Treasure Planet: The Real Treasure

Chapter 8

Mrs. Hawkins and I went shopping for some clothes suitable for the journey. I didn't want to wear all dresses, but Mrs. Hawkins thought I should have at least one nice thing to wear in case there was something formal on the ship, which I seriously doubted. So we bought a nice light blue dress with three-quarter sleeves and a moderately low V-neck. But the rest of my clothes consisted of white shirts, brown pants, and a pair of black boots. We also bought a light-blue satin nightgown with matching moccasin-like slippers. I thanked her again and again, and promised her I would pay it all back. She smiled and said that wasn't necessary, but I planned on doing so anyway.

About a week later, we were heading towards the spaceport. I was wearing brown pants tucked into the black boots and a white shirt with slightly puffy sleeves and a V-neck. It reminded me of a pirate's shirt, though much better in quality and more flattering to my figure.

Jim and I hadn't spoken a word to each other since the day we had found the map. I wanted to speak to him, but I figured he was still angry at me. Every once in a while I would catch him looking at me, though he kept his face unreadable so I couldn't tell what he was feeling.

When we stepped off the bus to the spaceport, I gazed around in awe. The bustling spaceport was filled with so many different kinds of people!

"Jim! Raphaelle! Wait for me!" Delbert called from inside the bus.

He stepped out, wearing a ridiculous tan and yellow space-suit. A very pushy two-headed saleswoman had convinced him to buy it while we were waiting for the transport bus back on Montressor. Jim and I both chuckled under our breath.

"Well, this should be a wonderful opportunity for the three of us to get to know one another. You know what they say, familiarity breeds... um, well, contempt, but in our case-"

"Look, let's just find the ship. Okay?" Jim said, walking off the platform.

I hoisted my backpack onto one shoulder and began walking behind Jim. Delbert followed behind us. After getting some directions, we quickly found the ship, the R.L.S. Legacy.

"Whoa," I breathed.

It was the most extraordinary thing I'd ever seen. Jim and I climbed aboard the enormous floating vessel, looking around.

"How cool is this?" he exclaimed.

"Amazing," I answered, my eyes wide with excitement.

Jim was so preoccupied with his surroundings that he accidentally bumped into someone, stepping on them a little bit.

"Sorry about that. I didn't mean-"

The crew member made various farting sounds, his snout blowing air at Jim and messing up his hair. He put up his fists like he wanted to fight. Jim was dumbstruck, and I stood there trying to hold in my laughter. The look on his face was hysterical. Lucky for him, Delbert arrived at that moment.

"Allow me to handle this," he said.

Delbert made noises similar to those the crew member had. Jim and I shared a dumbfounded look before staring at the doctor with cocked eyebrows. Oddly enough, the crew member understood him.

"I'm fluent in Flatula," Delbert explained to us. "Took two years of it in high school."

"Flatula? Cool," Jim said, running a hand through his hair to fix it.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head as we followed Delbert. Boys.

"Good morning, Captain. Everything shipshape?" Delbert asked a large man in a fancy red coat and three-cornered hat. He appeared to be made out of stone. He was very intimidating and I felt like hiding from him, but I suppressed the urge and stood up straighter.