Summer Days

SUMMER DAYS
BY: Sarah Howell

Day One: On the Way
Elizabeth---------------

I guess I should start from the beginning. It all happened at Lauren’s 16th birthday party. Her birthday is July 18th, so she was able to have a gigantic celebration involving a stay at Carrie’s Beach resort on ______________________. We were going to be staying there for a whole WEEK! Talk about amazing! I thought continuously about it for two weeks! Well, not just about the party, but also about who was going. Drake (one of our close friends) couldn’t make it because he had to go to his aunt's wedding, so it would just be James, Thomas, Lauren and me. What a beautiful opportunity to spend quality time with that someone special!
Anyway, once we started the drive there, it became a frenzy of flirting, laughing and shouts from Lauren’s mom to quiet down. I thoroughly enjoyed the seating arrangements. Lauren’s mom sat in the front, James sat on the left, I sat next to him, Lauren sat next to me, and Thomas sat on the right. Oh, I think everyone enjoyed the seating arrangements, just as much as I did.
I felt so sorry for Lauren, though. She had to endure endless pokes, flicks and an occasional bodily emission of some sort. I will spare you the details. Let me just tell you, this was the beginning of a VERY wonderful trip!

James--------------

What is it about girls? Well, I don’t know about most girls, but I do know one thing about one girl. Elizabeth. She is the one. I am completely sure of it. Oh, I was pretty sure before, but after Lauren’s party, I KNOW.
It all started with the ride to Carrie’s. I was ECSTACTIC that she ended up sitting next to me! But I wasn’t about to let her (or anyone else) know that. Nope. I wasn’t going to show my feelings until she did.
So I contained myself, and pretended to be annoyed. She did too, so it all worked out. Lauren and Thomas were acting the same way, but I knew they were just putting on an act, same as Elizabeth and I were. Thomas had informed me weeks earlier his true feelings for Lauren.
Anyway, we all ended up flirting with each other (respectively.) Thomas passed gas a total of five times just to “impress” Lauren. I wish he had spared the rest of us. Elizabeth even took my hat and slapped it on her head, at one point. Just to be nice, I let her wear it until we got to the hotel. Little did she know, I had something up my sleeve…

Elizabeth--------------

Last night was wonderful! When we got to the hotel, we made our way over to the check in counter. The lady at the desk looked up, and greeted us warmly.
"And how may I help you?" ________ asked us. Ms. Colmark took control and informed _______ of our reservation. We were handed four keys (two for each room) and we made our way up to our rooms. We decided it was a nice night of walking on the beach. So we dropped our bags off and headed for the sand! Earlier, when we were on the way there, I nicked James’ hat. He let me wear it and I was surprised.
Anyway as we got out onto the sand Lauren yelled, “Elizabeth!” and I turned around just in time to see James coming up behind me very quickly! After about two minutes of running and laughing down the beach, I was out of breath! I stopped to rest and he caught up with me, grabbed both my arms and started dragging me. I fought, but not very heartily, as I was laughing the whole time!
James was pulling backwards, so I had no idea where I was being hauled off to, until I was turned around and pushed head first into a two-foot deep tide pool! I was soaking wet up to my waist! I’m lucky it wasn’t a deeper tide pool because I was wearing my cream camouflage shirt! I was slightly miffed, but any anger I was feeling towards James flew out the back door as soon as I saw him holding his hand out to help me up.
I started to grab his hand and just get up, but figured he could use a taste of his own medicine. So I held out my hand, smiled and pulled him down too! He looked surprised, but happy, which made me feel nice. He grabbed his hat off my head, stood up and helped me to my feet.
Since the two of us were soaked, Lauren’s mom announced that we needed to get back to the hotel rooms to unpack and get situated. The rest of the evening was fairly uneventful; the next day was when things really got exciting!



Day Two: Speed
James-------------------

The first thing Thomas and I heard the next morning was the excited giggles of the girls at our hotel room door. Thomas and I decided to have a little fun; when I went to open the door to see what Elizabeth and Lauren wanted, Thomas hid behind it. I let the girls in and they started to tell us what they were so excited about.
“We’ve got great news!” Lauren started, “My mom decided to surprise us and--“her last words were cut off by an earsplitting scream from Elizabeth. Thomas had snuck up behind her and exclaimed, “GOTTCHA!!” and in her usual (yet cute) fashion, Elizabeth hat produced a super sonic reaction.
It took the next ten minutes to calm her down and keep her from killing Thomas. Finally, the girls were able to tell us what Mrs. Colmark had up her sleeve.
“My Mom is taking us go-karting!!” Lauren giggled in delight. After that, the girls left to go down to breakfast and Thomas and I changed and headed down after them. We met up right outside the lobby after breakfast and crammed into Mrs. Colmark’s car to head over to __________.
Once we got there, the four of us made a mad dash for the rental line while Lauren’s mom found a shady spot to sit and watch. We each got to pick the color go-kart we wanted. I chose orange, Elizabeth chose lime green, Thomas chose _____ and Lauren chose _____.
The young, high school-aged employee explained the rules to us and told us to line our karts up at the “starting line.” We waited for the green light to appear and then we were off.

Elizabeth-----------

We were all together up until the first turn. Lauren took the lead after an edgy maneuver in front of Thomas (show off…) Not long after, I caught up to her and cut her off at a sharp left turn. I was in the lead for the longest time, until I saw an orange streak fly past me.
Before I could realize what had happened, James whipped in front of me!! He turned around to make a face at me, and ran right into the wall of a right-hand curve. With his front wheel stuck in the barrier, there was no way he was going to get out anytime soon. I thought about going on ahead, but decided to do the noble thing and stopped to help him get back on the track.
By the time he and I made it across the finish line, Thomas and Lauren were sitting with Mrs. Colmark, waiting for us and laughing about what had happened. We raced a few more times, and finally convinced Mrs. Colmark to give it a go. Soon after lunch we headed back to the hotel and took a dip in the pool. Little did we know, Mrs. Colmark’s surprises weren’t over yet.
She corralled us into the car back into the car for dinner, blindly leading us to a location that she wouldn’t reveal. We ended up at Mark’s, the really great seafood place right on the pier. We all enjoyed a delicious meal and were stuffed by the end of dessert. Once we got back to Carrie’s, we took another walk on the beach. How I love walks on the beach…

James------------

Mrs. Colmark left us pretty early into the walk. She said something about not feeling well and told us to be back at the rooms by ten. We all kept walking along, talking about what we wanted to do for the rest of the week. Once we reached the pier, things got interesting. Thomas and Lauren got into a heated discussion about where we were going to eat lunch the next day.
"Well I think we should go out...this is after all VACATION!" Thomas stated, poking Lauren on the shoulder.
"You aren't the one paying for all this, mister! Plus, what's the point of going out to lunch tomorrow, when we're going to be around the hotel ALL DAY?!" Lauren poked him back.
"Don't poke me!!" And with that, Thomas pushed Lauren in to the slowly nearing high tide. Elizabeth and I broke out in hysterics as Lauren got to her feet and chased Thomas down the beach, throwing threats but laughing the whole time. Figuring they'd be gone for awhile, Elizabeth and I found a spot on the sand and talked.
"No. Way. That's just creepy." Elizabeth was amazed at how much the two of us had in common. I wasn't though; I have always known we were meant for each other. I just had to figure out how to make her see that, too. Ten minutes later, as Elizabeth and I were talking about our favorite rock band, Lauren and Thomas came trudging up the beach, soaking wet and covered in sand.
"Man, I'm not even gonna ask." Elizabeth said with a sly smile. And, you know, we never did find out what happened on the beach that night…



Day Three: Making Waves
Elizabeth---------------

We all woke up pretty early, which was unusual for Thomas and James. In retrospect, I think it was probably because they wanted to spend time with us.
Anyway, after a hurried breakfast of fresh, homemade doughnuts, we changed into our swimsuits and headed for the ocean. Lauren, Thomas, James and I were all ready for some wave jumping! It was pure bliss once we got past the breakers… well, for a little while. The guys were being uncommonly passive, and Lauren and I probably should have suspected something was fishy (ha, ha ocean. Fish!)
Everything was calm, so we leaned back, started floating on the water and closed our eyes. BIG MISTAKE! As we were drifting off into very peaceful catnaps, we were delightfully unaware that James and Thomas were sneaking up on us.

James------------

Well, after our little incident on the beach, we went up to the rooms. They’re right next to each other on the sixth floor. Once we got our things unpacked and got the janitor to let us back into our room (Thomas forgot to grab the key on our way out to talk to the girls), Thomas and I decided it would be best to go ahead and go to bed. At least, that’s what we told the girls and Mrs. Colmark.
Thomas and I actually spent the night trying to figure out a prank to pull on the girls the next day. We racked our minds for hours, and by the time we had figured out all the details, it was 5:45 in the morning! Neither one of us was really all that tired though; we were too excited about spending five days with Elizabeth and Lauren.
Lauren’s mom had said the night before that she would knock on our door around seven to see if we were ready for breakfast. So we spent the next hour or so making ourselves look like we had just gotten up and thrown on clothes. Hey, we couldn’t be up and dressed! The girls would suspect that something was going on!
Anyway, we headed down to breakfast, a mixture of about four different flavors of homemade doughnuts. They were delicious! After breakfast, we changed into our swimsuits. I’m not a guy that goes for looks, but let’s just say my eyes didn’t hurt when we met up with Lauren and Elizabeth by the pool. They were both beautiful! Don’t get me wrong, Lauren is Thomas’ sweetheart, not mine, but she still looked nice. As for Elizabeth, she was smokin'! But as I said before, I don't go on looks (much).
The four of us decided to go down and swim in the ocean. Perfect. Thomas and I were being nice, because we needed to get on their good side to properly execute our plan. We spent some time getting out past the breakers, but once we did, everything fell into place. The girls enjoyed the peacefulness and asked us if we would mind them taking a small catnap on the waves. Of course not.

Elizabeth-----------

I could have broken those boys' necks! They scared the you-know-what out of Lauren and me when they splashed us full force! I can't complain though, after they splashed Lauren and me, they grabbed us around the middle, so we couldn’t move our upper arms or run away! You have NO idea how happy I was to have James' arms around me! Well, it may not have been the exact circumstances I would have liked, but it was still amazing!
At one point I looked over at the other two "love birds" and I could tell that Lauren was feeling the same way I was, because, while we were both "struggling", we weren't trying very hard. I might say that the sight was oddly familiar… Anyway, not only did they not let us go for about an hour, every once and awhile, they would dunk us under the water! At least they warned us.
This went on for about two hours, until we FINALLY managed to fight them off, I think they finally recognized that the tone in our voices meant, "get off me or die" so they didn't try too hard to stop us from escaping. We headed up to one of the many food stands along the shore and we each purchased a foot long hot dog! It seems like every time we are at youth group, Thomas always makes some off hand comment about Lauren not eating. So much for that! I think she surprised him buy finishing hers off first! You can't blame her though, fighting off a boy like Thomas really makes you work up an appetite.
After lunch we got sick of being in the ocean, so we headed up to the indoor pool at Carrie's. That was a mistake! It was SWARMING with snotty toddlers and bawling babies! We made a quick u-turn and headed to the outdoor pool. This pool was much more satisfactory! There was no one in it! That might be because the water was freezing, but we were able to handle it. After a couple rounds of Marco Polo and a few races, we headed up to the hotel.

James---------------

Have I said how much I love Elizabeth? If not, it’s because I can't put my immeasurable feelings into words! So, you must know by now I was very content with my arms around Elizabeth. When I look back on it, I am pretty sure she enjoyed it as much as I did. Lauren and her both struggled to get away from us, but not with any real effort.
“Let me go, Now!” she would scream every once and awhile. I couldn’t help but laugh and say, “Define the word now…” Then she’d turn and look at me and stick her tongue out. She is so CUTE when she’s mad!
Throughout all of this Lauren was acting the same way. Thomas was being much more aggravating, though. He practically tortured her! Continuously, he would poke her in the side and say, “Dance little leprechaun! Dance!” This particular tradition had been going on since we were thirteen, but it never got old! It was one of the first signs that there was love brewing between the two.
This went on for awhile and I know Thomas and I enjoyed it, but I’m not so sure Elizabeth and Lauren did. After about the fifth time we dunked them under, they started getting a little cranky…
Thomas even let Lauren slip away just so he could chase her again! Sneaky! I got a little ticked, though, because on his way past Elizabeth and I he stopped, made MY little leprechaun dance and then flicked her in the arm. I knew he still liked her slightly, same as Lauren and me, but I didn’t think he’d flirt with her while I was! Oh well, I guess it turned out fine in the long run.
Thomas finally caught up with her and the “fun” kept going for another two hours! Right as I was getting a little bored, the girls started getting really irritated. We finally let them go and headed up to get some food.
After we ate, the four of us voted on going swimming. The indoor pool didn't quite work out so we headed for the outdoor pool. The girls said it was cold. I don’t know WHAT they were thinking! It wasn't just cold; it was as if we had jumped into the Arctic Ocean! But, you wouldn’t have known it by the way Thomas and I acted. We put on a show of toughness so we could impress the girls, of course. They even stayed close by us for a while to keep warm.
Once we all got used to the water, we chose to play Marco Polo. Elizabeth was it first. At one point she tripped and went under! I was the closet one to her, so I rushed over, grabbed her around the waist and pulled her up. Boy, did I feel like an idiot! She had tricked me! Now that I was it, we played a few more rounds and then raced some. We tired out pretty soon after and headed to our rooms.
We all ended up falling asleep watching a movie in the girls’ room. I was the first one to wake up around 3:00. I never knew exactly how beautiful Elizabeth was until I saw her lying there peacefully. Thomas had apparently woken up while I’d been admiring her and oh, did he give me a heck of a time.
“Ooh, James! You’re drooling!” he whispered, stifling a laugh. All, I could do was sit there and smirk. Not more than three hours ago, at lunch, I saw his eyes glaze over when Lauren smiled at him.

Elizabeth---------------

Either the Italian Job was too boring (which I doubt) or we were all more tired than we thought, because at some point we all drifted off to sleep. I guess I was the second or third person to nod off, but I know that I wasn’t the first to wake. Once I was fully aware of my surroundings, I heard the guys talking amongst themselves.
“—why cant you do something to show her how you feel?” James voice rang out first. I started to get up, but their conversation intrigued me, so I pretended I was asleep and listened in on their little chat.
“Oh, believe me, I have thought about it. And I would go to any lengths to get her to like me, but I just can’t think of how. Girls are such a mystery!” I’ve never heard Thomas so sincere in his life! From that point on, I decided I would do anything to get Lauren and Thomas together.
I pretended to just wake up, and the guys stopped talking and pretended to be waking as well. We roused Lauren and they guys went back to their room. We all had to prepare for a night out on the town! As I started to get my stuff ready for a shower, I resolved to talk to James about figuring out a way to give Thomas and Lauren their heart’s desire: each other’s love.



Day Three (cont’d): The Dance
James-------------------

That night was unbelievable! Thomas and I headed back to our room once the girls woke up. We all needed to get ready for a night of food, fun, and flirting! Our plan was to go down the street and get a bite to eat at one of the local restaurants. Our high school was holding a “Mid-Summers Eve” dance at a resort nearby, so we were going to stop by there for awhile.
Thomas and I were ready eons before the girls, so we sat in the lobby and talked. The topic of conversation again turned to Thomas’ girl problems.
“I never seem to know what to say! I just start cracking jokes and making a fool of myself! Ugh,” he sighed.
I felt so bad for the poor sap; I made a decision to talk to Elizabeth about the situation. No one is as close to Lauren as Elizabeth, so I figured she would know Lauren’s feelings. I was about to talk to Thomas about how to get Elizabeth to notice me, when I saw a site that took my breath away.
I’ve never seen the girls look so stunning! Elizabeth was wearing an emerald green, strapless dress. The way she sparkled in the light made her look like an angel! And Lauren! Even though I am completely Elizabeth’s, I have to admit she was gorgeous! Lauren was sporting a cute, red, halter dress. It looked vaguely familiar… I think it might have been the dress she wore to our Christmas Social at youth group the year before. We all call it her hooker dress, but she really is beautiful in it.
Since both of our destinations were in walking distance of our hotel, Mrs. Colmark allowed us to head off by ourselves. She said she’d be back at the Sandcastle Resort (the hotel hosting the dance) around 11:00 to pick us up. That night was one I won't forget for a long, long time…

Elizabeth------------

The dance was absolutely PERFECT!! I couldn’t believe our luck when Mrs. Colmark said we could spend the night our by ourselves! It would have made certain things a whole lot harder…
Anyway, when we headed down stairs, I couldn’t believe my eyes! James was sooo handsome! He was wearing a black suit, deep purple shirt and he had his hair gelled in that way that makes me smile. Thomas didn’t look half-bad either!
Dinner wasn’t much to speak of. It paled in comparison to the wonderful time we had at the dance. The Sandcastle Resort was ravishing! The ballroom, where they were holding the dance, was decorated in tons of blue and silver balloons and ribbons. There were two tables. One was laden with refreshments and the other served as the DJ booth. The lighting was picturesque and the four of us couldn’t wait to get the evening started.
We got there about 15 minutes early, so we headed over to the DJ booth to see if he was taking requests. He was, and we each “placed our orders.” Around that time more people started showing up and the dance officially started. The chaperones gathered us all together to here an announcement from our principal.
“Before you all start to “get your groove on,” nobody laughed, “we must go over the rules for the evening. First, NO DIRTY DANCING. We are tasteful highschoolers and we are going to act like them. Second, if you choose to leave the room, for restroom breaks, a breath of fresh air, whatever; you must notify at least one chaperone and have at least one classmate with you. You may not, at any time, leave alone. Finally, just have fun!” Now that the lecture was over, the DJ cranked up the volume and started the music.
I think the guys were a little embarrassed, because for the first two songs, they stood over at the refreshment table, “getting punch for them and for us.” Once they finally got over their stage fright, they headed towards us.
But, just our luck, they were intercepted by two “Desperate Housewives” wannabes. I could tell that the guys had no idea what to do, so I grabbed Lauren and we headed over to save them.
“Like, do you wanna dance?” the blonde one said to James. I was not about to let this bimbo make a move on MY man!
“Like! No, he wouldn’t!” I said in mock “blondness”, flicking my hair and motioning for him to stand by me. She gave me a sneer and walked away.
“How ‘bout you, sweetie?” the redhead questioned in a completely fake southern drawl, tickling Thomas under his chin. I could feel the heat of Lauren’s anger about to explode next to me.
“Back off, Miss Texas!” I have never heard Lauren so testy! Well, I have, but that’s another story. Once the competition had left the scene, the guys broke out in thanks. Apparently looks aren’t everything; Guys don’t like bossy attitudes.
After a letting a few songs pass, the guys came out with us onto the dance floor. The DJ had started to play “Redneck Woman” and we all felt like moving. The fast songs played for a while, but inevitably, the DJ decided to change the move and “Forever and For Always” started playing. People started coupling up, and the four of us were left in the middle. The guys finally bucked up the courage, and asked us to dance.
It took them long enough! By the time we had started shuffling around, the song was over! Hoping for another to come soon enough, Lauren and I left the guys to go “touch up our makeup.” Once in the privacy of the girls’ restroom, we broke into laughter.
“Did you see Thomas’ face when he asked me to dance?! He looked so embarrassed!” Lauren smiled, and we laughed until we cried. Once we regained our composure, we headed back out to the ballroom. I made a b-line for James; it seemed like a good time to bring up Thomas and Lauren.

James------

After a few dances, the girls headed off to fix their makeup and Thomas and I headed back to the refreshment stand. We stood there chatting for a while until the girls got back. Elizabeth looked like she was thinking really hard about something, so I told Thomas to go out on the dance floor with Lauren and that we’d catch up in a minute. I was about to ask her what was wrong, but she addressed me first.
“Thomas likes Lauren, doesn’t he?” her women’s intuition was astonishing. But, I wasn’t about to betray my friend until I knew why she was asking me.
“What’s it to you?” maybe a little abrupt, but hey; I’m a guy. She gave me a look of exasperation and said, as if going against her better judgement, “Lauren likes him. I was thinking that if they liked each other, we would be doing a favor by trying to get them together.” She looked at me expectantly and waited for my reply.
“Well of course I likes her! He’s enamored! What’s funny, is that I was thinking about talking to you about the very same idea. I guess it’s true great minds think alike!” I gave her a playful tap on the shoulder. W e both blushed and looked away, but she recovered, and so did I.
“What do you think we should do? I was thinking that we might be able to leave them alone at some point, that way they have time together without us in the way. Do you have any ideas?” She seemed so eager to help her friends, and the mood was so contagious, we started hatching a plan that would be perfect!
Meanwhile, we headed out to catch some dances with the other two before the night was over. Every once and a while, when I thought she wasn’t looking, I’d steal a glance at Elizabeth. She looked so happy, being with her friends; I hoped that I could make her that happy if we ever became a couple…



Day Four: Faulty Repairs
Elizabeth-----------

I talked to James about Lauren and Thomas and he agreed right away. We came up with a foolproof plan and finished the night out with a few dances with the other two. I caught him looking at me a couple of times, but I didn’t mind.
We headed out to the curb around 10:50. We spent the time talking about the wonderful evening we had. We all agreed that since tonight had been so much fun, that when our next dance came around, we would all go together. Mrs. Colmark got there a little while before eleven and the five of us headed back to our hotel. We were all pooped, so we drifted right to sleep, not knowing that the events of the next day would change our lives forever.
James and I put our plan in to action as soon as we were all together, getting ready to go down to the pool. We hoped and prayed that it would work.
“I have an idea to add a little fun to our trip downstairs,” James stated, “Let’s have an elevator race! Elizabeth and I on a team, and Thomas and Lauren on the other!” Okay, it was a little far fetched and pretty obvious, but no one complained. So we all took part in the first “Summer Break Elevator Competition.” Thomas and Lauren won, but we promised to beat them the next time.
The elevator James and I rode had been a little rickety, so just out of curiosity, I asked Lauren if theirs had been too, as we jumped into the pool. She said that she had felt theirs shake, too. I thought this was interesting, but forgot about it as soon as Thomas splashed the two of us with a face full of water.
We stayed at the pool for a couple of hours then proceeded back to the elevators. We started the race again, but everything went wrong when we came to the first floor…

James----------

Elizabeth and I were overjoyed that our plan had worked well so far, and when we started to go back up for lunch, she gave me the thumbs up and we put the second “race” into motion. But when we came to the first floor, everything was ruined.
A loud, metallic, moaning sound came from above us.
“What in the world was that?” Elizabeth exclaimed. Neither of us knew, but we both felt it’d be better to walk the rest of the way. Just as I reached for the “door open” button, we heard a deafening SNAP and started to plummet the twenty feet to the bottom of the elevator shaft. I grabbed a screaming Elizabeth and we both prayed for our lives.
When we hit the bottom, everything went dark and I blacked out (not before I broke my arm. You know, it's the same arm I have broken three times already!) When I came to, I looked wildly about. It took me a minute to remember where I was, and once I did, my only concern was Elizabeth. I found her lying in the corner, unconscious.
“ELIZABETH!!” I screamed. I rushed to her side and looked her over. She had a gash over her left ear and her glasses were smashed but she was still breathing (thank God). So, I did the only thing that seemed right. That’s right; I kissed her. Hey, it worked in Snow White AND Sleeping Beauty, so why not for me? You have to admit you would have done the same thing…
She opened her eyes and smiled. We both broke down, and just sat there in each other’s arms for what seemed like years. When we finally came up for air, the first thing she said was, “So you do like me!”
“No. I LOVE you!” I know what your thinking, that it was really corny; but you have no idea how good it felt to say those words out loud! I still wasn't sure how she felt, but I wasn't afraid to tell her how I felt anymore. She flashed a big grin. We went back for another kiss and held each other close again; then stood up and brushed ourselves off. She loved me and now we could try and figure out how to get out of here.

Elizabeth----------

A twenty-foot drop is a long way down. It seems even longer when all you can hear is the sound of your own screams and all you can think about is that this might be the last time you ever see the love of your life. That you'll never see your friends or family again. James and I just held each other until we hit the bottom. I guess I blacked out, but not before I cut my head open on the emergency phone door that had opened on impact. Everything else is a black blur. The first thing I remember after I woke up was feeling his lips on mine. I can't begin to tell you how long I had been waiting for that kiss. I opened my eyes and smiled up at him. We just sat there in each others arms not wanting to let go, as if making sure the other one was really alive and wasn't going to disappear as soon as we pulled away. After we pulled apart, with some disappointment, we started to truly see our situation.
"How are we supposed to get out of here? How long do you think it will take them to find us?" I asked, starting to panic. I never did do well in small, dark places and now was not any different.
"Well for starters, we should calm down. Second we should try the emergency phone. That is what it's for, you know." It was so good to have him reassuring me. I knew that everything was going to be all right. James walked over to the phone and picked up the receiver.
"Dang it! The line's dead." James started to sound worried and that stole the relief from me and I became more frightened. I broke down and started to cry. From where I was standing, it didn't look like we were going to get out of their alive. James rushed over to my side.
"It'll be all right, Elizabeth!" He said calmingly, wrapping his arms around me, "All we have to do is think logically. People are bound to try and use the elevators soon, and when ours doesn't come, they'll get the mechanic. Then the mechanic will find out that the elevator broke and they'll send a fire crew down to see if anyone is on the elevator. Then we'll be free!" James always knows the right things to say.
"But, how long do you think it will take them to find us?" I asked, as he wiped a tear off my cheek. I wasn't to keen on being down there for a lengthy period of time.
"Oh, a couple of hours at the most." He's always optimistic.
It ended up being five hours before we were found. We spent the time wondering what had happened to Lauren and Thomas and planning our first date. I know it sounds corny, but it was fun! So far it seems like the two of us are a perfect match!
Anyway, after the firefighters extracted us from the elevator, we were reunited with Lauren and Thomas. Apparently, the cord connecting both elevators had snapped and both plummeted. Lucky for James and I, we had only reached the first floor. Lauren and Thomas had been near the second floor when the accident occurred. Here is Lauren's account of what happened:
"We had been talking about who we thought was going to win the elevator race. We heard a loud grinding noise and decided it would be safer (and faster) to use the stairs. Suddenly, we were plummeting thirty feet towards the ground. Thomas and I held each other, waiting for the crash. When it came, we were thrown apart. I was thrown against the door, my wrist sprained in the process. I hit my head and blacked out. When I woke up, I saw, through the dim flicker of the emergency light, Thomas sprawled face down across the floor. I crawled over to him and turned him over. He had a deep gash across his left cheek and wasn't breathing.
I had taken a baby-sitting class a few years before, in which they taught us CPR. I put my mind in gear and started mouth to mouth resuscitation. After what seemed like hours, I finally revived him. He inhaled deeply, started to breathe, and opened his eyes. I was so overjoyed that I kissed him square on the mouth. He smiled and kissed right back. After what seemed like hours of sweet bliss we held each other for awhile and then tried to come up with a plan to get out. We finally decided to wait for help, and you know the rest."



Day Five: First Dates
James--------------------

It turns out the cause of the elevator mishap was faulty repairs. Some mechanic had been lazy and had haphazardly repaired the cording holding the elevators in place. For that, we got discounts galore and two private rooms for us to use at will.
Anyway, let me get to the good stuff. Since the four of us finally revealed our true feelings (respectively) we were now two couples. After assuring Mrs. Colmark we were fine for the umpteenth time and getting her approval of our relationships (well, at least Lauren's and Thomas'; Elizabeth's and mine would have to wait for the Scottrush parents) we headed out on the first of many double dates. It may have been lunch at the McDonald's down the street, but hey, beggars can't be choosers. We weren't too much worse for wear apart from Elizabeth and Thomas' cuts, Lauren's sprained wrist and my broken arm. It may sound horrible, but at least we were alive and together.
After we finished our meals, we headed out for a walk on the beach. Lauren and Thomas got a little ahead, so Elizabeth and I decided to take advantage of the situation. We sat down in the sand and talked again.
"It feels so good to be able to have a real conversation with you.You know, now that--" Before I could finish making this comment, Elizabeth leaned in and gave me a peck on the cheek. Then, well, I think some things are better left private…

Elizabeth----------

After about an hour, we met up with Lauren and Thomas again, and headed back to the hotel. I could tell by the look in Lauren's eyes that she had had just as good a time as I had. Most guys won't even give you the time of day. That's why I am so lucky to have James. We were able to talk about so many things that most guys wouldn't even begin to understand.
We headed back to the rooms and had a great time playing poker. You could tell Thomas was in a good mood, because he actually let me deal! Normally you couldn't get him to give up the deck; I don't think he would let the President deal(I don't know if I would either, but nevermind that)! After James kicked all our butts to the curb, and won all the Oreos we had been betting, we suited up and went for a swim. Who knew you could actually sit in deck chairs while you were still in the pool… We played "honey if you love me smile" a great game where you can do absolutely anything to make the person you select smile. It's been a favorite amongst the four of us since I can remember and it was so much fun. Sooner or later it fizzled out, and even though we ended up just sitting around talking, it was fun while it lasted.

James-------------

We came up from the pool after about an hour, because we had to get ready for our big date. We didn't want to get all that dressed up, so we decided to do something casual (Elizabeth still looked great.) Mrs. Colmark dropped us off at the movie theater around five and said she'd be back around ten to pick us up. We had free reign of the shops around there until then. We headed into the theater and decided we'd watch the new comedy that had just come out. We bought our tickets and headed over to the concession stand. Elizabeth and I shared an extra large bag of M&M's and a soda. Lauren and Thomas decided to try the Cinnamon flavored popcorn that they had just put out. We made our way over to our theater and picked out top-notch seats. Elizabeth and I sat the M&M's between us and sat back to watch the movie. About half way through, we both reached for the M&M's at the same time. Lets just say, we never finished the M&M's. We occupied with…other activities.

Elizabeth-------------------

After the film ended, we grabbed a bite to eat and headed over to a poolroom near the theater. We love to play pool, and Lauren and I love to play with the guys. They always get so cocky, and then right towards the end we usually end up beating them. That night wasn't any different. We had a great time laughing and joking around until the owner kicked us out for playing too long.
It was only around 9:00 so we found a nice spot and sat down and talked. We were all so happy to be together. Not only as couples but as friends too. When Lauren's mom finally showed up we filed into the car and made our way back to the hotel. We still had two great days left at the beach and the fun was just beginning…



Day Six: Drop, stop and wait…
James---------

After a couple of good night hugs and kisses, we headed straight to bed. We needed to get our rest to have enough energy the next day at the new rollercoaster park that had just opened up near by.
We left around eight that morning and had a great time on the ride over. We sat the same as we had been, but with a new appreciation for the seats. We had a fun time discussing what our other friends would think when they found out we had become in item (respectively.) I was mainly worried about how Elizabeth's parents would take the relationship. I knew my parents would be overjoyed, but I wasn't so sure about the Scottrushs' opinion. They had always been a little over-protective of Elizabeth and I wasn't sure if this would be any different.
Once Lauren's mom had dropped us off and we were in the park, the fun was non-stop! We rode almost 13 rollercoasters before lunch! There were steel coasters, suspended coasters and even the traditional wood coasters. After a quick lunch we headed to the famed Chakira. It had just opened the day before and was said to be the fastest, steepest coaster in the northern hemisphere! The first drop was a straight hundred-foot drop 90° down and there were vertical loops galore! We got in the fifty-foot long line and waited for our turn.
We decided to go for the front car and made our way to the first boarding area. We strapped ourselves in and we were off! We sluggishly made our way to the top, the suspense building with each creak and grind. We finally reached the top and started over the other side. Right as we were heading down, screaming our heads off, we stopped. Just stopped! While we were rubbing our shoulders from the impact, we surveyed our situation. We were 50 feet off the ground facing straight down. Soon, an employee's voice drawled over the P.A system.
"We are sorry for the inconvenience, riders. We will try to get the ride started soon. If it has permanently broken down, we will send in a fire and rescue crew to retrieve you safely. Thank you for your patience."

Elizabeth-----------------

I was not happy. You see, James forced me to go on the stupid ride. He pulled the new boyfriend trick:
"Oh, come on Elizabeth! It won't be that bad! You'll have me with you!" He tried to convince me, but I wasn't about to move.
"Heck no! You really expect me to go on that death trap?! I don't care if I was going to be riding next to God! I am not going!" Here's where he got me.
"Please, do it for me, Elizabeth!" He gave me that puppy dog look of his and I was won over. And then we ended up sitting there, in mid air with nothing to do for two whole hours.
So there we were, face down, legs dangling and blood rushing to our heads. I glared over at James who was sitting next to me. If looks could kill, he would have been six feet under. He turned my way and started to giggle.
"You know, this is all your fault. If you hadn't forced me to go on this stupid ride, we would not be here right now!" I was so mad, I could spit bullets.
"Well-uh-ha….hmm…sorry…I guess…" Then he burst out laughing! He thought it was hilarious! He couldn't have been happier!
"Just you wait till I get my feet on the ground, mister! You'll be so sorry!" I started flailing trying to reach his head so I could pull his hair out. This was one of the most painful ways to punish him, as I'd figured out awhile back. Lauren and Thomas had been watching us the entire time, and I guess the scene I was making looked so stupidly funny that they started to crack up, too. I suddenly figured out how idiotic I must look and I started to snicker a little, as well.
By the time the fire and rescue crew had gotten there, we were all sick of the situation. Some fifth grader sitting behind Thomas had vomited on him, and it was starting to build up a nocuous cloud of stench. None of us were too happy and once they had extracted us from the ride, we trudged towards the nearest pay phone to call Mrs. Colmark.

James---------------------

Lauren's mom picked us up about 15 minutes later and we all passed out on the way back to the hotel. I woke up first and it took me a minute to remember where I was. It had been a long week and I was wiped out. I looked around and noticed Elizabeth's head resting on my shoulder. Somehow my arm had ended up around her shoulders, as well. I threw it off, not wanting anyone to notice; then everything that had happened over the past four and a half days came flooding back. ELIZABETH WAS MY GIRLFRIEND!! I think that was the first moment the fact that we were now a couple had sunk in. I put my arm back around her and nodded off again, dreaming about us…
"James, wake up…yoo-hoo!" Thomas' voice ringing in my ears isn't exactly my favorite wake up call. "Come on! We have the whole rest of the day and tomorrow here! Let's get to it!" I finally made my way out of the car and followed Thomas and the girls into the lobby.
"So what do we want to do?" Lauren, always taking the lead, asked. "I think it would be cool to go out to the ocean!"
"I'm with Lauren; we could go wave jumping, and we could even take our boogie boards out for awhile." Thomas put in, while wrapping his arm around Lauren's waist. We all agreed, and made our way up to the rooms (by stairs) and got our suits on. While we were waiting out on the pool deck for the girls to finish getting ready, Thomas brought up our relationships.
"I am so happy that Lauren is finally my girlfriend! I have been waiting for her ever since the sixth grade!" He was so happy; and I have to admit, I was just as ecstatic.
"Same here! I always knew Elizabeth was the right girl for me. It was just a matter of waiting for her to figure it out. I think we're the luckiest guys in the world!" I said just as the girls walked out.
"And why is that?" Elizabeth asked curiously. I gave her a peck on the cheek and looked over at Thomas who was giving Lauren a big hug.
" 'Cause we have you two!" You better believe I got a reward for that comment…

Elizabeth-----------------

After our little "moment" on the pool deck, we headed out to the waves. We spent the next three hours boogie-boarding, wave jumping and just floating in the water. Around 5:30 we headed up to the rooms and changed into our pjs. I know it seems early, but we were just going to be lounging around anyway, so we didn't see any real need to get dressed again. Lauren and I made our way to the guys' room and we ordered ourselves two medium pizzas. We spent the rest of the night playing poker and watching movies. Around midnight, Mrs. Colmark came over and said we had to go to bed. We kissed the guy's goodnight and walked down the hall to our room.
After an hour's worth of girl talk, Lauren and I nodded off to sleep, dreaming about our wonderful guys.