Are you mine?

Chapter 44

We arrive in Brazil in the early morning of a very rainy and humid Saturday. As we get off the plane, we're instructed by the counselors to head to baggage claim and get our luggage, and after that, we're split into groups determined by the school we go to for organizational purposes. There are four different schools on this trip, Westpoint, Silver Creek, Maple Ridge, and Oak Hills, thirty students traveling from each onel, and two counselors assigned to each of the four groups.

Our counselors are Quinn, the should-be 'Sports-Illustrated' cover girl, and Matt, a tall guy in his late twenties with dark hair and a thick beard, who seems to have never outgrown his frat-boy phase. They both appear to be nice enough though, and awfully cheery for people who have been on a plane for more than eight hours, but maybe that is just me being cynical.

Once everyone has their bags in their possession, every group is led by their counselors to the airport parking lot, where four very colourful buses wait for us. Rushing towards them, trying to not get soaked to the bone, we load our bags into our corresponding bus and hurry inside. I sit next to Syd, who carelessly rings out her wet hair, Noah and Jackson taking the seats across from us.

The buses are meant to take us all to the hotel right now, but they'll also be driving us around all week long to and from daytime activities and nightclubs. Matt takes the opportunity of this ride to the hotel to explain some of the rules.

"Listen up people," he grabs our attention, standing in the aisle next to Quinn, "Once we get to the hotel, you're going to line up in the lobby with your bags in hand. Along with hotel security staff, we will be doing a drug and alcohol search. If any of these substances are found in your luggage, I'm sorry but you'll be on the next flight out going back home. Breaking any of the other rules, may have the same punishment if our staff determines it so. Hotel security will also be doing random room searches throughout the week, at any given time, so keep that in mind. Anything you break you pay for, but that's a given. The company is also not responsible for anything you lose or that gets stolen from you. You must stay with the group at all times during activities outside of the hotel, except for parties of course. Every night we'll all arrive at the clubs together in these buses, which will be ready to take you guys back to the hotel if you want to leave, but only every one hour, so if you miss it you'll have to wait for the next one." He looks sideways at Quinn and she gives him an approving him nod before he continues, clasping his hands together. "Okay, I think that's all for now. Here are your itineraries for the week," he says as Quinn hands each of us a sheet of paper with the schedule, "Today we'll be giving you a tour of the hotel, and after that you'll get the day off to unpack, get acquainted with the facilities, and just chill until tonight. We recommend getting some rest because the parties can get pretty wild, so hope you're all excited." he finishes before taking a seat at the front of the bus.

Twenty minutes later, we get off the bus outside the beachside hotel. With our bags in hand, we walk in through the glass entrance and into the lobby, and boys and girls are split into two lines, as security starts performing our bag searches.

"Hey, check that out," Syd says, gesturing with her chin towards the boys' line. At the front stands Noah, chatting it up with Quinn as his luggage is searched, "Doesn't that bother you?" Sydney asks as Quinn laughs, brushing her hand over Noah's exposed bicep.

"Not really," I shrug, "Should it?"

"It sure as hell would bother me," she replies, "Hate to break it to you, but with a man that looks like yours, you'll be swatting girls off him left and right."

"I won't be doing that," I say, "This is my first relationship, Syd. I don't want to ruin it going all jealous psycho on him. I know Noah loves me, and that's enough for me. The fact that we're in a relationship doesn't mean that his interactions with the female species should only be limited to me."

"Good for you girl," she bumps my shoulder with her fist lightly, "I'm just saying," she says in a singsong voice, looking back at Quinn and Noah, who seem to be holding up the line with their conversation, but I just brush her off.

After security checks are done, Matt and Quinn take us on a tour of the grounds. The hotel is set up in a U shape that wraps around a huge outdoor pool. There's a double staircase in the lobby, which leads to the first floor where all the girls will be staying, as the boys take over the ground floor. We're warned that no girls will be allowed into the boy's rooms or vice-versa after coming back from the clubs, but the rest of the day it's free range. Stepping outside into the pool area, there's a bar to the left that serves non-alcoholic drinks and snacks all day long, and after-party foods like pizza and hotdogs will also be served when coming back from the parties. The buffet at the back though, is only open during breakfast, lunch, and dinner hours.

Once the tour is over and all the rules have been explained, we're allowed to go to our rooms and get acquainted with our surroundings for the rest of the day, being told that we're leaving for tonight's party at 9 p.m.

"We're in room 112, in case you guys were wondering," Jackson says suggestively to Syd as they stand beside Noah and I.

"Were you not paying attention?" Syd asks, "No girls allowed in the boy's rooms."

"Everybody breaks that rule, it's no big deal," Noah interjects.

"Thanks for the tip, but I'm not really in the mood to test my luck. Being sent back home early isn't in my plans, which are enjoying this trip to the maximum of my ability," Syd replies, turning around and starting towards the stairs.

"Just so you know, I'm not opposed to breaking the rules," I say in Noah's ear, standing on my tiptoes before turning and following Syd up the steps to our room.

Inside room 203, there are two twin beds, set apart by a wooden nightstand placed between them, a large bathroom, and a closet with a safe hidden inside. Syd and I toss out valuables in, along with our phones which don't get reception here, therefore deemed useless, and lock the safe with a code only known by the two of us. We unpack and freshen up before collapsing onto our beds for the rest of the afternoon, defeated by the jet-lag.

I wake up hours later to the sound of upbeat music coming in through the open window. Getting off my bed, I walk out into the balcony, noticing the sun has gone down. I see a group of students from Silver Creek lounging around the pool, playing music on a loudspeaker, with their outfits for the party already on. I turn to look at the clock on my nightstand to see it's already 8:30 p.m.

"Syd wake up!" I shake her awake, "We missed dinner, we only have half an hour to get ready!" I explain, rushing into the bathroom and turning the shower on.

Pulling the best magic trick of my life, I manage to shower, get dressed, and do my hair and makeup with ten minutes still left on the clock. I paired a red lace teddy with a high waisted red skirt and heels, ready for the stoplight party. Syd steps out of the bathroom in a mint green bodycon dress and a pair of black lace up heels, looking beautiful as ever.

She walks up to the door that leads to the hallway, pulling it open and turning around to face me, leaning against the frame with a smirk on her face. "Ready when you are."