On Board (Pirate AU)

Chapter Two - Fish Baskets

I only just realised that I have a story to upload. I completely forgot about this. XD

The schedule will be Monday and Wednesday. Although the next few weeks finals will be starting so I might not have time, but I'll do my best to upload on time. All the chapters have been pre-written so don't hesitate to remind me if I forget. Just don't spam me and it's all good. 

That's all! Bye!

- Chris

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Will POV

I hate the smell of fish.

I also hate the taste of fish.

Fish can go fuck themselves. Honestly.

And yet I had to work at this stupid fish stand because apparently going to university "takes money" and "I'm broke" so here I was, at a fish stand, because apparently capitalists will find ways to profit off of everything, even education about how to become a doctor. Especially education about how to become a doctor. Don't research how much medical school costs—you'll make yourself sick, and there won't even be anybody to give you a checkup because we're all working at fish stands trying to pay off our debts from medical school.

Honnet was a great city, honestly. If it didn't reek of dead fish, I would maybe consider living here forever. After all, those horrible pirate kidnappings had stopped a few years ago. The pirates still show up to steal from us every once in a while, and they were horrible for the economy, but they at least stopped kidnapping our children.

Once, when I was four years old, my best friend was kidnapped. I don't remember much about it, only the sneer of the guy who cut my friend's face and the way Nico dug his boots in the ground with stubborn determination to stay. He was just a kid, obviously, so it wasn't hard for the pirate to carry Nico away.

The whole town used to lock up everything every winter of even-numbered years. Tourism dropped. We barely were able to eat.

I always snuck out. It's idiotic and dangerous, I know, but I used to sneak out if there was a strange boat in the harbor, in the hopes that I might see Nico on board, still struggling to survive. I had thought I might have been able to save him. I went to medical school, after all. If he was hurt, I could probably heal him.

I went to medical school, but I reek of fish. Stupid fucking fish.

Anyway, I never saw him. I was too far away, for one, because even I wasn't dumb enough to get close. The pirates are vicious fighters, and their swords are mercilessly sharp. If I angered them, I probably wouldn't get away alive.

"Hey, Solace," called my boss, Poseidon Jackson. "I'm closing up the shop. The sun's about to go down, and this year's even-numbered. Go ahead and take any fish you want to eat for dinner if they look like they'll be unsellable by tomorrow. Might as well use 'em up."

"Yessir," I said. I reluctantly put a few fish in a basket, which I'd return tomorrow. There's no way I'm going to eat this, but the only reason I had this job was because I'd told Poseidon that I had an infinity for all things fish in the interview, and I didn't want him to know I had lied.

"Infinity for all things fish." What kind of jock-nerd hybrid has an infinity for all things fish. Idiot. All I want is to be done with paying my medical school debts. All I have is fish.

I decided to go to the ocean to get rid of them. I'd be fast. My family wouldn't even notice that I was a few minutes late, probably. It doesn't take long to dump some fish.