Suddenly a loud nautical horn reverberated , causing the chaos to instantly go mute and the captain’s voice penetrated the eager silence.
“Good morning fellow passengers, I’m Captain Lincoln Kendrick and ”, he paused and a upbeat music suddenly resonated as he exclaimed dramatically , “Welcome aboard Oceanic Palace the largest cruise ship to ever traverse the great seas and at five times the size of titanic this beauty sports 22 floors with a maximum capacity to house 7300 people and garnished with a range of leisure and entertainment activities which includes many water parks and pools , indoor theme parks , sport courts , indoor malls , cinemas , world class resturents , thrilling casino games and many more this ship has it all to guarantee that you will have a unforgettable experience ” , there were yells of ecstasy from the listening viscinity , “we have gyms , comfortable suites , adventure centres , societies and clubs , sea world centres and anything you would require to enjoy over 2 months out at sea , for more information please refer the ship maps and guides in your suites and visit our information centres without hesitation. Thank you and on the behalf of the oceanic palace crew I hope you would have a one of a kind unique experience and a enjoyable stay.”
The horn resounded again and Zander felt the main deck sway in a barely noticeable manner and he heard the muffled roar of powerful engines and with a another loud hoot the journey had officially began.
“Henry I’m fully grateful for you paying for that suite ”, Zander sounded breathless as they got into a transparent lift.
A while later the lift stopped at the 10th floor and the duo got out and by the time they reached their cabin the door was left ajar and the both the boys luggage was set near a closet.
“WOW” , a breathy gasp escaped Zander’s lips as he took in the wonder of the interior and its serene ambiance , “Bro it is like a super expensive hotel room and you got your private balcony as well.”
Henry smiled , “at least this isn’t A, B , C , E or F in the kings suite class with private pools , saunas and elite private longues, and butlers.” He said pulling open a elegantly carpentered drawer and examining its contents. “hmm a menue for the all the resturents , a ship guide and this is a …. Wifi passcode or something and heres the leafet of entertainment activities.”
“We will surely need them”, Zander said his eyes glued to the engigmatic blue sea that shimmered below a receding row of British urban architecture.
After 2 hours of throughout exploration of the suite ,unpacking of their belongings and leafing through information guides the boys headed down to lunch following a detailed route.
“Its really crazy like a lot of resturents serving a variety of foods at about the same time, which resturent are we heading to?”
“Umm, I am flowing the route for a restaurant called ‘coastal café’ it is kind of big according to the scale drawing here and is pretty close”
Contradictory to the boys expectations of getting lost the pair reached the resturent at an unpredictable record time and choose a seat beside a glass wall which overlooked the sea.
“A sea food based friedrice please”, Henry said without checking the menue , “ Hope I got enough” he pulled out his wallet.
“Dammmnnn”, Zander eyed the bulging wallet , “You must have a million there”
“Never counted though wanna know a fact?”
“Yes sir”
“I will be paying for everything in this trip with my own money, the food , entertainment and the suite as you know and this place is expensive –”
“Your own money –”, he suddenly broke off as a sound of chattering and giggling swept into the pairs ears.
And as Zander’s head swept in that direction he caught sight of 5 girls from a different nationality heading in their direction and as they took the table next to the boys Zander animatedly waved at them.
Four waved back and Henry caught his friend’s eye but said nothing.
A while later the waiter brought the duo a set of steaming bowls of friedrice complete with curries and plate containing a large fried fish.
“Zander I bet your pet falcon would have loved this ” , Henry called out but received no response , he turned around the saw why.
Zander had this phone out and was deep in conversation.
“This ship is 1,400 ft long but is exceptionally fast more than 30 miles per hour and this thing is filled with tons of activities and resturents!”
“Heard that this ship is yet to open the most luxurious resturent Food Tapestry in the coming weeks”
“really” , Zander nodded at a tall girl , but from the manner Henry saw , he seemed to be really interested in conversing with pretty girl with red hair .
“What’s your name?”, Henry heard Zander ask as he piled food into his plate.
“Uh…me I am Amy Davidson.”
“A cute name for a cu-nice girl ”, Zander could have bitten his tongue but Amy just smiled, “I am Zander , Zander Gillian.”
“oh…. nice to meet you , you sure know about this ship”
“The pleasures mine and feel free to ask me anytime about this ship , I wouldn’t mind sharing my knowledge”
“Dude the food arrived” , Henry cut in.
After a hearty lunch , which was almost double Henry’s expectations in terms of cost , the boy’s made way to a private open terrace overlooking the ships edge and sprawled on two deck chairs .
“Pity you didn’t bring Bolt”, Henry wiped his glasses, “he was good fun”.
“I had fun today in coastal café”.
“Yeah I saw”, he averted his eyes to a flock of birds circling the sea, “you did strike up a good convo and got a girl pretty quick”
Zander did an eyebrow flash , “I got the skills fam” , he grinned , “I just talked to her without any pretentious airs and now I have her number”
“She is pretty ain’t she?”
Zander exhaled “very, but bro”, he suddenly turned at Henry , “I-”, he suddenly stood up and walked over the railing and peered down at the calm sea , “I want to see her again so bad and this cruise could be more than just a cruise”
All of a sudden Renolds burly figure swept into the terrace almost frightening Zander out of his skin.
“I am sorry sir , but I will be leaving in an hour –”
“hmm why?”, Henry’s eyes glinted.
“Your uncle has requested my presesnce urgently , sorry for having to leave you guys before even the first day ended , but as the head of his security forces I have to leave immediately and I think sir already informed you.”
At that moment Henry’s force buzzed and he pulled it out eargely his spirits high , no more barricades and boundaries , but he thought to soon as a brief text message informed him of a replacement.
“Henry I will be sending your Bruce as I believe he will protect you from physical assault or attack better and I need Renolds leadership here”