Another Day in Paradise

chapter 1- expect the unexpected

The months seemed to drag on and by the time the week before finals came, I couldn't contain my excitement for Panama. I found out that Lauren, a friend that I made during the semester, was also coming along.

The day before my flight, Patrick decided to pick an argument with me right after I walked out of a final and I had enough. I told him to fuck off, usually I don't get violent but he was testing my patience. Good thing I would be in Panama from the tenth of May until the first of June, so hopefully he would forget about me until then.

The journey to our destination took a while. The group of 28 students, along with Professor Izollo and his wife who was also a professor, had to be at the airport at 5 a.m. to board our flight to Dallas. Once we arrived at the Lone Star State, we had to wait 3 hours to board the next plane. Our estimated time to arrive was around 5 p.m. The time came to board and I was glad Lauren's seat was next to mine; maybe talking to her about what happened would make me feel better.

I began to tell her about the argument between Patrick and I, how it ended and how he still wouldn't leave me alone.

"Maybe you should talk to someone at the school, say that he's constantly harassing you. Or my boyfriend can beat him up if you want," she suggested with a smile.

"Thanks. Maybe you're right. I probably need to talk to someone about it. I wouldn't mind to see your boyfriend kicking his ass though," I said, giggling along.

We continued to talk for a bit until sleep hit me. In the short time that I took my nap, I had a dream about someone. I dreamt of someone who was far different from Patrick. He had a smile that made me smile, charm that could magically make any woman's pants disappear, but most of all, his eyes. His hazel eyes were a mix of honey and green, colors that formed a beautiful and captivating combination.

Before my dream could continue, the announcement was made that our flight was about to land. I cursed silently as I was rudely woken up from my dream. He seemed so real, yet I had to accept that it was a dream. My chances of finding him were one in a million, who knows who he was or where he is.

Going through customs was a nightmare, the line was long and security seemed to take their sweet time checking our passports and documents. That was one thing I hated about international travel.

Once we stepped outside, the heat and humidity hit us. The sun was out, but heavy clouds were coming in, and thunder seemed imminent. Despite this, the sights of the city were as beautiful as I thought they would be.

When we arrived at the hotel, the first thing that our group noticed was a few girls that looked to be around 14-16. They were giggling and had their phones and cameras out ready. From what I overheard their conversations was in Spanish, and all I could make out was "I hope he's here" and "I can't wait to tell my friends that we met him". They were probably talking about some Panamanian actor or singer, but to be honest, I really had no idea.

It took us a while to settle in our rooms, but the good thing was that we were all settled on the same floor. Lauren became my roommate and I was glad I was with her than stuck with some random person. Our room was plain and simple, but had the most amazing view of Panama. Stepping out onto the balcony, Lauren and I took everything in.

"Can you believe that we're actually here?" she asked with the biggest smile on her face.

"I know. It seems like yesterday that I got the news that I was going," I replied still looking at scenery with a voice that didn't sound so convincing.

"Hey, Andy, just forget about him. We are in fucking Panama! What if you meet someone here?" She said with excitement dancing in her baby blue eyes.