Spring Break Trip

(A/N the idea for this chapter was based on a) another fanfic I read and b) a trip I just took, so yeah)

Mendel

For possibly the first time since that stressful Halloween party, all of us— me, Trina, Marvin, Whizzer, Charlotte the medicine major and her blonde girlfriend— are hanging out. Actually, it's more of an an annoyingly coincidental meeting in the hallway.

I was walking with Trina, and Marvin and Whizzer were with the other two girls, and it sort of became a mess. Right now Trina's trying to start a conversation about spring break while Marvin and Whizzer argue about something that happened before we ran into each other.

"What are everybody's plans for spring break?" Trina's trying to ask us, but nobody's listening. "Guys, what are—"

"Can you two stop arguing so loudly? I'm trying to listen to music," the blonde girl snaps at Marvin and Whizzer.

I look over my shoulder. It's not too late to just run through the glass window.

Charlotte glares at the blonde. "Cordelia, your music is louder than both of them. I can hear it."

"Wait, your name is Cordelia?" I ask suddenly.

"You didn't know that?" Cordelia cries.

Trina grabs Marvin and Whizzer by the shoulders and pulls them apart, frustrated. "Can you all please just shut up?" she demands. "I'm trying to ask everyone what their plans for spring break are. You know, the spring break that's coming up next week?"

"Oh, that," I say. "I have no idea what my plans are. I don't want to visit my family. They live too far away and I met some pretty sketchy people on the bus getting here in August." I look around at the rest of them. "Do any of you guys know what DMT is?"

Cordelia, whose name I only recently learned, stares at me. "Okay. What else did you have in mind, then? Because I have no interest in going home, either."

"I can't take any more questions about whether or not I have a girlfriend," Marvin mutters miserably. "My head is going to implode."

"Well, I was actually thinking," I tell them. "I still wanted to get out somewhere. Beats spending it in my dorm. I would know. I stayed there over winter break to avoid the bus."

"Right," answers Whizzer, eyeing me. "So where were you thinking of going? Like, Florida?"

Trina jumps up and grabs my sleeve. "Wait! Mendel! Don't your parents have a cottage not far from here?"

"Well, it is pretty far, but yeah."

"You want to spend your spring break at a cottage?" Charlotte wrinkles her nose. "They're so gross. I couldn't stand staying in one for a week.... Can I come?"

"That sounds really fun, actually," Whizzer muses. "I could drive us. Did you guys know I have a car?"

Cordelia rolls her eyes. "Yeah, you talk about it all the time. Quit bragging."

"So, what, we're all going?" Marvin asks, crossing his arms.

"Nobody asked you to come," I inform him. "But yes, if you all want to come then you all can. It can be a fun bonding experience for some of us."

He raises an eyebrow. "Please don't try to turn everything into a bonding experience. Do we at least get our own rooms?"

I think about the bedrooms and count on my fingers. "We have three bedrooms," I conclude. The two couples each share a look and shrug, since sharing a room probably won't be a big deal for them. But then Trina and I look at each other, and she's alarmed. That's right. We would have to share a room.

"Trina can room with us," Cordelia suggests quickly. Trina shoots her a slightly grateful look. I nod hastily.

"That sounds good. It all sounds good. Sounds like a great spring break bonding experience so we can all avoid going to see our parents." I give everyone a thumbs-up.

We're standing there for a while longer, not saying anything. This interaction has calmed down a lot throughout all this spring break talk. Why am I agreeing to take these guys to my parents' cottage? I don't know. Am I going to regret it? I don't know.

-

That night, I'm talking with Marvin on the phone (he actually called me for a change, to talk about spring break, I guess).

"You know you're going to regret bringing us on this trip, right?" he tells me. "Those four are chaotic. We're all chaotic."

"I'm a psychology major. I can handle it."

"That literally has nothing to do with it."

I ignore him. "Come on, loosen up for once, Marvin. Don't you want to have fun for just a week?" I beg.

"Sure, I do. But putting all six of us in a three-bedroom cottage for seven whole days? Bad idea. Trust me."

"Then you can hide out in your room the entire time. Don't ruin it for everyone else," I snap.

"No, I still want to come," he replies, which is a little conflicting with his previous argument, but I ignore it again. "Look, I'm sure it'll be fine. Well, not really. But we'll have fun."

"That's quite the point." I hang up.

Whizzer

Marvin's helping me pack up the car the morning we leave for Mendel's parents' cottage. I'm assuming he didn't sleep well last night, because he keeps complaining about how tired he is.

"Hey," he says all of a sudden, taking a break from his bitching, "where did you get this car anyway?"

I step away from the trunk, my hands on my hips. "It was my dad's old one. Do you think the six of us are going to be able to all fit in the car?"

"Cordelia's pretty thin. We can squish her in between someone." He climbs up into the trunk, ignoring the task at hand, and sighs. "I guess this is going to be kind of enjoyable."

"I'm glad," I respond sarcastically.

He pulls his phone out of his pocket, evidently having completely forgotten about packing up the car. "You know what?" he says slowly. "I'm going to text my parents."

I take a sip from my water bottle. "Good for you."

"I mean, I'm going to tell them I have a boyfriend."

I spit out my water.

"It's about time!" Marvin exclaims. "We've been together for almost a year now. And I love you, and you love me, and they deserve to know who I love."

I'm spite of myself, I take the phone from him. "Marvin, I'm sorry, but what brought this on? For the last six months you've been avoiding this."

"That's why it's time now." He leans forward and reaches for his phone, but I don't let go right away. "Whizzer, come on. Don't you want them to know I'm happy?"

"Maybe it's not time yet," I insist. "I'm just not getting a good feeling about this."

"I don't give a fuck how you feel about it. They're my parents, and— give the phone back!" He rises to his knees in the trunk and wraps his arms around my shoulders, trying to force me into giving it up, but I hold on tight.

"Are you guys ready to... go...?" Cordelia comes out into the parking lot, taking us in. "Oh my God. Stop doing that and get in the car."

Marvin lets go of me, irritated. "He won't give me my phone back," he complains. Cordelia grabs the phone from me and hands it to him, to my distress.

"Just wait to do this, Marvin!" I persist.

"I want to get it over with," he tells me. "Right before we go. I'm just going to type it now. Okay? 'I'm... gay.'"

"We know. Now get in the car," Cordelia says, pulling him by his hoodie off the ledge of the trunk and toward the car door.

"I'm telling my parents about Whizzer. Chill out for a hot second." He taps something on his phone. "There. I sent it."

I put my face in my hands and groan.

Cordelia looks from Marvin to me. "I don't know a lot about what's going on now, but I do know that Charlotte, Trina, and Mendel are going to be here any minute, so stop fighting and get ready for the two-hour drive."

"It's two hours?" I whine, following her to the car. "I didn't know that. I'm going to be driving and I don't even know where I'm going."

"Mendel's going to give you directions," she assures me. "Now let's. Go."

So we go. Marvin sits there, staring at his phone, while the others arrive. They're all about as tired as he is, but Mendel is excited. He tells me every exit I'm supposed to take and every direction in which I'm supposed to turn, and I'm surprised he memorized it all and also feel kind of bad that I'm not really listening.

"What happened?" I ask Marvin when I can't take it any longer.

"I don't know," he answers. "Did it send? The WiFi is pretty bad out here. Maybe it sent but I'm just not getting a reply. Do they not know what to say?"

Trina looks at the texts over his shoulder. "I remember not knowing what to say," she remarks. "They'll come around."

"If it even sent."

"Can we get going?" Charlotte says. "I'm uncomfortably cramped."

"Whose idea was it to shove me and Marvin in the middle?" demands Cordelia. "Are we going to be like this for the next two hours?"

"Yes," I reply from the front. Mendel's in the passenger seat, so he can help me with the directions, because I've forgotten everything he's told me. "We might as well get going now, if everything is packed."

Marvin speaks up. "Can I ride in the trunk?"

"No."

Charlotte

"Is there any internet connection here?"

"No," Whizzer replies to his boyfriend's question. "We're on the highway."

I push myself up as far as I can against the side of the car. I'm on the window side, next to Cordelia, who's being squished up against Marvin. It's getting more uncomfortable by the second. Which there have been way too many of. I'm starting to regret this trip already.

"It's going to be better once we get there," Mendel assures, sensing our discomfort. "We can go swimming in the lake!"

"Are you kidding, Mendel? It probably just melted," Trina argues.

"Just melted?" Whizzer snorts from the front seat. "I'll bet it's still frozen."

Mendel crosses his arms. "It was just an idea."

"I'll go swimming with you," offers Cordelia, always the peacemaker. "How much longer until we get there?"

"About half an hour," answers Whizzer.

I sigh with relief. Thank goodness. I don't think I can stand much longer than that in here. It's considerably hot out (nice enough to go swimming, I suppose) and I'm sweating like a pig. Cordelia, who's stuck next to me, doesn't seem to mind. That's true love.

"You guys should probably try and get some sleep," Mendel advises us. "You all look so tired."

"Thanks, Mendel," I sigh.