If you haven’t read February 9 yet, you can do so here.

If you stumbled onto this post by accident and haven’t read any of the other stories, head over to this post to find out more about this project.

“Poppy! Come sit with us!” Poppy glanced to her left expecting to see Jessica, but instead she saw a group of women she knew only by sight. They were entertainers. That much she thought she knew.

Seeing no sign of Jessica, or anyone else she knew, she made her way across the cafeteria to sit with them. 

As she sat down it became immediately apparent why they’d called her over. 

“Hey Poppy, we were just wondering… well… we heard you were working for Adrienne McCoy…” the woman speaking trailed off, she had blonde wavy hair, beach waves, the kind Poppy had been envious of as a teenager.

Another woman jumped in, “Look. We just want to know if there is any truth to the rumor that someone on the ship has coronavirus and that’s why we’re not docking anywhere.”

Beach hair seemed to recover her train of thought, “Yeah, we wondered if you’d heard anything McCoy talking about it.”

Poppy sighed. It felt like high school all over again. Only beckoned by the popular kids because they thought she might know something. At least they’d had the decency to court her a little first. 

“No. I don’t know anything about that. Besides, I’m not allowed to talk about anything I may or may not hear in her suite.”

“So there is something?” Beach hair pressed.

“No.”

Poppy lifted her tray and moved around the corner to an empty table to finish her breakfast. Not that it was very exciting, oatmeal and a banana, but it was food and she’d rather enjoy it by herself than with people who just wanted to glean a little information from her.

Besides. She didn’t know anything anyway. 

Poppy had just started on her banana when Beach Hair showed up. 

“Sorry about that. I should have introduced myself first. I’m Lydia.”

“Lovely to meet you, Lydia, but I need to finish off my breakfast. I have work soon.”

Lydia slid into the seat opposite Poppy. “I won’t keep you, I just wanted to apologize. My friends and are are just really worried.”

Poppy sighed. It was technically breaking the rules but something in Lydia’s face made her want to offer some reassurance.

“Like I said, I can’t tell you what I’ve heard. But I’ll tell you I haven’t heard anything about a coronavirus victim on the ship.”

Lydia nodded. “Thank you. That helps a lot. I’ll leave you to your breakfast. I really am sorry.”

Poppy hoped the rumors weren’t true. She was pretty eager to get a chance to get off the ship. She’d been cooped up for ages. Maybe she’d ask Adrienne about it. 

You can read February 11 here.

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