Tommy
"Hey, man. These rooms are incredible." Adam Parks said as he walked into my stateroom. Looking up from my suitcase, I nodded. The young Asian American man had a look of awe on his face as he looked around the room I was in. My friend for many years and now my co-worker, Adam looked like he had just been given a key to a palace instead of one for a room on the S.S New Beginnings.
"I know. I can't believe how nice they are." I replied, pulling out a folded pair of slacks. I set them on the bed and pulled out my dress shoes as well.
"Especially since they were free." Adam walked over and stepped out onto my balcony. "Man, am I glad I made the switch to geology when I did."
"You're welcome." I said, smirking in his direction before heading to the dresser to put my clothes away.
"And to think you didn't want to come. I think I saw some dolphins, Tommy." He called out. I ignored him as I organized my drawers and the wardrobe, making sure everything was in there.
It was ironic that Adam was close to not being here. Five years ago, he had gone into a music career and was hopeful of starting his own band. He changed his mind, however, once he saw how brutal that line of work can be. Instead, he changed his major and graduated. I helped him land a job with me, working at Reefside High School located in Reefside, California. I am a science teacher there, my classes circling around paleontology and all things prehistoric. Adam was the geology teacher and together, we formed an after school program that specializes in teaching kids the importance of science and our history. It was just something that started by accident that has grown throughout the years, our club reaching almost one hundred members a year. We've started taking underprivileged kids to parts of the world that might never get the chance to see in their lives. Last spring, we took 30 students to the ancient ruins of the Aztecs, letting them experience new cultures and the colorful histories of these places that have long been wondered about. This year, our sights are set on Egypt. It was the reason why we were here today.
We were nominated for an award through the Teacher's Unions of America who were seeking out different departments and clubs who had done outstanding work in their fields. We were selected as the winners in the science department and given a free ride for the ceremony on this cruise ship. Adam was ecstatic when we found out, making plans on what he was going to pack and what he was going to do for the eight days we would be gone. He had it all planned out, right to the hour of every day.
Me, on the other hand, was not that excited. It's not that I didn't appreciate the idea of a vacation. I needed one, that's for sure. It was the fact that it was on a cruise ship leaving from Florida. I was not one to travel far without reason, especially to a state I had grown to distest due to my history with it through no fault of its own. So, I had made up my mind that I wasn't going to be attending. When Adam found out, he begged me to change my mind. He tried to use guilt. He tried bribing me. He did everything he could think of to get me to change my mind. In the end, I had almost missed my flight here because I had decided to stay back. But, I knew I would regret it in the long run so we raced to the airport just in time to fly here last night. Now, I was glad I had made the right decision though there were still some anxieties in the back of mind. However, I felt like those would be gone once we were sailing steadily away from the coast of Florida.
"What do you want to do first?" I asked, glancing out the door at Adam who was leaning against the railing.
"They said the deck party starts sun. We could head up there and see what is going on. Are you in the mood for partying? Cause I think I am." He replied, coming back into the room. I grinned.
"Partying? Your version of partying as I recall was a cup of tea before bed and maybe staying up until eleven if it's not a work night." I stated, tucking my suitcase under the bed.
"Yeah, well. That's boring teacher Adam. For the next eight days, I am having fun and exciting cruising for a good time Adam! I am going to try everything at least once and do things I've never done before." He put his hands on his hips.
"So, you're basically going from Billy to Zack then." He nodded.
"Pretty much." He flipped on the television, sitting on the edge of the bed. There was a man talking on the screen, going over the schedule of events for tonight. Everything would be kicking off with the deck party, letting us wave goodbye to Florida as we set sail. After that, there would be different types of activities at various points around the ship. There was also a schedule of events on a piece of paper that was taped to the desk next to the television. Tomorrow will be our first day at port, stopping at Nassau. We'd be docked there overnight before heading out to our next destination, Princess Cays. It would be another overnight port visit, the next day being a day at sea. That night would be our ceremony for the awards, the following day filled with fun in the sun at Half Moon Cay where we'd be docked for the night again. The rest of the trip would be at sea, the boat making it's slow return back here to Florida. I had read online that there were some things on the ship that I would be interested in like fitness classes and even a karate class. I was looking forward to learning some new things too. And perhaps, meeting new people.
"I'm all set if you want to head up to the main deck." I said to Adam as he stood up from my bed. He shut the TV off and put the remote next to the set.
"Sure. Let me just lock up my room and we can head out." He walked out the door of my room and headed right to his. I went to grab my things when I heard female voices on the other side of my wall. I couldn't make them quite out but I heard the muffled tones of laughing. The director had said in their emails that all the honored teachers would be staying on this level of the ship. There were sixty of us in total, blocking out an entire floor. I was intrigued to meet the other teachers who were receiving honors, hoping to pick their brains on how to make our program and club better. There would be a dinner, an award show, and then an open bar for us to mix and mingle with. I knew Adam was nervous about the whole thing, him always being the more shy one out of our group of friends. I was hoping that he would be able to come out of his shell more, especially after his recent break up with on and off again girlfriend, Tanya. They have been attempting a romance for almost five years now, it always seems to come to a sour end after six months or so. I wasn't sure if it was because of him being so shy or her wanting to get married but whatever it was, it just wasn't working out for them. She finally ended their tedious relationship for good about two months ago, hitting him really hard. It took a month for him to come around to being himself again but he still has his moments. It's something I'm all too familiar with.
Adam and I met up in the hallway and headed down to the main level of the ship. The S.S New Beginnings was quite the ship. We passed a large spa facility on the way to the deck along with a full deck dedicated to a casino with it's own bar. Adam and I walked out onto the main deck, a full party in swing. There were groups of people dancing on the open decks where there weren't any chairs. Tables lined the outskirts of the sitting area, people sitting in stools. There were people also dotted in the pools and hot tubs, enjoying the sun with drinks in their hands. Music was playing from a loudspeaker system around the cruise ships, a large screen playing the lyrics with some pictures.
"Want a beer?" Adam asked, pointing at a cabana style bar on the far right side. I nodded, following him towards it. I saw him check out a couple of girls who passed us in bikinis, one shooting him a playful grin in passing. His ears turned a pink color as he turned to watch them walk away. This caused him to bump right into a pillar, nearly sending him falling backwards. I caught him, the girls giggling as they walked away.
"Try to look forward when you're walking, big guy." I teased, clapping him on the back. He mumbled under his breath, sliding into an open stool at the bar. I sat next to him, seeing that there were a number of people sitting here drinking fruity drinks in large fishbowl sized cups.
"Hello! What will it be?" The bartender asked, a younger gentleman with cocoa colored skin. It seemed to glow with a golden hue against the white of his freshly irons shirt as he smiled at us.
"Two beers, please." I said. He nodded, walking over and pouring two tall beers from the draft line. They came to a perfect head before he set them down in front of us. I tipped him a twenty in the jar in front of us before he moved on to the next order. I sipped the beer, licking the foam from my upper lip. It was cold and crisp, the perfect combination.
"Can you believe some of these girls?" Adam asked, gazing out at the crowd. "My mother would have killed my sister for leaving the house looking like this."
"Good thing you didn't invite her then." I said. Next to us, there were a group of four or five guys who were laughing loudly with one another. I could see them pointing off into the distance but I wasn't sure what they were looking at.
"Can we send some drinks to someone?" One of them asked the bartender who nodded.
"Sure can! We will just bill them to your tab." The bartender took the order and made the drinks, calling a waitress over. She scooped them up on a tray before disappearing back into the crowd.
"Good evening, cruisers!" A man's voice boomed over the loudspeakers. "I hope you're having a good time! In just a minute, we will be setting sail. Feel free to head on over to the rail to wave 'Bon Voyage!' to everyone on the shore." I could tell it was the man on the main part of the deck speaking, a microphone in hand. People began to move, shifting to stand near the edge of the boat. Grabbing our drinks, we walked over to the railing on the left side of the ship. It overlooked the empty side of the port, another cruise ship floating in the next available slot. People were grouped around on the ground, waving up at us.
"You gotta admit; this might be the most adventurous thing we've done in about a decade." Adam said, sipping his beer. He was right. Granted, we did take those trips with school but we knew what was going to happen with each trip. This was filled with the unexpected and endless possibilities that could happen. Even our time as Power Rangers, protectors of the galaxy, had brought us to new and exotic places but it wasn't for fun or pleasure. We had a job and a mission to succeed. This was nothing like that, thankfully.
"So, what do you think?" I asked, nudging him with my arm.
"I think it's a big ass boat with a lot of hot girls and free alcohol." He replied, eyeing another pair of girls ahead of us. "A guy could get used to this." I rolled my eyes.
"I meant the trip in general. Do you think we will meet some new people to help us spread the world of the club? Or do you think that we could score some more sponsorship possibilities?"
"I'm not sure. Anything is possible. I think we just need to make sure we meet as many people as possible, especially the other teachers. LEave the ones who are pretty and single for me though. They'll need extra attention."
"Adam, you don't have to try to prove yourself on this trip." I said. "You just need to be yourself."
"Yeah, well, the last girl didn't like that person. Here, I can be anyone I want to be without having to worry about the next day. Sounds like a great deal if you ask me. I'd rather hook up than find love these days. It will be like a single serving relationship."
"Whatever you say." I gazed out at the shoreline again. "I'll just be glad when we're out in open water."
"Tommy, you aren't going to run into Kim here in Florida." He said. "She's not even in this part of the state last I heard. Besides, there's over a million people in the state of Florida itself. I think you have better luck getting struck by lightning than you do running into her while we're here."
"I know. I just hate that unknown feeling. I haven't seen her in five years. I don't want to run into her looking surprised."
"When we come back to land, we'll just make sure to avoid any short brunettes on the way to the airport, alright?"
"Sounds good to me." There was a loud blaring horn noise overhead and people began to cheer. I could feel some type of vibration under my feet and looking over the railing, I saw that we were slowly starting to turn away from the dock. Confetti popped from cannons that employees were holding, the little pieces of paper fluttering into the wind. Those around us waved at the people watching from the shore, calling out inaudible messages that mixed all together. Adam cupped his hands over his mouth, letting out a loud yell that echoed out into the sea. Soon, we were picking up speed as the dock became smaller and smaller. The crowd moved from the railing but I stayed, leaning on it as I looked back at Florida.
As much as I didn't want to run into Kimberly, it wouldn't be the end of the world if it happened. I know most guys tend to not think back on their ex-girlfriends (especially the ones who dump you by letter and then pretend you don't exist after risking your life to save hers from the mouth of an active volcano) but what Kim and I went through was different. We weren't just a regular high school couple. We were protectors of the Earth, sworn to secrecy with our friends to keep Earth safe from ugly ass evil doers who threatened all of humanity. That kind of thing builds a relationship like no other. I thought we had something unique and special. At least, that's what it felt like to me. That was until I got her break up letter in the mail. Now, she's been living here in Florida for about six years and I have no clue what she's doing with her life. I wouldn't mind knowing. We were friends first, after all. But, too much time has passed. It would be weird and awkward to just pop up now. I'm sure she was married with some kids, living that happy life I had wanted for us. And if that was the case, I would be happy for her. Well, for the most part.
"Think I'm ready for a dip in the pool and a trip down one of those water slides." Adam said, draining the last of his beer. Nodding, I drained mine as well.
"Let's get this party started."