by Raymond Bean
“Here you go,” she said.
I turned back to take it from her and realized that a woman was in the seat next to Grandma. Her head was turned toward the aisle, but she looked really familiar. I leaned over Grandma to get a better look, and the woman sat up, startling me, and said, “Good morning, Justin. How was your rest?”
I dropped my orange juice on the floor from shock. “Good morning, Mrs. Cliff.”
11
Totally Unbelievable
Grandma woke up when my orange juice splashed on her leg. “Oh, Justin, you’re up. Can you believe your teacher is sitting right here with us? I was going to wake you before, but you were sound asleep. What a surprise!”
“I totally can’t believe it,” I said, trying to fake a smile to be polite.
“When I sat down earlier, you were already asleep,” Mrs. Cliff said. “How’s your tooth?”
“It feels a little funny still, but it’s better.”
“Mrs. Cliff is staying at the same hotel as us!” Grandma said enthusiastically. “What are the odds that your teacher would be at the same hotel as us all the way in Aruba! She and I were really hitting it off before. She’s a regular tourist guide. You’d be amazed at how much she knows about the island. Seriously, what are the odds?”
“It’s got to be about a billion to one,” I said. “Totally unbelievable. If you’ll excuse me, I have to use the bathroom.”
They both stood so I could make my way to the aisle and toward the bathroom in the back of the plane. When I got out to the aisle, I saw Dad sleeping. I walked down the aisle toward the bathroom and where Mom and the girls were seated. The girls were asleep, and Mom was reading.
I knelt down next to Mom, who was sitting on the aisle seat. “We have to stay at another hotel,” I whispered.
“What are you talking about? The hotel Grandma booked looks lovely. I looked at it online last night.”
“We can’t stay there. I’ll sleep on the beach if I have to, but don’t make me stay there.”
“What’s gotten into you? I thought you were excited about this place.”
“I was until I learned that Mrs. Cliff is staying there too!”
“That’s ridiculous,” Mom said.
“It’s ridiculous, all right, but it’s my reality. She’s sitting up there next to Grandma. Can I parachute out of this plane?”
“Come on, Justin. It’s a little early in the morning for pranks.”
“Mom, she’s up there, and she’s staying at our hotel.”
Just as Mom was about to get back to her book, Mrs. Cliff stood and took her bag down from the overhead compartment.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Mom whispered. “What are the chances?”
“I changed my mind. I don’t want to go away for Christmas anymore,” I said.
12
Gertrude
The rest of the flight, I pretended to sleep, but I couldn’t. By the time we landed, Mrs. Cliff and Grandma were like two old buddies. They even exchanged cell phone numbers.
When we got off the plane, we had to show our passports to the security officers. People were in a big long line waiting to go through to get their luggage. That’s when Becky and Mindy noticed Mrs. Cliff.
“Did you see that your teacher is here?” Becky said.
“I know. She sat next to Grandma the entire flight.”
“This is too good,” Mindy said. “I can’t believe it!”
“You can’t believe it? This was supposed to be a week off from school, and now Mrs. Cliff is here in Aruba with me, and she’s staying at our hotel.”
“I love it!” Becky said.
When it was our time to go through customs, a lady looked at each of our pictures on our passports and then said our names and asked us a few questions. She looked at me and said, “What’s your name?”
“I’m Justin.”
“Welcome to Aruba, Justin. Are you ready to have fun this week?”
“I was until I realized my teacher is here too. Is there any way I can take another flight back to New York?”
“Justin, stop being so dramatic,” Mom said. “Big deal, your teacher is here. There’ll be so many people at the hotel, I bet you don’t even see her again this whole trip.”
“You’re all set. You can walk toward the door and pick up your luggage. Taxis are waiting outside. Good luck trying to avoid your teacher,” the lady said with a smirk.
“Thanks,” I said.
We walked over by the luggage machine, and some bags were starting to come out. I could feel the warm air coming in from outside and see the trees blowing in the breeze.
“It’s going to be a wonderful time, Justin,” Mom said. “Look how lovely it looks outside. Just relax.”
That’s when Grandma appeared. “I told Gertrude she can hop in a taxi with us to head over to the hotel. The poor dear is all alone.”
“Who’s Gertrude?” Dad asked.
“Justin’s teacher. She’s a real darling.”
“Grandma, no offense, but I didn’t really expect to come here and hang out with my teacher,” I said.
“I know you didn’t, sugar, but that’s exactly what’s happened, so we’re going to be polite and make the best of it.”
Mrs. Cliff walked up with her bags. “Justin will grab those for you, Mrs. Gerty,” Grandma said. “Justin, give your teacher a little help.”
This isn’t happening, I thought as I picked up her bags and made my way toward the exit.
Mindy took a picture of me. “This is going to be a Christmas to remember,” she said.
“Maybe you two can get your hair braided together?” Becky snickered.
“Very funny,” I said. “You can put that on the list of things that will definitely not happen this week.”
“We’ll see,” Mindy said.
13
Lizard Mania
We all piled into a big van, and I sat in the back with the girls, and Grandma and Mrs. Cliff sat up front. I realized having Mrs. Cliff at the hotel was only going to be half my problem. The girls were going to have a field day with this and drive me completely crazy. They said they were going to take as many pictures of me and Mrs. Cliff together as possible and make me a memory album. I complained to Mom, and she said she didn’t want to hear it.
When we finally got to the hotel, it was about twelve. The front desk told Grandma and Dad that our rooms wouldn’t be ready until four. It was fine with me because all I wanted to do was head down to the pool or the beach.
Dad gave the front desk his cell phone number, and they told him they’d call when our room was ready.
Mom said, “We’re going to head to the pool and the beach for the rest of the day, so let’s get our bathing suits out of our bags and store our luggage with the front desk.”
“You can store your things in my room,” Mrs. Cliff offered. “It’s ready now, and I’m going to head up there and do a little reading or maybe take a nap.”
“That’s nice of you, Mrs. Cliff,” Mom said, “but we’ll be fine leaving our things down here, and then we won’t bother you later if we need anything out of our bags.”
“Suit yourself. Thanks for sharing your taxi with me. I’ll see you later on, Mimi?” she said to Grandma.
“You better believe it, Gertrude,” Grandma said.
Mrs. Cliff left, and I was relaxed for the first time all day. We all changed and walked out toward the pool. The place was like paradise. There were palm trees and paths leading every which way. The pool was at the bottom of the paths, and past the pool was a long stretch of white sand beach and crystal-clear water. We were on a path for less than a minute when I spotted a pretty big bluish lizard scurrying across the grass. I lunged for it, but it was way too fast.
“Oh no,” Becky said. “You’re going to go crazy in this place. I bet there are lizards everywhere.”
I hadn’t really had time to think about the fact that we were in the Caribbean and the place was crawling with lizards. I won
dered if I could sneak a few new pets back home on the plane. I was wondering how I’d accomplish that without hurting the lizard or getting in some kind of trouble, when I spotted a huge iguana, which would cost a bunch of money at a pet store, just hanging out right on the path.
“You’re going to love it here,” Dad said. “They’re everywhere!”
He was right too. There seemed to be lizards everywhere I looked. It was like a dream come true.
“Can I hang out over here by the trees and bushes and try to catch some?” I asked.
“I don’t see why not,” Mom said. “I’ll grab a chair over there, where we can see each other, and I’ll relax and read for a while. You do whatever you need to do. Just promise to stay in this area.”
The girls and Grandma headed for the pool, and Dad went for a swim in the sea. I had to admit, it was an amazing way to spend Christmas Day. It was like a reptile lover’s dream come true.
Finally, I thought, things are going my way.
14
Dive Bomb
At four o’clock, the front desk called Dad to tell him the room was ready. We grabbed our things and one of those hotel luggage carts and headed up to our rooms. Grandma had booked two rooms next to each other that connected. She and the girls were staying in one room, and I was staying in the other with Mom and Dad, which I was happy about because I didn’t have to sleep in the same room as the girls.
The first night we went to sleep pretty early because we were all so tired from the trip. The next morning I woke up really early and wanted to go out to start looking for critters. I couldn’t wait to check out down by the beach. If there were that many lizards just around the hotel, I couldn’t imagine the cool stuff I’d find by the beach.
Mom and Dad were still sleeping, but I could hear Grandma humming next door, so I tapped lightly on the door.
She opened up and said, “I’m headed down to the beach to reserve some lounge chairs for us. Want to come?”
“Sure,” I said, grabbing my video camera.
“I might have to wait on line for a while. They said at the front desk that the line can be long. They don’t open for another half hour.”
I didn’t mind. I figured that while Grandma waited on line, I could look for critters.
When we got down to the beach, there were about thirty people waiting for beach chairs. Mrs. Cliff walked up at the exact same time as us and got on line with Grandma.
“Hi, Justin,” she said.
“Hi, Mrs. Cliff,” I managed. “How’d you get here at the same exact time as us?”
“I texted her,” Grandma said. “We’re going to spend the day together.”
“Wonderful,” I said. “My grandma and my teacher hanging out all day, what more could a kid my age wish for?”
“Justin, don’t be rude,” Grandma said. I noticed she was a little different around Mrs. Cliff, and I didn’t like it.
“I don’t mean to be rude. It’s just…”
“It’s just that you’re embarrassed,” Mrs. Cliff said.
“I’m not embarrassed. It’s just that I was kind of looking forward to a break from you…I mean from school. That’s all. Don’t all kids want a break from school and their teachers?”
“I loved my teachers growing up,” Grandma said. “I don’t think you give Mrs. Cliff the respect she deserves. Maybe we can work on that this week, and it will carry over into class when you return.”
“I don’t see that happening,” I said.
“Justin!” Grandma said. “What’s gotten into you?”
“Nothing, I’m just talking and trying to be honest.”
“Why don’t you go look for your lizards while we wait on the line?”
I couldn’t believe Grandma was hanging out with Mrs. Cliff and was upset with me. If anyone should have been upset, it should have been me for having to hang out with my teacher during the break.
I tried catching a few lizards and then decided to take a break because it was already super hot. They had a cold water station set up with a bunch of comfy lounge chairs. I was lying on a lounge chair, waiting for Grandma and Mrs. Cliff, when I heard a man shriek. I sat up fast and saw him on one of the paths, running and holding his head. He was looking around like something had fallen on him.
I noticed a woman walking from the beach onto the same path. She made it about halfway down, and a small black bird swooped down from a palm tree and pecked her on the top of the head. She ran down the length of the rest of the path as the man before her had. She wasn’t hurt or anything, but it looked like it surprised her pretty good. It looked pretty funny, like the sort of thing I’d seen on the Internet or those funny video shows. There was a lady sitting on a chair near me, and she started to laugh too.
A third person started down the path, and I decided to take out the video camera. It was hysterical. The man made it about halfway, and the same bird darted out of the palm tree and buzzed his head. He ran as the other two had before him. Only this time, I got it on film. He was laughing the entire time, so it mustn’t have hurt. A few more people gathered near where I was sitting and prepared for the next person to walk down the path. It was like being in on a practical joke.
One of the people watching said the bird was probably protecting a nest. Everyone seemed to agree, but no one seemed interested in warning the people coming down the path.
I couldn’t believe my eyes when I noticed Mrs. Cliff strolling along the path, headed toward where the bird was dive-bombing. It was too perfect. I pointed my video camera on her. Aaron and the guys at school wouldn’t believe this if I tried to explain it to them, so I was so glad I’d brought the camera. Mrs. Cliff was not paying attention to where she was going because she was trying to read something on her phone as she walked. When she was halfway up the path, the bird flew out of the tree, but this time it wasn’t taking any prisoners. It dove toward the top of her head and crashed into her pretty hard. It pecked at the top of her head while hovering above her for a few seconds. She shrieked out and ran for cover. Instead of running down the path like the other people before her had done, she turned and started heading across the grass in my direction. Through my video camera, I watched Mrs. Cliff stumbling toward me and screaming at the top of her lungs. It was so loud that it echoed through the resort, and people started coming out onto their balconies. Several people went over to Mrs. Cliff to see if she was OK. I don’t know why I didn’t stop taping, but I just kept on rolling.
Before I knew it, Grandma was behind me and said, “What are you doing?”
“I was just watching this bird dive-bomb people going by.”
“And you decided to videotape it instead of warning them?”
“Well, the first few people didn’t get hurt or anything. They just ran down the path to get away. It was really funny.”
“And you saw this and didn’t warn Mrs. Cliff?”
I don’t think there’d ever been a time when Grandma was mad at me before this trip, and now she seemed really upset with me. I was so mad at Mrs. Cliff for being there.
“I’m surprised and, frankly, a little disappointed in you, Justin,” Grandma said.
I noticed Mindy and Becky out on their balcony taking pictures of me. One of the women from the hotel brought Mrs. Cliff an ice pack and apologized.
“It’s all right,” Mrs. Cliff said. “It was just a passionate mother bird protecting her nest. I suggest the hotel tape off the area to protect the birds.”
The woman agreed and left to go get some help. Grandma suggested that I stay and help the lady to make up for my poor decision.
“I don’t mind helping,” I said.
“Good, I’ll sit down over here with Mrs. Cliff and order an iced coffee. When you’re done, I’ll bring you back up to the room.”
They grabbed a table and talked to one of the waitresses. I stood waiting for the lady to come back and had what seemed to be a great idea. I figured that if it was funny watching other people get attacked by the little bird
, it would probably be hysterical to take video of myself being attacked. I ran to the end of the path and turned on the video camera. Then I walked along the path and waited for the bird to strike. A few people were watching and waiting for me to get nabbed. I didn’t see it at all—until I felt it collide with the top of my head. Its beak scraped along the top of my head like a sharp stick. I fell to my knees, and it struck again. I was laughing because it didn’t hurt that bad, but I was also a little frightened because it seemed to be going at me extra hard.
When I stood up and ran down the path, it hovered right in front of me and pecked at my cheeks. Each time it pecked, it was like getting a shot in the face. It got so bad that I stopped taping and wrapped my arms over my head for protection. It felt as if there were a few birds because the pecking was getting worse. That’s when someone threw a towel over my head, grabbed my hand, and led me to the end of the path and safety. I was relieved because it was getting scary there for a minute. When I stopped and pulled the towel off my face, I realized Mrs. Cliff had saved me.
Grandma ran over and said, “My goodness. What would you do without this woman, Justin? She just saved your life. Those birds were pecking at you like you were dipped in honey!”
I touched my cheek and realized I was bleeding.
“Let’s get you back to the room,” Grandma said. “Your cheeks look like Swiss cheese. We’ve got to get some medication on those cuts right away. Your mother is not going to be happy.”
15
Trust Me
When I looked in the mirror back at the room, I couldn’t believe it. My face was covered in little scratches and cuts from where the birds had pecked at my face. The girls told me I looked like I’d fallen on a porcupine.
“I’m sorry if I’m ruining the trip,” I said to Grandma later that night at dinner.
“You could never ruin the trip,” Grandma said. “I booked this trip because I never get to really spend time with you kids. I’ll tell you something, though,” she said seriously. “You always seem to be complaining about school and how horrible it is. Maybe you need to stop blaming Mrs. Cliff and start taking responsibility yourself.”