I make my way into the kitchen and sit at one of the many tables that are scattered around the room. This place looks like a cafeteria. There is a place to line up to get your food where a server would serve you your food. A big bulky man comes in from the back. He has his hair tied back into a man bun, a scar on his left eye, and an apron on.
"Hey, there sweetheart." He gives me a wide smile showing off his perfect row of teeth. I give him a small smile. "You are going to have to wait a little longer for food. That all right with you, hun? If not, I can give you a little snack."
Hun? This man uses some strange words. "I can wait, thank you." A couple of minutes later people start filling the cafeteria. Sia comes to sit by me while the rest scatter around.
"Looks like you are stuck with us for a while." she grins. Was that supposed to be a joke? The mere thought makes me cringe. My family will surely notice my absence and things will quickly escalate if they figure out that I am being held here against my will.
I give her a humorless laugh as my response. "That is very comforting." I make sure the sarcasm is heard. She starts to laugh. I am glad that she finds my torment amusing. I roll my eyes.
"C'mon we ain't that bad once you get to know us," she says with a beautiful smile. I do not want to stick around long enough to get to know them. "Do you have a boyfriend?" I ask. A woman like her on a ship of men like this. She must be fawned over.
She stares at me in shock for a while before speaking up. "You mean if I am dating anyone on this ship?" I nod my head yes. Then she starts to cackle. A full-on hysteric laugh session. I chuckle nervously and try to get as far away from her as possible.
I do not know why I expected her to be normal when she lives with these people. I started to get up just as she grabbed my arm. "Wait. Please. I promise that I am not crazy. It is just that idea is so ridiculous. These men are the bane of my existence. There is no way I would date any of them."
She could have just said that. The insane laugh was unnecessary. I look at her like she is crazy, and I think I may not be too far off from the truth. "By that expression, you must think that I am crazy." she grins yet again.
The big bulky guy that I saw earlier came back with a pot full of food. He rang the bell that was hanging from one of the back doors. Saved by the diner bell. I did not want this conversation to last any longer and maybe I would not be forced to talk if I had food in my mouth.
"Oh, you are going to love Frank's food. He is the best chef around. The only one, but still the best nonetheless." I was not going to take her word for it. Our conversation deemed her just as lunatic as the rest of the people aboard this ship.
I was one of the last people in the line. "This taste even better than the last Frank!" some random guy said. Frank, who I am assuming is the big bulky guy, gives a big smile. Everyone seems to be enjoying his food. I cannot be that bad if so many people like it, right?
I take my bowl of food and sit down where I had previously been sitting.
It looks good enough. I grab a spoon full of the soup and take a cautious bite. This. taste. HORRIBLE! I start to gag, and my stomach starts to lurch. This is such a waste of good fish. Talk about looks being deceiving.
I spit it out back into the bowl, refusing to have a second taste. The entire cafeteria goes silent and looks at me.
"This is what you people eat around here?!" No wonder they are so crazy. They have been eating poison every day.
"Not good enough for you toots?" the guy who brought me here says. He is looking at me as if I am some pampered Princessa. I am not. I just know when something tastes bad. "We do not get the good stuff around here so meals like this are like gold to us." a different guy says.
I look at all of them as if they are crazy. I look at Frank and he looks hurt. Like his pride has been crushed along with his feelings. I started to feel bad about how I said what I said. I still mean it wholeheartedly I just wish I had said it less offensively.
"What is wrong with it?" Frank sounds sad and anxious. "Frank only makes this kind of stuff on special occasions. Since you are new to the ship, he wanted to do something special for you." the captain says.
Well, now I feel like a rotten fish. I heavily sighed.
"There is sea bass, red mullet, haddock, halibut, cod, conger, and a red porgy and some small whole fish that have been added as well. Also traditional are mussels, squid, and crab, right?"
Frank looks surprised but nods yes.
I walk over to him into the kitchen. "Do you know a meal called bouillabaisse?" he thinks about it for a while before responding. "I have heard of it."
I would have thought he had tried to replicate it considering that dish has these exact ingredients.
"Follow me," I say and walk into the kitchen. He follows closely behind me. "Before we start, I want to apologize. I should not have said it like that especially since you prepared it, especially for me." My eyes show my honest emotion. It is not something that I can control. He would be able to see the honesty of my words in my eyes.
"Do not worry about it. You did not know." I frowned. "That does not matter. I was being rude and inconsiderate. My ignorance does not provide a reasonable excuse." he nodded his head once. "Okay then. Let us get started."
I started to teach him how to make the dish. They had a surprising number of good spices. They had many ingredients. They could be eating so much better. I asked Frank why they do not, and he explained to me that although they have a big supply now, it tends to go out quickly. They must ration everything that they have since they do not know when they will be able to get another chance to collect food.
I nod in understanding. "Well, today we are going to break the rules a little bit and have a proper meal. We will eat a meal with the excuse of celebrating me being held captive on this ship." I say with a smile. It was supposed to be a joke despite it being true. That is what is supposed to make it funny, but joke telling has never been my best skill.
Frank laughs at it though. This makes me smile. We start with the Sauce Rouille.
We then move on to the actual Bouillabaisse.
We did not have everything, so we had to improvise on some parts, but for the most part, it was good. Me and Frank taste tested the entire way and by the time we were done, we did not want to eat it. The final product was amazing.
We make our way back out into the cafeteria. Most of them have already finished their food.
"The food smells delicious." the captain commented. What was his name? That did not matter considering I would be leaving tonight. As soon as I find out where we are anyway.
The thought made me a little sad. Not sad enough to stick around, but sad, nonetheless. That fact alone is strange.
"I hope you guys are not too full because you will be eating this no matter what," I speak.
Frank, who is beside me, laughs. "We are never too full!" a man in the cafeteria shouted with a big grin. He seemed eager to eat.
Everyone lined up once again and took their seats as they started eating. I only prayed that they liked the dish. I could not judge their food and have mine turn out just as bad or worse.
"What is this?! This is what you eat?" the guy who brought me here says. Gosh, I have got to learn his name. That way I can properly curse him. He has been a thorn in my arse since those bandits.
I huffed, not impressed by his antics. "Well, if you do not like it do not eat it. Nobody is forcing you." I say with an edge in my tone. He starts to chuckle. "Kitty's got claws." he grins. Kitty? Claws? Is he high? I am starting to think that he will start to smell colors soon.
"We are just messin with you sugar cube. This taste delicious. No offense to Frank, but this is damn near the best meal I have ever had in my entire life." a man with shaggy dirty blonde hair, says to me. He has emerald green eyes and exceedingly long lashes. He has a white shirt that ties with strings on the back, revealing some of his back. He is younger than the rest. He looks about my age.
He has a piercing on his lower left ear. He is wearing black jeans and knee-high boots. My eyes shine with delight and happiness. It is amazing to hear someone has enjoyed your food. The meal being the best in his life probably does not mean much considering he has been living on rations most of his life but, it is important to me.
Everyone else cheers in agreement. "Do not worry about me. I am fine with giving this fine gal most of the credit. I was just a helper." Frank says. He gives me a bright smile and puts his hand in the air. I look at him with enjoyment. This means a lot to me.
He keeps his hand in the air and my delighted expression turns into one of confusion. "Do not leave him hangin now." someone says in the crowd. The voice sounds familiar. Probably one of the many men to have shouted before.
"What is it that you want me to do?" I ask. "High five." the captain says. High...five? "What is that?" I have never heard of such a thing. Nobody gives me a response. Just a bunch of laughs echo out through the ship.
Matching his movement from earlier, I put my hand up and put it together with Frank's. "High five?" I say, unsure if I did it right. There was never such a thing in Oceana. Frank grins at me. "Yes, that is a high five." My eyes shine like a kid's would when just given ice cream. He starts patting my head. I would do this to dolphins as praise for their good behavior. Is he doing the same?
"Are you petting my head in praise?" I looked up at him and asked. "Ah yes, sorry. I got carried away. Your expression reminded me of someone, and I could not help myself." he takes his hand off my head. I grab his hand and put it back onto my head and move my head so that his hand is gliding across my head. I like praise.
He looks at me in surprise before giving me a loving smile. That is probably directed towards the person he says I remind him of. I close my eyes and enjoy being petted. After a while I and Frank start to get hungry so we grab a plate of our own. We all sit down and chat. The environment is nice, warm, and friendly. Maybe they are not that barbaric.
"Damn girl I did not know you could cook like this. Yeah, we are keeping you here." she winks. Another joke of hers I presume, but it just reminds me that I will have to leave soon.