Coincidence - Alan May [36]
This was also the day the Floaties were to have the first of their home stays. Melissa, true to form, was both excited and nervous at the prospect. She wanted so much to get to know someone her own age who actually lived here, someone who could tell her what it was like to go to school and work and do ordinary, everyday things in a place so different from her own home. At the same time she worried about whether she would feel comfortable spending the night with total strangers.
At 1300 hours the whole student body walked along with the teachers to the Miranda Hotel. They spent the afternoon swimming in the hotel pool with the Mexican students who would be their hosts and playing rollicking games of tug-of-war and volleyball. By the end of the afternoon, there were no more strangers.
Melissa went to the home of Jessica, a seventeen-year-old girl who lived right on the beach in one of the little coves dotting the shoreline of Banderas Bay. The house was modest in size and the furnishings were simple, but its warm stucco walls and wide curving arches, not to mention its idyllic location, gave it such a feeling of light and spaciousness and charm that Melissa thought it the most beautiful house she’d ever seen. She and Jessica sat in the courtyard around the small pool before dinner, asking each other a million questions.
The family took Melissa out for dinner at a beautiful seafood restaurant high on a hill above the hotels, overlooking the bay. The sun setting on the horizon over the deep blue water was spectacular, an ever-changing picture of radiant pinks and golds. The food was fantastic, too; Carol would have been happy to learn that Melissa had sampled some traditional Mexican cuisine and enjoyed it.
After dinner, the two girls left to meet all of the other kids at a disco called Friday Lopez. This was the official, BWA-sponsored get-together.
After the teachers went back to the ship, however, there was another get-together at another disco. This was unofficial and unchaperoned, and a few of the kids took advantage of the absence of teachers and had a drink or two. Melissa was tempted at first to have one but decided against it. The last thing she wanted was to be caught doing something against the rules and against the promise she’d made to her parents. Besides, she thought, as Pierre held her close, whispering in her ear about his host family as they danced, she was pretty sure that she was already about as happy as a girl could get. What could alcohol add to her pleasure?
In the morning, the Floaties bid their newfound friends adíos and promised to keep in touch. Melissa and Pierre stood on deck holding hands as they watched Puerto Vallarta fade into the distance. It had been an interesting place, a place of great natural beauty, they agreed, and in some ways they wished they could have stayed longer. There were many more things to do than they’d had time for. But it had also been awfully commercialized and awfully touristy.
Their next destination, however, was the opposite of commercial: the Galápagos Islands, a twelve-day sail from Mexico.
13
Once classes began, Melissa was surprised to find her ship duties had become so routine she had no trouble finding time or energy to study. Besides, the courses were fascinating. The teachers tied them to the places where they were traveling. Melissa had always been a good student, but now she was riveted to her studies like never before.
Pierre, who had scraped by in school with a minimum of studying, was amazed to find himself enjoying the classes. Studying the history, geography, biology, and literature of the parts of the world they were sailing through made all the difference for him.
The enthusiasm of the teachers was contagious. They made themselves available at all hours if the Floaties had questions or wanted to continue an absorbing discussion.
A couple of days out, the wind died. The ocean looked like a mirror and there were no clouds