Escape From Paradise by Gwendolyn Field
To all the women out there struggling to do it all.
You are amazing, and this is for you.
Full blown guilt didn’t hit me until I stepped off the plane into Mexico’s heat.
Crap...If Mom and Dad find out I went to Cancun for spring break behind their backs—
“Wooo! We’re in Meh-hee-co, baby!” Sabrina, one of the three sorority sisters I’d come with from Texas, screamed right in my ear. She was ready to go with her sunglasses and floppy sunhat covering her red curls. “Cheer up, girl.” She linked her arm through my elbow and pulled me tighter. “Nobody’s gonna find out. What happens in Cancun stays in Cancun.” She bumped her hip to mine and I tried to smile.
“God, Angela, I hope you don’t whine about your parents the whole three days we’re here,” said Caryn from behind us.
And just like that my smile disappeared.
“Chill, Caryn.” Sabrina shot the warning over her shoulder, squeezing my arm.
Caryn decided to come at the last minute, much to my disappointment. We used to get along great, and even joke about being twins with our straight, blonde hair. But she had this weird competitive jealousy toward me ever since we were pledging last semester. Rumor had gotten around that her boyfriend left her to try and hook up with me. He never attempted to talk to me, probably because rumor also got around that I wanted nothing to do with him. I was newly single after an emotional breakup with my high school boyfriend, so the last thing I wanted was drama. But the damage was done, and Caryn had been bipolar toward me ever since.
“Everything’s gonna be great, guys.” Megan slid on her sunglasses and tugged my ponytail. I loved Megan, our resident peacemaker, always positive and as boy crazy as could be. Her dark spirals bounced on her shoulders as she pulled Caryn up and linked arms with the rest of us. The four of us—Caryn, Megan, Sabrina, then me—set off from the airport together.
I did all the talking with the cab driver and hotel personnel. Even though most of them spoke English, I enjoyed the opportunity to practice my Spanish skills. It was one of the main reasons I’d wanted to come so badly. I was majoring in Spanish and minoring in Communications. Nothing beat real life conversation. Plus, the locals seemed happily surprised when this little blonde American girl spoke the native language, and I liked crushing some of those stereotypes about how most of us spoke nothing but English. Even though the stereotype was true.
The concierge was so pleased with my efforts that he sent four rum punches to our room. We cheered when we saw the beautiful glasses with cherries, lime wedges, and little umbrellas.
“Cheers to Angela and her mad Espa?ol skills,” Caryn said in one of her kind moments. I felt myself warm to her when she smiled at me. When she was nice like this it made me miss her.
“Cheers,” we all said, clinking glasses.
I took a tentative sip and coughed.
“Damn!” Sabrina laughed.
“This has to be local rum.” Megan took another drink and smacked her lips, raising her eyebrows. “We’re not in Texas anymore girls!”
I wasn’t a huge drinker. The girls had come to count on me as their designated driver, and that worked for me because alcohol made me puke every time.
But I drank half of the strong punch before handing it to Sabrina. She rewarded me with a loud kiss on the cheek. Caryn and Megan went out on our tiny balcony and made cat calls to guys walking by.
I reached for my phone, checking for missed messages from my parents. Sabrina took it from my hand and tossed it to my bag.
“They think we’re camping somewhere with no reception, remember?” Sabrina whispered, “We made a pact not to post any pictures. They’ll never find out. Now get your suit on and let’s have some fun.”
I nodded. It wasn’t that I’d never lied to my parents before. I’d snuck out back in high school, and forged notes to skip class, but this was different. They’d specifically told me “Absolutely not” when I asked to go to Cancun. Yes, they were overprotective of their only daughter, even though I was a sophomore in college now, and that was annoying. But they trusted me and I’d used that to manipulate them.
After that, when I’d approached them with Sabrina’s fake plan for a camping trip on her grandparent’s land, they thought it was a great idea. They gave me way too much money to buy supplies and food. Their money coupled with money I’d earned over Christmas break was just enough to cover my flight and hotel.