july 6th
"octavia let's go, you have to leave soon!" my mom yelled and turned on my light, i groaned.
my mom came back in the room and threw a t shirt at me, "cruise family t shirts!" she yelled
oh hell no
i got up and rubbed my eyes
i quickly got ready, did my makeup and hair, and picked out a outfit. not the family t-shirt though, i'd rather stay home then leave the house in that
"dylan lets go!" i screamed to my brother
"bye mom love you" i gave her a big hug
"have fun sweetie"
i pulled my suitcase out my front door and down the steps all the way to the sidewalk
my brother dylan came out behind me with his suitcase and we started walking down our block. our grandpas house is just down the block from our house and that's where we are leaving from so we decided to walk
"you excited?" he asked
"to go on a 7 night trip with 15 of our crazy cousins, no!" i laughed
we joked around and slowly approached our grandpas house
"you have got to be kidding me" i rolled my eyes
"is that a party bus" dylan laughed
we walked onto the grass and my cousins noticed us. i hugged the ones i like and greeted the ones i don't, then said hello to my grandpa
he's the whole reason we're even going on this cruise. recently he found out his cancer came back so he wanted to bring most of his grandkids on one last trip. him and my older cousin picked a cruise, and he paid for all the cousins on the trip to go.
"where's your shirt?" victoria asked
"oh no seems i forgot it" i put a shocked face on
my cousin brittany laughed, she's my favorite cousin. we've been close since i was little. she's like a older sister to me
"everyone's here let's get a picture!" jamie suggested
we began to huddle together and i made sure to hide behind my brother so they couldn't tell i wasn't wearing the shirt. my grandma snapped the picture
"alright time to go!" grandpa said
i rolled my suitcase over to the bus and slid it underneath in the compartment then entered the bus. the inside looked like a mini club with leather couches, a disco ball and even a mini bar
"why are we taking a party bus?" my brother asked
"only type of bus that would fit us all" my cousin brian said
"looks like i'll be sleeping for the next two hours" i mumble and sit all the way in the back
i put in my ear buds and played my new cruise playlist i had made a few nights ago
my cousins packed into the bus and soon we were off. i continued playing music and watching out the window as we passed out of new york and into new jersey
we stopped for coffee and breakfast at dunkin, everyone got off the bus but i stayed back
"you're not coming?" my grandpa asked
"no i'm good"
he walked over to me and sat down
"i could tell you're not hyped for this trip, but think of it as a escape from the same old town you have been in and haven't left. cmon you have never been on a real vacation aren't you the least bit excited" he said
"yeah i guess. i'll have fun gramps, don't worry about me" i smiled
he smiled back & the group started getting back on the bus
"we're 10 minutes away from the port" the bus driver said
we drove down a long rode and then pulled into a huge parking lot. at the end of it was a small building and behind it you could see the huge ship
"guys look the ship!!" emily screamed
we all looked over and you could see water slides and people already walking around on the top deck
"look at those water slides!"
"it's so big!"
"i can't wait to get on"
they all chatted about how much fun this week will be and all we would get to do. seeing the ship in person made me a little excited
the bus stopped in a parking spot and we all got off. a man was standing outside he took our suitcases and directed us to the building so we could get checked in and go through security
we walked through the doors and headed straight to the shortest line. we put our carry on bags through the machine. i watched my bag go under and i prayed it wouldn't beep. i had snuck some alcohol with me just incase it was hard to get on the ship
my bag went through and didn't get stopped, i was so relieved. my body wasn't tense anymore
"did you sneak alcohol too?" my cousin kristin asked and laughed
"yes thank god i wasn't the only one" we laughed and waited for the rest of our family to get through security. after that we checked in quickly and we were able to aboard the ship
as we walked up the stairs and across the glass walkway that takes you onto the ship i began to be amazed. this ship was huge and i couldn't wait to get lost in it
we approached the opening to the ship and handed our tickets and passports to the worker scanning them
"welcome to royal caribbean adventure of the seas, we hope you enjoy your vacation!"
we thanked the man and proceeded to the inside main deck
"let's go to our rooms, check them out then meet at the pool?" brian suggested
everyone agreed & brittany and i left to go find our room. we walked down two hallways. all i saw was little kids and parents till we arrived at our door
"better be a nice room" i said
"grandpa got us all economy rooms, no balcony tiny room" she said
"fantastic" i said sarcastically
she slid the key in and opened the door
for a small room it was nice. when i walked in to my left is closet, to my right is a tiny bathroom. and the rest of the room had a desk, two twin beds, and a full size mirror
"not bad"
"i call the left side!" i screamed and threw my bag onto the bed. brittany laughed
"brittany? octavia?" we heard through the wall
"jack?" i questioned
"hey next door neighbors" he screamed
we all laughed
"i'm about to change into my bathing suit and go to the pool, you coming?" she asked
"i'm gonna unpack i'll meet you there"
she got dressed fast and left the room. i unpacked some clothes and shower stuff
i took out my journal and looked for my pen, i already wanted to start writing
'beep! beep! beep!'
i looked over at the phone on my night stand and picked it up
"um hello?"
"hey octavia are you coming to the pool? grandpa wants everyone here" brain said
i rolled my eyes "yeah i'm coming" then slammed the phone down
five minutes into the trip and i'm already being forced to go somewhere. i changed into one of my bathing suits, grabbed my room key and left. i checked the touch screen map near the elevators and followed it to the pool
as i walked around the ship i saw 'what to do lists' and checked what time the teen club opened '10pm'. the teen club was not something i was interested in but making friends was so i planned to go that night
i finally made it to the pool deck and saw my cousins tanning and swimming
"glad you could make it" my grandpa said
i sat down in a lodge chair and pretended to listen to the conversation that was happening but all i could think about was how much i wanted to do my own thing
i checked the time on my phone, it was almost 1 pm. i wondered what my friends were doing and decided to text them before i lost service. as much as i miss my friends i needed a break from all the drama & same old same old. also i needed a new selection of boys, maybe i'll even have a summer fling
but every time i get even the least bit excited for this week my family brings my expectations down
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ahhh what a long chapter ! i hope you guys like it so far, trust me the juicy stuff is coming i swear ! please leave a comment tell me your thoughts!!
xoxo amber