Barrel

EVA Eva Brickey played with her braid on the last formal day of school at Regan High. No one, including the teachers, took the day seriously. She adored her students, but they had become more and more restless as the weather grew warmer. She was only human, and her patience was wearing thin. She hadn’t had time to eat lunch, so she was munching on a granola bar while on her break when her friend Christina, a fellow teacher, entered the room. She, too, had her hair tied back, but unlike Eva’s raven black locks, hers were fiery red. “Guess what?” Christina said. Eva blinked heavily. She wasn’t really in the mood for games, but it was hard for her not to follow the consistent narrative of people-pleasing. “Kids are leaving early?” Eva said with a wink. Christina burst out laughing, her bright blues swirling in the sun. She sauntered over to Eva’s desk and sat on it, crossing her legs in front of her. Eva caught a whiff of Christina’s orange blossom perfume as her whimsical summer dress fluttered upward. “I wish,” Christina quipped. “I did something for you, something you might think is pretty bad, but just listen for a second, okay?” Eva turned off her computer monitor and twirled toward Christina. She was a glorious, natural beauty, and looking at her gave Eva a hint of envy. Christina was a bombshell without a doubt, with the mothers and fathers of the kids gawking at her at the end of the school day with mouths agape. This meant that she was more confident than Eva and more willing to take chances. Eva pursed her lips and nodded with her hands in her lap. Christina’s blood-red lips widened, and she clapped her hands together. “Okay, honey, so I submitted your name to this radio draw,” Christina began. “It's for this cruise that goes across the Atlantic Ocean. And?” Eva tapped her fingers together, feeling an oily sensation building inside her gut. “I won?” Eva said, cringing. Christina pushed her by the shoulders as she giggled. Eva appreciated her friendship, especially in a job that was highly underappreciated. “Yes!” Christina celebrated. “You finally get to relax for once and get out there!” Eva followed her impulse and put on a wide smile. Her own eyes were not the same sky-blue as Christina’s, more like a moody sea-depth. She tried to make them glimmer, though, to not disappoint her friend. “Come on,” Christina said, holding out her hand. “I promise that it’ll be worthwhile. Who knows what will happen on such an adventure?” Eva reluctantly took her friend's hand, and they finished out the last day of school together. Christina gave her a big hug before leaving for the day, encouraging her to get on that cruise ship. Eva didn’t have many plans for the summer, so she decided she would do it for the sake of her friend’s effort. She had never traveled alone before. In fact, she had barely gone outside of her home city. Her parents, both teachers themselves with stable jobs and a stable relationship, had met and married here. But no tension meant no discomfort, and no discomfort meant very little development. Eva lived inside her shell, often afraid to venture out beyond anything she wasn’t familiar with. Her people-pleasing nature overrode her anxiety, not wanting to let Christina down. So she packed for her trip and told her mother about it, who was less than encouraging. “Nydia works near there,” her mother, Nora, replied one night on the phone. Eva’s heart began beating quickly in her chest. Nydia was her aunt, a woman who she admired in her soul more than her mother. She was a high-ranking military officer in some secret operation, and the woman exemplified what it meant to be brave and independent … everything Eva was not. “I’m staying on the boat, Mom,” Eva replied. “I’m not going to be venturing out as Aunt Nydia does.” Nora encouraged her daughter to take her own snacks, extra pairs of undies (you never know when you might need a change), and the Swiss army knife that Nydia had gifted her some years ago. Eva carried that small weapon with her everywhere. No place was safe anymore, especially schools and classrooms. When she hung up the phone, that oily sensation in the pit of her gut returned. She closed her eyes, trying to feel it and let it go, a method her therapist of ten years had taught her. Eva boarded the ship in New York wearing a new cobalt blue dress that enhanced her long flowing hair. She could be prettier if she took the time with makeup and such, but the idea of standing out made her skin crawl. But she was a woman, and she coped with being hit on with ease. She was happy to have her meals dealt with and her days empty enough to fill with whatever she felt in the moment. She fell into a pattern of lying out on the deck, reading, and staring off into the stars when the nights captivated her attention. She drank a few glasses of wine alone at the bar on the fourth night, feeling more confident in her sleek, midnight-black dress. It propped up her breasts wonderfully and elongated her naturally lean form. Of course, this drew attention to her as she sat peering out onto the dim sea. Two men with expensive-looking suits tried making conversation with her, and both managed to fail. They were relatively attractive enough, well-groomed with slicked-back hair, thick arms that stretched the fabric of their polos, and dashing smiles. Aesthetically, they were pleasing, and if she had perhaps a few more drinks, she would have considered a one-night romp with either of them. But Eva wasn’t interested in that anymore. She knew that when it came to s*x, she would become attached, especially once she was sober. After they got what they wanted, they would quickly be rid of her. Eva wanted something of substance and, of course, something magical that fairy tales were made of. She had done a bit of dating, but even within her limited experience, she felt exasperated by it. She told herself she would wait for lightning to strike. She managed to fend off the potential suitors with her silent disinterest, eventually heading off to the cabin for an early night. She felt more buzzed than usual and didn’t like the idea of wasting a night on too much sleep, but she gave in anyway.