Free Voyage (Powerless Nation #2) by Ellisa Barr Page B

know. Maybe it won’t. I feel like I need to do something different, or be a different way.”
    “Do you want a suggestion?” Sena asked, feeling like she was walking on thin ice.
    “Sure.”
    “It’s not about your clothes or popularity. It’s about how you act and make other people feel. You could keep all of your clothes and just be nicer to people. That would make you a better person.”
    Charity was silent, looking down at her bare feet. Sena noticed her toenails were turquoise blue, and one nail on each foot was painted like a tiny cupcake.
    “I think I owe you an apology,” said Charity, so quietly Sena almost missed it.
    “What? No, we’re fine. You don’t owe me an apology.”
    “Yes I do,” insisted Charity. “I’ve been a huge jerk to you and I’m sorry.”
    Sena hoped Charity was serious about being nicer. At least she was trying.
    “Did you see that?” Charity asked, shading her eyes and looking out at the water.
    “No,” said Sena, relieved by the change of subject.
    “I think it was a dolphin. Look, another one!” Charity’s face was lit by the biggest smile Sena had ever seen on her. “I love dolphins. I’m going to be a marine biologist someday. Have you ever been swimming with dolphins?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “I’ve always wanted to, but I don’t think wild dolphins should be captured for tourist attractions. Someday maybe I’ll get to though. Aren’t they beautiful?”
    There were a lot of dolphins now, leaping in graceful arcs around the ship. Sena looked at Charity; her face was radiant with joy.
    Her expression changed suddenly to a look of disgust. Sena turned in time to see a red bag sail down and land in the water.
    “You’re a sick jerk!” shouted Charity to the offensive, out-of-sight passenger. 
    And with that, the moment was broken.

 
     
     
     
    CHAPTER NINE
     
    A FTER BREAKFAST , THE GIRLS decided to look for their classmates. To Sena, the passengers seemed less optimistic and more resigned. Instead of conversations and singing, she saw people sitting on their mattresses or pool chairs looking lost and staring into space. All they could do was wait and worry about their families back home and their own fates.
    They walked past one woman sitting on the stairs, sobbing for her children. Several people sat near her, offering comfort. Her weeping followed Sena and Charity long after they had left her far behind.
    Sena picked up a snippet of conversation between two male crew members as they passed.
    “Did Brady ever show up for his shift this morning?”
    “I don’t think so. He’s probably off somewhere enjoying the perks of his new job.”
    Their coarse laughter faded as they turned a corner.
    When Sena and Charity finally found their class at the distant end of the Lido deck, they discovered the students were in the middle of a lecture by Mr. Stoddard about cargo ships. 
    “Container ships are the big rigs of the sea. Each one has stacks and stacks of truck-sized containers piled as high as a small building. They look like floating apartment blocks. The containers can hold all kinds of things, and they’re very efficient. Here’s a bit of trivia I think is interesting. Did you know it it’s cheaper to catch fish in Scotland, freeze it, ship it to China on a container ship, thaw it and let the Chinese filet it, freeze it again and ship it back to Scotland, rather than to have the Scots filet it themselves?
    “It’s going to be important that these container ships keep operating until we can get the country back on its feet. Without them, there will be all kinds of shortages – especially food shortages.”
    “How many containers are filled with food usually?” asked one student.
    “I don’t know, you’d have to see the ship’s manifest, but not even the captain of a container ship gets to see the manifest.”
    “What’s a manifest?” asked Sena.
    “It’s a list of all of the goods being transported on a ship. Most ships