You, Me and the Open Sea

Departure

"We have to leave now if we want to get there in time!" screams a voice from the top of the stairway.

"I need help! I can't find my suitcase!" shouts another in reply.

"How did you lose it? It's huge and it's yellow!" yells a third voice.

"Get on with it, the bus is here!" came the final call.

You're probably wondering what all this commotion is about; you see these are the sounds of the Robinsons the morning of the start of their overdue 'family vacation'. On this day the otherwise charming nuclear family are completely swamped with last minute preparations for their little holiday. An entire years worth of planning had gone into this trip and Mrs. Robinson would see to it that it ended in success.

The small family consisted of four people: Mr. Robinson, a man who valued discipline over all else and was constantly berating his children on what to do and what not to do, Mrs. Robinson a woman of many ideals, she loved doing things the traditional way and was in constant pursuit of perfection, Timothy, 13 years of age and constantly speaking out of turn. This boy, although loveable, was a reminder of the fact that you don't need to be perfect to be delightful and lastly Thalia, an introverted yet strongly opinionated 17 year old who really does try to enjoy time with the family but if she were completely honest, she was dreading this vacation like the plague.

The Robinsons were an odd bunch, constantly trying to prove to the outside world that they were the perfect family, knowing fully well that they were anything but. That's what bothered Thalia the most, always having to be absolutely perfect even though she knew she wasn't.

Thalia often wondered what perfection really was,

Did it even exist?

Who gets to decide what's perfect and what's not?

Is it possible to truly be a perfect family?

She always wondered why it meant so much to her parents but either way she already knew their answer if she ever found the guts to ask, 'It is important that the image you give off is a good one if you want to be thought highly of' they would say, but in some ways doesn't that prove to be more demeaning? Doesn't it mean that you are putting on a fake personality just to impress society? Isn't it better if you work on your problems rather than pretend they don't exist?

As these thoughts plague her mind like they have in the past she is herded into the travel bus parked in front of their quaint suburban house. They turn back one last time to make sure all the doors and windows are locked properly while moving towards a few empty seats carrying more bags than what is necessary as always. As they take their seats they all give each other an excited smile before going about their own ways of entertaining themselves until they reach the airport, Thalia gets out her headphones and begins reading her book while pretending to listen to what Timothy has to say about the latest game theory episode. Mr. and Mrs. Robinson start talking amongst themselves about work even though Thalia specifically advised them not to if they wish to fully enjoy this vacation.

Although she wasn't too 'wild' about going on a cruise with her family, there were still quite a few things she was looking forward to on this trip, the cruise started in Venice, a place she had always wanted to visit. It also stopped over in Athens, Thalia had been in love with ancient Greece ever since she had gotten her father to buy her a history book at a book fair.

Thalia was also pretty excited to see what the ship's teen club had to offer (even though she would never admit it). She had always loved making friends but years of constantly being told she wasn't good enough had taken its toll and for a while it had seemed like Thalia had retreated back into a little shell. Now she finds it hard to speak with her already existing friends too. This worries her, she's scared of losing herself because she had tried so much to change in order to live up to her parent's expectations.

All passengers on the bus we people who had applied for the same travel package as the Robinsons, they had already made a couple of friends; a pair of newlyweds, Paul and Sarah and a nice Indian family of three, Shreya, the 16 year old daughter, and Thalia instantly bonding over their love for Harry Potter.

The airport was teeming with either tourists on their way to some exotic holiday destination or business people late for their flights, everyone had somewhere to be and things to do.

Check-in flew by in a hurry with confusion and harsh words flying around, by the time the family was seated at the departure gate, tickets in hand, there were already a few silent treatments being issued, ones that everyone knew would only last a short period of time.

"So what place are you most excited to visit?" asked Leonard, a new addition to the now tiny group of teenagers that had formed.

"Athens" was Thalia's efficient answer.

"You don't talk very much do you?" asked Shreya.

"What more is there to say?" Thalia asked curiously.

"Hmm, nothing I guess..." said Shreya trailing off.

A few snickers were heard from the three teenagers before the conversation trailed off into a comfortable silence.

Thalia took this time to evaluate her travel companions, for one thing she was glad she had them and wasn't forced to 'bond' with her family. Thalia had earlier com to the conclusion that she liked Shreya, although she talked a lot which sometimes got annoying she liked the fact that she wasn't forced to speak unless spoken to. Leonard also on the more talkative side had a great sense of humor and even though he didn't seem like it, he had a great taste in music.

They then heard the boarding call and lined up at the gate, as Thalia joined her family she noticed Timothy had made a few friends too. With a quick glance towards her parents, Thalia analyzed their expressions and decided that they had cooled down enough that she could ask them if she cold sit with her friends in the plane.

"Fifteen minutes after take off you may go find them" they replied with smiles adorning their faces.

It was a 10-hour flight and Thalia didn't know how she was going to pass her time, thankfully she had Shreya who had her laptop with all the Harry Potter movies and Leonard with his ipod.

As they entered the flight attendant greeted them and Thalia reciprocated with a polite smile, for some reason she always felt the constant need to show her appreciation to people who do small favors for her, maybe it was because she hated owing people anything, be it money or simply kindness.

She loved her family to no end because of that, even with all the harsh comments and rude behavior, there was no denying that her family did love her and that's why she never failed to show her appreciation.

The second fifteen minutes had passed since the sign to put on your seatbelts had stopped glowing Thalia asked for permission to leave, when it was approved with a smile from Mr. Robinson and a nod from Mrs. Robinson, Thalia was off.

She found Shreya and Leonard who had saved a centre seat for her, the flight was nearly empty so they were allowed to switch seats. Apparently the two teens had already calculated the amount of time each one got at the window seat and had agreed to switch exactly halfway through the journey.

Thalia laughed at this.

"What? The window seat is no laughing matter" Said Shreya like someone had spoken lightly about her right to life.

The plane journey was a lovely experience, they spent the first five hours talking about the many fandoms each one of them were part of while listening to music and playing a game of 'guess the Disney song'. Thalia went and sat with her parents for a while halfway through talking to her mother about prom and her father about ancient Greek legends. Then once she returned they watched the entire Harry Potter series, 10 hours  practically flew by (pun intended).

This little family vacation didn't seem so bad after all.