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Passport? Check.
Tickets? Check.
Suitcases, packed and ready? Check.
Extra long goodbye hug with Best friend?
Check, Check, and Check.
“Ellie,” I say to myself, “You are ready to explore the seven continents. Ready or not world, here I come!”
I am Eleanor Grace. World explorer extraordinaire, and Oscar-winning actress.
Ok, ok, so I haven’t won an Oscar yet... but I plan to... and you can do anything if you believe, right? As for world-explorer, I will be after this trip. This trip around the world is exactly the inspiration I need as a rising superstar. Time to do some soul searching, greet new adventures, and perhaps even learn a few things?
This trip around the world was my parents’ gift to me, on my twenty-first birthday. Seems a little extravagant for a twenty-one-year-old?
Don’t blame them. I was the one who asked for it.
My parents are top-notch successful lawyers. In a lawyer’s world, time is money, and every minute is worth many $$$, so they have very little time to spare. They made up for their absences with lavish gifts, and unfortunately, lavish excuses.
Luckily for me, the bigger their absence, the greater my price tag went up.
Unfair, you might say? Well, to be fair, I am their only daughter. I might add: I also inherited the gift of strong negotiation and intense bargaining from them.
So, how did I convince them for this trip?
You should know almost everything in life is negotiable. And I mean everything.
The secret is how to ask for it.
My strategy went by understanding what the other side wanted. Next, I figured out how to get what I wanted, and made it seem like the other side was winning. Lastly, I was ready to walk away. At this vulnerable point, the other side will most likely strike a bargain (and they did).
To be extra successful: Rinse and repeat until you win your battle.
I knew my parents didn’t mind. In fact, they encouraged my take charge attitude. It made them proud when I stood my ground, and it even brought a tear of joy to their eyes. Normally, they had unreadable expressions.
I would grow up to be like them, maybe even a magnified version of them, if it weren’t for Cassie.
Cassie is the one who humbles me, stops me from being spoiled and entitled, and brings me back down to earth. She is my balance.
Cassandra Grace, or Cassie as I call her with love, is my best friend in the entire world. My opposite in every sense of the word, and I wouldn’t change her for anything, or anyone. It was especially hard saying goodbye to her, seeing that I wouldn’t see her in person for about a year as I went on my big trip.
We are also roommates, and have been living in the same apartment for a few years, ever since we dropped out of high school together.
Yes, you heard right. We both dropped out of high school together. My negotiation skills came to a breaking point, but somehow, I convinced both our parents.
Cassie and I were successful. Now, we could take charge of our lives as independent adults... well, almost as adults. I mean we were only seventeen then.
Our parents asked: “What if you fail?”
I answered: “Then, we would go back to schooling and university.”
They couldn’t argue with that.
I wouldn’t have been so brave without Cassie there by my side. Cassie doesn't realize I couldn’t have done it alone, because she sees me as invincible and always 100% sure of my path.
It was ironic. Her believing it made it true and gave me that strength, much like a self-fulfilling prophecy.
She is like my sister, even if our outer appearances are very different. I am blonde and fair with blue eyes. She has mysterious green eyes, and even more captivating dark, wavy tresses. I can talk all day long. It is hard to get many sentences out of Cassie.
When she says something though, it is poetry... it is Shakespeare... it is a siren’s song... it is eloquent, and spell-binding.
The great irony is she remains unaware of her powers. I am sure there will be a time when she will recognize her divine gift of words. I can say with certainty: She will mesmerize the world as a writer.
Cassie doesn't even know what she wants to do. I mean, it is so obvious to everyone else!
Sigh. For all her cluelessness, I love her to bits.
You will never find me stuck in analysis-paralysis or overthinking once I have decided. I know my choices aren't always perfect, but I will be ok with whatever happens.
Risk is a part of life, and without it, you can’t spell adventure.
That was poetic, wasn’t it? I guess all that poetry stuff from Cassie is rubbing off on me. Although, I can confidently say Cassie’s most daring adventures are in the pages of the books she reads.
Anyway, getting back to my trip, so why would I go on this crazy adventure?
I snagged a few acting roles here and there, but I haven’t come across major, critically-acclaimed level roles. My wish is to be more than the pretty girl in the soda ad, or the one time hit action movie star. I am grateful for the success I experienced so far. Now, I want directors to take me seriously and consider me for challenging roles.
Being a world-class traveller would help get me that edge, that gravitas, and certain Je ne se quoi, non?
Did I tell you I have a talent for languages? On my bucket list for this trip is to learn more languages, especially hone up on my Spanish... in Spain and Mexico. Italian in Italy, a little French would be good.... and Japanese?
Pinch me, I must be dreaming.
This is exciting! I truly can’t wait to start this trip.
——————-
The anticipation built as I came closer to departure time.
I couldn’t wait to see the different places. To taste the wonderful food, hear all the lovely music, see the different cultures. I will see wonderful and weird animals on my journey.
On a shallower note, I also looked forward to meeting the guys.
You know... all the dreamy, cute, sexy guys.
To meet the hunks, the heart throbs, the dream boats of the world.
Best of all, meeting the dreamiest of the dreamy: James Evans.
Ok Fate, you don’t have to do it right now... but I am sending a message out to the Universe. Someday, when I am a A-list star, like James, our worlds will collide. Our eyes will meet. Our hearts will ignite. Our pulse will race together.
I am a C-level celebrity (or even a D, depending on my critic). But I can just imagine when we are both A-level stars and got together as a couple.... we would be Hollywood Elite. The fans would go crazy!
Sigh. A girl can dream, right?
I have a penchant for bad boys, which in reality, translates to a very tumultuous love life. I don’t know if I am better than Cassie or worse, because she still pines for plain John Damon from our high school days.
I sometimes wonder if she will ever be over him.
John was stable, steady, and unlike Cassie, he was boring.
He did not have a bad boy bone, anywhere, in his entire body.
To use an analogy: If bad boys were like Cheetahs and Jaguars of the animal kingdom, John Damon would be a turtle.
A slow moving, steady, and predictable turtle.
I remember, everyone was fifteen and in high school. Well, John might have been sixteen. The greatest worry in our lives was churning out hundreds of homework. There were assignments and getting through the exams. We needed enough marks to pacify the parents, without being called a nerd.
That was my greatest worry, anyway. It was much different for Cassie.
Cassie was about to face a big problem. John Damon was spying on Cassie, but she was unaware of it. As soon as she found out, however, she would freak out. She was very shy with boys.
I got a little curious, why was John spying on my best friend? If anyone could spy on Cassie, that would be me, as I was the only one she spoke to. Only I could detect when she was acting differently or hiding something.
It was time for me to investigate. I had to understand the John Damon-spying-on-my-best friend business before it got too far. It was time for some detective work!
Here is what I knew, Number one: I noticed John Damon looking for Cassie around her locker, with no attempts (yet) to speak to her. Once he saw her, he stopped, gave a sheepish smile that lasted for a few seconds (or minutes). He then continued going to his locker, which was down the hall.
He did this every day.
Number two (maybe it should have been clue #1?): Cassie received a secret valentine rose, but with no name on it. She assumed it was from me (it wasn’t). I was on the radar for secret admirers ever since then, when I noticed John’s daily odd behavior.
Number three: Cassie had a favorite spot to sit in the library. It was an odd quirk of hers. When her favorite seat was occupied, she would give a sad sigh, and sit somewhere else reluctantly. She would look every few minutes and hover around the seat until it became empty again. She would then happily take her favorite spot.
One day, the drama team had the table with Cassie’s chosen spot occupied. They had planned to sit there every day, for the month, to learn their lines for an upcoming play. I was about to have a friendly chat with them myself, when John approached them. He said something, which sends them packing and moving to the other table.
Oddly enough, this happened next. John sat on Cassie’s chosen spot long enough to see her coming, and then tiptoed out of it, saying nothing to her. Cassie, seeing that her spot was free to sit on, does exactly that, while noticing nothing about John.
It was getting curiouser and curiouser.
Now that I had all my suspicions confirmed, it was time to confront Cassie’s admirer. Like a huntress waiting for her prey, I waited for John Damon by his locker.
He finally arrived, unaware of my presence.
“So, why have you been looking so closely at my friend Cassie?” I cornered John.
I must have startled him as he jumped. He was taken aback further by my question.
“You are Cassie’s friend, right? Did Cassie say something to you?” John asked.
“Lucky for you, my bestie Cassie, is unaware of your shenanigans,” I said, waving my hands at the word ‘shenanigans’. “Before she finds out or gets hurt, I want to know why you are doing this? What do you want?”
“I would never dream of hurting Cassie.” John said. "I like her, that’s all."
“Do you know who I am?” I asked.
“Didn’t you say you were her friend?” John replied.
Wise guy, eh? He had some nerve. Now, I was furious with him.
“I am not just her friend... I am her best friend. I also have the James-es as my parents... you know the lawyers." I said. "You might have heard of them in the news? I am here to warn you, that if you so much as bring a frown to Cassie’s face, you will be majorly sued. You best be ready, I will take you down for everything you have!”
I was sure my nostrils were flaring at this point. John turned pale and was sweaty.
He stuttered in his response: “I ...I...I... am sixteen, I have nothing! But you have me all wrong, Cassie is so nice and kind. Who would even think of doing that to her? I...I...I.. just want to get to know her b... better. I have been looking for the r... right opportunity to talk to her, as I don’t want to s.. startle her. I know she is shy, but I can be patient. Good things are worth the wait."
This was not the response that I expected. John was so... nice.
Meh. It was like yelling at a puppy.
I felt a little foolish being so hard on John, who was earnest in his admiration for Cassie.
“So, you just want to talk to her?” I asked, calmer than before.
“Yes, very much..” John said.
“You don’t want to bother her in any way?”
“No, I wouldn’t dream of it," he said.
I looked at John. He seemed like a nice guy. He said he would be patient with Cassie and he did like her a lot. Maybe that was just the guy she would like? (Even if to me, he was giving major snooze vibes)
“Ok, if I have your word, John, I will bring it to her notice. But remember my warning, one wrong move and I will see you in court!”
“Ok, I will remember. It won’t happen, I promise.”
I learned a few things during this encounter: My threat of a lawsuit worked... I was more convincing than I thought.
I also learned John was harmless.
Don’t worry, I was good on my word. I brought John to Cassie’s attention, she wouldn't have believed he liked her otherwise. I even told her (albeit reluctantly) to give him a chance.
I must have been a hawk in my past life. I kept my guard up and watched John for several weeks, but I had no reason to worry. John was very good on his promise and became a wonderful boyfriend to Cassie.
Sadly, they broke up when he moved away from our town. Cassie still misses him, years after high school.
If there was one thing I respected John for, it was his genuine admiration for Cassie. There was one thing that made me envy him... he travelled a lot more than I ever had. His father’s job required the family to move every few years. John had already been to many places around the world.
This won’t do. My travels couldn’t be less interesting than nice, plain John’s, now could it?
Well, no longer will I travel-envy you, John Damon!
I have some huge travel plans of my very own, that would put your travels to shame.