"Sir? Sir, I'm afraid we're going to ask you to get your things."
"Wha--....ugh, I said to wake me up when we get to the island."
"We are at the island, sir. Everyone is already disembarking."
"Huh?! How long did I sleep?"
"I wouldn't know, sir. I'm just a steward."
Groggily, I check the clock on my phone--jeez, it's already mid-afternoon, and I had set my alarm clock for....
....crap, I forgot to set my alarm clock.
"Okay, sorry man. Lemme get dressed and pack up and I'll be off. Gimme like ten minutes."
"The ship heads back to its port of call in five minutes, sir."
FOUR MINUTES AND FIFTY-SEVEN SECONDS LATER....
"....I knew I should've brought sunblock."
Don't get me wrong, this place is absolutely knock-you-on-your-ass gorgeous. Long sandy beaches as far as the eye can see, sweet hotel accommodations right there...not to mention I actually get to meet the other Basement-dwellers from the Hype in person. It'll be nice to actually put some faces to all the screen-names.
Still, a black hoodie and combat boots probably wasn't the best choice for clothing on a tropical island. I just know I'm going to get sand in my socks.
As I lug my bag down the gangplank and give a '****-you-polite' wave to the steward who's still mad that I made them wait til the last possible second to head out, I hear somebody yell out:
"KAAAAAAAAAAIZER SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOZAY!"
Well, that at least tells me where the other Hypsters are meeting up. I feel kinda guilty for not trying to find any of them on the boat; I spent pretty much the whole time in my cabin reading Hitchhiker's Guide for the eighteenth time. The few times I did venture up to where the actual people were, I kept to myself and avoided eye contact with anyone. I tried to play it off like I was too cool to talk to anyone, but it's honestly because I'm just awkward as hell and not very sociable.
Now that we're actually here to do our thing, there's not much avoiding it, I suppose.
I approach the hug-happy guy in the Speedo and the folks standing uncomfortably around him, and clear my throat.
"Ermmm....sup. I'm guessing you are the other guys from the Hype, right?"
Everyone stares at me like I have lobsters crawling out of my ears. Masterful grasp of the obvious you've got there, Cayse, I'm sure everyone's gonna love you.
"I'm, um, Andy C., but you guys can call me by my real name....Andy C. So....any of you have any extra sunblock I could bum off of ya?"