Scene 3ree

I am giddy with excitement. A whole week! I get to vacation with my best friend in a hotel on the beach for a whole week! To add to the festivities, our parents won’t be there to tell us what not to do. Sure, there will be one adult to chaperone, but he’ll be in convention meetings for most of the day.

She is excited too. We jump up and down in her plush room, giggling uncontrollably. We cannot wait!!!



The hotel room has two beds, spaced perfectly apart to jump from one to the other. Soon after we master our flips and landings, he asks us to get ice. We grab the bucket and run down the hall to the small room stuffed with machines that dump ice, soda, and candy. I can have snacks whenever I want as long as I have change. This is heaven.



This morning we wake with the sun. It’s time to hit the pool. I do not like wearing a swimsuit for everyone to see my oversized thighs and my pooch of a belly. But the fun is worth it.

“No going to the beach without me to make sure your safe,” he says as he leaves for the opening ceremony. Ugh, a rule. But there’s so much to explore in the hotel itself that we don’t mind waiting until later.



It’s been less than ten minutes since he’s left, and we’re ready. We giggle down the hall to the elevator. She has an obnoxious laugh that’s more of a scream and a haw. I know we wake people as we pass by. I begin to be concerned that we’ll get in trouble. From who, I do not know.

The elevator doors open and there are two boys our age smiling sheepishly. We enter and they chuckle. Weird. As she goes to press the button for the lobby she let’s out a scream. Every floor button is pressed. The boys laugh.

“Ummm…,” one begins to explain but the shorter one interrupts.

“Ya’ll want to ride with us?”

I do not think it’s a good idea. Who are they? But my friend tells them that it sounds like fun. So here I am, confined in close quarters with two cute boys I do not know and a friend who doesn’t know how to stop herself.

The elevator stops at each floor, opens its doors, waits for thirty seconds, then closes them when no one passes through. Until floor 9. A man steps into the elevator then pauses at the button panel. He turns and smirks at the four of us with a knowing look. By floor 6 he is irritated and steps off to catch the other elevator. Before the doors close, we are all laughing thunderously.

I’ve never actually talked to a boy before, at least not one who doesn’t go to my school. It’s kind of fun. I like it.

After the trip down, we decide to check out the top floor. Lobby exploration can wait until we see the view. We hit all 15 buttons, of course. Unfortunately, this is boring by floor 3 now that we have some place to go. The bigger, more disheveled, of the two stands at the panel and hits the “Door Close” button at each stop. He’s an expert within three floors. A lady tries to get on at floor 11, but it is too late. His timing is precise, and the doors shut within seconds of opening. Her red umbrella gets caught.

“Oh my gawd!” my friend wails at him. We’re going to get in trouble, I know it’s for sure this time.



The view is alright, but I’ve seen better. Two big chairs sit at the large window for those of us who can’t afford rooms on the penthouse floor. We talk about who we are, where we go to school, and why we’re hanging out in the hotel. The disheveled one’s mom is at the conference with our chaperone. Fun times begin.

We hang out at the pool together. I do not want to uncover my swimsuit. “She’s shy,” my friend explains about my awkwardness.

The younger boy laughs.“It’s not like we haven’t seen it all before.”

I wonder what he means by that.



It’s Tuesday morning, and I’m about to have my first date. The boys have asked us to brunch, which my friend explains is a combination of breakfast and lunch. I’m nervous. I’ve never been good at conversation. They’ve already seen me in a swimsuit. Now I’m supposed to eat in front of them too?

It’s obvious that the shorter guy will be with my friend. They are both outgoing and adventurous. I will be Disheveled’s date. I wish I talked more so that I had a chance with the cuter one, but I get it.

We explore the hotel some more until one of them suggests a game of Truth or Dare. I'm nervous about the idea. Just as they are about to convince me, my date mumbles something, my friend screams, then she runs into the women’s restroom. I give the guys an apologetic look and run after her.

“Did you hear what he said?” she yells as I enter.

No, I didn’t, but I know that she has a tendency towards the melodramatic.

“He said, ‘Don’t be virgins’!"

I’m not as much shocked about his audicity as I am relieved that now I don’t have to play the game.