Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Fiction 4-7 2019 | Page 50

Salt Water
Good Hope School, Cheung, Jocelyn Rachel - 16
“I’m saying you should’ve at least acted a bit more grateful-”
“Don’t worry, I am.”
Without a second word, he slammed the door to his cabin shut. To be fair, it was not his cabin, as it was
shared between quite a few groups of crew members, but most of them were outside right now, and he had relatively
more privacy. That being said, it wasn’t a lot. As he exhaled into his hands, he felt the odd stares of the others on his
back. In all honesty, he didn’t think the situation was all that bad, it was just the circumstances that were. He had just
wanted to go fishing, that was all, and go back to his little rundown shed of a home with his mother, and live good and
well. However, this one grand voyage that the Yongle Emperor himself had commissioned had apparently required
another crew member, and he had been tricked by that utter bastard Zhouli into helping out. With his luck, he
probably wouldn’t be home for half a decade. He should’ve known something was off way earlier on, but by the time
he had realized, Zhouli was waving an official order for his recruitment aboard the treasure ship in his face, giddy
delight in his too-blue eyes.
What a fool.
He sighed, glancing up just to meet bright sunlight filtering through the crack in the door. Time passed
quicker whenever you were dreading it. He blinked harshly as he straightened himself, smoothing out his clothes and
offering a death glare to the people behind him. Before he could sweep out of the cabin to his post however, a hand
caught on his shoulder, forcing him to stop. He turned to see a young man looking back at him, a faint grin on his face.
He’s probably younger than me, he thought with an internal groan, letting his dark eyes fall shut for a moment before
meeting the stranger’s amber gaze, which was – could you believe – twinkling with amusement. How dare he? He had
just opened his mouth to speak when said stranger started first, interrupting his train of thought.
“Lize, right? I’ve heard things about you.”
He bristled, feeling a spark of defiance before he shut it down. He liked being known, but how this man
worded it made the attention sound negative. He painted his face a picture of calmness – or rather, emotionlessness –
before inclining his head as nonchalantly as possible, though the motion still seemed rather stiff.
“That’s me. I’m afraid I don’t know who you are.”
The stranger’s smile did not vanish, but instead widened.
“I’m Xuqiyue. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
How it was even a pleasure at all, Lize could not imagine. Even in his hometown, Lize was generally regarded
as the stoic one: a nicer way of saying he was too blunt, too straightforward, but that was the way he was. He didn’t
mind and his mother also didn’t mind too much, his books didn’t either, so who cares? He simply just nodded again at
Xuqiyue, wondering what he was expected to say. The pleasure is all mine? That would be a lie. He didn’t enjoy lying.
As the sunlight blossomed into speckles across the wooden floorboards underfoot, he wondered offhandedly how late he
was. Maybe he could make it up later to whoever would be overseeing his job. He had many more days and months to
do so, after all – with all the time in the world, it seemed to him. It took a few more moments before he had the
compulsion to pull his mind back into his current situation with this… rather curious man, who was now squinting at
him rather obviously: observing him, of all things.
“Can I help you?” Lize asked, crossing his arms at Xuqiyue, who was just a few centimetres shorter than him,
but not enough that he could leer over him.
“Not today,” Xuqiyue shook his head. “Just wanted to say hi. Let’s be friends, yeah?”
Lize did not reply, instead seeming to freeze at the proposition. Friends… The closest thing he had to a friend
on this stupid ship was Zhouli, and they were on a hiatus right now. Frankly, Lize wouldn’t mind having friends too
much, especially since he was keenly aware that this journey was going to be incredibly long, excruciatingly long, if he
didn’t have any distractions. So he bit his lip, nodded at Xuqiyue, and left.
“Ehh, so it’s like that?” Xuqiyue mused, glancing ahead past the ship’s mast instead of at Lize next to him. Standing by
each other they created almost a perfect contrast: Lize stood straight out of habit, his dark eyes vigilant as he took in
their surroundings, the breaking waves casting a reflection in his pupils. One of his hands held onto the railing while the
other pushed his hair out of his eyes, intent on navigating. Xuqiyue on the other hand lounged carelessly by Lize,
playing with his own fingers and sniffing at the salty tang of ocean air. Like a dog, Lize thought in the back of his head,
though the accusation was fond, almost. He resisted the urge to ruffle the man’s hair: he was only three years younger
than him, for God’s sake, even though sometimes he acted like a child. They were just so different. But being friends
with Xuqiyue had led Lize to many other people: Zhongtian, Guanjiarong, Baiyun and more, all of whom had their
own quirks, but found it easy to bond over talk of how the weather would be like and how the ship would fare, what
pirates they’d have to fight off today, the best techniques to catch fish, and such seemingly simple-minded topics related