Plot 154: Vacation Plots (Happy Summer 2.0!)
a) Muse A and friends rent a room at a beachfront hotel. It’s super convenient that said room is on the first floor because they can simply toss the beach umbrellas and chairs over the balcony rail after a long day of baking in the sun and sand. Muse A gets back to the room first and plays catcher as friends toss up items over the balcony rail, but they can’t account for their friends’ poor aim. When a frisbee sails over to the neighbor’s balcony, Muse A decides to climb over and retrieve it before anyone notices. Of course, as Muse A gets halfway over the rail, Muse B, the hottie next door, steps out onto their balcony and catches Muse A trespassing.
b) Muse A finally cashed in their adventure fund for the road trip they’ve been dying to take. After a few hours of cruising, they stop at the last gas station for several miles. As they’re heading to the register to pay for the fuel and snacks, they realize that they forgot the pump number and head to the glass door to peek outside. To Muse A’s shock, someone is stealing their car. Muse A runs out of the convenience store, but it’s too late to stop the thief from getting away. Muse A calls the police to make a report, but the nearest station is 3 hours away; there’s no telling how long it will take for an officer to arrive. Muse B, a truck driver, overhears Muse A’s story and kindly offers to give them a lift. Muse A isn’t sure about accepting a ride from a stranger, but Muse B seems nice and they really don’t want to hang around the gas station til nightfall.
c) Muse A and Muse B are best friends on a road trip for several weeks. The pair are faithfully following their favorite band on an 8 city tour culminating in an epic music festival at the end of the summer. Muse A, exhausted from a long leg of night driving takes a nap once Muse B gets behind the wheel. Unfortunately, out of the two, Muse A is the better navigator. Even with GPS, Muse B manages to miss a crucial exit. Rather than confess their mistake to Muse A right away, Muse B keeps driving, hoping the GPS will lead them back to the right path soon enough. With every mile Muse B drives, they get further and further away from the tour route and further out of range of the GPS satellite. By the time Muse A wakes from their nap, they’re pretty lost.
d) While on a trip overseas, Muse A can’t help but act like a typical tourist. They sign up for a sight seeing tour and whip out the fancy camera they brought along for this special occasion to take dozens of hi-res photos they can share on their blog later. Muse A accidentally bumps into Muse B, a fellow photographer, as they’re getting off the tour bus and their cameras mistakenly get swapped as they part ways. Muse A doesn’t notice that they have the wrong camera until they develop the film/check the thumbnails on computer. Muse A is appalled by what they see in the pictures-- graphic evidence of brutal crimes-- and starts to fear what will happen when Muse B realizes that they have their camera along with the incriminating photos on it; Muse B must get those photos back at any cost.
e) When Muse A is dared by a friend to dine and dash at a five-star restaurant while on vacation, risk-taking Muse A accepts. After ordering the most expensive dishes on the menu, including a thousand-dollar desert plate, Muse A smiles and politely collects the check when the waiter leaves it on the table. The bill is astronomical-- more than Muse A could afford even if they scrape 3 paychecks together. At this point, they really have no choice but to dine and dash even if they're having second thoughts. Muse A heads to the bathroom as their friend casually exits through the main doors. It takes some cat-like maneuvering, but Muse A slips out through the bathroom window and reunites with their friend to escape and bask in the incredible high of their wrongdoing. The following evening, Muse A is mingling with attractive Muse B at a bar near their hotel. Muse B offers to take Muse A to dinner the next night and to Muse A's surprise, it's the same restaurant that they dine and dashed .. and to make matters worse, Muse B is related to the restaurant's owner.
f) While vacationing in the Caribbean, newlyweds Muse A and Muse B sign up to take a half-day boat excursion to a private island with several other tourists. Being so in love and unable to keep their hands off one another, the amorous couple hatch a plan to sneak away from the group when the opportunity arises to do their own "sight-seeing". They discover a romantic, little cove about 2 miles from the shoreline and indulge, losing track of time. When Muse A and Muse B return to the coast, the tour boat is gone. Thinking they simply got turned around somewhere, the hopeful couple treks to the other end of the island in search of their tour boat but they can't find it or any sign of their fellow tourists or guide. They're stranded with nothing but the clothes on their back and the contents of their pockets until the next tour boat comes around.
g) In the year 2080, people are finally able to travel through space and time rather than just being limited to travel to a geographical location. Time travel is the best vacation money can buy and it's surprisingly inexpensive. There are restrictions, of course, that must be followed to ensure the integrity of the space-time continuum. A time traveler must learn the historical background, customs, manner of speaking and dress of the era before booking a trip; there is an exam to ensure such conditions are met. Most importantly, they must not interfere in the events of an era native's life in any significant way. Muse A time travels for the first time after passing their exam and is ready to explore. They meet Muse B, an era-native, almost right away, encountering them in trouble. Muse A knows that they aren't allowed to interfere, but they can't in good conscience turn a blind eye to someone in trouble.. because Muse A interferes, they are barred from returning to their present day. It's in the fine print of their time travel itinerary, which they failed to read.
h) Muse A and a handful of friends take a much-needed trip down to a popular beach destination once school is out for the summer. With stressful finals and assorted messy breakups to recover from, several days of partying on the resort grounds is just what the doctor ordered. Muse A and pals make a concerted effort to dedicate their vacation to the fine arts of drinking and debauchery. Muse A gets off to an early start of it when they meet Muse B on the beach. Since both parties are looking for a no-strings good time, no one bats an eye when the acquaintances head back to the hotel together. In the morning, Muse B quietly slips out to avoid any awkward lingering and Muse A is content with that minus the fact that they don't know how to contact Muse B to hang out again. Not too bummed about it however, Muse A moves on with their day and goes out with friends later on. Muse A's pleasantly surprised to encounter Muse B as they're walking to dinner and Muse A figures it's their chance to ask for a number. Muse B seems a little confused by Muse A's approach at first, but after several minutes of flirtatious banter, they give up the digits. When Muse A shows up at Muse B's hotel room door that night for drinks, Muse A is shocked to learn that Muse B has an identical twin (Muse C). Muse A isn't sure which twin they hooked up with, but they are sure that things have just gotten more interesting.
