"Not Exactly Paradise " by Michael Joseph V. I

Act 1 - Gareth

(Narrative version) Michael Joseph V. Ibarra

We’ve been on a raft stranded in the middle of the sea for about 3 days. And we just now arrived on a deserted island. The 6 of us stop for a sec then RJ steps forward, “We should set up camp here.” He says. “How do you suggest we do that genius?” Charlie Replies. Charlie and RJ doesn’t have the greatest sibling relationship, then again he doesn’t have the greatest relationship with anybody. “Why don’t we start with a fire dingus! Get some matches from the raft.” Charlie doesn’t budge so I step in. “Hey Theo, how much food do we have left on the raft?” I ask. “Enough for about 3 days if we ration, but if we find some branches I can use my knife to make some spears for hunting.” He says. Theo for some reason knows way too much about surviving in the wild, I guess in the end it benefits us. “Alright, what about water?” Parker asks. Charlie walks up to Parker, “You know Parker, you can be a real dunce sometimes.” He points to the ocean, “You see that? Water. Drink it! “Sarcasm doesn’t suit you well Charlie.” “Sarcasm?” “We can still use the desalinator on the raft.” Theo says. “The What?” Charlie replies. “That black box with the hose attached to it?” “How is that gonna give us water?” “It just does ok?” They keep bickering for a minute then they begin trying to talk over each other. “Well excuse me for not having a Harvard education!” “It’s middle school science Charlie!” “Whatever I can be smart too! Mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell!” Jocie breaks them up. “Enough! Both of you!” “He started it!” Charlie says. “Shut it!” “We wouldn’t be in this mess if Charlie didn’t get the captain to fall overboard!” Parker snaps. Charlie then says something that really got me upset. “It was an innocent game of marco polo!” “Because 2 bottles of Jack is innocent?” I say. After the captain fell overboard Theo was brave enough to take over but the storm got the best of us and the yacht capsized, most of us were able to jump ship, but we still lost some people; Rj’s parents, Jocie’s dad, and Parker’s wife, Riley, who was also my sister. I just can’t help but blame Charlie for this, his childish mentality got us stuck in this situation. “You know what, we need some water.” Jocie says. Theo steps up, “Wait! Here, I found these on the raft.” Theo passes around some whistles. “Be safe.”

Act 2 - Rj
Even on a deserted island I still find some way to be happy, I mean I’m here with the love of my life, my brother (eh), and my best friend. We pretty much have all the essentials so now we’re just bored out of our minds. Charlie starts tapping a rhythm with some sticks. Parker starts to sing, “Bones sinking like stones, all that we fought for.” Gareth then hops in, “Homes, places we’ve grown, all that we’ve fought for.” Then Jocie, “We live in a beautiful world.” I finish it off, “ Oh all that I know, there's nothing here to run from, 'cause here, everybody here's got somebody to lean on.” This song is how pretty much all of us got to know each other, Mylo Xyloto tour 2011. Jocie and I were on our 2nd anniversary and Coldplay was in town that month. We met Riley, Gareth and, Parker when they were seated right next to us. We got to talking and next thing we know we’re having dinner at an outback in Covina after the concert. “Do you guys hear that?” Parker says. “Guys someone is here move back.” Theo urges. He then pulls Charlie back. We then hear a voice, “I mean you no harm, I just need water or-,” The man steps into the light, “Jocie?” He says. It’s her dad! They run towards each other and they hug for a bit. “It’s good to see you sir!” I say. “It’s good to see you to Ronald” He replies. “This calls for a celebration!” Theo claims. “I’ll go catch some fish! Gareth you’re with me.” “Alright.” Gareth says. “I’ll get some water.” Jocie says.

Act 3 - Charlie
I never really liked fish, it’s all weird looking when cooked in one piece. But it’s all we have, so I guess it will do. I never meant for the captain to fall overboard but I can’t help but feel guilty, I killed Riley, I killed my parents. But it seems they’ve just ignored it, and I don’t like it because all I got was a slap on the wrist. “Hey Theo.” I say. “What’s up?” “I just want to... I want to say thanks for catching the fish.” “We could thank Theo for a lot of things!” Gareth exclaims. “Aw, thanks guys! Although-” Theo puts his arm around me, “I may never be able to play another game of marco polo ever again.” Everyone laughs. Damn it! Serves me right though, everything I’ve done, but it still hurts, a lot. I push Theo’s arm off, “I think I’m gonna go for a swim.” I say. “What, gonna play another round with the captain?” Parker jokes. “Ha ha ha! I hope you choke on that fish.” I walk towards the beach and I just lay in the water, thinking. How I should have gone down with the boat, instead of Riley, instead of mom and dad. But then I realize I’m not gonna go anywhere in life feeling sorry for myself. I’m gonna make it up to them, I promise. I close my eyes for a bit, the next thing I know there’s a sharp pain in my chest, I look and there's just a clear blob. The pain increases so I try my hardest to get out of the water. On my way back to camp everything is just loopy, sounds are disappearing, everyone at camp runs towards me. I think I’m screaming but I’m not sure. Now I’m thinking, “This is it, this is my penance.” The last thing I see is Rj passing a knife to Theo, he says “I’m sorry.” Then, Nothing... END