“Look to the next month for some pleasant surprises.”
Well, we all know how we feel whenever we get our fortunes out of fortune cookies. Sometimes, we doubt that these fortunes will even come true. But at the same time, we still hope that it’ll happen sooner or later. Once I opened up my cookie, it was the beginning of summer vacation and what could I expect from such a big fortune that expects me to find “pleasant surprises” in the next month? I honestly had no idea. But over time, I think I found out what that surprise turned out to be.
All aboard the Carnival Breeze! I spent my summer on a 12 Day Mediterranean Cruise Ship with my family, Dianne’s family, plus Kevin. I didn’t really know what to expect. I completely forgot about my fortune at the time anyways. I mean, it is just a piece of paper. But little did I know that there was so much more to discover throughout these next twelve days. Traveling around Venice, Milan, Dubrovnik, Izmir, Rome, Monaco, Monte Carlo, Barcelona, and so much more, there was just so much to take in. But there was a lot more to the trip than just the travels.
In the Carnival Cruise Ship, there’s a number of clubs for a certain age number. Club O2 was for the 15-17 year olds, and Dianne, Kevin, and I were a little hesitant to check it out. The third day of the trip, Dianne and I decided to go inside and hang out, since we had no other plans. We just sat down and started talking, hoping someone would go up to us and talk to us. Once music started playing, I wanted to dance, but knowing absolutely no one, Dianne and I stayed in our little corner on one of the couches. Then someone called us to dance so we joined. It was a fun night indeed.
Let’s fast forward into the next night. Dianne and I come inside Club O2 again, and this time I went ahead and started dancing. All of a sudden, I noticed this boy who was dancing along with me. I didn’t really know who he was, but he knew I was having a lot of fun and he wanted to join me. After the night passed, all of a sudden he started copying my dance moves and we were moving in sync. I couldn’t help myself but laugh and smile the whole time. Then we took a little break and I had to ask him, “What is your name?” “I’m David,” he says. He tells me he’s from Knoxville, Tennessee and I tell him I’m from California. Wow, I thought to myself, Tennessee? I don’t think I’ll ever get to know someone all the way from the other side of the country. As the night went on, we ran out of dance moves and out of boredom, I pulled out some Ballet techniques and pliés. Then when I looked over at him, he did the exact same thing and he continued to follow me. Still laughing, I look at him again, and then I see him pull out an arabesque! And my mind is like all over the place as I thought WHOA WHOA WHOA, WHAT? He can’t possibly be a real dancer like me! Oh, but he was. We suddenly started doing pirouettes and then we were turning together. After the night ended and we all had to go back to our hotel rooms we went to the elevator together and he said, “So I’m assuming you dance outside of the dance floor.” He gave a little smile as I told him about my dance experiences and then he told me about his. As it was time to leave I told him, “It was really nice meeting you,” and gave him a small hug. I didn’t know whether I should feel scared or excited or happy or surprised, but all I knew was that he was going to be someone that I’ll look out for throughout this trip.
The next night at Club O2, as usual, I went to the dance floor and started dancing by myself. I honestly didn’t care if people were looking at me - I was just having fun. Then I spotted David sitting on the couch talking to Dianne. So I joined the conversation and as Dianne continued to meet new people in the Club, David and I had the longest talk of our lives. Talking about dance, school, work, family, life at home, there was no way for us to stop talking. We went on about our lives and honestly, I don’t remember the last conversation I’ve had with someone in which I felt so comfortable. David and I could go on for hours. Then as the music was still playing, someone called for us to dance and David said, “We’re in the middle of a conversation!” and we kept our talks going. Then another person came and said to him, “I know you dance,” and then turned to me saying “And I’m assuming you can dance, so both of you come and dance!” I suggested that we just dance the night away, and so we did.
The next night, there was a Caribbean Deck Party after dinner on the Lido Deck. I found David and I was so excited to see him and so was he. After a big hug, we joined the Limbo game and danced to the music provided by the DJ. Once the party was basically over, they continued to play some music and from what I remember, David and I were the only two in the middle of the Lido Deck, dancing our hearts out. You could say we were the entertainers of the crowd. Everyone was staring and watching us probably thinking, “Don’t these kids get tired..?” Nope! Not us dancers! We pulled out some tricks and turns and had the times of our lives, just like every night so far. We finished the night off at Club O2 once again, but this time, we stayed out at night until around 3am with Dianne, Kevin, and our new friend Monica from Miami. Us 5 were known as the Scouts and after a long and fun talk, we parted and went to sleep, excited to continue our days together.
As the days continued, the Scouts planned to meet and hangout wherever we wanted. We spent the day swimming, hanging out, eating, watching TV, staying at the club, or going to the gym. Words could not explain all the fun we had throughout the trip. During Days at Sea, we spent all of our time together, making every second count. As the days went on, I thought to myself, “Now these are the people that I will keep in touch with for the rest of my life.” No matter how far these people may seem when we depart, I will never forget them.
At times in the gym, David and I would stretch next to each other like real dancers. We would warm up and try to find room to dance and do tricks. Then we used the music from our iPhones and I showed him some choreography that I learned over the year and then he started joining me. We looked at each other with our mouths dropped and I literally screamed. “NO FUCKING WAY, WE KNOW THE SAME EXACT ROUTINE. WHAT THE FUCK HOW DID YOU KNOW.” We were excited, obviously. Then during other days at the gym, we would just talk and stretch and dance, while the other three worked out using all the equipment and such. David was my gym buddy and we even did partner work together with lifts and extensions and things like that. I could not get over the fact that this boy, all the way from Tennessee, was a dancer like me. But I believed it and I don’t remember being so happy and excited about dancing in my life.
On the last day of the trip, the Scouts went the gym for the last time. There was an open studio with a ballet barre and a mirror. David and I went inside and played some music using the speakers of the studio. I was probably the most excited girl in the word. We were turning, doing choreo, and we just danced until we couldn’t dance anymore - but even that wasn’t even possible. Personally, I love dancing. But having the opportunity to share that love of dance with someone else that I just met a couple days ago made me value dance even more. That night, we went to Club O2 for the last time and they were signing shirts. David was the last one to sign my shirt and I was signing his I told him how much he meant to me. I knew he was going to college in Tennessee then proceeding to New York to pursue his dreams as a dancer. I only knew him for a couple of days and in my heart, I couldn’t believe it was almost time to say goodbye to my new best friend. The night surpassed when we were reaching our final hours together with the Scouts. As Dianne and Kevin went to bed, I stayed up all night with David and Monica until 5 in the morning. I wanted to make every minute count because I knew I would probably never see them ever again, or at least not for a really really really long time. As we had never ending conversations, Monica and David were falling asleep. Monica was lying down on my foot and David was resting his head on my lap with my arm around him. I was the only one sitting up, still with the emotions that were clouding my head. It was then that I told David that ever since I was younger, I have always wanted to meet a male dancer and work with him, possibly having duets with him. And once I met David, I feel like that dream of mine finally came true (as cliche as that sounds). I was telling David how much I was going to miss him and that it felt like I was saying goodbye to my best friend as he looked at me with his eyes and with a small grin. He didn’t have to say anything, because I knew he was going to miss me too. The clock hit 5am and we started walking our way toward our hotel rooms and saying our last goodbyes. David walked me to my room and we gave each other one last hug as he said the words, “I love you.” It wasn’t romantic love - besides, he was already in a relationship with probably the handsomest guy I have ever seen in my life. But it was a mutual love that you could ever get in a friendship. During that last hug, I was rewinding every single moment that we had together during those amazing and unforgettable 12 days, hoping that one day I will see him again.
I have experienced and learned so much from these two weeks. I have made friendships that I will always remember and I have met people I will always love and keep in touch with. But out of all things, I am most thankful for meeting someone like David, and I think that this was the most pleasant surprise that my fortune was telling me about. A true friend that lives literally 3000 miles away from me in Knoxville, Tennessee, but shares the exact same interests, dislikes, hobbies, and loves.
It’s crazy how close you can become with someone after such a short amount of time. There is so much I could say about David. My gym buddy, dance partner, food whore, future roomie, and soulmate - This boy has shown me that you can have true friendships across the country. I am praying that one day, we will get to dance together again and become “roomies” in New York. Meeting someone like David is something I will never ever forget, and although we live on two opposite sides of the country, he is a best friend that I will be keeping around in my life for a really long time. And this comes to show how much he really means to me. I love you and I miss you so much, David Maccree! Until we meet again, partner! :)
