Carpe Vitam

Day 1

Silence. Peace. Nothing.

All of the sudden, Adam opens his eyes.

Breathtaking Mediterranean beach, palm trees, turquoise water that blends with the sky on the horizon far, far away. Gentle breeze that makes the hot air bearable. No, comfortable. No, perfect. As Adam looks around, he notices all the other people around him. Tourists, locals, and his own mates. Chatter, sounds of joy all around.

Kevin: Yo bro, you okay?

Adam (sort of phased): Yeah, yeah. It's really beautiful.

Kevin (slowly walking towards the hotel): I know right? Quite the place for a vacation. We hit the jackpot.

Adam keeps staring towards the beach. Doesn't start moving.

Kevin: Dude, you'll have plenty of time to check out the place. Or the locals, if you want. But we gotta check in at the hotel, the others are already inside, come on.

As they enter the building, they are even more impressed. Wonderful design reminiscent of Greek architecture. Simple and effective. Ancient and modern. Pleasant white walls, huge windows, attention-grabbing and aggressive edges accentuated by almost feminine curves.

Their group is standing near one of the receptionists. Lilah's doing all the talking while filling out the necessary paperwork. Adam's still looking around, notices Jenny and Peter happily displaying their affection towards each other to anyone watching, as they always do. Mia suddenly appears.

Mia (unexpectedly): Hey, Adam.

Adam (almost smiling): Hi.

Kevin notices and tries to distance himself a little bit.

Mia: What's up?

Adam: I dunno, nothing new since the last time we talked. Place is pretty cool though.

Mia (teasing): You're boring. But yeah, it is nice. Although there are a lot of people.

Adam: You don't like busy places?

Mia: It has its own little atmosphere, but I don't like feeling crowded.

Adam: Hmm.

Mia: Why, you do?

Adam: No, I see what you mean. Tell you what, we could go explore the city. Or town, or whatever it is. I'm sure there are low-key pubs in there.

Mia (no facial expression, lightly raising her shoulders): OK.

Adam: You're quite excited I see.

Mia smiles, about to say something.

Jenny: Mia! What's the passcode on your phone?

Mia (surprised): What? Bro, how did you get that?

Mia walks away, Adam keeps looking at here for a few seconds, then turns away, trying to find Kevin.

Kevin (wide smile): Marriage when?

Adam (as if embarrassed, shaking his head): We're friends.

Kevin (small laugh): Yeah, OK.

In a few minutes, they are done with the check-in and head towards their rooms.

Adam and Kevin naturally get a room together. They open the door, and once again, they are absolutely blown away. Two single beds at opposite sides of the room, a wardrobe between them at the wall. Their own bathroom. A narrow balcony opening from one end of the room. Perfect view over the beach.