Teach a Teacher a Lesson
Chapter 12

As she was combing her hair, Rita kept her eyes on her glossy lips. She smiled to herself, thinking of the kiss she had exchanged with Sam the previous night. It had been a while that a passionate kiss wreaked havoc on her senses. She wondered if Sam would do it again soon. She didn't trust her confidence to initiate it herself. She still couldn't figure out how she mustered the courage to ask him that; it wasn't like her. She always let Chris make the moves. Maybe it was the alcohol? Well, I hope I don't have to resort to that every time I want to kiss Sam.

She glanced at her watch. It was almost eleven. They had docked at Port Vell at nine, and according to her itinerary, she had to meet the tour guide at the reception area in a few minutes. He was to give further instructions to the group of passengers who were to disembark and take a tour of Barcelona.

She grabbed her bag and headed to Reception wondering if Sam would already be there, keeping his word to escort her and spend time with her off the ship.

"Once we are in the central area, you should make sure not to wander off. If that happens however, please report back to the ship an hour before departure," Rita heard the tour guide say on the microphone as she was approaching. He was a young man, about Rita's age as far as she could tell. Not too tall and rather skinny for a man, he was wearing a pair of trendy glasses that matched his modern outfit nicely. He seemed like a pleasant person to be around, which she considered an asset as the group was going to be spending a lot of time with him.

"I will now call your names out. Please listen carefully so that you know which is your bus. There will be buses from other travel agencies at the port as well, so make sure you get on the right ones. Okay, the first thirty names I'll call out will be on bus 10."

The tour guide's list was in alphabetical order so Rita's name was among the first he called out. Once she heard her name, she started looking around to see if Sam had turned up. She wasn't sure if Sam would be allowed on her bus since it was for the people who had bought this specific holiday package, but she could at least make arrangements with him to meet somewhere in the city center. Sam knew the place, after all.

She was glad she had taken the travel agent's advice to book the package that included the tour guides. She met people at the disco last night who had decided to venture the ports on their own. She knew she wouldn't feel safe by herself. She wasn't used to traveling abroad; though it had always been her dream to do so and see more of the world, this was her first international trip. She liked that every detail of the voyage was planned and she only had to worry about how much fun she could have.

"After we visit the museums and the aquarium, we will return to Maremagnum, where you can spend the rest of your afternoon shopping or relaxing at the cafés. You can even see a film if you wish to. That will be your 'free hour,' but as I said make sure you return to our designated place on time or else be back on the ship at 5 o'clock. I am reminding you that departure is at 6 p.m. and we may not be able to wait if you are late." "Exciting, isn't it?" the old lady standing next to her said.

Rita nodded and kept scanning the room for Sam.

"Have you taken this trip again?" the old lady persisted.

"No, I haven't," Rita replied.

"Oh, it's my third time, but I always discover something new and I love the sea."

Rita tuned her out. Her mind was otherwise occupied.

"I am Jill, by the way. What's your name, honey?" Her tone of voice demanded Rita's attention again.

"Rita." She shook Jill's hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Would you like to sit beside me on the bus? I have so many stories to tell you from my travels."

"Eh... I am waiting for a friend. I'll see you later." Rita took a few steps away from her. The last thing she needed now was a bubbly old lady.

Where are you, Sam? she wondered. They were ready to disembark, and she couldn't see him anywhere.

"Looking for someone?" a male voice sounded on her left.

She turned her head expectantly. "Oh, it's you." Her enthusiasm plummeted when she saw it was the young bartender she had spoken to the previous night.

"You were expecting someone else?" he asked, more amused than upset by her evident disappointment.

"I... eh, no... no..." Rita stammered. She tucked a tuft of hair behind her ear and took a calming breath. She hated being an open book to everyone.

"I was surprised to see you. That's all," she said. "What are you doing here?"

"I am off duty today and I thought I'd join the fun. I like tours."

"Are you allowed to come with us?" she asked.

"Normally, no. But Paul, your tour guide today, is a friend of mine, so he will let me on one of the buses if there's room." He paused for a second. "And if you don't mind my company..."

"No, not at all," she replied. She shifted her weight uneasily from one leg to the other. What if Sam comes too?

"Great," he said. "I'll go and ask Paul then."

"Wait," Rita said, stopping him. "Why aren't there any other members of the staff joining us?"

"Anyone particular you are asking about?"

"No, I told you, I'm not expecting anyone..." she trailed off.

He smiled at her. She knew she didn't sound too convincing.

"What's your name again?" Rita wondered.

"Ouch!" he said and laughed. "And here I was thinking I was unforgettable."

"Sorry, I was a bit tipsy last night. I can't recall much."

"Well, the commonest name of all. John," he replied.

"Oh, yeah! That's right. John."

"You won't forget it now, huh?" he teased.

Rita giggled. "No, I'll remember it this time," she said and looked around again. The others were following the tour guide to the exit, and there was still no sign of Sam.

"So, to answer your question," John said, seeing her impatience, "Not many of us are off duty today and those who are, hospitality staff like me, don't usually follow the passengers off the ship."

"Oh, I see," Rita said, disappointment flashing in her face once she realized Sam would not keep his word to her.

"I can still keep you company, right?"

Rita nodded in agreement. She pulled the strap of her shoulder bag higher and walked to the exit. John followed behind her.

***

"What are you having?" John asked Rita as they sat at a café inside the Maremagnum shopping mall and the waitress came to take their order.

"A latte," she replied.

"I'll have an espresso, please," John said.

"Do you have any croissants?" Rita asked.

"Yes, of course," the waitress replied. "What kind would you like?"

"Chocolate please."

"I'll be right back with your order."

"You're hungry?" John asked once the waitress was gone.

"I'm famished. I skipped breakfast on the ship because I wanted to sleep more."

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"Oh, I see. Well, if you had told me, we could have gone to a restaurant to have lunch."

Rita waved her hand dismissively. "No worries. It's fine here. I'll have a big dinner when we get back. I don't usually eat much anyway. It's just that all that walking around the museums and the aquarium worked up my appetite." "What did you think of the aquarium, by the way?"

"I've never seen such variety of sea creatures. It was amazing."

"Yeah, but those sharks were really scary."

"Oh, yes. Definitely."

"Here's your order," said the waitress, interrupting their chat.

"Thank you," John said. "Let me pay you now."

He had a look at the receipt. "Keep the change," he said to the waitress, who thanked them and left.

"You didn't have to pay for mine, as well," Rita said, once they were alone again.

"That's okay. Don't worry about it."

Rita took a sip from her latte. "Well, thank you, but I will be buying next time."

"Will there be a next time?" John asked and smiled at her.

"Sure! I had fun with you. If you are allowed to come with us next time, I don't see why we can't hang out. We can be friends while I'm on this cruise."

"Friends, huh?" John said. He picked up his cup and drank. He kept looking at her, but Rita grabbed her croissant and didn't reply to his remark.

"So, what do you think of Sam?" he asked her then.

Rita choked on her bite and coughed.

"Here, have some water," he said, pouring some into her glass.

Once she was able to breathe properly again, Rita asked, "What got into you? What does Sam have to do with our chat?"

"I was just wondering. He is a good friend of mine, you know."

"Really? It didn't seem like that last night. He yelled at you."

"Yeah, that was weird. I've never seen him act like that before. He is very respectful toward all his colleagues, even those with a lower rank, like myself."

"It wasn't very nice of him to yell at you. You were only keeping me company. You didn't do anything inappropriate."

"I think that's exactly what bothered him," John said, and laughed.

"What do you mean?"

"I think he was jealous, Rita. He likes you."

"You think so?" she asked.

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"Well, the truth is we did have a moment after we left the bar last night, but I am not sure I get him. He had promised me he would be here today and never came."

"It wasn't his fault. We can't control when we will be off duty or not."

"I guess so."

"Well, I think he likes you a lot. He has never done this before aboard, you know."

Rita stared at him, confused.

"I mean Sam is a very attractive man, obviously, and lots of passengers make a move on him, but he always avoids them politely. Sure, he flirts when we are on the ports, and I think he had a girlfriend in Marseille at some point, but I don't think he ever took that seriously and I am pretty sure he is not with her anymore."

"Why wouldn't he take her seriously?" Rita asked. She pushed her chair back a little and crossed one leg over her knee.

"Sam is stuck in the past. He is still in love with a woman he met years ago. I don't know many details; he doesn't like to talk much about her because it is still painful to him, even though it's been ten years since then."

"Ten years? He must have loved her very much if he can't let go."

"I think he did, but as I said, I can't tell you much about it."

"Well, he told me I look like someone from his past. I guess it must be the same person you are talking about."

"Yeah, probably. He doesn't really talk about his girlfriends, but he has mentioned her a couple of times. What's funny is that whenever I ask for her name, he changes the subject as though he is afraid everything will come back to him if he calls her name."

Rita moved her leg nervously. "I am not sure this is a good thing, then. If I remind him of bad times, maybe I should avoid him."

"We are on a ship. It's not like he can't replace you, and I don't think Sam is willing to let you alone." John burst into laughter.

"You know what I mean. I've already been through a bad relationship. Would it be wise to get involved with someone who still has issues?"

"Everyone has issues, Rita. And sometimes we need the right person in our lives to help us solve them. Sam is a good guy. If you are interested in him, I'd say give it a go while you are here. Get to know each other. You never know what will happen."

"I guess so," Rita replied and took a sip of coffee.

"You're here to have fun after all, isn't that right?"

She smiled at him. "Yes, that's true."

"Then I'll say Sam is your man."

"My man? Aren't you being a bit hasty?" Rita giggled. "Are you a matchmaker in profession?"

John laughed out loud. "I guess I am in this case."

"Well, we will see," Rita said. She glanced at her watch. "Isn't it time we head back and replace the others?"

John checked his watch as well and nodded his agreement.

"Yeah, we probably should," he said, and they both got up. "Besides, I don't want Sam to crucify me because I made you miss the boat."

"Oh, you," Rita said and slapped his shoulder playfully. "Come on, let's go."