When the ship left Panama the next day, it was much different from the night it left Mexico. For one thing, we were anchored instead of docked, so there were no runners. It was also a lot less dramatic pulling up the anchor and just moving away than it had been watching them undo the mooring lines and seeing the dock slowly vanish. Then, there was the fact that I didn't feel like I was just leaving another country; I felt like I was entering a new world. Looking forward to the next country, like I had been when we left Mexico, paled in comparison to what I was looking forward to now. Dani was at the rails with me again, but this time I knew that he wasn't human. I knew that when we all went back inside, I was going to get my wand and use magic. It was a strange, but exciting, feeling. After people started to trickle back into the ship, I went to my room and grabbed the eight wands I had set aside. Thomas met me in his room, and we got right back to work. He had me try to set a piece
My trip didn't leave until later in the day, so I took my time going up to breakfast. Everything had been transformed with red, white, and blue in honor of the Fourth of July. I was halfway through the buffet line, torn between a donut with festive sprinkles and some sort of tart shaped like a four, when I spotted TS. I watched, while he piled what looked like nothing but bacon and sausage on his plate, and hesitantly followed him to a table and sat down across from him. The last time I saw him, he turned into a giant wolf. It was strange to look at him and know what he could do. Even though I had, sort of, used magic, it still hadn't really sunk in. Plus, I wasn't sure if he'd want to sit with me. After all, it had been less than forty-eight hours since I found out that werewolves existed. "Morning," he said when I sat down. "Happy Fourth of July." "Same to you." I glanced at his plate and couldn't help but ask, "Do you only eat meat?" "Pretty much, right." He looked wistful and
Thomas paused and looked at me for a moment, then glanced at Dani and TS. What was up with all this melodrama? Thankfully, he spoke before my patience ran out. "We work for MES," he said. "Mez?" I asked. "MES," Thomas repeated. "It stands for Magical Enforcement and Secrecy." I wasn't entirely sure what to make of that. Magical? They weren't still stalling, were they? As much as I would have loved it if something magical really were going on, I couldn't believe it. Magic wasn't real. Thomas continued. "Jon, by the way, is the head of the Northeast branch. MES, well as the name implies, enforces magical secrecy. Sort of. Our agency is responsible for all sorts of things. Keeping the existence of magics a secret being the biggest. So, it makes and enforces a lot of laws regarding that." "Back up," I said, "the existence of magics?" "Magical beings," Thomas said. "Like elves and fairies?" This couldn't possibly be happening. He had to be making things up. "There's no such thing
I followed Dani's gaze across the dock but didn't see anybody coming toward us. "Jon!" he yelled. "Hey, Jon!" A man turned and looked at us. That was Jon? Aside from the fact he was wearing a business suit, he didn't look very boss-like. As he walked over to us, I noticed that he didn't even look that much older than us. He certainly didn't strike me as old enough to run some company. Then again, he had, in Thomas' words, taken care of him. Thomas had acted like he viewed Jon as a father figure more than an older brother, so he couldn't be that close to us in age. He must have just been aging well. He had neatly combed black hair and dark eyes. "Danio," he said as he approached us. Even his boss called him that? He stopped in front of us and looked at me. "You must be Jennifer." Thomas joined us. "How was your trip?" Jon turned to Thomas. "It was pleasant, we..." he trailed off, and his eyes widened. "Oh my god, Thomas. It's only been two weeks..." He started rapidly talking in a
Start over with Chapter One No. Thomas was not going to come stalk me in my own room. "Look, I just told Dani, I’m not going to tell people! Do you really have to follow me around like this?" Thomas smiled. "I just thought you might want to know that I heard back from Jon." Oh. That changed things a bit. "What does he have to say?" Thomas glanced up and down the hall. "May I come in? I’d rather not discuss this in the hallway." "Fine." I stepped aside and held the door open. He didn’t move; he just shifted his weight like he was waiting. "Well?" I leaned forward and grabbed him. "Hurry up, I want to get this over with." I tried to pull him into the room, but something happened. He tripped, or I tripped, and we fell. It almost felt like he had pulled himself out of my grip and fallen deliberately. I tumbled back into my room, and he fell out into the hall. He sat up with a wince, like he was in pain. "Oh, come on," I snapped. "Either get in here and tell me what you have to say
Did you miss Chapter One? Click here! The following morning started like any other. I woke up and traded showers with Laurie, then went to breakfast. Ordinarily, I would have chosen a table with people at it — I liked to eat meals with people from all over the ship — but my thoughts were still whirling from the night before. I chose an empty table by a window and sat down. I ate slowly, looking out at the water. It was still raining lightly, and the sky was darker than usual, but it was all so different from last night that I started to wonder if maybe I had just been dreaming. It all seemed even more ridiculous and impossible than it had last night. A mug thumped down next to me, and I turned to greet whoever had joined me. I was shocked to see that it was Dani. He looked tired, but otherwise showed no sign that he had fallen into the ocean less than twelve hours ago. "I can’t believe you lied to me," he said. I realized that he wasn't talking to me and looked up to see Mariana
A taxicab raced down the dock, came to a stop, and a girl laden with shopping bags flew out. Everyone at the rails of the ship yelled as she rushed toward the gangway. She was a 'runner', one of the students who pushed the all-aboard time to the limit. She vanished into the ship to a mix of boos and cheers. "She's going to be cleaning tables tomorrow," my roommate, Laurie, snickered. Most of us had taken the all-aboard time and subsequent punishments for being late seriously and had been on the ship for over an hour. The majority of the people watching the runners were already changed into pajama bottoms or sweatshirts with Semester Aboard-Study Abroad written on them. We were students on a cruise ship that had been turned into a floating campus. Instead of studying abroad for a summer in one country, we were traveling down the western coast of Latin America. Our ship had classrooms, a dining hall, dorm rooms, even a workout room and a pool. "Look, there's another!" called Dani. He
Semester Aboard: An Urban Fantasy Adventure by ekirke, literature
Literature
Semester Aboard: An Urban Fantasy Adventure
Genre: Urban Fantasy Ages: 16+ I should have packed a stake. I thought a two-month cruise around Latin America would be filled with magical moments. I never imagined I’d be swimming with a mermaid or hiking through a rainforest with a werewolf. That is, until that fateful night when I met Thomas and the others out on deck and discovered that magic is real. Now, they’re teaching me how to use my newfound powers and what’s more, they’ve welcomed me into the close-knit little family they’ve built together. Turns out we aren’t the only paranormal beings on board, and our bloodthirsty enemy isn’t happy we’re here. A week ago, I didn’t even believe vampires were real, but now we’re being stalked by one. Trapped on the ship, with no way to call for help, it’s up to us to stop him and save the rest of the passengers… and ourselves. If we can’t, we might never set foot on land again. Author's Note: Hello! I've been looking for other places to post this and after years of scrolling DA
When the ship left Panama the next day, it was much different from the night it left Mexico. For one thing, we were anchored instead of docked, so there were no runners. It was also a lot less dramatic pulling up the anchor and just moving away than it had been watching them undo the mooring lines and seeing the dock slowly vanish. Then, there was the fact that I didn't feel like I was just leaving another country; I felt like I was entering a new world. Looking forward to the next country, like I had been when we left Mexico, paled in comparison to what I was looking forward to now. Dani was at the rails with me again, but this time I knew that he wasn't human. I knew that when we all went back inside, I was going to get my wand and use magic. It was a strange, but exciting, feeling. After people started to trickle back into the ship, I went to my room and grabbed the eight wands I had set aside. Thomas met me in his room, and we got right back to work. He had me try to set a piece
My trip didn't leave until later in the day, so I took my time going up to breakfast. Everything had been transformed with red, white, and blue in honor of the Fourth of July. I was halfway through the buffet line, torn between a donut with festive sprinkles and some sort of tart shaped like a four, when I spotted TS. I watched, while he piled what looked like nothing but bacon and sausage on his plate, and hesitantly followed him to a table and sat down across from him. The last time I saw him, he turned into a giant wolf. It was strange to look at him and know what he could do. Even though I had, sort of, used magic, it still hadn't really sunk in. Plus, I wasn't sure if he'd want to sit with me. After all, it had been less than forty-eight hours since I found out that werewolves existed. "Morning," he said when I sat down. "Happy Fourth of July." "Same to you." I glanced at his plate and couldn't help but ask, "Do you only eat meat?" "Pretty much, right." He looked wistful and
Thomas paused and looked at me for a moment, then glanced at Dani and TS. What was up with all this melodrama? Thankfully, he spoke before my patience ran out. "We work for MES," he said. "Mez?" I asked. "MES," Thomas repeated. "It stands for Magical Enforcement and Secrecy." I wasn't entirely sure what to make of that. Magical? They weren't still stalling, were they? As much as I would have loved it if something magical really were going on, I couldn't believe it. Magic wasn't real. Thomas continued. "Jon, by the way, is the head of the Northeast branch. MES, well as the name implies, enforces magical secrecy. Sort of. Our agency is responsible for all sorts of things. Keeping the existence of magics a secret being the biggest. So, it makes and enforces a lot of laws regarding that." "Back up," I said, "the existence of magics?" "Magical beings," Thomas said. "Like elves and fairies?" This couldn't possibly be happening. He had to be making things up. "There's no such thing
I followed Dani's gaze across the dock but didn't see anybody coming toward us. "Jon!" he yelled. "Hey, Jon!" A man turned and looked at us. That was Jon? Aside from the fact he was wearing a business suit, he didn't look very boss-like. As he walked over to us, I noticed that he didn't even look that much older than us. He certainly didn't strike me as old enough to run some company. Then again, he had, in Thomas' words, taken care of him. Thomas had acted like he viewed Jon as a father figure more than an older brother, so he couldn't be that close to us in age. He must have just been aging well. He had neatly combed black hair and dark eyes. "Danio," he said as he approached us. Even his boss called him that? He stopped in front of us and looked at me. "You must be Jennifer." Thomas joined us. "How was your trip?" Jon turned to Thomas. "It was pleasant, we..." he trailed off, and his eyes widened. "Oh my god, Thomas. It's only been two weeks..." He started rapidly talking in a
Start over with Chapter One No. Thomas was not going to come stalk me in my own room. "Look, I just told Dani, I’m not going to tell people! Do you really have to follow me around like this?" Thomas smiled. "I just thought you might want to know that I heard back from Jon." Oh. That changed things a bit. "What does he have to say?" Thomas glanced up and down the hall. "May I come in? I’d rather not discuss this in the hallway." "Fine." I stepped aside and held the door open. He didn’t move; he just shifted his weight like he was waiting. "Well?" I leaned forward and grabbed him. "Hurry up, I want to get this over with." I tried to pull him into the room, but something happened. He tripped, or I tripped, and we fell. It almost felt like he had pulled himself out of my grip and fallen deliberately. I tumbled back into my room, and he fell out into the hall. He sat up with a wince, like he was in pain. "Oh, come on," I snapped. "Either get in here and tell me what you have to say
Did you miss Chapter One? Click here! The following morning started like any other. I woke up and traded showers with Laurie, then went to breakfast. Ordinarily, I would have chosen a table with people at it — I liked to eat meals with people from all over the ship — but my thoughts were still whirling from the night before. I chose an empty table by a window and sat down. I ate slowly, looking out at the water. It was still raining lightly, and the sky was darker than usual, but it was all so different from last night that I started to wonder if maybe I had just been dreaming. It all seemed even more ridiculous and impossible than it had last night. A mug thumped down next to me, and I turned to greet whoever had joined me. I was shocked to see that it was Dani. He looked tired, but otherwise showed no sign that he had fallen into the ocean less than twelve hours ago. "I can’t believe you lied to me," he said. I realized that he wasn't talking to me and looked up to see Mariana
A taxicab raced down the dock, came to a stop, and a girl laden with shopping bags flew out. Everyone at the rails of the ship yelled as she rushed toward the gangway. She was a 'runner', one of the students who pushed the all-aboard time to the limit. She vanished into the ship to a mix of boos and cheers. "She's going to be cleaning tables tomorrow," my roommate, Laurie, snickered. Most of us had taken the all-aboard time and subsequent punishments for being late seriously and had been on the ship for over an hour. The majority of the people watching the runners were already changed into pajama bottoms or sweatshirts with Semester Aboard-Study Abroad written on them. We were students on a cruise ship that had been turned into a floating campus. Instead of studying abroad for a summer in one country, we were traveling down the western coast of Latin America. Our ship had classrooms, a dining hall, dorm rooms, even a workout room and a pool. "Look, there's another!" called Dani. He
Semester Aboard: An Urban Fantasy Adventure by ekirke, literature
Literature
Semester Aboard: An Urban Fantasy Adventure
Genre: Urban Fantasy Ages: 16+ I should have packed a stake. I thought a two-month cruise around Latin America would be filled with magical moments. I never imagined I’d be swimming with a mermaid or hiking through a rainforest with a werewolf. That is, until that fateful night when I met Thomas and the others out on deck and discovered that magic is real. Now, they’re teaching me how to use my newfound powers and what’s more, they’ve welcomed me into the close-knit little family they’ve built together. Turns out we aren’t the only paranormal beings on board, and our bloodthirsty enemy isn’t happy we’re here. A week ago, I didn’t even believe vampires were real, but now we’re being stalked by one. Trapped on the ship, with no way to call for help, it’s up to us to stop him and save the rest of the passengers… and ourselves. If we can’t, we might never set foot on land again. Author's Note: Hello! I've been looking for other places to post this and after years of scrolling DA