Ahhh, Spring Break. Sun, freedom, and girls. Sounds like heaven to me. Every year my parents take me to some city. I mean a real city, not like the "city" I live in. I love the big city. It's so great.

I stepped off the plane and into the blinding sun. There was still snow on the ground at home, but here the grass was green, and the sun was hot. I couldn't wait to hit the beach.
"Okay, where now?" I asked to no one in particular, looking around.
"This way, Ethan," my dad said.
He's a loser. My dad might be a great doctor, but he looks like the world's worst tourist. He had a beige sunhat on, with great big sunglasses, and khaki shorts. Like I said: loser.
As he started to walk towards the airport, he pulled out a small digital camera from one of his pockets, and began to snap pictures of everything around. I wasn't looking forward to walking around town with him.
I turned to walk beside my mom, who looked almost as embarrassed as I did. My mom was a nice lady. She looked like one of those stereotypical TV mom's, with a blonde bob and fashionable clothing. No clue how she ended up with my dad.
"Hurry up guys!" my dad called. He was standing the doors to the terminal, waving his hand. I rolled my eyes and hurried to catch up, before he got too impatient.
The inside of the airport was quite nice, really. The tiled floor was a calming blue-gray colour, and the walls were the colour of cream. The rugs running down the nearby hallway were a bright crimson. I had been in airports before, and I always had a strange liking for them. They're a way for people all over the world to meet.
While we waited for our luggage to arrive on the belt-y thing, my mom and dad discussed what we would do for the rest of the day.
"So, we should probably rent a car," my dad said.
"No Robert. There's a subway," countered my mom, "We can each get a week pass."
Dad furrowed his brow, "Fine. But we're calling cabs to get to the hotel."
"Then we should probably get something to eat."
They continued the discussion until finally our luggage came and we dragged it off the conveyor belt, and through the building to the main entrance. We found a taxi-van sitting outside waiting for customers.
After a fairly long taxi ride, we arrived at the hotel. I was glad to be out of the cramped vehicle, as it was hot, and my father kept asking the driver about different buildings.
The hotel was a large affair, at least 10 stories high, with a beautiful stone front. The lobby was covered in stone furniture, and plushy couches and chairs. Behind the front desk stood several picturesque hotel workers, with perfect hair and pearly smiles.
My dad checked us in to our rooms. Two rooms on the 9th floor, one for me, on for my parents.
I loved this place. Even the hotels were nicer than anything back home. Totally unfair. My room was great. It had a king sized bed in the center, with a giant TV on an entertainment unit sitting in front of it. The single, large window in the room opened to the beach and the ocean.
After a quick shower, my parents and I made our way to the hotel restaurant for a bite to eat. It seemed like this place could do no wrong.
"So," my mother said, after ordering, "What shall we do today? Either we could go to the beach, or to the mall. What do you guys think?"
"Beach," my dad and I said in unison.
So it was settled. After eating, we went back upstairs to our rooms to grab our bathing suits.
When I saw the suit I had accidentally packed, I swore to myself. I had meant to bring my favourite pair of cheesy, Hawaiian-flowered trunks. Instead I had packed a pair with bright bands of pink and blue at the top, and lime green legs. Not terrible, but not what I wanted.
I grabbed my towel and flip-flops, and met my parents outside the room. Together we made our way down the couple blocks to the beach. I found a perfect spot, close to the water, and close to where there seemed to be a lot of girls. Smiling, I took off of shirt, to reveal my pale smooth chest.
I walked to my mom and said, "Hey, I'm going to go for a walk." She nodded to show that she heard, and I took off.
I didn't make it very far before a couple of girls waved me over. One of the girls was a Latina, with short, black hair, and a blue, with orange polka-dots bikini. The other girl was almost as white as me, with brown hair, and a plain black bikini.
"Hey, what's your name?" the Latina asked me. I could see she was looking from my shiny blond hair to my chest.
"Ethan." I replied.
"Ethan what?" the pale girl asked. She too was looking me up and down, pausing to check out what little abs I had.
"McCain."
They both giggled.
"Well, Mr. Ethan McCain," the Latina girl began, "wanna come for a swim with us?"
I agreed, and spent the next hour or two with the girls in the water. They kept asking me questions about myself. Eventually, my father called my name, and I had to leave. The girls protested, but finally gave in, but not before they grabbed a Mini-Sharpie from one of their bags and wrote their numbers on my hand.
I waved good-bye to the girls, and made my way back to my parents. They pointed out that the sun was going down, and that we needed to head back to the hotel, and then somewhere to get some dinner. We would take the subway. I grabbed my towel and started to dry off, as we walked back.
After a quick change of clothes, me and the family asked one of the girls at the lobby front desk where the nearest subway station was. She gave us some instructions, and within 10 minutes, we were on the platform, waiting for the next train.
The platform was surprisingly crowded, and I struggled to keep with my parents. By far this was the least glamourous part of the city so far, with it's dingy gray walls, and slight moldy scent.
I heard a screech from my left, and I jumped and looked. The train had arrived. As it stopped, there started a rush of motion I got caught up in the people exiting the train, and they pulled me backwards.
"Mom! Dad!" I shouted, but they didn't hear me over the combined noise from the crowd and the train. I struggled against the flow of the crowd, and almost made it, but while I was several meters from the train door, it closed, and the train started to move.
As the train moved away from the platform, I was yelling for my parents, hoping by some chance that they might hear me, and somehow get it to stop.
"Crap in a bucket!" I shouted loudly, causing a nearby mother with a toddler to look in my direction and glare. I hadn't planned for this…
The train disappeared into the gloom of the tunnel, and I began swearing loudly. The mother who had glared at me dragged her child away al fast as she could.
Great, I thought, What do I do now? What are you supposed to do when you lose your parents in a big city? I have no money… All I have is this subway pass my parents got me.
I stood there, fuming and thinking for a moment. Then I had an idea. If that train went that way, then the next one that comes would probably be going the same way!
I'm brilliant.
I sat on a bench on the platform for almost 15 minutes before the next train arrives. While sitting, I regretted not having a book with me. The only book I had brought was my Independent Novel for my English Lit. course, Jane Eyre. Although, it's not like I predicted this happening.
When the train finally arrived I pushed my way on and found one of the few empty seats. I had never been on something like this before, so I was feeling apprehensive. I gave a small jump when the train started to move.
I looked around at the different people in the car, before my eyes settled on something opposite of me on a wall. It was a map.
Crap.
It was a map of the subway routes. It looked like a spider web. I was never going to find my parents. I didn't even know what stop they got off at! I should have just gone back to the hotel.
The train stopped, and I joined the crowd getting out. I figured that I couldn't have gone far, so I could probably just walk back to the hotel. How hard would it be?
My eyes widened when I stepped off the platform. It looked nothing like the last one. The other had looked like a prison, whereas this one looked almost as sleek and new as the airport. It had a nice tiled floor, and bright posters advertising different restaurants and deodorants. On the walls and floor were green and orange arrows pointing to the exit and from the entrance.
I followed the orange arrows to the exit, and then up the stairs, where I reached the doors to the station. I pushed them open and went into the city.
The buildings around me seemed like giants. They were of monstrous size, and blocked out parts of the now black sky. I could still see the moon though, which was directly overhead. The odd part was that the street was still lit. The lights from the building windows, and the streetlights kept the fairly crowded streets alight.
Well, I guess I better start walking… I thought, and I started walking in the direction the subway train had come.
Slowly, the skyscrapers started disappearing, and more and more apartment buildings appeared. There were also more people, mostly around my age, who were walking around in groups, laughing and chatting.
I looked at myself in the windows of the buildings I passed, and I could see how differently I was dressed from the local teens. They were all wearing hoodies, or long sleeved shirts, and jeans with bulky skater shoes, whereas I was wearing a white t-shirt, and a pair of red plaid shorts with black ship-ons and no socks. I guess that even though the day had been hot, and the evening was still warm to me, it seemed cold to them.
As I walked, I passed a convenience store, outside of which a group of kids in thug clothing were hanging around. When the saw me passing, the whole group started to follow me.
I tried to ignore them, but they persisted, so I turned around to confront them.
"Do you want something?" I said to the guy in front while I looked him up and down. He was wearing an over sized hoodie, oversized, sagging jeans, and a gangster hat tipped to the side. I started to chuckle, but then I realized something: this guy couldn't be any older than 12. I burst out laughing.
"What? 'Choo gotta problem wit me? Whatchu doin' out here so late muthafucka?" the lead kid said, at lightning speed.
"Walking," I said simply, while snickering.
He crossed his arms, "well why don'chu jus' walk a li'l bit faster?"
I raised my eyebrow and asked, "What's your name, kid?"
"Tyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyrell," the kid said, holding out the y.
"Well Tyyyrell, why don't you and your little friends go back to the playground."
Then the rest of the "gang" started calling at me.  There was a lot of threats, and "What'dyousay"s.
A girl who looked to be about 13 pushed her way to the front.
"Yo, boi. Don'chu be commin' inta ooooour territory and be doin' all this mmm mmm hatin'! Now you be a goo' li'l white boi and PEACE!" she blathered.
I was getting tired of this. "Listen, Leshandra-"
She cut me off, "Boi, the nayme's Sh'NayNay."
"Whatever, Sh'NaaaaaayNaaaaaay. Eff off. What are you? Twelve? Isn't it your bedtime?"
Tyrell, pushed Sh'NayNay out of the way, and began jabbering, "Yo, we're thirteen! Don't be hatin'." He turned back to his friends and called, "Hey J'Rome. Get up here an' teach this crackah a less'n."
Another kid, almost identically dressed to Tyrell came forward. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a knife.
I jumped and almost lost my balance. "Holy shit!" I cried, "Is that a knife? What's a twelve year old going with a knife?"
Tyrell snarled, "We're THIRTEEN!"
J'Rome advanced, with the blade held out.
I looked around for someone to help, but magically the street had emptied. Unless a car came around the street suddenly, I was going to die at the hands of a group of twelve-year-old wannabe gangsters.
Then, the unexpected happened.  A rusted, old, brown car sped around the corner, and screeched to a halt. The doors opened, and two guys and a girl stepped out. One of the guys towered above everyone else.
"Yo, kids. Go home," the girl yelled.
I looked at the kids, and they looked scared. J'Rome dropped his knife with a clang.
The shorter of the two guys called, "Go home kiddies. Play time is over."
The three people walked closer, and the kids scattered.
I took a couple steps towards them.
"Hey, thanks a lot."
"No problemo. Wouldn't want you to go and get stabbed to death," the girl said.
The tall guy looked down at me, "So who are you? I've never seen you around here before."
"I'm Ethan. I'm here on vacation, and I got lost," I explained.
"Ooooh, that's lame," the shorter guy, "Well we got a car. We could drive you back where you need to be."
"If you don't mind coming with us on a wee amount of errands first, that is," the girl added.
I was surprised, "Oh wow. Thanks! Yeah, I don't mind."
"Okay," said the tall guy, who started to walk to the car, "Get in."
The rest of the people, and myself moved towards, and got in the car. The tall guy was driving, the girl sat in the passenger seat, and the other guy sat beside me in the back.
"Oh yeah, I'm Karl, by the way," the taller guy said.
"My name's Rita," said the girl.
"And I'm Alex," concluded the shorter guy.
Karl turned around to look at me. I could see him more clearly now. He wore a pair of thick-rimmed glasses, and had a purple toque over his scraggly brown hair. He also had a short beard that was in need of a bit of tidying. His clothing consisted of a red flannel shirt, and a pair of slim, gray jeans.
"So where do you need to go?" he asked.
I told him the name of the hotel, and Rita laughed.
Karl started the car, and took off. Rita turned around in her seat, got on her knees and rested her chin on the headrest.
"So," she said, "That's a pretty darn fancy hotel you're staying at. Your family must have a pretty penny to be able to afford that place."
"Well, my dad's a doctor."
Alex leaned over and gave her a slight swipe across the head. The light illuminated him too. His short, dirty blond hair was almost the same colour as tanned his skin. He wore tight navy jeans, rolled up at the ankle, and a purple hoodie, with a white v-neck shirt under.
The three of them laughed, and Rita sat down normally again.
"So, who were those kids?" I asked tentatively.
They laughed even harder.
"Oh, those were just some kids who live in the same building we do. They like to pretend to be gangster," Alex explained, "Although, I don't know where they got a knife…"
"And," Karl added, "That girl in the front, who probably said something about her name-"
I cut in, "Yeah, she said it was Sh'NayNay, or something?"
"Yeah, her. Well, her name is really Shannon Nayson."
"Ahhh…"
Karl drove for a while longer, and the three made casual conversation. Finally we stopped along the street in front of what looked like a town square. It was covered in cobblestones, and had a large fountain in the middle. The far end of the square ended at a river, with a short pier. The streetlights lit it, and made it beautiful.
Rita poked my head, "Stop staring, dunderhead. Keep going."
They led me down through the square, into an alley between two buildings midway down. From there they kept walking, until the alley opened into another square. This one was completely surrounded by old style restaurants, and had lots of lights, making the ground and people, look as though they were in bright daylight. Around the square were a bunch of people at stalls, with artwork, jewelry, and other such things. It was an artist's market.
I stood stunned, "Oh wow…" It was amazing.
"C'mon," whispered Karl. Bringing me to where Rita and Alex stood.
Rita was directly under one of the light posts. Her skin was very white, and contrasted with her long dark brown hair. She wore an open, blue plaid shirt over a black undershirt, and black skinny jeans. On her head was a woven cap.
We met them there, and Rita gestured to the stall behind her, which was covered in watercolour landscape paintings.
"I needed to get a birthday present for my mom, and she loves art," Rita said.
We stood there for a while before she finally picked one, a seascape with some whales, and gave the proper amount of money to the man running the market. Then she looked at me
"I want to get two," she said, "Pick out your favourite, Ethan."
"Why?" I was confused. After all, she had just met me. For all she knew, I hated art.
"Just do it, idiot."
"Fine."
I looked long and hard. There were many typical things, like forests, and meadows, and mountains. Eventually, I found the perfect one. A cityscape. It was set at dusk, and there were many tall buildings, all with many lights on. It looked almost real. After staring at it for a while, I picked it up.
"Wow, that is a nice one," Rita said softly, taking it from me, and paying for it.
I admired the surroundings as we made our way back to the car. Once in the car, we didn't talk much. I gave directions to the hotel.
When we arrived, Karl parked the car in the parking lot, and they walked me to the lobby, where we said our goodbyes.
"How long are you here for?" Alex asked.
"Another 4 days." I said.
"Well then," said Karl slowly, "Here's our number. Call us and we can show you and your family what the city is really like."
Rita jumped, "That reminds me! Stay here." She ran back to the car.
When she returned, she was carrying the cityscape that I picked out.
"Here," she said, handing it to me, "Consider this a gift to remember the city by."
"But, isn't this a gift for your mom?" I asked, confused.
"No. You were nice, and you seemed to really like that market. So I figured you deserved to have the good memories."
"Wow… Thanks!" I smiled very widely.
"Well," Alex broke in, "We should be going. Call us."
I waved to them as they made their way to their car, before going into the hotel lobby.
Despite getting lost, it had been a very fun evening.

Turns out I have really great parents. They had done the standard freak out thing. My dad called every organization in the city, and my mom was crying herself into dehydration.
When I knocked on the door, they basically crushed me in hugs.

We called Karl, Alex, and Rita. They showed us all the stuff tourists don't get to see, like underground cafés, various markets, and cultural centers. It really ended up being one of the most fun vacations we'd ever taken.
On our last day in the city, I exchanged email addresses so that we could keep in touch.
Before we left for good, Rita pulled me aside.
"Next time you're in the city," she said, "Give me a ring." And she kissed me on the cheek.

Now I had lots of stories to tell to Jake and Aaron back home.