anymore. He’d sworn never to wear it again anyway, out of spite for the teen star.
Sir Edmund and his Council wanted to know everything the Navels were up to, and Ernest took diligent notes. He didn’t know what the Council’s plan was, but they had promised him the perfect reward for his efforts: revenge.
10
WE’RE IN SHIP SHAPE
THE
GET IT OVER WITH sliced across the waves heading from Hawaii toward Indonesia. Corey’s boat was a forty-eight-foot ketch, which meant that it had two masts—a mainmast and mizzenmast—and another sail at the front called a jib.
There was enough cabin space for six private bunks, a small lounge, and a galley, which is what sailors call the kitchen. In the galley, there was a couch and, much to Oliver and Celia’s relief, a working television set.
Corey had allowed the twins to name the boat when they set off, and they had chosen
Get It Over With.
Corey liked the name because he thought the twins were being ironic.
They weren’t.
They really did want to get this whole adventure over with. They set sail early on the morning after their training day, as soon as the deckhands arrived.
There were three deckhands, and they had applied for the job through Corey Brandt’s fan website. That struck both the twins as pretty odd, because none of them looked much like Corey Brandt fans.
There was a twitchy little guy named Bart. He spent most of his time climbing up and down the tall mainmast, adjusting lines, and looking out to the horizon.
“Watching for pirate ships,” he said. “They come up on you fast.”
There was the cook, also named Bart, who was the size of two normal grown-ups combined. They called the cook Big Bart and the other one Twitchy Bart.
Big Bart had tattoos of all kinds of birds covering both his arms and he’d brought a chicken on board with him.
“Why do you have a chicken?” wondered Oliver.
“He’s a rooster,” the cook explained. “And don’tget any ideas. He’s not for eating. This guy’s my friend. His name’s Dennis, but don’t bother calling him that. He doesn’t know he has a name. He’s just a rooster after all.”
“Does he do anything? Like tricks?” Oliver asked.
“Nope,” he said. “That’s why I like him. He doesn’t fly, he doesn’t talk, he doesn’t do anything at all.”
Oliver had to admit he kind of liked Dennis too. That was his idea of the perfect life.
The last deckhand was a young woman. She didn’t say much, except that her name was Bonnie and that she came from a long line of sailors and she’d seen everything Corey had ever done, even the Tooth Blaster cereal commercial he’d made when he was little.
“What’d you think of the
Sunset High
reunion?” Celia asked.
“It was okay,” said Bonnie. She went back to coiling ropes without another word.
“How about
The Celebrity Adventurist
last season?” Celia tried.
“Uh-uh,” said Bonnie without looking up.
Celia wondered what good it was to have Corey Brandt fans on the crew if none of them would talk about it. Normally she would have talked to her brother about Corey Brandt, but he was still being grumpy with her.
“This must be what they call smooth sailing,” their father said with a contented sigh.
They had fair weather their first day at sea, with plenty of sunshine and even-tempered winds. A pod of dolphins danced in the water, jumping and splashing and diving below the surface again. Even Oliver and Celia, who had never been fans of live entertainment, were impressed. But the dolphins left them as they got farther out to sea, and they quickly found themselves alone on the rolling swells of the Pacific Ocean.
“You turning green, Oliver?” Dr. Navel asked his son.
The deckhands snickered.
“I’m fine, Dad.” Oliver blushed, even though he was feeling a little queasy. His father handed him a steaming mug of bitter tea.
“Is this made out of something gross?” Oliver asked, sniffing it suspiciously.
“It’s neem
Sir Edmund and his Council wanted to know everything the Navels were up to, and Ernest took diligent notes. He didn’t know what the Council’s plan was, but they had promised him the perfect reward for his efforts: revenge.
10
WE’RE IN SHIP SHAPE
THE
GET IT OVER WITH sliced across the waves heading from Hawaii toward Indonesia. Corey’s boat was a forty-eight-foot ketch, which meant that it had two masts—a mainmast and mizzenmast—and another sail at the front called a jib.
There was enough cabin space for six private bunks, a small lounge, and a galley, which is what sailors call the kitchen. In the galley, there was a couch and, much to Oliver and Celia’s relief, a working television set.
Corey had allowed the twins to name the boat when they set off, and they had chosen
Get It Over With.
Corey liked the name because he thought the twins were being ironic.
They weren’t.
They really did want to get this whole adventure over with. They set sail early on the morning after their training day, as soon as the deckhands arrived.
There were three deckhands, and they had applied for the job through Corey Brandt’s fan website. That struck both the twins as pretty odd, because none of them looked much like Corey Brandt fans.
There was a twitchy little guy named Bart. He spent most of his time climbing up and down the tall mainmast, adjusting lines, and looking out to the horizon.
“Watching for pirate ships,” he said. “They come up on you fast.”
There was the cook, also named Bart, who was the size of two normal grown-ups combined. They called the cook Big Bart and the other one Twitchy Bart.
Big Bart had tattoos of all kinds of birds covering both his arms and he’d brought a chicken on board with him.
“Why do you have a chicken?” wondered Oliver.
“He’s a rooster,” the cook explained. “And don’tget any ideas. He’s not for eating. This guy’s my friend. His name’s Dennis, but don’t bother calling him that. He doesn’t know he has a name. He’s just a rooster after all.”
“Does he do anything? Like tricks?” Oliver asked.
“Nope,” he said. “That’s why I like him. He doesn’t fly, he doesn’t talk, he doesn’t do anything at all.”
Oliver had to admit he kind of liked Dennis too. That was his idea of the perfect life.
The last deckhand was a young woman. She didn’t say much, except that her name was Bonnie and that she came from a long line of sailors and she’d seen everything Corey had ever done, even the Tooth Blaster cereal commercial he’d made when he was little.
“What’d you think of the
Sunset High
reunion?” Celia asked.
“It was okay,” said Bonnie. She went back to coiling ropes without another word.
“How about
The Celebrity Adventurist
last season?” Celia tried.
“Uh-uh,” said Bonnie without looking up.
Celia wondered what good it was to have Corey Brandt fans on the crew if none of them would talk about it. Normally she would have talked to her brother about Corey Brandt, but he was still being grumpy with her.
“This must be what they call smooth sailing,” their father said with a contented sigh.
They had fair weather their first day at sea, with plenty of sunshine and even-tempered winds. A pod of dolphins danced in the water, jumping and splashing and diving below the surface again. Even Oliver and Celia, who had never been fans of live entertainment, were impressed. But the dolphins left them as they got farther out to sea, and they quickly found themselves alone on the rolling swells of the Pacific Ocean.
“You turning green, Oliver?” Dr. Navel asked his son.
The deckhands snickered.
“I’m fine, Dad.” Oliver blushed, even though he was feeling a little queasy. His father handed him a steaming mug of bitter tea.
“Is this made out of something gross?” Oliver asked, sniffing it suspiciously.
“It’s neem
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