Death on Holiday

Chapter 7

After those two days at sea, we arrived at our first port, Auckland. Our parents were all already sick of us. We hadn't even been in our rooms that much, we'd all been hanging out at our kids clubs, or in Chloe and Ben's case, the gym and adult only pool. But apparently it was too much for them to deal with, and as long as we all stuck together, we were allowed to travel around Auckland ourselves.

Us kids wandered through the streets of Auckland, trying to find a place to stop and eat. As lovely as the food onboard Paradise was, we were all a little sick of the same dessert of ice cream and chocolate mousse cake for the third night.

As we walked down a main road, I noticed a sign out, advertising today's free news paper. I grabbed a copy, thinking I could take it back as a souvenir. As soon as I read the title, I shivered. 'The Shaky Future - Possible New Natural Disasters for NZ'. I should have taken that as a sign.

A few men tried to stop the large group of us, asking us if we wanted to book a tour of the area with them. Chloe, though, gave them a deep glare, along with Max doing the same, and Ben coldly said each time, "No, thank you. We're fine. Enjoy your day". We all protected each other, and I knew deep in my heart that would never change.

Well, it would, but it would change in ways we never could have imagined it would.

Eventually, Chloe pointed out a small cafe down an alleyway, and we decided it would be the best option. Our feet were getting a little sore, and the younger sisters of Chloe and Pheobe were sooking they were getting hungry.And boy, weren't we lucky we picked that place! They had SO many options to choose from! I picked my chocolate brownie quickly (because NOTHING beats a good old choc brownie), and Harvey picked out a caramel slice. No one else would play it easy, though. They ummed and ahhed over every single cake  and option. After a few minutes, me and Harvey looked at each other and rolled our eyes. He leaned closer to me. "Why don't we go and grab a table?" he asked me.

I nodded. "Yeah", I agreed.

So we slipped off to find a booth big enough for the 12 of us, leaving everyone to choose their snacks.

We were sitting down, waiting for the others to come and join us, when Harvey asked me, "So, you know there's that cafe onboard the ship?"

I stared for a moment, before coming back to Earth. "Um, yeah?"

"Well, um, would you like to join me... for afternoon tea tomorrow?"

I couldn't believe it! "Uh, yeah, sure", I replied, trying to sound cool, when my inner voice was screaming out, 'OMG! HE ASKED ME ON A DATE! HE MUST LIKE ME! OMG!!!' Instantly after I said what I had though, I heard it sound dumb. "Yes! Of course I will!" I added. 'URGH', I then thought. 'I sound SO dumb, I sound like two different people!' So I cleared my throat, and announced, "Yes, I would love... I mean, LIKE, to join you tomorrow, yes".

I still thought that wasn't great, but on seeing Harvey's face light up in approval, it was worth it, and my worries floated away. "Cool! Sounds amazing!"

We smiled at each other for what felt like a whole day, as I took in all of his features. Those wide excited eyes. Sort of like Max's, but not really. His smile was different to hers' as well. It seemed wider and cheerier. I don't know how, but it just did. And the way his hair was styled was so cute and stylish. I loved it. And his personality for me, was the best thing. The way he was was just perfection. Sure, he did have faults, even I knew and had seen that. But he handled them so well, and made sure they never got in his way of living life. I really liked him. Heck, I even loved him. THERE, I said it. Don't hold it against me.

Well, that was me before the incident.

But only too soon, we heard Max's familiar voice floating over to our table, and I turned my head to see her bounding over. I could tell from the look in her eye, though, that she knew something had happened between me and Harvey. Thank goodness she was smart enough to keep it to herself until we were alone.

She did ask later, as did Pheobe. I remember giving them the details, and Pheobe squealing and gushing, "He's so romantic, you got a good one, Emily!" But I also remember Max's scoff, though there had been a slight grin on her lips. I knew that look. She was happy. For me and her twin. And if Max approved, I knew the two of us could very well take on the world, with her smiling beside us. And Pheobe, of course. The 4 of us could and would do anything. We would save the planet if need be. We were strong and united. Nothing could stop us in our path.

Or so we thought.