13 Chapter eleven

I take the card out of my mouth so I don't choke on it as I celebrate. And it has some saliva on it which I cringe at, so I rub it against my shorts to dry it off. I'd been preparing for this, clearly, but my friends don't need to know that.

Further down the corridor, a cruise staff member is giving us a very confused expression which the three of us giggle at.

I press my card against the reader, which lights up green, and throw open the door and rush inside. And now I'm lying face-up on my top bunk bed, listening to the creaks as Emily and Lilli mount theirs too.

"Comfortable, guys?" I ask, sighing loudly.

"Very," they respond in unison.

The first time I went on a cruise, I fell in-love with everything. I was so entranced by everything around me. All the decorations, all the curving interior architecture, the kindness of the cruise staff, the to-die-for food, and that I was there to enjoy it with my family.

When I first boarded a cruise, the room looked ginormous to me. The ceiling was tall, the room wide, the beds big. But now, everything seems so much smaller. Even so, the room packs the same punch, bringing a flood of nostalgic memories through my mind.

I take a deep breath in.

Cruise cabins are tiny, but they are very cosy too. No space goes to waste. When you walk through the door, the bathroom is at your left, with a small corner shower, a tiny sink and a toilet. And there's practically no people space because it's taken up by storage cabinets. All in all, you'd be lucky to fit two people inside, one at the sink, one in the shower.

Then to the right of the front door is a thin, long wardrobe. It's narrow in width, but I remember hiding there often when I was younger, eyes wide when my mum finally spotted me and lifted me out of the wardrobe.

And finally, the bunks. There's two sets of them, one on the left, one on the right, parallel from each other, with a quaint little cabinet in-between them. Above the cabinet (which I pretend is a large wooden stepping stone) is the window sill and window.

Smiling, I climb down from my bunk to further admire the room.

As I wander around aimlessly, I gently run my fingers over the feathery soft sheets of the bottom bunks before using the cabinet as my path to the window sill. From my position down here, I can almost picture a vivid image of young me, climbing with no fears whatsoever onto the sill, watching intently at outside's happenings down on the dock. I smile.

As I clamber up there, the sill creaks beneath me, but I'd like to feel like a child once more, just a little longer before officially becoming an adult.

With the warm rays of sunshine on my face, and the coldness of the sill pressing against my fleecy clothes, I lie there, eyes glued to the crowded dock below me.

I realise that Lilli and Emily are bickering over something, but after a minute of listening, it is apparent that Lilli is still substantially mad at Emily for disturbing cruise guests.

"You should've been more careful, is all I'm saying," Lilli advises, trying to keep her voice down but unable to contain the frustration in her voice.

"Look, I know you're just saying that so I'll pity those guests and hand over my precious top bunk," Emily shoots back, crossing her arms.

Gawking in response, Lilli says, "Are you serious? I'm not that immature, Emily. I just don't want us to get in trouble with the staff on our first day on the cruise. It's not even the first day yet," Lilli continues. "We're adults, aren't we?"

"You're saying I'm not mature?"

Oh no, I thought. I'd better say something to break this up.

"Guys, guys!" I have to shout to get their attention. And wave my arms. "It's fine. Seriously. Nothing to get so worked up over, am I right?" I say, giving them a reassuring grin.

Silence greets me awkwardly.

I sigh and leave my spot on the window sill, joining my friends on the carpet, pulling Lilli's and Emily's hands into a handshake. They groan and give each other a look that says 'I'm not done with you'.

"Emily, you won't do it again, right?" I ask.

She's hesitant, but Emily nods in response.

"And Lil', no hard feelings, correct?"

She flicks her head away swiftly, but responds, "None."

I grin happily, shaking their hands playfully. "Good! Amazing! Now we can all get along, can't we?"

Like small children, they slouch and whine, but reply, "Yup."

I chuckle at them.

It isn't uncommon for them to be like this with each other, and I've pretty much gotten used to their useless bickering at this point in time, and know how to solve them pretty quickly. I'm just pleased that they both mean well.

I make my way back up to my bunk and lie down with the intention of thinking about Harry. I know I shouldn't, because he's just another boy, but…

For some reason, the room is so quiet I can hear people talking through the walls.

"Don't get so comfortable, Tazzy," Lilli tells me.

Huh? I sit up, propping myself up on my arms and glancing down at my friends' expressions, which look like the human versions of the Lenny Face. I question, "What? Why?"

They exchange knowing glances. Then Emily exclaims, "Get your cozzies on, Tasmin, 'cos we're gonna go swimming with some old friends."