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welcome aboard, raylee griffiths, student #36. we are excited to set sail with you ! has anyone told you that you look like madelyn cline? according to our records, you hail from london, england, prefer she/her pronouns, are a cis woman, and are here to environmental science. we also see you received a spot on the ss university because of your academic scholarship — we won’t tell anyone. during your first few weeks here, other students said you were + adventurous, + determined, but also - stubborn. it sounds like you spend most of your time at the wifi lounge. upon checking your luggage, we noticed you packed a music box brought from home. hopefully your roommates don’t steal it!

“When one is at OG Starbucks, what exactly is a great order other than plain ole Iced Americano? I feel like the place is too good to just order that, right?” @seasstarts​

“if you’re looking for caffeine, their fall drinks just came out and i adore the apple crisp macchiato. if you want fruity, i’d go strawberry coconut drink.” she suggested. her starbucks addiction was finally coming in handy.

“Isn’t it?! It’s so calm and aesthetically pleasing.” Jude took a moment to take in the backdrop. “It would be my honor to make you famous. Just don’t forget about the little guy that helped you get there, please,” he chuckled.

“and i think it would make anyone feel at ease. well maybe except people who get seasick.” she looked out at the water alongside him. “oh don’t worry, if you’re shooting me to the top, pun not intended, i’m bringing you with me.”

Gertie was almost surprised the girl was holding a conversation with her. She wouldn’t blame her for ignoring her existence or telling her to fuck off. But of course, Ray was too nice for that. The guilt grew. “Glad to hear that. I’ve been… good, yeah, I’ve been good. Just focusing on school and stuff, you know…”

"yeah, sure, of course.” she nodded. seeing the girl hurt a lot. ray grabbed another napkin and turned back to her. “you missed a bit.” she wiped a spot on her face with the tissue.

“ i think it’s kind of a survivor situation. if you manage to outwit, outplay and outlast the rest of us then you’re the one true survivor and win the million dollar prize. ” she teased with a grin, “ so far i’ve managed to hide but i don’t know how long that’ll last. ”

“i’d be terrible at a survivor situation. if you’ve done it this long, you’ve gotta have some tips on how to hide for as long as possible.”

romeo: doesn't it.

romeo: wait really?!?!

romeo: i have my ways.

romeo: we'll have to figure it all out, but i am sure we've got this. dean murray's shoes will be knocked off.

ray: of course, it sounds like a blast!

ray: if you need help arranging everything, i'm happy to help as well!

“So I’m working on a project for one of my film classes…” Jude began as he finished setting up his tri-pod and video camera. “Would you mind helping me out? It’s just answering a few questions. I promise I’ll give you a shoutout when this wins all the awards,” he joked. @seasstarts​

"oh yeah, sure. no problem! the water’s a great background too.” raylee nodded. she never minded helping out a fellow classmate. “perfect, make me famous.” she chuckled.

@seasstarts​​ 

“after class today i facetimed my family just to see how they were doing.. my younger sister literally took the phone from my mom and asked me, ‘hey quinny are you living like the titanic?’ then my other sister chimed in asking me if i found my jack and to be sure to share the door with him if the ship ever sinks.. safe to say my sisters like to think i’m living the titanic life.” 

“well did you find your jack? i’m a sucker for a good love story.” she joked, resting her chin on her hands as if waiting for a story. “i would hope this one doesn’t end with one or both parts of the couple drowning though. or dying in any form.”

romeo: okay so this idea is crazy. well maybe a bit to crazy.

romeo: i don't dance, lets get that straight, but i need to dance if i pull this epic prank for dean murray to all full stops.

romeo: two words, flash mob.

romeo: falsh mob him, completely unexpected right...

ray: that sounds like an experience

ray: count me in

ray: that'll take a lot to arrange though

There were very few times that Gertie would prefer to turn invisible, melt away into the floorboards. She was the type of person that wanted to be seen, wanted to be heard, not caring so much about why she was getting attention but God forbid anyone tried to ignore her. At this moment, though, she felt she would be better served flying under the radar. She’d brought this on herself. “Thank you,” she said after a moment, dabbing the ketchup off of her shirt. “How’ve you been,” a dozen nicknames ran through her mind, words she’d lost the right to use, “Ray?”

she wanted to hate the other, she thought as soon as she saw her she’d be angry but all she felt was pain. raylee fiddled with her fork while gertie cleaned up her shirt and attempted small talk. being called by her actual name felt almost wrong coming out of her mouth. “i’ve been alright. you?”

“ in my personal opinion yes. for a while i thought it was just my friends but slowly the drama reached me too. just wait, it’s a slow and pervasive disease i’m sure at some point it’ll come to your front door. ”

“oh no. is there some sort of treatment for that disease? or a vaccine?” she chuckled. ray had found herself in the middle of drama before and she hated it.

“well, i saw it and made me think of you and i know it’s a classic already but why not add some of my own stuff, you know, it make it a little more personal?” and it wasn’t until they looked up and saw the look on the other’s face, “it’s an unspoken rule not to fold the corners but no one said anything about writing in it. i knew you would.”

“i’ve read some of these, but reading them again with your notes... i’m excited to get into it.” raylee nodded as victoria explained. “sometimes you just have to write in the margins.” her eyes started to water and she quickly wiped it away. “you got me emotional over here.”

“i had it back in vegas but the reason why it took so long to get to you is because this one is very special victoria lambert edition, you won’t be getting this one anywhere else.” they opened the cover to the first page where they had add that under the title, “as you read, you’ll see little notes i’ve added, favorite poems of mine and maybe a flower being dried up here and there but you definitely cannot read ahead.”

“oh my gosh, a one of a kind, i feel so special.” somehow her grin got even wider. raylee read the inscription under the title and almost teared up. “vic, this is so amazing, i can’t believe you did this for me. i love it.” 

“No, mum, I don’t have time,” Gertie insisted, ripping over a ketchup pack with a bit too much force, the red condiment splattering on her shirt and face. “I’ve been busy at the gym and now with school starting back— shit. Let me call you later. Do you happen to have—…” Phone call ended abruptly, she turned to the person closest to her, though the end of the sentence got stuck in her suddenly dry throat. It wasn’t impossible to avoid someone on a ship full of students, but it was harder than one might imagine. Especially when said ship was a shared school. The moment her brain registered who had struck a conversation with, she clammed up. “Sorry. I didn’t realize… I just needed a napkin or something.”

@raygriffiths​

raylee had just stopped by the buffet to grab something quick to eat before heading to the library when she heard the one voice she could never not recognize. while she hadn’t been actively trying to avoid the girl but she certainly wasn’t seeking her out. she hesitated before turning to look at gertie. “oh, uh, it’s fine.” she grabbed a napkin from the counter and handed it to her. “here.”

“i got you something,” they walked up to the blonde who was looking too closely at the small garden that students started to work on and they knew it was where they could find raylee. she pulled out a book, poems by emily dickinson, it was the complete collection, “don’t say i never gave you anything.” @raygriffiths​

raylee would often visit the garden, make sure the plants were watered and being well taken care of. she smiled and turned when she heard a familiar voice. her eyes landed on a book, titled ‘poems by emily dickinson’. “really? i love it! where did you get it?”