ducks into the bathroom while I keep watch.
I can hear them coming before I can see them, which is funny because their voices sound like they’re trying to whisper, but they’re so mad that it’s like a yelling whisper. JT’s dad says, “There’s no
way
Dad said he wanted him to take over the company! After the way he crippled it with his overseas deal? It took years to recover from that! And I don’t care if he’s been sober for five years now, nobody should trust him! He’s the same arrogant liar he’s always been, and he’ll make the same damn mistakes!”
I can see them now, and JT’s dad isn’t the only one flushed and angry. “The nerve of him calling us trust-fund tourists!” JT’s mom says as they march by. “And Teresa, a dilettante? At least we’ve built lives of our own!”
“And we never crippled Dad’s business with reckless blunders!”
They’re past the door now, so I swoop around, and as I watch them storm down the hallway, I can hear JT’s mom say, “She won’t make him CEO, Lucas,” and JT’s dad answer, “My mom’s a sucker for him, LuAnn. Leave those two alone and he’ll talk her into anything!”
I can’t hear much after that, but I keep watching until they disappear inside a room about ten doors down.
“Well?” Marissa asks, peeking out of the bathroom.
So I shut the door and catch her up on what I’d overheard. “Whatever,” she grumbles. “Who cares? I’m going to avoid all of them.” Then she starts going through her clothes. “Now let’s get dressed for dinner!”
Turns out what that meant was putting on a stupid dress, which I
had
packed because it was on the list, but it was wrinkled, and let’s just say irons and I don’t get along. So I’m holding it up, trying to figure out if I can get by with it the way it is, when Marissa stops what she’s doing and says, “No.”
“No what?”
“You either need to iron it or wear another dress.”
“I don’t have another dress.”
She blinks at me. “You only brought
one
? For six nights?”
“I have to wear a dress
every night
?”
“Well, you can’t show up in the dining room in jeans and high-tops! And you can’t wear
that
to formal night.”
“Formal night? What’s formal night?”
“Didn’t you read
anything
?”
I plop down on my bed. “Maybe I should have, because then I’d have known not to come!”
Marissa sits next to me. “Sorry. Look, formal night’s not until Friday, so you have plenty of time. And you
do
want to go, Sammy. They set up places where you can get your picture taken and—”
“I don’t want my picture taken!”
She cocks her head a little. “You have
no
pictures of you and your dad. Zero. Wouldn’t you like to have a really nice one?”
I look down.
“See?” She snatches my dress and stands up. “I’ll go iron it.”
I reach for it and tell her, “I can do it.”
“You’ll burn it. Besides, they don’t have irons in the rooms, so we have to go down to laundry and—” And then she sees the time. “Forget it. You can wear one of mine tonight.”
It turned out she’d brought eight.
Eight
.
And as we’re getting dressed, she says, “I tell you what—we’ll go shopping tomorrow. They have some great stores in the promenade. And since tomorrow’s your birthday …”
I squint at her. “So for my birthday you’re going to force me to shop for a stupid fancy dress in a ridiculous
promenade
? Sounds like another extension of unlucky thirteen.”
“I’ll make it fun, I promise! And we’re at sea all day tomorrow, so we’ll have plenty of time.”
All of a sudden, I’m feeling really claustrophobic.
I’m stuck on this boat for a
week
?
I have to wear a dress every night for a
week
?
What a nightmare!
Just then there’s a little tap on the door, which makes me jump, ’cause I’m not
even
ready to go to dinner.
Marissa, though, is cool as can be. “Don’t worry. That can’t be your dad—”
“Darren,”
I
I can hear them coming before I can see them, which is funny because their voices sound like they’re trying to whisper, but they’re so mad that it’s like a yelling whisper. JT’s dad says, “There’s no
way
Dad said he wanted him to take over the company! After the way he crippled it with his overseas deal? It took years to recover from that! And I don’t care if he’s been sober for five years now, nobody should trust him! He’s the same arrogant liar he’s always been, and he’ll make the same damn mistakes!”
I can see them now, and JT’s dad isn’t the only one flushed and angry. “The nerve of him calling us trust-fund tourists!” JT’s mom says as they march by. “And Teresa, a dilettante? At least we’ve built lives of our own!”
“And we never crippled Dad’s business with reckless blunders!”
They’re past the door now, so I swoop around, and as I watch them storm down the hallway, I can hear JT’s mom say, “She won’t make him CEO, Lucas,” and JT’s dad answer, “My mom’s a sucker for him, LuAnn. Leave those two alone and he’ll talk her into anything!”
I can’t hear much after that, but I keep watching until they disappear inside a room about ten doors down.
“Well?” Marissa asks, peeking out of the bathroom.
So I shut the door and catch her up on what I’d overheard. “Whatever,” she grumbles. “Who cares? I’m going to avoid all of them.” Then she starts going through her clothes. “Now let’s get dressed for dinner!”
Turns out what that meant was putting on a stupid dress, which I
had
packed because it was on the list, but it was wrinkled, and let’s just say irons and I don’t get along. So I’m holding it up, trying to figure out if I can get by with it the way it is, when Marissa stops what she’s doing and says, “No.”
“No what?”
“You either need to iron it or wear another dress.”
“I don’t have another dress.”
She blinks at me. “You only brought
one
? For six nights?”
“I have to wear a dress
every night
?”
“Well, you can’t show up in the dining room in jeans and high-tops! And you can’t wear
that
to formal night.”
“Formal night? What’s formal night?”
“Didn’t you read
anything
?”
I plop down on my bed. “Maybe I should have, because then I’d have known not to come!”
Marissa sits next to me. “Sorry. Look, formal night’s not until Friday, so you have plenty of time. And you
do
want to go, Sammy. They set up places where you can get your picture taken and—”
“I don’t want my picture taken!”
She cocks her head a little. “You have
no
pictures of you and your dad. Zero. Wouldn’t you like to have a really nice one?”
I look down.
“See?” She snatches my dress and stands up. “I’ll go iron it.”
I reach for it and tell her, “I can do it.”
“You’ll burn it. Besides, they don’t have irons in the rooms, so we have to go down to laundry and—” And then she sees the time. “Forget it. You can wear one of mine tonight.”
It turned out she’d brought eight.
Eight
.
And as we’re getting dressed, she says, “I tell you what—we’ll go shopping tomorrow. They have some great stores in the promenade. And since tomorrow’s your birthday …”
I squint at her. “So for my birthday you’re going to force me to shop for a stupid fancy dress in a ridiculous
promenade
? Sounds like another extension of unlucky thirteen.”
“I’ll make it fun, I promise! And we’re at sea all day tomorrow, so we’ll have plenty of time.”
All of a sudden, I’m feeling really claustrophobic.
I’m stuck on this boat for a
week
?
I have to wear a dress every night for a
week
?
What a nightmare!
Just then there’s a little tap on the door, which makes me jump, ’cause I’m not
even
ready to go to dinner.
Marissa, though, is cool as can be. “Don’t worry. That can’t be your dad—”
“Darren,”
I
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