“GET UP, GET UP!” my roommate A.J. shouted. As the thought of sleep crossed my mind the warm Mexican air lured me out of bed. We quickly got ready for the first day of Spring Break. We headed out the door with no intentions of what we were going to do. The sun beat down on our pale faces, and the cool ocean breeze swiftly swayed through our hair as we walked around with no particular direction. We stumbled upon the “Tropical pool” where all the other Spring Breakers had been. Bass booming, crystal clear water, and a crowd of people having the times of their lives. “I think I found something to do.” I told A.j. in a tone of disbelief and awe. As we made our way to the pool we hurriedly began to strip down to our bathing suits, getting ready to jump in.

Clusters of teenagers crammed the pool as music and laughter filled the air. I weaved in and out of people trying to find my other friends. As I approached the pool bar a group of people looked oddly familiar, I took a closer look and sure enough I had found them! “Guys! What’s up?!” Thank goodness I found these guys I thought to myself, otherwise I would have had to spent my time making small talk with people I didn’t know. My friends and I rounded up and roamed the pool mingling and meeting new friends. Coincidentally, everyone we had talked to was from Michigan and knew exactly where the town of Birmingham was.

As the day grew older, the sun grew hotter, and our tummies grew hungrier. “Hey guys, wanna go grab some lunch?” I asked a few of my buddies in the pool. Thankfully a convenient lunch buffet was right next to the pool. We gathered our shirts and shoes, threw them on and hit the buffet. Everything looked so good I thought, as I became hungrier and hungrier, I just wanted to eat it all! We sat down and the sight of food looked amazing. Cheesy pizza, steaming quesadillas, and perfectly salted french fries; it all starred me in the eye asking to be consumed. It was the best, most unhealthy meal I’ve ever had and I loved it! Mexico knew how to live.

After our delicious meal we were stuffed. We contemplated whether to hit the hammocks for a nap, or to go back to the pool. We thought long and hard as our food digested. Our conclusion: the pool. As we were walking back to continue our adventures when something caught my attention. My eyes widened, my stomach dropped, and my nerves went through the roof. Feeling like I was walking in slow motion, I cautiously strolled over to the crowd of people. My mind was racing, I could barely think straight. “What happened? What’s going on? Who is that?” 
As I approached the scene, more and more people began to crowd. I peered over someone’s shoulder, trying to get a better look at what was going on. As I saw what happened it seemed as though a dark cloud had suddenly replaced the sunny Mexican sky. I couldn't believe my eyes. “Am I dreaming? Wake up! Wake up!” I thought. “Is that… is that Shawn?!” I asked the crowd of the people. Shawn, a lifelong friend that goes to Seaholm, had been lying on the ground as if he had been shot. His eyes were rolled back, blood everywhere, and medics tending his every move.

The sight of this initiated thoughts of irrational conclusions that had no chance of even coming true. “Will he be alright? How long will he be in the hospital? He will have to stay here for months! His Spring Break is ruined!” I thought. As people began to lose interest they cleared the area, giving me an opportunity to find out the details of the incident. I frantically approached one of the medics asking what was wrong.

“What happened? Will he be alright?”
“Uhh… no hablo ingles…” He replied.
I was getting nowhere. I had to thinking of another source of news. I saw one of Shawn’s friends who I had not known very well. In a desperate state of finding out what happened, I overcame the awkwardness of not knowing the guy to ask if he saw what happened.
“Hey Tommy, did you see what happened to Shawn? Will he be alright?”

“Yeah, he was getting out of the pool when he slipped on the stairs and hit his chin.” He answered.
I exhaled a sigh of relief as I calmed down and debriefed the whole situation. Out of everything that happened, I thought that cutting his chin was not the best case scenario, but it surely wasn’t the worst. My friends split off and joined the other Spring Breakers back in the pool as I stayed to see what was going to happen to Shawn. The remaining crowd cleared out leaving just a few of his good friends and a couple of medics. His chin was cut up alright. His sun burnt skin was pierced open with blood dripping down his chin onto his chest like a leaky faucet dripping water into the sink.
The medics began bandaging him up as they called the hospital for help. “He’s going to a hospital… In Mexico?” I thought to myself. I could only imagine of the cleanliness and hospitality that a hospital would have in a country like Mexico. Although, it would be best for him to seek some higher medical attention to clean up to his badly cut up chin.

After waiting 20 minutes the ambulance arrived and workers of the resort had escorted the ambulance attendants to the scene. About four workers of the hospital came to where Shawn had been laying and they began examining and diagnosing the cut. They seemed to have a relaxed composure as if the cut was easily treatable with no major surgery or anything of that nature. They began loading Shawn onto the stretcher; a bit dramatic for only a cut, but I guess they were better off being safe than sorry. “Hang in there, Shawn! You’ll be alright!” I shouted as they carried him away. Shawn replied with a thumbs up as his face expressed a sense of fright and nervousness.

Shawn was gone, and there was nothing I could do at that point. A smile slowly emerged from my face as beam of sunshine shined down on me. Shawn was going to be alright, I thought. He was in good hands and was expected to return in a day. I headed back to the pooling thinking of how great it will be when Shawn has a bulging scar on his chin with an unforgettable story behind it.

The sun lowered in the sky, but the pool had not lowered in population. Still weaving in and out of crazy teenagers I felt as if it was a repeat from this morning, searching for my buddies once again. I finally spotted one of my friends and began to head in that direction. Being surprised to see me, a friend of mine and Shawn’s asked how he was doing.

“He just cut his chin open. He’s headed to the hospital now.” I told him.

I noticed the wheels turning inside his head. I knew what he was thinking, the exact same thing I was thinking earlier. The idea of going to a Mexican hospital frightened us all but I think it was best for him. Feeling like a mind reader, I said to him:

“Mexican hospitals aren't the most ideal place to get treated but I think it’s better   than staying here.”
As the lightbulb went off in his head, a glowing smile showed, and a pep in his voice suddenly came about.
“Yeah, you're right. He’ll be okay!”

The warm weather, the sun beating down, and the excitement of Spring Break overwhelmed us all. We all were thrilled to be in Mexico but one small misfortune of a close friend put a pause on this excitement. Being apart of this unlucky incident just went to show how close and united we all are as a group, and as a community, rallying together to help Shawn. From Birmingham to Mexico, we are all a tight-knit society that I am lucky to be a part of!