Space Criminal and Chillboi

James Gideon Whitley should have been proud to have the most influential name aboard the Utopia, but he couldn't be bothered to leave his stateroom. He didn't need to leave the stateroom. The lavish suite had two bedrooms and a parlor, just for him. It was absurd, but the Harrods family had insisted. They were paying for the trip to bring their high society groom to Stoneshell for the wedding of the year. James Whitley was going to marry heiress Adelia Harrod, and they were going to live happily ever after in their posh house surrounded by posh things and spoiled, posh children.

Or so they though. Truth be told, Jay had no intention on getting off the ship at Stoneshell. In fact, he wasn't even going to make it that far. He was still planning on how he was going to fake his death or disappearance so he could get out of this atrocious wedding, arranged only to save the Whitley family from ruin. They had been flat broke for years now, and while Jay's parents claimed he was doing charity work in the lower-class cities, he was really living in the city and working a factory job to afford his little apartment. This wedding was to save his parents and their fortune. It had nothing to do with Jay. It was his unfortunate burden that he was the only one who still carried the Whitley name.

He was flopped over the bed on his stomach, messing with a remote in the drawer that was supposed to call a personal butler droid to the room. He pushed the call button and glanced up as a small door opened in a ceiling and a droid the size and shape of a bread loaf hovered down. When it got to Jay's eye level, a screen flickered and a cute little face flicked on.

"Hello," it greeted cheerfully. "My name is 0-TIS. Or Otis! Would you like me to bring you anything?"

"Nope, I'm good," Jay grumbled. "Thanks, Oat Milk."

"Would you like me to navigate the way to the sky deck for the sendoff celebration?"

"Absolutely not."

"Please call me if you need anything."

"Sure thing, Okie."

The face dimmed and the bot hovered back into the ceiling to wait for another call. Jay sighed and sat up, stretching out his back. There was a knock on his door and he reluctantly opened it to see his cousin, Taylor standing there. Taylor was already dressed and ready to go up to the celebration, and he seemed surprised to see that Jay hadn't even bothered to comb his hair. It took a lot just to get him a haircut before the wedding, so he didn't know why Taylor looked so surprised.

"There's a sendoff event on deck," he said. "Didn't you know?"

"I did know," Jay said casually. "Have fun up there."

He started to close the door, but Taylor caught it with his foot. Jay sighed and let his head fall against the doorframe.

"Please don't make me go," he said. "This cruise is two weeks of these stupid events, and we only just boarded. You're going to make me go to all of them?"

"You should make an appearance at most of them," Taylor insisted. "Your family has been in the shadows for a long time now, and it's up to you to prove that you are still deserving of your status."

"And why have we been in the shadows?" he asked. "Because we're deserving of our status?"

Taylor pursed his lips into a tight line. He may not have carried the Whitley name, but without his family connection to the Whitleys, his family would have to find their own way to make their money. Heaven forbid that someone had to work for money. After doing grueling mechanic work in the factories for years, Jay had found a greater appreciation for what the working class had to do to survive. Whether his family liked it or not, he was part of it.

"Fine, skip the sendoff," Taylor said. "But Michael and I have been tasked with making sure you get to Stoneshell without hurting yourself or your chances with Adelia Harrod."

"Was there an option to not marry Adelia Harrod?"

"Jay."

"Look, I appreciate you doing this," Jay said, "But we're not friends, Taylor. You, Michael, and I? We have never been friends. We are cousins who never spent time with each other growing up. The only reason you two are here is to play security guard, and because my mother thinks that my real friends are low class heathens."

"Who, the factory workers?" Taylor questioned, nose wrinkled. "Those aren't your friends, those are a crutch. Once you marry Adelia you can go back to being who you are truly meant to be."

"Please leave, Taylor."

Jay tried to close the door, but Taylor caught it again.

"Fine," he said. "Don't come to the sendoff. But tonight before dinner, the captain is hosting a cocktail hour. Everyone will be expecting you to be there."

"Everyone?"

"A lot of big names," Taylor said. "The Claytons, Hastings, Thornes... all friends of your parents who know you will be-"

"Yeah, got it," Jay interrupted. "Fine. I'll attend the cocktail hour. But I'm leaving before dinner."

"Fine."

Jay shut the door in his face and returned to the bed, burying his face in the pillow to muffle his scowl. He stayed there as long as he could before he was forced to get ready for the cocktail party. Then he crammed himself into an uncomfortable, polished suit. He didn't care for the slicked back hairstyles most men sported, so he just used a comb and hoped his hair stayed like that.

He met Taylor and Michael outside the doors to the banquet hall, and they seemed relieved to see that he looked every bit the gentleman. Even if he was about twenty minutes late. Michael rolled his eyes.

"Bout damn time," he said.

"Haven't you ever heard of being fashionably late?" Jay asked him. "You're really into fashion, aren't you? In that spiffy green suit."

"It's called 'forest sage', not green," Michael insisted.

Jay just snorted as he opened the doors to the banquet hall. Once he was inside, he stiffened and put on his best manners. With his winning, purebred poodle smile, it was easy to fool everyone. Madame Thorne was the first to approach him and he politely placed a kiss on her hand.

"Madame Thorne," he greeted. "A pleasure to see your lovely face again."

A good lie, considering she looked freeze-dried.

"My, always the gentlemen, you Whitleys," she laughed. "I've heard you have been shacking up in the undercity of Hareside, to do charity work. How committed! Those people must owe you a lot."

"I do what I can," he said smoothly.

"But now you're back to society," she said. "And off to be married, I hear. To Adelia Harrod, no less. A fine match. She's a lovely girl. Always with the finest jewels and fashions."

"So I've heard."

Jay had never met Adelia, but he had heard plenty. He heard she was a spoiled know it all who always got what she wanted. So much so, that she was already sending Jay requests for wedding gifts she felt he owed her. Not to mention certain colors and outfits she decided he wasn't allowed to wear anymore. The girl was a nightmare.

After enough idle chatter to appease Taylor and Michael, he split off from the crowd and left the hall, deciding this was probably the emptiest the ship would be. It was probably the best time to explore a little without anyone bothering him. It was going to be a long two weeks.