Harringtons by Christian Rhodes (ebook reader with internet browser .txt) 📕

In the port coast of Miami, Florida, an immense crowd stood next to the SS Harrington, the largest cruise ship of all cruise ships, even larger than the Titanic. The exterior of the SS Harrington was elegant. It looked all pearly white with various sleek windows and golden edgings. As if it matched the same color of an ice crystal. Harrington was written at the ship's front side in gold and had a reflection-based texture, like the name itself was floating right above the sea.

Among the crowd was a fifteen-year old girl, casually wearing a blue jean-fabric jacket over her pink T-shirt that said 'Princess' glittered in a scarlet red and orange dots, in addition to a blue skirt, matching the fabric of her jacket and white boots with blue stripes. She had a small white purse over her right shoulder and she was carrying a dictionary-sized UPS package. Her shoulder-length dark-blond hair danced through the wind. She squeezed past through the crowd, toward the ship, as if in a great hurry. Like the onlookers next to the ship, she was waving. But she wasn't waving goodbye.

"Hey!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, "Wait! Wait for me!"

She darted to her right, squeezing through more crowd until she arrived at the overpass, leading to the inside of the ship. She proceeded to cross but then one of the ship's stewards came in front of her, stopping her advances. The steward wore a traditional cruise ship steward outfit: a white long-sleeve shirt with ebony edgings by the collar and wrist areas, a beige sweatervest underneath the shirt, black dress pants and shoes. The man had a mustache and he looked gruffly.

"Halt, lady. I need to see your boarding pass." The steward spoke with a mid-eastern accent.

"Oh, no, sir, you don't understand. I was sent to run an errand by the cruise's manager, Francois!" the girl explained.

"I'm sorry, but without a boarding pass, I can't let you in." the man said.

The girl sighed, her face looked like she was about to whine at any second, when another voice-a mix of French and Nigerian English accent-called from the ship's front, "Gino! She's with me. Let her in."

The girl turned around and saw the source of the voice: it was a middle-aged African-American man in his late forties. He wore a fancy black tuxedo and dress pants and a pair of polished shoes. Underneath the tux was a white shirt with ripples texture by the buttons' front, and he had a cummerbund matching the tux color. He looked like the cruise manager the girl mentioned. The girl smiled.

"But General Francois sir," Gino looked up to him, "she does not have a boarding pass."

"I know, I know," the manager, Francois, said, as he flashed up a boarding pass and stared meticulously at the girl, "She forgot to take it… again."

The girl forced a grin at the sight of the boarding pass she had apparently forgotten. Gino opened the overpass slightly, allowing just the girl to enter, "You're lucky the general is not strict." Gino told her.

The girl giggled nervously, "I know."

She finally entered the ship to the translucent Runway. She could see the entire crowd still waving goodbye to their loved ones from there. She faced Francois who formed a smirk at her. She looked like she was about to get punished, "I'm so, so, so sorry, General Francois." She said, "It just that, I left it up at the Main Lobby's Desk so that when I'm ready to depart for my errand, I will know where to pick it up."

"The Main Lobby's Desk heh?" General Francois said. The girl nodded.

"Which lobby?"

The girl paused. It appears to her that the SS Harrington Cruise ship has more than one main lobby: at the Normal Deck aka the 2nd Deck, at the Promenade Deck aka the 3rd Deck, at the Main Deck aka the 4th Deck, where the girl and General Francois currently are located, and the Studio Deck aka the 5th Deck.

"Now, Catt, I expect you to be focused on your job, even if it's being owner of the Main Deck's Treasure shop." General Francois told her as he took the package from her hand, "And thanks again for bringing up this package."

"Oh, no sweat, General Francois." Catt replied, "I'm really trying my best here at SS Harrington. It's my first day here and I so want to impress you and the owners."

"The owners, heh?"

Catt nervously chuckled, "Yeah. The Harrington twins and their siblings seem like nice people."

"That's because it's their first days managing the ship as well."

Catt and General Francois reached the Main Deck's Main Lobby. It was humongous. From the center, we could see two stairways, left and right, and a giant glass elevator that could fit at least twenty people inside. Everything was made in glass with ivory and gold textures. Few plants and tropical ones adorned below the glass elevator and the lobby seems to have four solid floors, top to bottom, leading to different places. The Harrington sign—a huge "H" in an elegant script, stamped at the midst of the lobby's floor was the highlight. The Main Lobby's desk was located to the right, between the elevator and the right stairway. A lot of people were seen at the lobby, going about their own business. Most of the people seen were from middle class to high class status. The majority of mid class status people was rare.

"Francois, are you sure about this?" Another feminine voice called the manager. Catt and Francois faced the source of the voice: a light-brown haired girl, about eighteen years old, five-feet ten. She wore an elegant red-royalty mermaid dress with a fuzzy fabric at the end. She carried a small purse in his hand. She looked ravishing, even with the curly and going all out hairstyle. A boy stood next to her. Like the girl, he was in his eighteen years of age, five-feet ten, and the color of his hair was light-brown but midway-length style with blond highlight. He wore an ivory prom tuxedo with shoes to match and cummerbund.

Catt and General Francois giggled at their looks. The girl crossed her arms, feeling offended, "It's not funny, you know?"

"Yeah!" the boy agreed, "you forced us to wear this!"

"Now, now, Mr. Aaron and Ms. Londres," the manager addressed the two, "I said dress casually, not formally. Your first days to run the business should not stress you out like that."

"Tell that to the Goosebumps on my arm, look." Londres showed Francois her arms.

"We were doing so good around here, until Mom and Dad left us for naught. On our birthday!" Aaron said.

"Actually, they retired and are now living their days in Hawaii." Francois said, "They may have entrusted you this family fortune, but they also granted me the right to help you in the process. If I were you, I would call it the best 18th birthday ever."

"You think?" Londres muttered.

Catt began to laugh; "Now that is funny."

Aaron and Londres Harrington. Twins and heirs of the SS Harrington family fortune. Four hours had passed since their parents and proud founders of the ship, Lord and Lady Harrington, retired from their everyday business work to spend the rest of their days in Hawaii, entrusting their fortune to the two siblings. The ship, has it turned out, is the Harrington's actual home, so one can imagine how breathtaking life can be like inside the largest cruise ship in the world.

Francois turned to face Catt, "Thanks again for the package, Catt. You may be on your way now."

"Thanks, General." Catt left. Aaron and Londres stared at the package curiously, "So, Francois. What's in that packet?"

"Oh, I thought you'd never ask." Francois opened the packet and revealed inside the box two unique PDAs in shining onyx color the size of the latest Cingular camera flip phone, "Aaron and Londres, your very own Digitechs."

Londres looked like she was hyperventilating. Aaron stood speechless.

"I knew you would have said that." Francois joked. He couldn't stop smiling while observing the twins about to faint at every second.

"Ohm gosh, ohm gosh, ohm gosh!" Londres gasped.

"Francois, have you completely lost your mind?" Aaron asked.

"Uhh… you're welcome?" Francois muttered.

"No, no, no!" Aaron objected, "It's just that Mom and Dad, and you even, always scolded us not to approach an actual one-of-a-kind breathtaking out-of-the-galaxy high-tech sophisticated powerful Digitech…" he gasped, "…with email."

"I know." Francois said.

"You know! And you're giving it to us?" Londres exclaimed.

"Of course. It's your gifts from your parents." Francois replied.

"No they didn't!" A masculine voice spoke from behind the Harrington and Francois.

The twins turned around and there they saw their siblings: Troy, Samantha and Paris. They angrily stormed toward their direction. Troy, five-feet five and 17 years-old, had a necklace of ancient tooth-shaped stone around his neck, and wore sunglasses. He also sported a casual white short-sleeve shirt, baggy shorts to match, and a pair of Velcro shoes. Troy's blond hair was spiky but short. Samantha's hair was blond and wavy. She had on a fashionable floor-length red coat with feathers to adorn the edges over her light-blue top and skirt. She wore high heels, making her feel five-feet six when she's five-feet four and 16 years-old. Paris, the youngest with the hair of ginger color, four-feet ten and 13 years-old, wore another elegant costume. The top had a handkerchief at the neck hole, a sweater vest of green color over her lime top and a white skirt. She wore high-heels sandals.

Troy removed his sunglasses, revealing his angry dark-blue eyes, "You get Digitechs and we don't?" he boomed.

"Troy…" Londres called him, "…not now."

"By 'not now', you mean 'so now'? I can't believe you two! You get Digitechs and we don't?" Samantha exclaimed.

Troy faced Samantha, "Isn't that what I just said?"

"Now, now, Samantha. You guys will get your own Digitechs soon, just not now." General Francois said.

"Really? When? On our 40th birthday?" Paris lamented.

Londres nodded unsympathetically, "Actually, yeah."

The siblings angrily muttered to each other. Londres's comment was not funny. Not a bit.

"Come on, guys." Aaron interrupted, "Why are you so spiteful when you can just pour out some happiness unto us?"

"You got the family fortune and Digitechs on your 18th birthdays. Believe me, our happiness to pour out has dried." Paris said.

"And I thought Mom and Dad loved us. Come on guys, we're leaving." Samantha began walking away, but then she stopped for a quick second to face the twins and muttered, "Spoil brats."

The three siblings left. Aaron and Londres looked at each other before looking at Francois. Francois shrugged, "Don't look at me. They're your flesh-and-blood. Deal with them."

-Treasure Shop-

"Hey, Catt. Thank you so much for the gift." Aaron told her.

Catt raised an eyebrow, "What gift?"

"The Digitechs." Londres replied, "The ones that were on the box you brought to General Francois."

Catt's jaw dropped, "You got all Digitechs?"

Aaron and Londres's smiles turned to nervous ones. Their eyes glanced at each others'. Catt continued to rant, "How can you get Digitechs and not me?" Catt angrily placed the closed sign on the