LEXI

“Wake up, sleepyhead! It’s our first day of class!” I bounded out of the top bunk excitedly and shook a bleary-eyed Vivian awake as soon as the alarm went off. After last night’s fiasco, I was eager to start the fun part of this trip—the academics.

“You’re in the same English Lit class as me this morning, right?” Vivian asked with a yawn as she clambered out of bed.

“Yup! Let’s go!”

As we got ready and made our way to the classroom, I was talking a mile a minute, full of plans for the day.

“You are way too excited about this,” Vivian teased.

“I’m mostly excited to meet Dr. Gill. I didn’t get a chance to connect with her last night. I’d been hoping to make a good first impression.”

“Most people wait until the first lecture to try to make a good first impression on their profs,” Vivian pointed out with a wink. I knew she was teasing, but I was serious as I replied: “I let myself get distracted by all this frivolous social stuff last night. I won’t let that happen again. I’m here to learn.”

“Well then, I guess you’re in the right place,” Vivian said with a smile as she gestured to the classroom door in front of us. “Shall we?”

We stepped inside the classroom and found it as luxurious as the rest of the ship. This was no shabby lecture hall with old wooden seats that made your back ache. Plush, red chairs lined the room, each one with its own high-tech screen.

“Welcome!” Professor Morrison, the English teacher, turned to me and Vivian. “Please, take your seats. We’re just about to get started.”

As I settled into a chair, I noticed with annoyance that Blaine was in the class too, slouched in a seat across the room.

“Now!” Professor Morrison clapped his hands sharply, drawing my attention to the front of the room. “I’m going to warn you all that I am a tough grader. I know this boat has plenty of distractions, but I want you all to take your time here as seriously as if it were a traditional campus. There will be plenty of homework.”

A murmur of discontent rippled over the room.

“And don’t even think about faking assignments with ChatGPT—or, as I like to call it, CheatGPT.”

The murmurs of discontent grew louder. Professor Morrison pointedly ignored them, continuing: “This is an exciting place to study literature, especially when we consider all the famous tales told about the sea. You might compare the struggles you’ll face as you study and travel with the struggles faced by Santiago battling the marlin…” Professor Morrison paused, a sly smile on his lips as he asked, “Anyone know what work of literature I’ve just alluded to?”

“The Old Man and the Sea,” a bored voice from the back of the room called out. Turning, I saw Finn Choy, the dean’s son.

“Correct! Here’s another one, for someone else to answer. You!” Professor Morrison brandished a skinny crooked finger at Blaine. “You all will need obsessive focus to succeed in this class—like the kind of obsessive focus demonstrated by Ahab. What book is he from?”

Blaine stared at Professor Morrison blankly. He had no clue. I couldn’t help myself from blurting out the obvious answer: “Moby Dick!” Then, I mumbled under my breath: “Troglodyte.”

“You’re supposed to be ignoring him,” Vivian whispered to me.

I glanced at her in surprise and opened my mouth to retort—until I realized she was right. Why was I letting myself get mixed up in Blaine’s business?

“Old habits die hard. It won’t happen again.” I wasn’t sure if I was telling Vivian or myself.

After English Lit, it was time for marine biology—finally. I was eagerly making my way across the ship’s enormous upper deck to get to the class when my phone rang. It was my sister, Jaiya, For a second, I thought about ignoring the call but…

Mom and dad will freak out if I go incommunicado with the whole family, I took the call.

“Hey, sis, what’s up?”

“Um, did you block mom and dad on socials?! They’re freaking out!” My sister’s voice hissed through the phone. Shoot. Before Jaiya hurried on: “They were so proud of you for getting into that pre-med immersion program at Oxford and they’re dying to see photos. They don’t get why you’re being so secretive. And I don’t either, to be honest. What’s going on!?”

Ugh. It was time to come clean. But first, I had to secure my sister’s secrecy.

“Jaiya, remember when you wanted to go to homecoming with that guy and mom and dad wouldn’t let you, so I helped you get a dress and sneak out of the house?”

There was a long pause.

“Uh… yeah.”

“Great. Mom and dad never found out, right?” I added.

“Right.”

“Okay well they can’t find out what I’m about to tell you either.”

“What is this, sisterly blackmail?” she asked.

“Just a mutual understanding,” I clarified. “

An understanding of our mutual protection—or destruction. I keep your secret and you keep mine.”

Bingo.

“Fine,” Jaiya said with a sigh. “What’s up? Where are you? Is that a seagull I hear in the background?”

“Yeah, soooo, don’t tell the parents but I’m not at Oxford. I’m on a ship, studying marine biology.”

“You’re WHAT?!” My sister’s voice scaled up about three octaves.

“I’m not sure I want to become a doctor,” I hurried on, “But you know how Mom and Dad are… They’ve been dreaming of me becoming a surgeon for years. I don’t want to disappoint them, but I also don’t want to give up on my dreams.” I held my breath, waiting for Jaiya’s reaction. At 23, she was only a couple years older than me, but she never failed to remind me that she was the “big sister.” I braced myself for a lecture about how terrible it was to lie to our parents. But she surprised me.

“Finally! It’s about time you rebelled against their iron grip.” I could hear the smile in Jaiya’s voice.

“I’m not rebelling, I’m just exploring my own interests.”

“Sure, that’s what I said when I dropped out of college and moved to Los Angeles to act,” Jaiya replied with a giggle. “Look, I think this is awesome but—”

“Jaiya, your break is over!” a loud voice shouted from the background.

“Ugh, I need to get back to work,” Jaiya said, exasperated. “Fuck, I hate waitressing. Look, sis, good for you! Your secret is safe with me, okay? Just take care. And post something so they don’t get suspicious.”

“Thanks for keeping my secret.” I ended the call, breathing a sigh of relief—but my relief was short-lived, because when I looked up, I saw Delilah, her icy blue eyes piercing into me like a knife.

“I couldn’t help overhearing the end of your convo,” she said with a smirk. “What’s this big secret you were talking about?” She arched her perfectly shaped eyebrows at me quizzically. Shit. Luckily, she couldn’t have overheard much other than my last few words, or she’d have heard me tell Jaiya what I was really doing. And if she knew for sure what I was really doing, she’d have called me out right then and there.

“Oh, uh, nothing, I have to get to class.” I started to walk away, but Delilah stepped into my path.

“Here I thought you were just some awkward, nerdy bore, but it turns out you might be slightly interesting after all,” Delilah said smoothly. I stopped short and looked up, meeting her gaze head-on.

“I thought you wanted me to stay far away from you.” Last night, Delilah had made it all too clear that she didn’t want me anywhere near her.

“Hm, well that was before I learned about this juicy secret you’re hiding. What is it? Are you pregnant? On drugs? Oh wait, I know: Both!”

“Try neither.” I shook my head in disgust. “And if that’s where your mind goes, that says a lot more about the type of life you lead than the one I lead.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Delilah replied with an unbothered shrug, flipping a strand of her perfectly smooth blonde hair over her shoulder. “By the way, you should know: I’m not just hot. I’m also super smart.”

“And humble, too,” I mumbled. Delilah ignored my weak jab.

“And because I’m so smart, I’m really good at finding out what other people are hiding—and exposing them,” Delilah went on, stepping closer so that we were only inches apart. “My social media brand involves way more than dance videos,” she continued. “I use it to keep my followers informed. Like a public service.”

Shit. With a girl like Delilah, the safest thing to do was to fly under her radar. That was how I’d survived high school—steering clear of girls like her. But now, I’d piqued her interest. I had to do something.

“I can assure you that if you want to keep your views high, the last person you should feature on your TikTok account is me. Because you were right about me being awkward and boring,” I said coolly, trying to keep the panic out of my face. But Delilah, like any good sociopath, could practically smell my fear.

“Even nerds can have wild secrets,” she replied, her voice dropping to a whisper. “And I intend to find out what yours is.” She held eye contact for a moment longer, her eyes as blank as a snake’s. Then, she quickly plastered a huge fake smile on her face. “See ya later!” With a faux-friendly wave, she flounced off, her pleated miniskirt swaying side to side in a perfect rhythm with each step. I stared after her, terrified. I’d just been threatened by a bleach-blonde thug in a miniskirt.