I was annoyed at the announcer. That was the second time he reminded the island that we had to leave in an hour. I was taking a nap with my uncle on a privately owned (by Royal Caribbean) Island. Apparently, Mom and Dad thought it was a good idea to leave six year old me with my drunken uncle while they were with their friends. Since we were leaving the Island soon, I figured I would wake up my uncle. As soon as I saw the empty hammock I knew, he had been woken up by something (probably his snoring) and wandered off confused. Or maybe he was using the bathroom and a stray coconut erased his memory. Either way, I was alone.

Later, I found out he had fallen out of his hammock, apparently didn’t recognize me in the hammock next to him, tried to find other members of our party to no avail, and boarded the ship. When he got there, he and my parents engaged in a cliché “I thought he was with you” conversation and a brief panic attack courtesy of my grandmother.
Back at the island, I was determined to use the remaining thirty minutes on the island to do everything people said I shouldn’t. I was stealing oranges from stands, climbing the tallest trees, and constructing the world’s biggest sand castle. It ended when I tried to catch jellyfish. I boarded the dingy that would take me back to the ship, with a sad expression on my face, but a mischievous glare in my eyes, I knew I was going to get my uncle in a new level of trouble.

By the time I got to the ship and up on the deck, I could tell the employees were looking for someone. Being around six at the time it never crossed my mind I could be the one they were looking for. Why should I have? I didn’t think I would be a problem, I was perfectly fine. The problem was they didn’t know that. I did, however, know that my parents would probably be looking for me; luckily I had been trained in the ways of the ninja by watching T.V. and YouTube videos. As far as I was concerned I had the whole ship to myself, little did I know that most employees were to be on the lookout for me. Good thing most people don’t care for their work.

I met up with one of my new cruise friends I met earlier and went nuts. Our first stop was the buffet, followed immediately by the restaurant next to it. We sat uncomfortable close to a family eating an early dinner and the waiters assumed we were with them. We left when they brought the bill. Next, we decided to explore the vessel, after all it was now ours. We made sure no level was left untouched, to room uncharted, and my personal favorite, hitting every button on the elevators. Our spree of glee ended when we found ourselves in an adult’s only lounge near the top of the ship. Security had caught us snooping around and my friend and I were escorted to our parents on different parts of the ship. The crew had caught on to at least some things we had done and left me to my parents for discipline. The only thing I had to say was “I was just trying to find you” complete with a sorry look on my face and I was home free. I enjoyed the rest of my vacation, my uncle did not.