Sail Away [COMPLETED]

Chapter 4 - "I have my ways."

Ty grinned as Hudson left without another word to join the group in the hot tub. Everyone handled defeat in different ways. She let the group relax in the hot tub for half an hour before she reminded them that the dining room was open for breakfast.

The guys were out of the hot tub in a second at the mention of food and the girls were right behind them. Ty had to call after them to remind them about the scavenger hunt scheduled for later that morning.

Quiet settled over the deck again as Ty began to gather all the aerobics supplies. Nico sat in defiant silence, keeping his gaze purposefully straight ahead. Ty knew his silent treatment would last until he managed to win a bet with someone else. She predicted he would be talking to her by the afternoon.

"Bye Nico!" she called out extra cheerfully. His expression turned more sour as he refused to acknowledge her. "You're welcome for the coffee," she added, slowly walking backwards towards the door. Still nothing. "And my thrilling company!" His stony resolve only made her grin. "And for a fun morning. You are always complaining about how boring the mornings usually are."

She stopped when she reached the door and did a crazy dance, flailing her arms about to earn some sort of response. She struck a silly pose at the end but still, she got nothing. She shrugged and left Nico to wallow.

Mornings were one of Ty's favorite times on the ship. The early-rising passengers were already out and about, getting breakfast, and the most energetic kids were dragging their parents to the pool, but the chaos of the day hadn't landed yet. The ship still felt like it belonged to her.

Ty greeted her fellow workers as she made her way to the crew's dining hall, her stomach calling for nourishment. She found Anders in the buffet line and joined him.

"Morning," she sang, adding a plate to his tray.

He grunted a response and kept moving, his eyes still heavy with sleep. Anders was a man of few words in the morning and that made him one of Ty's favorite breakfast companions. He would silently drink his coffee and plow through his large plate of food without a single word, leaving Ty to eat in peace.

"A banana. And more eggs," she instructed even though her breakfast choices hadn't changed once in the years they had been getting breakfast together.

He didn't pay attention to her as he filled her plate as well as his own. She tossed two yogurts onto the tray before breaking away to grab coffee. Anders grunted out thanks as she set the two cups on the table and they began to eat in peace.

Ty was opening her yogurt when she paused, sensing Jules' energetic presence a moment before she burst into the dining hall.

"Ty Claire Bennett!" she called. "Good morning. Hi. Have you seen Ty? Oh, Hanna did you get a haircut?"

Ty watched Jules get momentarily distracted. Jules seemed to flutter about as she spoke excitedly with the girl, pulling on the ends of her hair. But after a moment, she grew serious and began to look around the room again, calling for Ty. Ty was surprised. A new haircut usually distracted Jules for much longer.

The bounce in Jules' step became more pronounced when she spotted Ty and began to walk toward the table.

"There you are!" she said.

She was slightly out of breath and Ty perked up, curious about what had whipped her up into such an excited state.

"Here I be," Ty said.

"I don't care where you are now. I want to talk about where you were this morning! At the pool! With a certain guest! I need to know everything!"

"It sounds like you already do know everything."