The Cruise

Manny was nearing the end of high school. Things for him hadn't exactly been smooth sailing, but he'd made it through. He kept a great relationship with a wonderful girl, and had a bright future planned ahead of him having been accepted to his college of choice. His girlfriend Leena had been his best friend since childhood. They grew up in neighboring houses and their families were very close. This gave him the opportunity to watch and grow with her as she turned into a beautiful young woman. He felt extremely lucky when she said yes to asking her out to their junior year high school homecoming, and since then they were closer than ever. Now, she had become quite attractive with big blue eyes and blonde hair down to the mid of her back. She had a bit of a mousey look with a small nose, but it was very cute on her face. Manny could be described as pretty average, with a decent build and good jawline. For some reason, she always complimented his arms although he felt they were nothing special. Leena was very private about their relationship, she didn't want the school to know they were together because she felt people would treat her differently if they did. She had friends who started publicly dating and everyone always talked about how annoying and gross they were, so she decided to keep it on the down low.

Earlier in his high school career, Manny had gained the attention of an annoying student, Joe, who had been held back. He was quite a lot larger than the rest of their peers, and seemingly enjoyed throwing that weight around to get into fights with other students. Joe found Manny to be a prime target when they were both freshman, and now coming to the end of their days together, he still found every opportunity to be a dick. Things like: pushing Manny, forcing him into fights, taking his lunch tray and all of the other classic high school bully tropes. Fortunately, Manny had learned to avoid Joe, memorizing his schedule each semester in order to take routes that would lead to the least amount of interaction. Leena encouraged Manny to be a pacifist and to avoid conflict with Joe as much as possible. She didn't want her boyfriend to be hurt. She couldn't, however, rush to his aid as she thought this might give away that they were dating.

In order to keep his head up and spirits bright as the school year ended, Manny's parents had decided to reward him with a cruise trip for his family and Leena's. They were quite well off, and Manny had been doing very well in school to get accepted to his choice of college, so they decided it would be good for both families to go on a well earned long awaited vacation. Something to celebrate the budding adulthood of their children together. This trip would consist of a 180 day cruise that would take them all around the world with many events and stops along the way.

It was the final day of school, and everything was passing by in a blur. Students were screaming and joking while teachers tried to reign in the noise in order to accomplish whatever final tasks needed done. Manny had only one thing on his mind: the cruise. He walked mindlessly down the hallway to his final class when suddenly he was shoved.

Shit, He thought as he was falling. In the commotion and excitement of the final day, he had forgotten to take the detour hallway route in order to avoid Joe.

"Finally decided to show your face huh little Manny?", the stupid voice coming from this animal was enough to make Manny enraged, and yet he kept his cool, thinking about how his girlfriend wanted him to stay safe.

"Just hurry up please," Manny said getting to his feet " I'm tired and ready to go home and go on a trip you will never be able to afford" Manny was not one to rub his families wealth into the faces of those less privileged however he thought this was a special occasion.

"Ya? You got some big plans with those rich parents of yours? Talk more shit!" Joe threw a punch, hitting Manny in the gut.

"Like I said," he huffed, catching the wind that was knocked out of him "I'm going on a vacation that your block headed family could never even dream of affording"

"Yeah whatever" Joe scoffed, "My family has a 60 day cruise planned this year, what the hell is yours doing"

"What a coincidence, it sounds like you bought the poor person version of the cruise we're going on. 180 days, around the world" He proudly stated, knowing that this would bring in another punch.

And the punch came, again knocking Manny to the floor. This time was much harder, and he felt he might have cracked a rib.

"That's so you'll remember me on your stupid trip" Joe said with a grin on his face, "And this is so you'll remember to always watch your back!" he screamed as he swung his foot towards Manny. He connected with Manny on the rear end, and hit with such that Manny was flat on his stomach. Joe walked away, laughing as he went.

From down the hallway came a scurry of footsteps, and there was Leena. She decided it was worth helping this time as it was the last day of school anyway.

Hovering over her pained boyfriend she asked him "Where does it hurt".

"It's not that bad, I just need a second, thanks"

"Seriously, now is not the time to play tough guy, tell me what I can do to help" She pleaded.

"Seriously, just give me a second. I'll be fine. This isn't even close to the worse I've had and I can't let anything ruin the good mood I'm in"

With this final interaction, the rest of the day was set to be a dream. It was the final day walking through the halls. It was the final day answering roll call, saying "here' when prompted. It was the final day that Manny had to hide his relationship from his peers. Things were going to be much better after this day.

Graduation went off without a hitch. Manny and Leena were called in the general section, no accolades setting them apart for special mentions. The families took pictures and gathered afterwards for dinner. The evening was full of joy and levity, celebration and happiness. It was only a few days after graduation that the trip was scheduled. It was preparing to be the best year yet...