Death on Holiday

Chapter 4

*8 months later*

"Are you kidding me?!" That was Max again.

We were having a random conversation while waiting in line to board the ship.

"I can't believe your brothers still prefer xbox over playstation!" she continued, completely disgusted.

"You have to remember we only own a PS3", I reminded her, "and an xbox one. Go figure".

Our family was in the middle of the other two. It meant I could move around and talk to the twins and Pheb. But as she was busy occupying Lucie, I was chatting to Max and Harvey.

He rolled his eyes at us. "And I thought they said guys are obsessed with gaming", he muttered quietly, but with a grin to show he was joking. "Why don't we talk about our future? You know, where this boat will be taking us?"

That's what I liked about Harvey. He was so different to any other boy I'd ever met. He enjoyed talking about animals and plants to his sister and her best friend. No one else I'd ever met had ever done that before. He was so cool, in his own way. And personally I thought perfect for a nerd like myself. I liked to imagine the gossip that would travel around school. "OMG look! The nerds!" "Aww, aren't they cute together?" "I wish we had the love they do". "Can you see their sparks? It's practically obvious from here they're perfect for each other!" But of course, I could only dream. Harvey had never had a girlfriend, and I was pretty sure he didn't want one. Unless she was into biology as well, which I wasn't. I wanted to teach children, even have my own one day. That would mean settling down, and wouldn't Harvey want to move around.

Well, I thought that. Back then.

We began talking about New Zealand, all the fun things that we'd be able to do over there. It was a bit of a shame it was coming into summer, as we wouldn't be able to even take a day trip to any snowfields to go play in the snow that we got far too rarely in Australia. And Harvey promised us that the landscape would be absolutely beautiful. I smiled at this, whereas Max just snorted through her nose.

"All I care about is that Lord of the Rings was filmed there", she announced.

As their family moved up towards the checking-in booth, I slipped back behind my family to talk to Pheobe. "Excited?" I asked her.

She looked a tad pale. "Yes! Just a little nervous is all, but I always am, it's nothing to worry about".

I looked on worriedly. "Well, if you need it, there's a bin right there, and the toilets are ready for your projectile vomit to enter them if need be, about a 2 minute walk, quicker if you run".

She laughed a little at this. "Thank youuuuuuuu, Emily". We smiled even wider.

I loved my natural ability to be able to help people. It was why I wanted to become a teacher. I would be able to help children every day reach their full potential. It was the perfect job for me. I had fallen in love with the idea at a young age, and it never left my mind.

Soon my family checked in our bags, got our quick photos taken, then were put in another line to wait for security to check our hand luggage. It took FOREVER to get through there, but eventually we did, and headed onto the gangplank. I loved looking down and seeing so much space between the Earth and the sea. The sea which was becoming my home for the next 2 weeks. It was strange to think I wouldn't touch Australian ground for a fortnight. I'd almost wished I'd kissed the ground before I'd left, just in case anything happened.

I should have.

My only worry was that our suitcases would get lost. We had to trust the company Sunset Dreams with our personal possessions! What if they forgot the trolley with our bags on it? We'd only have our carry-on luggage and what we had on ourselves at the time. No new clothes! Ew! And there were theme nights onboard, including dances. I was hoping to bags one with Harvey, but me in dirty jeans and a sweaty t-shirt would attract no attention from ANY guys at all, especially my crush. I only hoped that wouldn't happen. That would be a disaster for my holiday, it would be ruined.

But it was in another way, one I never could have imagined.