Chapter eighteen

I tell Emily that she can wear my clothes until management finds her duffel bag and she calms down.

"Can I wear that blue jumpsuit you brought?" Emily asks, eyes wide.

I laugh at her. "Of course you can."

We finally say goodbye to the boys and let the door fall closed behind us. But after falling back onto one of the bunks, I can't help but think that I forgot something.

A moment earlier, Harry grabbed my arm, and the scream I heard was from Emily, but there was something else. He grabbed my arm, and then he… tried to tell me something.

"Okay, who's showering first?" Lilli says, interrupting my train of thought.

By the time we've all finished cleaning ourselves up it's almost five, and the drill is bound to be called soon. Emily raced into the bathroom first, so she is the only one dressed and ready to leave, but is sprawled on the bottom bunk, eyeing the television intently. Her Disney favourite is on; Tangled.

I'm sitting at my most preferred spot in this room, the window sill, where I've been just thinking as I stare out at the ocean and beyond. My hair is still very wet, plastering itself against my clothes and the wall, so I'm constantly adjusting and readjusting to feel comfortable.

The water around the boat is frothy and white, and extending to the horizon is dark water, lapping lazily. And the sun beams down, highlighting the water's surface.

It's beautiful.

I figure that Lilli will take a while, so I slide off the sill and onto the carpet and stalk over to the wardrobe to occupy myself. My train of thought is back on track, its rickety wheels obnoxiously loud as it stirs my worries and feelings around my head.

It seems that Emily is still aware of her surroundings despite being immersed in Disneyland, and calls to me, "Hey, do you mind making some room for my undies in there while you're at it?"

"Sure."

Lilli pops her head out of the bathroom, somehow overhearing our conversation. "Oh, could you put mine in too, pretty please?"

I turn around and stick my hands to my hips. "Yeah. Why don't I just get you both some tea while I'm at it?"

Lilli apologises and disappears inside the bathroom again, but Emily has the nerve to take it seriously, "Yeah," she replies, scratching her chin. "Why don't ya?"

I throw my bra at her face. She's about to counterattack, but Flynn Rider is now finally about to climb Rapunzel's tower! We girls know full well what happens, and Emily covers her eyes. When the golden flow of hair finally comes down from the window, Flynn starts to frantically climb.

Hearing our suspenseful reactions, Lilli reappears, wiping her face as she watches with us.

Rapunzel is chained up, clearly screaming at him with her eyes to leave quickly, but he's too late. The fatal stab comes from behind him, and when he falls to the ground, where he will be left to bleed out and die, Mother Gothel appears, yielding one nasty-looking blade. And just as she ends his life, the safety drill alarm goes off, and excruciating ringing fills my ears.

Despite knowing that the movie will have a happily ever after and that the alarm only signals a safety drill, we all scream at the top of our lungs. And a couple doors down, we also hear screaming.

"Dang it, I haven't done my makeup yet!" Lilli exclaims.

I give her a look. "Forget your makeup, you haven't even gotten dressed!"

There's a frantic knock at our door, and Lilli gasps, grabs the dress hanging in the wardrobe, and throws herself back inside the safety of the bathroom, slamming the door closed behind her; I have a feeling we'll be getting noise complaints from quite a few of our neighbours. I try to summon Emily up but she isn't listening, so I answer the door alone.

Standing before me are three clueless boys who are toting their life jackets.

I struggle not to laugh at them. "Yeah, what?"

"We heard the screaming," Ben exclaims. "Were you guys freaked out by the movie as well?"

In that moment, both Harry and Charlie turn to Ben like they couldn't relate. My confusion is answered when Harry says, "What?

Ben seems extremely confuzzled. "What? That stab was savage, don't you think?"

I laugh, but his friends are utterly unimpressed.

Harry turns to me. "Well, Charlie and I got freaked out by the alarm bells," he explains, ignoring Ben's glare. "I'm guessing that's the safety drill then?"

"That's correct."

I've just realised that they've found their life jackets and brought them along, which will save a lot of time trying to find them for them.

I don't realise how long I've just been standing, holding the door open for an awkward trio. They glance behind me to see a half-dead Emily lying on the ground, staring blankly at the ceiling.

"Um," Ben says. "Can we come in?"

I can tell that took a lot of guts for him to say, and I feel bad, so I nod. "Just don't go to the bathroom. Lilli's changing."

Letting the front door slide closed, I slide open the wardrobe door to find our life jackets. Charlie is leaning against the bathroom door, clearly waiting for Lilli. Ben has sat beside Emily, patting her shoulder comfortingly. And Harry, well, he's creeping up on Emily.

I feel the urgent need to film this, but it's too late.

"BOO!"

Screaming, Emily sits up and falls back into Ben's loving arms. And once she regains her composure she gives Harry the stink eye.

"Stuff you, Harry. Stuff you."