught them how to call a member of the ship’s security, and listed basic onboard conduct.
“Do you know where your life jackets are?” he concluded.
“Life jackets?” Isabel asked nervously.
“Before any ship sets sail, you should always know where your life jackets are. Big cruise ships will always have a safety demonstration before they leave the dock, so grab your life jackets and we’ll head on out. You guys are going to learn about the ship’s alarm, lifeboat procedures, and where to go in case of an emergency!” He showed them where the big orange vests were tucked away in panels next to the bunk beds.
“It’s called a Muster Drill,” Charlotte said.
The girls put on their life vests. “This totally does not go with my outfit,” Katani mumbled.
“But you look great in orange!” Maeve told her.
Lu-WOW!
After the Muster Drill, a pale Mr. Ramsey, who said he had the beginnings of a headache, went back to his room to lie down while the girls explored the upper decks, locating the pool, shopping boutiques, gourmet snack deli, and even a mini golf course and karaoke stage! They returned to their room with only a few minutes left to get ready for dinner.
“Katani, what do you wear to a luau?” Isabel asked.
They had already studied weeks ago the different activities and theme dinners that the cruise ship offered, but Isabel still wasn’t sure if she had the right clothes for this extra-fancy adventure. Thankfully, Katani could turn any outfit into a winner.
“Hang on, let me look at you.” Katani turned a discerning eye toward Isabel, who was wearing a calf-length denim skirt, an orange top with a picture of a parrot, and sandals. “I know exactly what you need!”
Katani checked her packing list, and then opened the top drawer of the cube dresser she had claimed, taking out a yellow fabric flower. She pinned it in Isabel’s hair and brought her over to the mirror. “What do you think?”
“I love it!” Isabel hugged Katani and admired her reflection. “What would we do without you?”
“Be way less fashionable!” Katani smirked.
“Hey, I do okay on my own!” Avery insisted. She emerged from under Maeve’s lower bunk. “Has anyone seen my other sneaker?”
“You’re supposed to dress up for dinner, Ave,” Charlotte reminded her.
“They’re my dress sneakers!” Avery responded.
“Ugh, this humidity is just terrible on my hair,” Maeve complained from the bathroom as she attempted to tame her wild mass of red curls. “I might as well order in.”
A knock came at the adjoining door. “Come in!” said Katani.
Mr. Ramsey was looking even paler than when they had last seen him. “I’m going to have to agree with you, Maeve, about the terrible humidity. This headache’s only gotten worse.”
“But you can’t miss tonight’s dinner, Dad! It’s the luau!” Charlotte exclaimed. She was beginning to worry. Her dad was the definition of a seasoned traveler. This was completely unlike him!
“I’m coming, I’m coming. We’ve traveled so far for this. And…I wouldn’t want to waste this tie!” Mr. Ramsey modeled a tie with a palm tree silhouetted by the sunset. “What do you think, ladies?”
“Umm. Maybe you’d better stick to writing travel books and leave the fashion to me, Mr. Ramsey,” Katani said with a giggle.
The celebratory kickoff luau dinner was served in the ship’s main dining room, located on the Upper Promenade, just a couple of long hallways away from their rooms. The dining room was even bigger than the fancy green-and-gold Atrium. Round tables decked out with festive Hawaiian-print tablecloths filled the space like a field full of colorful wildflowers. As the group paused in the doorway to take it all in, a young woman wearing a grass skirt over her Aloha Cruise Lines uniform placed a lei around each girl’s neck!
“Clear out those tables, and you could play some serious soccer in here,” Avery imagined, twirling her lei around like a slingshot.
“How do we know where to sit?” Isabel asked.
“We’re at table seventeen,” Katani read from the folder Carla had given them. As they made their way through the maze of tables, Maeve checked out their fellow passengers. Most of them seemed to be pretty old…retired couples or grandmothers and grandfathers with time to travel. Maeve was glad she was wearing a flowery sun dress and not a Hawaiian shirt! They passed a family with two adorable little kids, and then a boy who sort of reminded her of her little brother, Sam, caught her eyes. Sitting next to him was a tall, brown-haired boy with a gorgeous smile. Crush alert! Maeve told herself, adjusting her lei and flashing a smile of her own. Remember table number 55!
Soon after, Mr. Ramsey spotted their number and the girls all sat down. Katani admired the tall blue vases filled with orange and red tropical flowers.
“They’re birds of paradise,” Katani noted. She had already started imagining an entire line of Kgirl cruise wear inspired by tropical flowers.
“Did you say birds?” Isabel asked.
“It’s the name of the flower,” Charlotte explained. “They sort of look like a flying bird, don’t they?” Isabel nodded and did a quick sketch of the brilliantly colored, spiky blooms.
“Where are the candles?” Maeve asked. “The scene is set for romance and they forget the candles?” She looked around for the brown-haired boy, but the room was already too crowded to see all the way to table 55.
“It’s dangerous to have fire on a ship,” Katani told her. “It’s part of the coastal safety regulations. I read all about it in the manual in the room.”
“Plus, we’re not setting the scene for romance. We’re setting the scene for eating!” Avery reminded her. “Now bring on the food!”
Servers in Hawaiian-print shirts that matched the tablecloths started bringing out platters and platters of food featuring traditional luau dishes like Huli Huli chicken and Lomi Lomi salmon. The dining room went quiet as the passengers all dug into the plentiful Hawaiian cuisine.
“Everything’s so yummy,” Isabel joked, “they named it twice.”
“I’m so full,” Maeve groaned, “but they keep bringing more food!”
Everyone’s plate had been practically licked clean, except for Mr. Ramsey’s. He had pushed his food around, but eaten little. It’s not like him not to eat, Charlotte worried. One of his favorite parts of traveling was sampling the local cuisine. “Are you sure you’re okay, Dad?”
“Maybe I’m getting seasick?” he responded weakly. “Although I’ve never been seasick before.”
“You’re looking a little more white than green,” Maeve told him.
“When I’m sick to my stomach, Grandma Ruby always gives me sparkling water,” Katani added.
“Good idea, Katani.” Mr. Ramsey flagged down a waiter and ordered a bottle of seltzer. “Maybe I’m just dehydrated.”
Someone at the center table started clinking a fork against a glass. Everyone turned to see the captain stand up and address the dining room.
“Welcome aboard everyone. My name is Captain Bob Frawley, and I’m going to be piloting this vessel around these tropical isles of old,” he announced to the room. “Of course, right now my first mate is standing in my stead. A captain’s gotta eat, y’know!”
The captain waited for a few bursts of laughter to die down before continuing, “I’ve been a captain since I was but a wee boy found floating on a bit o’ flotsam and jetsam in the stormy seas. I was plucked out of the water by a man known only as Captain Jack, who was the bravest sailor a man has ever known.”
“D’you think that’s true?” Isabel asked, wide-eyed.
“I think he’s got a flair for the dramatic,” Charlotte whispered.
“It’s perfect!” Maeve insisted. “Born of the sea and returning to it—”
“Shhh!” Katani silenced her. “Captain B
ob’s still speaking!”
“In all my years o’ captaining, I’ve seen it all. I’ve fended off pirate attacks and giant sea monsters…” There were a few hoots around the room, but then the captain switched to a less pirate-y voice. “But never on an Aloha cruise, I can assure you all!”
The room erupted in laughter. Captain Frawley is definitely an entertainer, thought Isabel as she opened her sketchpad and started drawing Captain Bob in full pirate gear, complete with an eye-patch and a peg leg. A pretend parrot on his shoulder completed the look. Isabel loved parrots—she’d made a papier-mâché one at her old school in Detroit that hung on her side of the bedroom she shared with her sister, Elena Maria.
Captain Bob spoke in a booming voice over the laughter. “So let’s keep it that way. Welcome, everyone. And have fun.” He lifted his glass to toast everyone in the room just as a waiter brought Mr. Ramsey his sparkling water. Everyone lifted a glass to toast along with Captain Bob.
“To the Beacon Street Girls!” Maeve exclaimed.
“And to Mr. Ramsey!” Isabel added.
“Not me! Thank Family Travel magazine and the Aloha Cruise Lines for sponsoring this adventure!” Mr. Ramsey added with a cough.
Everyone clinked glasses. Charlotte pulled her journal out of her purse and started writing.
“What’re you working on?” Isabel asked.
“I don’t want to forget any of Captain Bob’s speech,” Charlotte responded, “so I’m just getting some of the details down in my travel journal.”
“Oh, then you should see this!” Isabel slid her drawing of pirate Captain Bob over to Charlotte.
Avery spotted them from across the table. “Are you guys passing notes? Lemme see that!” Charlotte handed Isabel’s picture over to Avery, who chuckled. “You guys, check out this picture Isabel drew of Captain Bob!” She passed the drawing around the table.
“Isabel, I was going to journal this whole trip,” said Charlotte. “Maybe you could illustrate it?”
“That’s a great idea!” Isabel exclaimed. “I can’t wait to see all of the wild birds and parrots. I’ve seen them at the zoo, of course, but never in their natural habitat!”
