After the captain's speech, Lisa had stood motionless staring at the deck under her feet until most of the crowd had cleared out. She was on the verge of tears, and it wasn't just because of what the captain had had to say. Something was wrong with her, apparently; she was hearing sirens in the distance that no one else seemed to be hearing. She had embarrassed herself by asking the captain whether they shouldn't be heading towards the sound of the sirens, thinking it must be coming from a Coast Guard ship or possibly a police car on some nearby island that no one had spotted yet. Her question had been met with denials by the captain and by her friend Chelsea that they had heard any sirens, and by lots of funny looks from strangers who must have thought she was crazy. She had tried to cover by saying that she must have a ringing in her ears and that she would check with the doctors, but Lisa was pretty sure this was not just a ringing in her ears. It sounded dead like a police car's sirens. The whole incident had left her feeling frightened and alone.
Once the crowd had cleared enough to allow her to pass unimpeded with her crutches, she left Circean Delight and headed down the hall towards the bow of the ship. She wasn't sure whether she was going to the elevators that would take her back to her room, or to the medical station; both lay in the same direction. She would try to decide before she got there. Her route took her through Eurycleia's Cafe, and on her way through she spotted a man that she recognized sitting at one of the tables. She didn't really know him, but he had been one of the ones trying to help Chelsea and Molly after the disaster had hit. He deserved her thanks for whatever it was he had done, she decided.
Moving over to his table, she said in a voice that was more unsteady than she would have liked, "Hi, my name is Lisa. Remember me from the other night? I was the one who went off in that wheelchair to get medical supplies. I, uh, I saw you trying to help my friends, and I just wanted to say thank you for helping them..."
Was her face still red? She was having a hard time looking him in the eyes, preferring to look down at the deck instead. Her knees were wobbly, at least the one she could put weight on. Wow, what happened at the speech really shook me up, she thought. Good thing I have these crutches, or I might just fall over.