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Jean was lounging on the couch of Desmond and his shared dorm room when Desmond walked in. Desmond was carrying a white strip of cloth. Jean raised his eyebrows but didn't speak.
"Hey, Jean. So, y'know how today is your birthday?"
"Aye, Desmond, today is my birthday. What about it?"
"So, Cassidy said she has a 'big birthday surprise' for you. She wants me to blindfold you and drive you to an address... Are you okay with that?"
Jean chuckled, clearly amused.
"Alright, Desmond. I'm always up for an adventure. Full speed ahead!"
The marksman stifled a laugh and blindfolded Jean. Desmond carefully led Jean to the back of a minivan and buckled him into the front seat. The blindfold, despite being white, was thick and didn't allow Jean to see anything. He could still hear Desmond talking to the driver of the minivan and a high-pitched girl in the front seat.
"Jean's okay with this, darling? Are y'all sure he won't fall or get hurt?"
"Ingrid, he'll be fine. Jean has his wits about him perfectly fine."
"I have faith in Jean, Ingrid! Perhaps you should be more concerned about some of the more... Reckless personalities accompanying us."
"Of course, you're probably right, Toshiko... I can't help but be concerned, though. Without Jean, we can't do this."
"Shh! Don't spoil the surprise!"
"Do not be unkind to Ingrid, Desmond! She is the one who graciously offered to drive you to our destination!"
"Ah, right..."
They kept driving. The paved roads Jean knew quickly gave way to rougher gravel, and the gravel quickly gave way to dirt. Desmond helped him out of the car. He could hear several very loud people. Specifically, one man and one woman.
"Yo, dude! Jack Sparrow's finally here!"
"Hey, Cassidy! Y'know Jean doesn't like pirates!"
"Oh, riiight... My bad, Capn'. Anyway, me and Mrs. Richie Rich over here got you a surprise gift for your birthday! C'mon, you gotta see it!"
Cassidy started dragging Jean by the arm. Even blindfolded, Jean could tell Cassidy was very excited. He could hear Wenona sigh behind him and ask Cassidy
"Do you have to use so many pet names for me, Cassidy?"
"Yeah I do, Big Billions! You're not only my girlfriend but also a greedy billionaire! Of course I have to give you pet names!"
Jean could practically sense Wenona rubbing her temples.
"I pitch in half the money for this gift and you're calling me greedy? Come on, honey."
"Alright, alright. I'm poking fun at you. If you were as bad as I sometimes make you out to be, I wouldn't be dating you. And also, I could've bought this thing with my own money. I just thought it'd be better if more than one person got Capn' Cuttlefish over here that gift."
Cassidy finally finished dragging Jean to whatever his gift was. When Jean felt the wood beneath his feet, he knew for sure Cassidy had gotten him some kind of watercraft.
But when Cassidy tore his blindfold off, he didn't expect an OTAM 65 HT, one of the fastest yachts in the world.
"Mate, how in the seven seas did you get this? These were discontinued a while back..."
"Wenona knew a guy who was getting too old to have fast boats and they brokered a deal."
"Well, Cassidy, you did pay half the price tag..."
"Yeah, yeah. I know 1.5 million isn't a lot to you, Wenona, but my fans went crazy when they realized I was buying this thing. I had to explain that I wasn't using it. My comrades almost left me!"
"Well, you do pride yourself on being a hard-line communist... I suppose Jean would be willing to take out more than just himself on a boat this large, so I suppose it's for communal use...?"
When Jean heard that, he almost couldn't believe his ears. He was being gifted a yacht faster than even patrol boats, that was worth AT LEAST 3 million dollars, and the question was if he would take his classmates to sail on the thing? He laughed, not out of mockery, but out of sheer disbelief.
"Mates, we are all going on this boat! Start the engines and ready yourselves!"
Jean paused for a second.
"Wait... Do any of you know how to navigate the seas?"
Cassidy and Jett both perked up.
"We've been learning a lot about it! So don't worry, we got you covered, Jean!"
"Yeah, what she said!"
With that, everyone started to get into probably the most luxurious boat any of them had ever been on. Even Wenona looked impressed.
"This interior looks like we just stepped into my private jet..."
"Leave it to you to have a private jet, Mrs. Richie Rich..."
"Don't call me that, Cassidy. And why are you saying it like I'm a married woman?"
"Hehe... You'll see..."
Jean turned his attention away from that and headed towards the helm. Cassidy and Jett quickly followed him (despite not really knowing what they were doing). Jean turned to them and said
"I'm going to need you two to take out the bow line while I raise the anchor. Do you know how to do that?"
Cassidy and Jett said in unison
"Aye aye, Captain!"
And so, they prepared to set sail. Mark had somehow ended up in control of the intercom and after some recommendations from his boyfriend, started playing a pop playlist with some of his remixes included. As Jean looked out towards the ocean, he had a feeling that this voyage would be unlike any he had before.