Create a paradise anywhere you go. – Bjork
It was the night before my flight and I was packing the last of my things as I would have to be up and out the door by 6am. I kept my hygiene products out that I needed for the morning, but my bag for them was nearby as to so I could pack it and bring it with me. I climbed into bed and closed my eyes and began to drift off, hoping that the morning would come quickly as darkness overtook me.
The Next Morning
It was 5am and I was up making my bed before I went to change. My dirty clothing would be placed in a bag and would come with me as I did not want them to sit for a month without being washed. Once I freshened up and changed into a pair of grey leggings and a black tank top with grey hoodie. I pull my long, wavy, blond hair up into a ponytail as my blue-green eyes examine my look before I pulled on a pair of black flats and packed the rest of my things before bringing them down to sit next to the front door. I then went about the apartment making sure things were unplugged and that windows and doors were locked before making my way out to my living room to wait. At 5:55am, a knock on my door announced that my ride had arrived.
I opened the door to a young man who nodded to me and showed his credentials. I had received an email a few days prior with a photo of my driver so that I knew he was the one taking me to the airport.
"Hello Miss Ryan, I am Jason Sterling and I will be your driver this morning." He says with a beautiful smile.
"Good morning Jason. You can call me Cole." I say as I grab a few of my bags.
Jason grabs my two large suitcases and carries them to his car. I lock the front door behind me after setting my alarm and pull my purse of my shoulder. I make my way to the car as he takes my bags and place them in the trunk before opening a door for me. I enter the car and sit, buckling myself in before he gets into the driver's seat and we take off.
"Going to Florida huh?" he asked.
"Yes. I need a vacation." I say, not knowing how much the young man knows.
'Enjoy the sun. We're supposed to get rain for the next few weeks up here."
Which was true, there was some storm coming from the west that was going to dump a bunch of rain on Pennsylvania. I was just happy to not be here for when it did, it always led to flooding and muddy conditions.
"I will. This is my first vacation in five years, ya know? It feels weird."
"Then you deserve it." He says as he enters the highway and merges into traffic.
We become silent as I peer outside to the rising sun. The night sky gives way and it seems so beautiful. With me in my head, I don't realize that we have arrived at the airport and have parked at the drop off area.
"We're here Nicole." He says, breaking me from my thoughts.
I unbuckle myself and get out. Jason gets out and pulls my bags out and hands them to me before I pull the handles up on my suitcases. With a nod and a thank you, I leave the young man and head inside the almost silent airport.
I head over to the counter where I will check in and check my luggage in for the flight. Once that's done, I am directed to the sitting area nearby to have a seat and a cup of coffee as my flight will be leaving soon. I bypass the coffee as I am too tired to have any and I would want to nap on the plane. It would be a four hour flight and I should be in Orlando before noon.
"Flight 123 to Orlando is now boarding." I heard on the intercom and I got up, grabbed the bags that I was carrying on and made my way to the loading bay.
I entered the plane and gave the attendant my ticket, I was ushered to first class where I stored my bags and took my seat.
The flight was short and soon after I was landing at the Orlando International Airport where I would meet up with Lady and some of the other contestants. We had been asked to meet at a restaurant within the airport to have a late lunch before we boarded our flight to the Bahamas at 2pm.
I exit the plane and made my way into the airport and grabbed my suitcases before heading in the direction of the restaurant after stopping and getting help from one of the workers. I take a seat on a nearby bench and pull out my phone and send a text to Lady to see where she was and if she had landed yet.
She texted me right back stating that she was already at the restaurants sitting with a few other people from the contest. With a nod, I put my phone away and made my way to the restaurant. It took me a moment to find her and when I did, I wheeled my suitcases behind me and placed them nearby before taking a seat next to her.
"That was fun." I mutter as she rolls her eyes and laughs.
"It was a short flight. Wait until we land at the Nassau Airport. That's another four hours on a plane."
"But your flight was shorter right?" I asked.
She nods, "I had a 1 hour and 33 minute flight."
"Lucky." I say and she grins.
I notice that she is wearing a pair of black pants and a black crop top as we sit back and order lunch. Her long, dark brown hair has been pulled up into a messy brown and her brown eyes look about taking in the fact that we are now on vacation.
"I met two other people from the contest." She tells me. "They are twins from Germany." She tells me as she points to them at the other end of the table.
The female had long, straight, blond hair and brown eyes and wore a white summer dress with white sandals. Her brother had short, wavy, blond hair and hazel eyes and wore black pants and a dark grey shirt and white sneakers.
"That's Emilia Sofia and Lutz Martin Hans. They go by Em and Lutz."
I give the pair a wave and they smile before moving from their seats to sit closer to us.
"Hello!" Em says, "I am Emilia Sofia, but you can call me Em!" she says as she shakes my hand.
"And I'm Lutz Martin, but you can call me Lutz." Her brother says before they take seats across from us. 'Are you excited for this trip?" he asked.
"I am." I say, "This is my first vacation in five years."
Em looks at me as if I was insane, "Wow!" she says in a think German accent. "And you won a contest just to go on one, amazing!"
I laughed, "I go big, what can I tell you!" I joke.
We talk for some time more before more people begin entering the areas with their luggage. The first to greet us were two French men, Pablo Schrader and Rainier. Pablo, who went by Pez, was 34 years old and had short, spiked, black hair and brown eyes while Rainier, who went by Ray, who was his younger brother, had short, black hair and brown eyes. They both had thick French accents, but their English was amazing.
The next pair to greet us was brother/sister duo from Korea. Lee Minho, known as Lee, had jaw-length, wavy brown hair and brown eyes, his younger sister, Yeong Da or Dee, had shoulder length, black hair and brown eyes. They spoke very little English, but used their phones as translators.
Next to them were cousins from Japan. Asano Chou or Sannie had long, chocolate brown hair and brown eyes. Her cousin, Takara Shiori or Taki had jaw length, brown hair and brown eyes. They spoke some English, but better than the Korean siblings.
The next pair were siblings from Italy. Rosanna Miniati or Rosa had long, brown hair and brown eyes, while her older sister, Elena or Lena, had shoulder length, brown hair and hazel eyes. They spoke perfect English with an Italian accent.
Lastly, there were the two friends from Japan. Tian Nuying or Tia had long, straight, brown hair and brown eyes while her best friend Lai Meixiu or Lai had the same hair and eye color. They spoke Japanese, but Rosa was able to translate for them as she spoke fluent Japanese.
Once we greet one another, we all sit down and order our lunches. I can tell the ones from the Asian countries are baffled by our American foods and I tried to help them as much as I could as I was at fluent in Korean cuisine, in the end they ended up with soup and salads as there was not much they thought they'd like.
Once the food was eaten, drinks consumed and we relaxed some, it was time to board our second flight and head to Nassau. This trip would be shorter for most, but the same amount of time for me as my last. We turned in our luggage and checked in for our flight before boarding the smaller plane. From what I could tell, we contestants were the only ones on the flight.
Once we were seated and all, a stewardess went around to make sure we were buckled in before moving to the front of the plane. She turned on the intercom and went through the safety procedures before the plane took off. I decided to take a nap as I was tired and I was bored since Lady was passed out cold next to me.
When I reawaken our plane was landing in Nassau and I nudged Lady to wake her up. She grumbled as she fixed her hair and straightened her clothing. No one knew when we would be meeting BTS, so we all wanted to look our best.
The plane landed and we all filed off. We grabbed our luggage and made our way over to a few black SUVs. We were directed into our rides and our luggage put away before we drove off from the airport. Lady and I were in one vehicle with Pez and Ray. I was on edge with them as they kept glancing us with smirks.
The ride was short as we pulled up to a dock where a large yacht sat waiting.
"Is that our ride?" Ray asked me and I shook my head, "I don't know. I thought we were only flying. Then again, how would you get to a private island but besides a boat?"
"I thought it be small speedboats or something." Pez muttered as the SUV parked and we climbed out.
Workers began grabbing our luggage and taking it onto the large yacht. We stood in a large group before two people of Asian descent came walking over to us with clipboards in their hands.
"Hello and welcome to Bangtan Island." She said in a thick accent, before saying the same in another language.
"You will be taking the yacht to Bangtan Island. Each of you have been designated a hut that you will share with your plus one throughout your stay. There will be cameras in the common rooms as this is a reality show after all." She laughs as she goes on to explain in I want now know is Korean.
We filed onto the yacht and took some seats before the boat started and we moved out into the open waters.