I hate flying.
You’d think I would be used to it, with all the flying I have to do to go see my dad every month. But no. I’ve always hated flying. Although morning flights like this didn’t bug me as much.
As I looked out the window and saw the island of Oahu beneath us, I was glad beyond words that we were landing. Not just because I so despise flying, but also because I had looked forward to this vacation forever. An extra-long break for my stepsister, Michelle (as well as a day-long teacher institute that fell on the day her high school was supposed to go back), meant that there was a week to do whatever. And it wasn’t like missing a few days of classes at UC Berkeley was gonna kill me.
So my parents and my stepdad had arranged for Michelle and me to go to Hawaii for six days; Mom and Joe had bought the plane tickets (Michelle’s and my paychecks had helped out too), and Dad had chipped in with Hyatt points from his constant business traveling. It had been kind of his idea for me and Michelle to go on our own trip; Mom and Joe hadn’t been thrilled, but they had come to the complex conclusion that a 17-year-old and a 19-year-old were old enough and responsible enough to go on a non-family trip alone. Also that we could each have $500 for the trip (Joe’s a powerful lawyer, Mom’s a shrink, and Dad’s a businessman of some sort, so both my families are...let’s just say well-off). I’d never been so grateful to the three of them in my life.
“Omigod, I’m so excited,” Michelle said as she stuffed a magazine into her backpack. “This is the coolest thing I’ve ever done. I just love your dad and I’ve never even met him. I’m so stoked! You stoked, Nat?”
“Definitely,” I agreed. “But calm down. When we get to the hotel, then you can go as nuts as you want in the hotel room. Better yet, do it in the airport. We’ll never see any of those people again anyway.”
“OK, I’ll calm down,” said Michelle. “Deep breaths.” She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly a few times. “OK, I’m calm now.” She tucked a strand of golden-blond hair behind her ear and leaned past me to look out the window.
When we got off the plane at Gate 24 at Honolulu International Airport, we both went nuts, something I don’t normally do.
“Aah! I can’t believe we’re here!” I exclaimed, drawing stares.
“I know!” Michelle squealed. “This trip’s gonna kick such ass!” We high-fived, hugged, and headed off to baggage claim.
An hour later, I pulled our rented white Cavalier convertible to a stop in front of the Hyatt Regency Waikiki, at the corner of Kalakaua and Uluniu, across the street from the beach. As we got out, a valet-parking guy opened our doors and helped us with our suitcases. I handed him a $5 bill and the car keys, and he went to park the car.
After we checked in, we went up to 2005, our room. Everything was very posh. We had a great view of the city of Waikiki and of the ocean. I tossed my carryon down on one of the beds and started unpacking my suitcase. Michelle flopped down on the other bed and started fiddling with the radio. She stopped on a station playing the Foo Fighters’ “Monkey Wrench”.
“This’ll work,” she said to me. “What do you think?”
“You kidding me? I love this place,” I said. “We gotta go down to the beach later.”
“Well, of course!” Michelle exclaimed. “We can’t spend all day in this hotel room, no matter how posh it is.” She got up, went over to the honor bar, and grabbed a can of Sprite.
“You know, you gotta pay for that,” I informed her.
She grinned. “Oh, it won’t catch up with me for a while.” With that, she popped open the can, took a long drink, and sat down at the table to read a tour guide called This Week In Oahu.
“Did you see, like, a McDonald’s when we were going down Kalakaua?” I asked her. “I was so busy trying not to get lost that I didn’t pay attention to much else.” (AUTHOR'S NOTE: that's a street that runs parallel to Waikiki Beach)
“Yeah, there’s one down the street about a block,” she said without looking up from the book. “We have got to go to Ala Moana Shopping Center sometime. There’s a write-up in here. It sounds so cool. Gianni Versace, Neiman Marcus, Wet Seal, Sephora, Liberty House...whatever that is (AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ala Moana Center does exist, it's the nicest mall on Oahu; Liberty House does exist, it's like the Macy's of Hawaii)...those are just some of the stores they got. We could have some serious fun there.”
“Awesome!” I declared. “Why don’t we go tomorrow?”
“Okay.”
Then I heard the beginning of Eminem's "My Name Is” and cringed. I had heard that song just too many times. So I went over and changed the station, messing with the dial until I discovered a station playing “I Want It That Way”, by a group Michelle and I both loved, the Backstreet Boys. We cheered and started singing along.
When the song was over and Everlast’s “What It’s Like” started playing, Michelle said, “Is it possible we’re the only people we know over the age of 16 who are Backstreet Boys fans? Or at least, as much as we are?"
I shrugged. “The older-fan thing is perfectly acceptable. Now come on. Let’s go check out the beach.”
We put on our suits and headed downstairs and across the street to Waikiki Beach.