I leaped out of bed on Sunday and started getting ready for church, curling my hair and pinning it back with a white and orange flower from the beach. Then I got dressed, putting on a plain, navy blue dress and a white sweater. I slipped on my white sandals and sat down at the breakfast table. Mom had made pancakes, bacon and eggs, not as good as Molly's but still delicious.

"We ran into a huge storm!" my dad was telling one of his fish stories again to the family. "The waves were fifty feet high and lightning was striking the ocean, nearly missing our ship! I yelled at Davy to steer us away from the storm and well, we managed to get out of there alive...but not before Billy was thrown overboard!"

Everyone, even me, gasped.

"Did you save him?" Jackson asked, leaning over the table with his eyes wide.

"Luckily," my dad continued, "I grabbed a lifesaver, chucked it right to him, and yanked him back onto the Teal Seal with the help of Benny!"

Jackson and Livvy clapped, cheering.

"Oh Ralph!" my mother laughed, sitting down at the table. "Do you really expect us to believe that? I heard of no storm while you were gone!"

"I believe him!" Livvy said, staring at Mom.

"Well, it wasn't a HUGE storm, but there was some lightning and some big waves. And you can ask the other boys yourselves about me saving Billy! That did happen! He could've been eaten by a shark or a sea monster!" the captain said, seriously.

Maybe what he said was partially true, I thought, chuckling.

"Well I believe almost half of what you say, dad!" Isaac said, pretending to be encouraging.

We cracked up and headed out to our 1940s blue roadster to drive to church.

* * * *

After Mass, my dad announced that we were going to have brunch with his crew. I LOVED his crew! Billy, Benny and Davy were all the nicest guys in the world! Not to mention, Davy Richards was only two years older than me and quite handsome with his sandy blonde hair. I didn't like him more than Oliver of course, but he was still charming and fun to hang out with. And plus he was a sailor. I loved sailors, having lived around them my whole life.

We all met at Molly's Cafe, of course, and sat in a huge booth. All nine of us. I ended up sitting on the end next to Davy, thankfully.

"Did Cap'n tell you about the storm, Amby?" Davy asked, his silver eyes wide. That was his nickname for me, which he knew I adored so much.

"Yes," I replied, smiling. "Is it true?"

"Of course it is!" he replied in his cockney accent. "And I steered us to safety! We'd all be at the bottom of the sea if it weren't for me!"

I put my hand to my mouth, trying to muffle my laugh.

"It's true!" my dad said, seriously. Which was strange. My dad was just a little too proud to admit that someone saved his life. He would only boast about himself. Maybe they had, in fact, hit a storm.

"Well...good job, Davy!" I said, nodding in approval. "Was it scary?"

"Well maybe for Bill!" Benny said, cracking up as he sipped his huge mug of hot cocoa. "He was screaming like a tea kettle the whole time!"

"Me?!" William Streeter's high-pitched voice rang out. "I...I would NOT have been screaming for my life if I hadn't been carelessly chucked overboard into the cold, wild waves!"

"Careless?" My father laughed. "Who was the careless one? The one who was careless about keeping his balance!"

Everyone chuckled except for Bill who's cheeks were turning pink behind his bushy, syrup brown beard and sideburns. I felt bad, but still humored.

"Oh, Billy! You know we're just teasing you!" I assured him.

He raised his small eyes at me and grinned. "Yeah, I shouldn't be taking these cowards' jokes so seriously!"

"Yeah!" Isaac said, encouragingly. He and Billy got along very well. "Do any of you three know what it's like to almost be drowned to death! No! Only Billy took the sea on! He's got the best story to tell! Losers!" he mocked, making a face at us all.

As we were finishing up our meals, I noticed Livvy staring intently into Benjamin Hutch's emerald green eyes. He had a short brown stubble beard and was the strongest of the crew. In fact, he was also only a few years older than me. He was telling Liv about all the amazing animals he'd seen on his voyages.

"Did you ever see a giant squid?" Livvy asked him, excitedly.

"No. I hope to one day. But I have seen a whale shark!" he claimed, confidently. Benny was the least likely of the crew to lie.

"Was it really the length of two school buses?" asked Jackson.

"No, it was bigger! Swam right under our ship!" Ben exclaimed.

At that moment, Davy turned to me and, instead of bragging about what he's seen and done on his voyages, he started asking me questions about myself. About my school, what I did every day, what I liked to do for fun. So I answered his questions. The teachers and classes at my school were great and most of the students respected me since I was the daughter of a captain. Some students, though, were jealous of me and teased me about living with fish and around "pirates."

"They call us pirates?!" Davy said, angrily raising his voice. "Sailors aren't pirates! Drunk sailors are pirates! Those kids. How dare they tease about your life by the sea. They're jealous! Spoiled! I'll show them!"

He got up from the table, causing my family to stare at him, surprised.

"Davy! Calm down!" I told him, pulling him back to his seat. I was almost laughing, he was getting so ridiculous.

"Isaac has already 'shown them' many times," I assured him, laughing.

"In what way?" My mother perked up, worriedly.

"Don't worry, Mom," Isaac said. "I haven't beaten them up, only threatened to."

"Oh. NOW I'm not worrying," my mother said, sarcastically.

"Don't worry, Sara," my father said, patting her. "Isaac may be strong and violent (which isn't a bad thing, son), but he's also wise and self-controlled. He won't beat anyone up. Right, Isaac my boy?"

"Right, Dad," Isaac said, rolling his eyes.

I recalled what Isaac had done at school when I was teased. He had gone up to the sassy teenagers and simply said that I was his sister. And they ran for their lives. Basically because, Isaac was already so feared by everyone because although he was skinny, he could wrestle extremely well. When those bullies were teasing me, he'd casually walk up to them, tower above them, and say that I was his sister. And they would realize who they had just angered.

"Would you folks like any ice cream? It is free on Sundays."

I turned to see Oliver standing in front of our table, smiling. I blushed, but spoke up.

"I'll have blueberry cheesecake please."

He chuckled."Yes you will," he replied, writing it down and nodding.

As he took everyone else's orders, I realized Benny was peering at me, confused. He looked from me to Oliver, and looked as if he expected an explanation. Were men really that blind? Couldn't he tell? Didn't he realize it? Or did he really need an explanation?

"What would you like, sir?" Oliver asked Davy.

"Nothing!" he snapped. Hearing his own outburst, he shrunk back in his seat and repeated quietly, "Nothing for me, please." He was probably jealous.

Then, Oliver raised his eyebrow and muttered something under his breath that I wish I hadn't heard:

"Pirate."

No one else had heard him, or else their faces would have lit up. But I had heard and was shocked. I couldn't believe he had just called Davy a pirate. Was he really in on the joke with those other bullies? My eyes widened as I stared at the table. I wanted to shout at Oliver, but he had already gone into the kitchen to get our ice cream.

I did NOT want to tell Davy what he had said, so I decided to tell Benny somehow. It was awkwardly silent at our table now, so I covered my mouth and mouthed my message to Benny. At first he stared at me confused, but then his eyes widened in realization.

His hands were now fists and when Oliver returned to our table with the ice cream, Ben glared at him the whole time. Especially when Oliver started chatting with me, which was awkward since I wanted to scream at him.

As we started leaving the cafe, Oliver's golden eyes met Benny's glare. So he smirked, shrugged and said, "What. No tip?"

Oh, now you've done it, Oliver, I thought, shutting my eyes. Oliver was sometimes sassy, but not like this. I couldn't believe him.

"Here's your tip, you lobster!!" and Benny tackled him as we all stared in shock.

"Benny, stop!" Bill yelled. "Ben, ya fool!"

I saw the look on Davy's face. He wanted to fight, too, but he restrained himself as I gazed at him, pleadingly.

My father and Bill managed to pry Benny off of Oliver, who now had a bloody nose. Oliver simply glared at Ben and marched into the kitchen. We all made our way out of the shop, Benny fuming with rage. I laid an arm on his shoulder and he calmed down.

"Thank you," I whispered, almost laughing.

Benny smiled and replied, "That's what he gets for insulting a sailor."

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Thanks for reading! Please comment your thoughts! Part 3 will come out soon.