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Stories are often told by one character, which can limit the thoughts that are expressed by others. Here’s the story of Mark and Julia, told from both points-of-view of two different people – Mark and Julia, two 18-year-old high school seniors. Use of the names and/or circumstances are purely mine, and any similarities to readers or anyone who the readers may know is purely coincidental. I’ve only done this once before. The first installment sets the stage for what is to come. Please post reader feedback, it is a real help. Here goes…
MARK
“Hey, great news,” my mom started. “You’re dad got a call from his friend Craig that a family backed out of their weekend at the hotel that they’re going to. It is paid in full, and we can have it for free.”
Great. My friends are heading to the beach for Spring Break, and I am going to a hotel with my parents and their friends. Live sucks.
Craig Belson was a guy that my dad knew from college. While my dad worked hard every day and earned a decent amount of money, Craig was the guy who constantly stepped in shit. According to my dad, he was always in the right place at the right time. He somehow made a deal in college that allowed him to sell laptops to students for far less than the major stores. Dad said that he made out well. Craig was featured in some magazine about college entrepreneurs. Some business leader read about him, and Craig got a great job right of college. Dad wasted no detail as we drove up to the hotel about how Craig was ahead of every trend, invested wisely and was now very wealthy.
“Remember the Belson’s daughter, Julia,” my mother asked. “She’ll be there too.”
Great. Last time I saw Julia a few years ago she was a stuck-up, snotty brat. Our families spent Thanksgiving weekend together, and she barely looked at me, no less say a word.”
I felt for my dad, who got a job with a major company in their accounting department. He spent is career pushing paper, doing spreadsheets and projections that made other people money. He never rose from mid-level management. I always guessed that he made a decent living but would never be a leader in the company. Meanwhile, I was an 18-year-old, headed for college with nothing but college loans and debt in my future.
We got to the hotel, pulling up in the big circular driveway. To illustrate our families, we saw Craig, his wife and Julia emerge from their Mercedes SUV as we rolled up in our 2009 Dodge Caravan.
The parents said hello to each other and then my mom turned to Julia, who barely noticed that my mom had said a word to her as she listened to music on her headphones. “Julia,” take off your headphones and say hello,” said her dad.
“Yeah, hi,” she said dismissively to my parents. They were better than I am I guess. She didn’t acknowledge that I was there.
As I watched this all unfold, I wondered what was under all those baggy clothes. I was, after all, an 18-year-old guy.
This is going to be a long weekend.
The parents agreed to check in and meet in the lobby for a drink before heading into dinner. Looking around, my dad said, “I am glad this is all-inclusive.” Not exactly suave.
I suffered through dinner, as Craig retold his story about how became so successful, how he met his wife, Laura and they fell in love. Julia did catch my eye once, as she shot her dad this look of annoyance at his story. After his half-hour monologue, he finally asked my dad how things were with him.
Dad gave his typical limp-dick answer about how life is a struggle, about how he got a small raise, his first in three years and about how he worried that the minivan needed tires and that I was on my own for college. All of this was true, but there was no reason to lay it out after Craig’s tale of success.
Note to self. Don’t lie, but there’s no need to tell the whole truth.
Julia sat across from me, texting with her friends. The conversation was good, I guess, because I would see an occasional smile or smirk as she typed back-and-forth. As I was watching, she suddenly gasped, turned her phone over and left it on the table.
Thankfully, dinner was over soon enough as we headed back to our rooms.
Not wanting to spend the evening in the room with my parents, I checked the hotel schedule and decided to take a swim in the indoor pool. “I’ll be back after 10,” I offered as I went into the bathroom to change into my bathing suit.
Thinking about the night, I kept going back to Julia, how dismissive she was, and what was on the text that shocked her so much. Most of all, I was thinking that she must be hiding some disappointing body under all those clothes.
JULIA
“The Hargraves had to cancel our week at the resort this year, so dad has asked Marty Williams and his family to join us this year,” my mom said casually as I was getting ready to leave for school.
“That really sucks. I really like spending time with the Hargraves, and since I will be away at college next year, I don’t know if we will get the chance to do this again.”
My mom bought my line about disappointment. What really disappointed me was that I wouldn’t see their son Chad. Oh, Chad…. He was the captain of the soccer team, homecoming king and was headed to Yale next year. And he was hot.
Instead, we were going with the Williams. Tony was a friend of my dad’s. Unlike most of my dad’s other friends, Tony and his family were always a step behind. I don’t know what Tony, or his wife did for a living, but they didn’t have the success that my dad had. Tony was had some mid-level, go nowhere job while my dad was always moving forward, on the cutting edge of whatever was hot. Dad surprised me with a Jeep for my 18th birthday, and unlike a few of my friends, I had no need to apply for loans for college.
“Remember the Williams’s son, Mark,” mom asked. “He’ll be there too.
Fantastic. Instead of Chad, the hot captain of the soccer team and homecoming king, I get stuck with Mark. I bet he is on the debate team or plays chess. This suck.
We pulled up to the resort in my mom’s new Mercedes SUV and were followed an old minivan. “Oh, the Williams are here, oh joy” I said as I climbed out of the new car. Mark was unloading bags from the back of their car as my dad asked the valet to take care of our stuff.
Our parents greeted other and then Mrs. Williams turned to me say hello, as if I cared about her or spending time with their family. “Julia,” take off your headphones and say hello,” said my dad.
“Yeah, hi,” she said dismissively to the Williams. I hardly noticed their son, as he was unpacking the bags. Doesn’t he know what a valet is? Jeez.
When he did come out from behind the minivan, I noticed that he was decent looking. No Chad, but he was ok, I guess.
My dad suggested that they check in and meet in the lobby for a drink before heading into dinner. Looking around, Mr. Williams said, “I am glad this is all-inclusive.” What a douche.
Dinner sucked. Dad retold his story about how became so successful for the millionth time, how he met mom and they fell in love. I noticed Mark once, as I shot my dad a look as he told this story. After blabbing on and on, he finally asked Mr. Williams how things were with him.
Marty hardly knew how to answer. I actually felt bad for the guy when he bragged about his small raise, and about how he worried that the minivan needed tires and that I Mark was on his own for college.
I sat a dinner texting my friends My friends were giving great responses when I told them about dinner and being with Mark and his family. Then I got a text from Chad. “Wish I was there,” with a picture of his cock and balls. I gasped and turned my phone over as I blushed. Mark noticed.
Once dinner was over, I told the group that I wanted to go back to my room. Truth was that I wanted a better look at Chad’s text. At 18, I didn’t have much experience with naked men, so I wanted to check out the text.
After staring at the picture, I decided to cool myself off with a quick swim. Checking the schedule, I saw that they pool was opened for another few hours. My parents were in the room next door and would know or care where I went in the resort, so I put on my bathing suit and clothes to get to the pool and was on my way.
MARK
“Hey, great news,” my mom started. “You’re dad got a call from his friend Craig that a family backed out of their weekend at the hotel that they’re going to. It is paid in full, and we can have it for free.”
Great. My friends are heading to the beach for Spring Break, and I am going to a hotel with my parents and their friends. Live sucks.
Craig Belson was a guy that my dad knew from college. While my dad worked hard every day and earned a decent amount of money, Craig was the guy who constantly stepped in shit. According to my dad, he was always in the right place at the right time. He somehow made a deal in college that allowed him to sell laptops to students for far less than the major stores. Dad said that he made out well. Craig was featured in some magazine about college entrepreneurs. Some business leader read about him, and Craig got a great job right of college. Dad wasted no detail as we drove up to the hotel about how Craig was ahead of every trend, invested wisely and was now very wealthy.
“Remember the Belson’s daughter, Julia,” my mother asked. “She’ll be there too.”
Great. Last time I saw Julia a few years ago she was a stuck-up, snotty brat. Our families spent Thanksgiving weekend together, and she barely looked at me, no less say a word.”
I felt for my dad, who got a job with a major company in their accounting department. He spent is career pushing paper, doing spreadsheets and projections that made other people money. He never rose from mid-level management. I always guessed that he made a decent living but would never be a leader in the company. Meanwhile, I was an 18-year-old, headed for college with nothing but college loans and debt in my future.
We got to the hotel, pulling up in the big circular driveway. To illustrate our families, we saw Craig, his wife and Julia emerge from their Mercedes SUV as we rolled up in our 2009 Dodge Caravan.
The parents said hello to each other and then my mom turned to Julia, who barely noticed that my mom had said a word to her as she listened to music on her headphones. “Julia,” take off your headphones and say hello,” said her dad.
“Yeah, hi,” she said dismissively to my parents. They were better than I am I guess. She didn’t acknowledge that I was there.
As I watched this all unfold, I wondered what was under all those baggy clothes. I was, after all, an 18-year-old guy.
This is going to be a long weekend.
The parents agreed to check in and meet in the lobby for a drink before heading into dinner. Looking around, my dad said, “I am glad this is all-inclusive.” Not exactly suave.
I suffered through dinner, as Craig retold his story about how became so successful, how he met his wife, Laura and they fell in love. Julia did catch my eye once, as she shot her dad this look of annoyance at his story. After his half-hour monologue, he finally asked my dad how things were with him.
Dad gave his typical limp-dick answer about how life is a struggle, about how he got a small raise, his first in three years and about how he worried that the minivan needed tires and that I was on my own for college. All of this was true, but there was no reason to lay it out after Craig’s tale of success.
Note to self. Don’t lie, but there’s no need to tell the whole truth.
Julia sat across from me, texting with her friends. The conversation was good, I guess, because I would see an occasional smile or smirk as she typed back-and-forth. As I was watching, she suddenly gasped, turned her phone over and left it on the table.
Thankfully, dinner was over soon enough as we headed back to our rooms.
Not wanting to spend the evening in the room with my parents, I checked the hotel schedule and decided to take a swim in the indoor pool. “I’ll be back after 10,” I offered as I went into the bathroom to change into my bathing suit.
Thinking about the night, I kept going back to Julia, how dismissive she was, and what was on the text that shocked her so much. Most of all, I was thinking that she must be hiding some disappointing body under all those clothes.
JULIA
“The Hargraves had to cancel our week at the resort this year, so dad has asked Marty Williams and his family to join us this year,” my mom said casually as I was getting ready to leave for school.
“That really sucks. I really like spending time with the Hargraves, and since I will be away at college next year, I don’t know if we will get the chance to do this again.”
My mom bought my line about disappointment. What really disappointed me was that I wouldn’t see their son Chad. Oh, Chad…. He was the captain of the soccer team, homecoming king and was headed to Yale next year. And he was hot.
Instead, we were going with the Williams. Tony was a friend of my dad’s. Unlike most of my dad’s other friends, Tony and his family were always a step behind. I don’t know what Tony, or his wife did for a living, but they didn’t have the success that my dad had. Tony was had some mid-level, go nowhere job while my dad was always moving forward, on the cutting edge of whatever was hot. Dad surprised me with a Jeep for my 18th birthday, and unlike a few of my friends, I had no need to apply for loans for college.
“Remember the Williams’s son, Mark,” mom asked. “He’ll be there too.
Fantastic. Instead of Chad, the hot captain of the soccer team and homecoming king, I get stuck with Mark. I bet he is on the debate team or plays chess. This suck.
We pulled up to the resort in my mom’s new Mercedes SUV and were followed an old minivan. “Oh, the Williams are here, oh joy” I said as I climbed out of the new car. Mark was unloading bags from the back of their car as my dad asked the valet to take care of our stuff.
Our parents greeted other and then Mrs. Williams turned to me say hello, as if I cared about her or spending time with their family. “Julia,” take off your headphones and say hello,” said my dad.
“Yeah, hi,” she said dismissively to the Williams. I hardly noticed their son, as he was unpacking the bags. Doesn’t he know what a valet is? Jeez.
When he did come out from behind the minivan, I noticed that he was decent looking. No Chad, but he was ok, I guess.
My dad suggested that they check in and meet in the lobby for a drink before heading into dinner. Looking around, Mr. Williams said, “I am glad this is all-inclusive.” What a douche.
Dinner sucked. Dad retold his story about how became so successful for the millionth time, how he met mom and they fell in love. I noticed Mark once, as I shot my dad a look as he told this story. After blabbing on and on, he finally asked Mr. Williams how things were with him.
Marty hardly knew how to answer. I actually felt bad for the guy when he bragged about his small raise, and about how he worried that the minivan needed tires and that I Mark was on his own for college.
I sat a dinner texting my friends My friends were giving great responses when I told them about dinner and being with Mark and his family. Then I got a text from Chad. “Wish I was there,” with a picture of his cock and balls. I gasped and turned my phone over as I blushed. Mark noticed.
Once dinner was over, I told the group that I wanted to go back to my room. Truth was that I wanted a better look at Chad’s text. At 18, I didn’t have much experience with naked men, so I wanted to check out the text.
After staring at the picture, I decided to cool myself off with a quick swim. Checking the schedule, I saw that they pool was opened for another few hours. My parents were in the room next door and would know or care where I went in the resort, so I put on my bathing suit and clothes to get to the pool and was on my way.