Chapter 19 - Christmas Trip

By the time Kyle left the Luo's apartment that evening, Joreen had a significant information about him. 

20 years old, a senior in college, ace of the basketball team, his father is a mixed breed: West and East, while his mother is purely from the East, country B. He was the only child and his parents divorced a few years ago but he's been living with his mother here who was a businesswoman and a workaholic. She's currently not in the country so he would have been spending Christmas alone if Reen hadn't asked him to join them. He sounded really smart also, but he wasn't the best student in his class. 

"Your boyfriend is so handsome. I am jealous." Joreen looked at Reen adoringly, who was sharing her bed with her. 

Reen picked a pillow from Joreen's bed to hit her with it. "You do realise you are a celebrity right? How could you lose your cool in front of Kim Kyle like that?"

"I didn't lose my cool. I just wasn't prepared to meet someone like him. He is far good looking than most actors and models I have met. Wait, do you think he is interested in modeling?"

"I don't know." Reen shrugged. "Never talked about it with him."

Joreen thought about it before her eyes lit up. 

"You should find out. I can talk to Uncle Li when we go on the trip. They can meet each other!" 

Reen continued to look at Joreen quietly before asking, "Do you like Kyle?" 

"I do." Joreen nodded making her sister sigh.

"I mean the other kind of like. Do you like him enough to want to date him?" 

"What? No! Of course not!" Joreen denied immediately. 

"But you seem quite smitten."

"Of course he is good looking. But that doesn't mean I like him like that. I like every good looking person and prefer to admire them from afar." 

"Besides, why would I like your boyfriend like that?" Joreen added in disbelief. 

"Well...." Reen shrugged again. 

"Is there something you want to say to me?" Joreen asked suspiciously. She could tell something was up with Reen. 

"Not really. You should go to bed now. Be up early. Let's go teach you how to drive." Reen winked at her. 

"We'll be going with my car right?" Joreen asked excitedly. 

"No! What if you bash it or something? We'll go with mine instead. Be up early and cover up properly." Reen instructed before leaving her room. 

The days flew by until it was a day before the big trip so everyone got busy with preparation. Although they had been preparing for the past few days, it was inevitable trying to make sure all was in order the day before. 

"Do you think this black dress is better than the white?" Joreen asked her family as she raised both gowns. The next evening was going to be the meet and greet occasion inside the ship and it was like a dinner party so they had to wear pretty dresses. There was no way she wanted to look uncool especially when she was hoping to find a boyfriend. 

"The black." The two women agreed but Jaime chose the white and they all knew why. The white looked more modest than the black which was a little bit revealing. They were told the ship had a heater inside so they could actually wear whatever they loved to wear inside but had to brace themselves for the cold outside.

"Black it is then." Joreen nodded and hopped back to her room where she looked at her hair again. 

Her curly hair had been replaced with long gold coloured box braids which she had made a day before. She had always wanted to try this hairstyle but was skeptical about it. Now, she was really happy she had done it. The many box braids which was tied together at the top of her head and stopped at her waist suited her face perfectly. 

When she was done packing, she heaved a deep sigh of relief before she fell back on the bed with her eyes on the ceiling. 

A smile slowly crept up her face as she closed her eyes and imagined all that was going to be happening on this trip. 

In the morning, they were going to drive down to the location where the would be boarding the ship. Hopefully, the ship would start sailing by 12pm. 

"So I already called Kyle, he is going to meet us at the port. You should prepare yourself to meet him tomorrow before you start swooning again like a little squirrel." Reen said from Joreen's bedroom door. 

"Yes ma'am. I promise to be well behaved. You should know there are going to be a lot of people there, some may recognize me, so I need to be well behaved at all times. I'll always remember that."

"Good. See you tomorrow baby Jo. Good night." 

"Good night." 

Joreen used the light controller to switch off the lights in the room before she covered her body with a duvet. 

"The Christmas trip is finally here." She said with a smile before dozing off. 

**********

"Wow!!" 

Joreen and Reen looked ahead in awe. They couldn't wait for Jaime to stop the car. What caught their attention the most was the magnificent and gigantic ship that was ready to sail. There were other small ships around but Serendipity towered them all. Away from the sea area, stood a lot of fancy cottages with signs of people inside. 

Everything before her eyes reminded Joreen of titanic. The way the ship was, the presence of a lot of people around, luggage carts in almost every corner and so on. But compared to Titanic, everything was modern and different luxury cars kept coming in. 

"Look! Some people are already entering inside!" Reen beamed.

The people weren't with their luggages. The luggage were being checked for illegal properties and passed through another door.

Drugs were prohibited, dangerous and harmful objects were also prohibited. Even fireworks was not allowed inside.

Seeing how much security measures which had been put in place, Joreen relaxed visibly. 

"All we have to do is look out for icebergs." She said.

Once their car finally stopped, four men approached them. One was a valet who took the car keys from Jaime while another who was really tall and dressed in a black suit bowed, "Good morning gentleman and ladies. Welcome to Serendipity." He signaled to the other men to help with their luggages.

Cixi explained their luggages have been tagged with the owners' names and room numbers so they nodded and left. 

"Can I have your tickets please?" The tall man asked politely. 

Cixi handed him a ticket and he looked a bit surprised when he saw it. 

"This way please.." He led them away from there towards one of the cottages and they all followed. 

Joreen looked around and wondered why she wasn't seeing any familiar face. Was Serendipity really that expensive to board or did everyone not just find it interesting to go on a vacation like this? 

All the faces she saw were all foreign to her. She saw children and couples everywhere and wondered where the rest of the family was. Also, her hope of having a boyfriend was beginning to crash. 

"Uhm... I am just curious sir... is this everyone?" 

Joreen asked the young man. They should be at least a hundred and fifty passengers but they people she was seeing around were not up to fifty.

He shook his head. "No Miss. There are still others in each of the cottages here. It follows a batch so you probably won't be meeting everyone until you've boarded."

"Oh..." 

Reen was also curious about some things so she asked while he patiently answered.

"There are six floors with 20 rooms each for the guests while the last floor is for the employees and attendants. There are also large halls for gatherings and parties."

"Does everyone eat together like one big happy family?" Joreen asked curiously. 

"It depends on what you want Miss. If you decide to have it inside your room or in the dining hall, you'll have it there." He answered with an amused smile.

"There is a booklet available in each of the cottages where you'll find all you need to know about this trip, also you'll see a map of the entire ship inside and also the rules and regulations. Enjoy your vacation gentleman and ladies." He said with a bow as he stopped walking when they got to the door of one of the cottages. 

"This was reserved for your entire family. And for your luggages, you need not worry about it, you'll find them inside your rooms." He assured them.

"Thank you." They all said to him and returned his bow while he left with a strange look on his face. He was a bit surprised to see how free and humble they were when he had thought they were going to be haughty and proud like most of the passengers that had arrived earlier.

When Jaime opened the door, they realised that almost every member of the family was inside.

They exchanged pleasantries with everyone but Joreen deliberately ignored Hoy who only looked at her once and then at her new hairstyle before he greeted her parents. 

'I can't believe this!' Joreen snorted. He was at fault yet he was snubbing her?

Just then, the door opened again and Kyle came in. He looked a bit stunned to see the faces present in the room. They were all people he never would have thought about seeing in his entire life. 

"Sorry... I'm... just coming now." He apologized with a deep bow but still looked very uncomfortable with all eyes on him. 

Cixi did a quick introduction so all of them knew he was Reen's friend. Surprisingly, they welcomed him warmly and he was able to relax.

"Your hairstyle is pretty. It suits you perfectly." He said to Joreen with a smile.

Joreen brushed some invisible hair away from her face in embarrassment. "Thank... you. You also look really good." He was looking almost the same like the first time she saw him in a shirt and pant but this time, he wore a coat also. 

"Jo..." Reen whispered and gently elbowed Joreen who looked at her in confusion. 

Reen cocked her chin to the left side so Joreen followed her gaze and flinched when she saw Hoy's piercing gaze directed at her.