Around The World For A Kiss

Chapter 3

Luke was awoken with the sound of human voices talking, all mixing together and just seeming unintelligible to his waking lazy mind. It was still dark and his eyes could hardly make out the human figures all standing over him, and his first thought was, by default, "professor". His second thought was, "I've been caught,".

Luke sat up, hearing a change in the tone of the people surrounding him, panic sliding down onto his mind and taking hold. Luke began to shuffle back.

"We have a stowaway." One mumbled. Luke couldn't tell if he was the captain or merely one of the lower ranked crew members. Luke felt tiny underneath their multiplied stares, all their eyes fixed on the helpless little boy.

"P-please don't hurt me!" Luke managed to get out, trying to get to his feet and run away, before getting another sharp jab of pain from his leg. Luke let out a yelp and collapsed back down, holding his leg. The bleeding had ceased and it appeared he would get out with no more but a small scar, but it still hurt.

"Are you alright?" A man stepped forward, wearing a coat and kneeling down. "What's your name, little boy?"

"Luke..."

"Last name?" The man appeared nonthreatening.

Luke opened his mouth to say "Triton" but felt an even more sharp stabbing in his heart. He didn't want to be Luke Triton. He wanted to marry the professor when he grew up and wanted to be Luke Layton.

"...Layton! Luke Layton!" Luke tweaked his hat, feeling pride inflate his chest. He felt a bit safer knowing that they hadn't immediately picked him up and hauled him over the side.

"Well, Luke Layton... Why did you climb on this boat? Your parents must be worried sick." The captain frowned at him.

"I... I'm going home. Home to London. My parents w-will be worried but... I don't like America..." Luke let his emotions flow out on the gentle river of his voice, without losing it or causing the stream to become raging white water rapids.

"And why is that?" The captain appeared to be getting information on Luke's intentions.

"I left b-behind someone very important to m-me..." Luke said, fond memories of Layton gently flicking through his mind seamlessly. Oh how he wished to return to him, and here he was.

"Was he a friend? You'll make n-"

"I've been here f-for 6 months! I've made new friends!" Luke protested to try and prove his case. "I'm just not happy there..."

"And how old are you?"

"Eight, s-sir."

The captain made a low "hmmm" noise for a second, getting up and staring down at the now blood stained shorts Luke had tied around his wound. He felt a bit bad for the child.

"We'll have to respect your rights and get you to London." The captain concluded. Luke's eyes shone as an image of Layton appeared in his head, welcoming him home with open arms and shiny eyes... Luke started beaming.

"Thank you s-s-so much!" Luke tried to get to his feet, but found it a bit difficult due to his wound. The captain frowned at the gash in concern for the child.

One of the crew members tapped the captain on the shoulder, speaking in stern quiet mumbles as if informing him. Luke made out a few mumbles about his wound.

"Luke, we should treat that wound in case it gets infected." The captain informed him. Luke just nodded and limped after the crew (with a bit of help) to the deck.

Luke's mother was walking to her son's room, feeling guilty about the night before. She feared he wouldn't forget the incident and was going to apologise, and wake him up. He often couldn't be bothered getting out of bed and would probably spend his whole life underneath the covers if she let him. But, school.

"Luke?" His mother turned the doorknob to his door and pushed the door open, sending beams of light into the dark room. "Luke, dear, it's time to go to school..."

She walked in, quickly noticing Luke was absent from his bed and papers emptied out on the ground. His mother immediately began to worry. Luke hadn't ever had the motivation to get out of bed, let alone get ready for school all by himself, and leave before she got up...

Although it was a silly thing to do, her motherly instincts immediately kicked in and her mind raced to examine all the worst case scenario possibilities...

Luke was having a gauze bandage wrapped around his treated wound, which had partially healed but would take quite a while for him to be free of. Luke had paid the crew a bit of money to forgive the whole stowing away thing. They accepted it, thankfully. As the bandages were being wrapped around, he stared out to the endless rolling, deep blue grey ocean. The salty breeze ran through Luke's hair and comforted him. He wasn't feeling too bouncy and social like he would have been 6 months ago, but he could feel the joyful side of him gradually becoming closer as he came closer and closer to London.

"Hey." Luke tried to talk to the crew member who was just finishing up the bandages.

"Yes?"

"How long until we get to London?" Luke feared the worst, the depressed fade on his mind still in effect, but gradually withering away by the hour. He curled up slightly in semi-fetal position, staring out at the sea some more.

"It should be about three days." The crew informed him. "Shouldn't take too long."

Luke smiled slightly. He could wait that long for the professor... As long as he got to see him within a week, it would be great...

Luke lay back on the chair he'd been given, allowing himself to zone out and go to his thoughts. Maybe he could think up a puzzle to give the professor when he got there... Zoning out was just relaxing, he had found since moving. It was just nice to be quiet.

Luke shut his eyes before hearing male, gruff quarrelling arise a few metres away. Luke's ears blocked it out, as he wanted to remain meditated on his thoughts. The problem wouldn't become apparent until he got a bit hungry a few hours later.

Luke's relaxing was interrupted after a few hours (he was used to doing absolutely nothing from his depressed moods) when his stomach started crying out for food. Luke sat up, hearing his stomach make a gentle rumbling. 

He could walk a bit easier with the bandage on his leg, and so he hobbled over to the nearest crew member who was pulling some ropes.

"Is there anything f-for lunch?" Luke asked with a gentle head tilt. 

The crew member gave a sigh. "Some rats got into the rations and ate them all."

"Is t-that bad?" Luke cringed and suddenly began to grow nervous.

"It means we hardly have anything to eat. There's hardly a quarter left of what we brought, and we didn't bring that much in the first place."