This story was written with the following prompts: pirate ship, cousins.
LINDA: Fiona and Kendra were cousins from Maryland and they had a secret pirate ship they sailed during weekends and holidays.
RAE: They flew the Maryland state flag instead of the Jolly Roger and celebrated with Old Bay Seasoning instead of rum.
LINDA: This summer, they were taking a month-long trip to Nova Scotia. Fiona had quit her tech job and Kendra, the accountant, had accumulated too much PTO from past tax season.
RAE: “Use it or lose it,” Kendra’s boss muttered, “You haven’t taken a real vacation in twelve years.”
LINDA: So Kendra packed up her pirate gear which included a purple wig, glittery boots, and a karaoke machine.
RAE: They sailed into Halifax Harbor in between the fishing boats, raised their pirate flag, and cued up “Dancing Queen.”
LINDA: Fiona brought along her commercial speakers and everyone within a one-mile radius was blasted by the tunes of Abba.
RAE: The Coast Guard got on their loudspeaker and tried to tell Fiona and Kendra that they were scaring the lobsters.
LINDA: Fiona felt bad and changed the frequency of the speakers so the lobsters weren’t disturbed.
RAE: Kendra made sure her boots were properly zipped and her wig was affixed to her head and leapt from their ship to the nearest fishing boat.
LINDA: Fiona put on her salmon costume and took the captain hostage.
RAE: “Your fish ladders don’t actually work and you’re overfishing so badly that in ten years we won’t have any fish at all,” she told the captain.
LINDA: “So what?!” the fisherman yelled, “We need to make a living!”
RAE: “You can make fake fried fish out of banana flowers,” Fiona thought for a second, “Never mind, bananas are also going extinct so don’t do that.”
LINDA: Kendra released the fish back into the ocean. Fiona stole the fisherman’s booze and scolded, “You shouldn’t be drinking and sailing either!”
RAE: “What kind of pirates are you?!” the captain asked incredulously, “Pirates always drink and sail!”
LINDA: Kendra retorted, “We drink and sail, but you can’t because you’re working!”
RAE: “We’re on vacation so we can do whatever we want,” said Fiona.
LINDA: The sailors pleaded, “We’ve got no fish and no alcohol. What should we do with ourselves now? Our wives will be so mad at us.”
RAE: Kendra offered them her creative accounting services and the balance of her PTO cash out.
LINDA: The sailors weren’t sure about it, so Fiona turned on “Dancing Queen” again and everyone sang and danced, forgetting about all their worries.
Photo Credit: Dimitris Vetsikas, “Pirate Ship Adventure,” 2016