Chapter 27: Always Sunny in Florida
Florida. The 27th state is known for many things. Some people may associate the state for its sweet oranges. Others may point to her delicious key lime pie instead. One may note the ferocious alligators and giant pythons in the vast Everglades. While another may mention the fun theme parks and luxurious resorts in Orlando. Whether it be the southern gals of Tallahassee to the sexy models of Miami, all of these characteristics describe Florida to be a mixed hub of magic and wonder.
Speaking of magic and wonder, one of the most famous places is the magical land of Walt Disney World located in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Since 1971, over 52 million visitors enjoy themselves in all sorts of entertainment related to Disney. For Florida, she's a special employee who's known to give her friends benefits and discounts when they come over to visit her home.
During one spring break, California, Colorado, Washington, and Hawaii were invited and given VIP status in their five-day vacation at Disney World. Due to Florida's busy schedule working around the theme parks of Orlando, she asked her friends to do one simple job while they were having fun in their Disney adventure. Just one job. And how quickly the four nearly screw that job up.
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Upon arriving at Disney's Saratoga Springs Spa & Resort on Monday morning, California, Colorado, Washington, and Hawaii have settled in their bedrooms (Washington had to take the sleeper sofa after losing to Colorado in rock-paper-scissors). So caught up with the resort, the four didn't notice the "price" that came with the room...
"Aaaaahhhhh!"
Cali's high-pitched scream interrupt Colorado, Washington, and Hawaii's conversation in the lounge. The three lifted their heads, turning to the girl's bedroom door slamming open. Cali rushed out of the room in a frantic manner, wrapped in a beige, bath towel and her golden hair in a tangled mess. Not far behind her, a thirteen foot, white and yellow snake slithered out of the room, following after her.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" Cali cursed, jumping on top of an island counter in the nearby kitchen. She turned her head to the three States in the lounge, frightened and pissed out of her mind. "S-Stop staring at me! Do something! Call animal control or security or anyone for crying out loud! Eek!" she screeched seeing the snake attempting to climb up to her.
"Geez, Cali. Stop being so dramatic," Colorado chuckled, watching Cali try to reach over to the marbled bar counter without exposing herself.
She glared daggers at him. "Oh, ha ha! Does it look like I'm being dramatic here?!"
"Relax, Cali. The snake isn't going to kill you," said Wash, unfazed by Cali's squeals and the snake's hisses.
Cali flipped him off. "Yeah right! It's only going to hug me to death," she mocked.
"Isn't that Banana?" Hawaii asked, seeing Florida's albino, Burmese python for the first time.
"No! It's an evil, human-eating monster that needs to be handled by animal control which by the way why the fuck aren't you guys helping me?!"
Colorado sighed. "Don't worry, my spoiled princess! I'll stop this non-threatening terror, so you can have that precious bath of yours." Colorado arose to save Cali.
Without a problem, Colorado went into the small kitchen and snatched the harmless python in his arms. Cali watched disturbed as Colorado carried Banana off into the third bedroom where the reptiles were being kept. After a minute in there, Colorado came back to the lounge, closing the bedroom door behind him. Seeing the coast was clear, Cali planted her feet back on the ground without the fear of a snake chasing after her nice, perfume-covered body.
"Finally! Now if you can excuse me, I have a soothing spa-bath awaiting my presence," Cali hummed and skipped her way back into her and Hawaii's bedroom, continuing where she left off before discovering Banana under the bathroom sink.
Not long after she left, Wash asked, "Should we tell her about the gator in the tub?"
Another "Aaaaahhhhh!" was heard followed by gator hisses coming from the girls' bathroom.
"A little late to tell her, don't you think?" Colorado smirked before heading to the girls' bedroom to save Cali once again.
"Hey! I finally found Sunny!" Hawaii mentioned, picking up an orange iguana from underneath the couch.
Wash sighed. "Why couldn't Florida just hire pet-sitters to babysit her creepy pets?"
Such a good question Wash would never find the answer to.
Nevertheless, he and the others will have to watch over Florida's beloved reptiles during their vacation. Besides the alligator's attempts of getting a nibble out of Cali's shin, there was little trouble in caring for the animals surprisingly. They didn't seem to mind caring for them. Well, maybe except for Cali. Her sudden screams every morning seeing Gladius the Red Boa nesting in her sink have usually put her in a bitchy mood, but everyone still had fun. For now at least...
~ Five Days Later ~
"Um...guys. Have any of you seen Gladius?" Wash asked, peeking out of the reptile room.
Hawaii's head poked up behind the couch. "Nope," she squeaked. "By the way, have you seen Sunny? She usually sleeps at the foot of my bed, but I can't seem to find her anywhere."
Wash shook his head. "Have you checked under the bed?" he suggested.
Hawaii frowned. "I checked every bed, but she wasn't under any of them."
"Uh, was the door always open?" Colorado interrupt the two's conversation.
The three looked to the door, noticing the door unlocked and halfway open for anyone to go in and out of their room. Left speechless, a sudden drag in their chests filled everyone's minds with all sorts of worries.
"Now that I think about, I don't think I saw Blossom in the tub..." Wash gloomily recalled the missing four-foot American alligator that usually sat in the pristine tub.
Not long after their discovery, Cali arrived in the lounge with a happy-daisy smile, skipping over to the kitchen bar to get herself some mineral water. She was whistling the tune of "California Gurls" while everyone around her rushed around the room searching for the missing reptiles. By the time Cali noticed their urgency, the three were out of breath, their eyes darkened with dreaded doom.
"Why do you guys look like you've seen the Grudge girl?" Cali questioned, unaware of the dire situation.
"I checked the tub, and Banana is not there," Hawaii drearily muttered.
Cali shrugged her shoulders. "Oh, I let the snake out of the bathroom," she said unimpressed.
Everyone stared at Cali, shook to the bone without many good words to say.
"You...what?" Colorado muttered, slightly disgusted.
She nodded with a bubbly smile. "I mean, it was only temporary, so I can have my bath. Plus, it's not like the snake can open the front door-"
Everyone had the meme face that matched what Wash said, "Are you fucking kidding me?"
Cali blinked her oblivious, blue eyes twice. "What?"
"Banana knows how to open doors with handles..." Colorado informed Cali.
She turned her attention to the half-open front door, noticing the door had a door handle. Now that she think about, did she lock the door last night after hanging out with hot guys at the pool bar? Her face turned red recalling the vague memory.
"W-Well, how am I suppose to know that?" she stuttered, trying to appear innocent to the problem.
Wash pinched the bridged of his nose. "You just had to screw us over."
She held her hands up in defense. "Hey! It's not like the snake had gone very far-"
"Cali! That snake can strangle and kill a child in a single gulp! Picture the headlines: Innocent Five Year Old Becomes A Monstrous Python's Lunch At Disney World Because Some Idiot Wanted To Use The Spa-Tub For Once!" Wash berated.
"Stop yelling at me! Look, we just need to get the python back. No big deal."
Wash raised his arms up in frustration, running his fingers through his hair. "Not just the python! The other reptiles are gone and have probably escaped with Banana. Who knows what kind of terror they're causing out there?" He glared at Cali.
Cali backed away from him. "Calm down, dude. It's just an accident." She shrank behind Hawaii, however, the Hawaiian was in no mood to be used as a human shield.
"Cali. This is your fault and you need to take responsibility for your actions," she scolded her.
She scowled. "Can we just call animal control?"
"No, we cannot! Florida will waterboard us with orange juice and feed us to the Gatorland alligator pit once when she gets whiff of us letting her precious babies loose on millions of people!" Wash argued against that option.
She pouted. "Fine then. We can get the reptiles back here on our own without anyone getting eaten."
"Easy for you to say. Unless you have a catch-pole or a talent in gator wrestling without anyone suspecting of us, especially in such a huge place, I don't think we can find them by the end of the day," Colorado grumbled.
She crossed her arms. "Do you have any good ideas then?"
"Not really but-"
"As I thought!" Cali interrupt before going to the door. "Let's hurry up and find those scaly freaks before Florida bans us from her theme parks!"
The three States looked at Cali, doubtful on her ability to scout for these loose reptilians. Yet, the idea of Florida putting them on the ban list to any of her theme parks and resorts got them going on their search. Heading in separate directions, the four States went all over Disney World in search of Florida's scaly pets.
~ Hawaii's POV ~
"It's a small world after all~ It's a small world after all~ It's a small world after all~"
Hawaii hummed the tune while marveling the spectacle of the boat ride down the waterway. Although alone on the ride with a bunch of families, she was having fun admiring the vivid display of cultures around the world. From the landmarks of Europe to the spectacles of Asia, she nearly lost herself to the fun weren't for the mission she had.
Earlier, she heard from a passerby of an orange iguana crawling around the tunnels of the attraction, thus she headed to Fantasyland where she hoped to find Sunny in this slow ride through the seven wonders of the world. So far, she had yet to find the orange lizard in sight.
As the boat was coming up on Africa, Hawaii noticed an animal out of place among the creatures of the African wilderness. On top of a large lily pad next to the blue, goofy hippo, an orange iguana about two feet in length basked in the glory of being a part of the exhibition. Everyone began to snap pictures of the pyramids on the other side while everyone else snapped a couple at the African wilds. Some chattered and pointed at the iguana wondering whether there were iguanas in Africa.
Hawaii nearly dived into the river if it weren't for the people with her. Nor did she want to get in trouble with security.
"Psst! Sunny!" Hawaii reached her hand over the bars of the boat, hoping Sunny would notice her.
Sadly, the orange iguana didn't move, only blinking its eyes.
Hawaii grasped the railing of the boat, cursing in Hawaiian to a nearby child's curiosity. With the boat drifting farther away from the hippo, she was running out of time.
In that moment, Hawaii got a bright idea. During her whole vacation, she carried a red backpack that kept all her souvenirs and essentials, including snacks. Quickly, Hawaii dug into her bag, grabbing a Ziploc snack bag full of mango slices. She grabbed one out of the bag and lured the treat from afar.
"Come on, Sunny! I have some mango slices for you!" she squeaked, shaking the slice of fruit for the iguana to see.
Her bribery caught Sunny's attention. The orange iguana lifted its head, and started moving its feet. Without hesitation, the orange iguana dived into the water and swam over to the departing boat. With encouraging words, Hawaii kept praising Sunny as the orange iguana swam closer to the boat. Within arm's reach, Hawaii nabbed the iguana out of the water before feeding Sunny her mango snack.
"Looks like you're okay. Just hungry I guess," Hawaii giggled, watching Sunny in her arms dig into the Ziploc bag with mangoes in its mouth.
Once the ride was over, Hawaii had a difficult time explaining to the people in charge of the ride about the iguana, but she managed to convince them the incident would never happen again. Afterward, she and Sunny went back to the hotel without a problem.
~ Washington's POV ~
"Damn it, Cali. I swear if I get banned from Disney World because of you I'm going to unfollow you on Twitter," Wash grumbled upset.
Alone to himself in his own electric car, Wash drove around Tomorrowland Speedway after he heard a couple of visitors talk about seeing a red snake at the place. Normally Wash would've had fun driving around and race against Colorado. But because of Cali, his fun was interrupted with the task on wrangling up a snake. To think he spend his last day in the magical world of Disney on Cali's mistake was the last thing he wanted to do. But for the snake's sake, it's best he find the poor thing before it gets harmed.
As he was going around the bend, he noticed a snake beside the edge of the road. Wash narrowed his eyes, slowing his car down slightly. The snake was a leafy brown exception for the end of its tail which had a distinct red pattern on it. For sure, the boa is Florida without a doubt.
"Hurry up will ya!" a father shouted behind Wash before driving around his car.
Wash shook his head. "Not just Twitter. Instagram also."
Pulling slowly to the side, Wash snatched Gladius off the side of the road before the snake could get run over by any of the cars. Putting Gladius in his backpack, Wash finished driving around the track before leaving the attraction and heading to the hotel room.
~ Colorado's POV ~
After hearing rumors from nearby visitors of a long, yellow snake in Frontierland, Colorado made the trip to explore Tom Sawyer Island, hoping with fingers crossed he find Banana before the python swallows nearby children for dinner. In the middle of his search, Colorado roamed with a group of people, taking a raft that rode them through the calm river. He scanned the waters in search for the large snake.
"Pretty warm out here," a fifty year old man with a gray beard and a balding head elbowed Colorado with a smile.
Colorado nodded, returning a small smile. "Well, we're in Florida after all," he chuckled.
The old man squinted his brown eyes all of a sudden. "Hey. Is that a yellow log out there? My eyes ain't too good, so I don't know what it is I'm seeing?" He pointed downriver.
Colorado looked in the direction he was pointing at. Sure enough, there was Banana the albino, Burmese python swimming along the current of the river before landing on a sandy bank. The snake didn't appear to have eaten anyone yet. Even so, it's best he get the snake before it could do any harm to anyone.
"Actually, that's a floating banana."
"Are you sure?" the elderly man squinted his eyes at the weird object.
"Yeah. We're definitely in Florida," Colorado nodded.
"I'll take your word for it, young man."
As soon as the raft ride ended, Colorado scrambled on over to where he last saw Banana who thankfully didn't go too far from where it landed. Luckily for Colorado, he managed to grab all thirteen feet of snake over his shoulders and head on out of the area, back to the hotel.
~ California's POV ~
"Oh my God. Where's that fucking gator?" Cali muttered in an agitated mood.
After receiving texts from the other three who all got the iguana, the boa, and the python respectfully, all that's left to find was Blossom the American Alligator. In her opinion, she would've named the beast Godzilla for causing more havoc in her life than any earthquake she had been through. Like, for crying out loud! Florida is full of gators, and she had yet to find one in this place!
The first place Cali thought of in her search for the stupid beast was in Adventureland. She recalled the Jungle Cruise and the river the attraction took place in, an excellent place to find one gigantic monster. However, she went on the boat ride three times, and there was no lively alligator in sight.
"Look daddy! A gator! It's huge!" a four year old girl giggled.
She ignored the little girl's comments, thinking she was awed by an animatronic until-
"Daddy! Daddy! The gator is coming closer!"
Cali's ears perked up to those words. She dashed to the back of the boat, pushing the little girl aside to see a blackish-gray alligator lifting the top part of its body above the clear water. The alligator swam by the boat as curious tourists swarm around Cali to look at the gator. Some grew nervous of the gator's sudden appearance amid the Asian elephants while the oblivious ones continued to see the gator as an animatronic that was a part of the magical Disney experience.
"Wow! It looks so real!" a mother behind Cali commented before snapping a photo of the realistic gator with her iPhone.
'No shit,' Cali thought annoyed. 'Now then, how am I suppose to lug this stupid monster out of the water?'
If Colorado was here, he could probably drag the gator out and tie it up with no problem thanks to his strength. As for Cali, she could barely handle touching the thing without freaking out.
Suddenly, there was a giant splash. Screams rocked the boat, drawing everyone's attention to the left side of the boat. Cali turned her head ahead, noticing one of the tour guides in the water. Instead of following the boat, the gator started swimming toward the woman instead. Panic overtook the passengers. A couple of people started pulling their phones out and calling for help while others used their phone to film the entire situation. A few people started shouting at the gator, hoping to get its attention. Some started chucking souvenir cups and key chains at the gator, hoping to get it away from the woman. However, the gator was unfazed by their attacks and calls, solely focused on the woman in the water.
Remembering Wash's comment of her making the headlines, Cali started to panic herself. Looking around the boat, she tried to find anything that can be handy in getting the gator away from the woman. Besides a fish net and a couple of life jackets, there was nothing of use to her.
"Crap! Crap! Crap!" Cali cursed with sweating palms pulling her blonde hair.
In a last second moment, Cali tossed her phone out of her pocket and into her purse before diving into the water head first. Everyone in the boat panicked even more seeing the crazy Californian swim quickly between the gator and woman.
"Blossom! I swear if you bite my hand off I'm going to make you into a pair of boots!" Cali blocked the gator's path.
The gator opened its jaws in a roaring hiss, now swimming faster toward Cali. Cali made a terrifying squeal, too frightened to swim away from the inevitable danger in front of her. She didn't want to be sacrificed like a raw chicken wing, but with the woman behind her she didn't want her to die either because of her mistake. With goosebumps running down her arms, Cali stretched her shivering arms out, ready to block the gator and offer herself as its lunch.
"Fine then! Go ahead and tear me apart, you scaly fuck! When you do, I'm going to haunt your owner for making me babysit you in the first place!" Cali yelled at the top of her lungs.
Without slowing down, the gator swam toward Cali, nearly a foot away from the blonde Californian. The gator only inches away, Cali was about to scream the moment the gator bit into her soft flesh.
But then, there was a giggle behind her.
The gator swam passed Cali without a second thought. Cali breathed out a a cold breath, turning around to see the woman's bright smile. Her eyes widen realizing the woman was actually the personification of the State she was staying at during her spring break. She wanted to cry right then and there.
Florida with outstretched arms welcomed Blossom back with much unwarranted love after being away from her scaly baby for so long. The alligator with twinkling beaded eyes snorted bubbles, nudging Florida as a sign of affection seeing her owner for the first time since dropping her off with a bunch of incompetent babysitters. It was a heartfelt reunion.
Everyone on the boat, including Cali in the water, drew relieved sighs. Some of the people on board began to applaud at the non-threatening love they're witnessing.
Florida waved toward the crowd with bright smile on her face. "Sorry, y'all! I didn't mean to frighten ya. I was just so happy to see my precious baby girl after all this time! Anyway, enjoy the Jungle Cruise without me. I'll be sure to see this woman and Blossom get to safety!" Florida laughed.
As the boat left the area, Florida, Cali, and Blossom were left floating in the water to themselves. Florida's smile turned upside down when she shift her avocado green eyes to Cali's pale face and awkward laugh.
"I can explain."
Florida rolled her eyes. "You better."
~ Later that Evening ~
"Y'all are the worse pet-sitters I've ever hired!" Florida told the four States off in the lobby where the few visitors that arrived watched the strange situation that unfold.
Colorado, Wash, and Hawaii immediately pointed to Cali, saying in unison without shame, "It's her fault."
Cali glared furiously at them. "Fuck you guys!"
"All of this wouldn't happen if you locked the front door and let Banana sleep in the tub," Hawaii grumbled.
"No! All of this wouldn't happen if Florida hired qualified pet-sitters! Instead, she just had to ruin our vacation by making us take care of her stupid reptiles," she accused.
"Are you really going to blame me after I lend y'all VIP passes?" Florida crossed her arms.
Cali arrogantly scoffed, "Disney World is so overrated. Disney Land is where the shit is at."
The Floridan frowned. "If that's what you think, I'm never lending you anymore VIP passes and discounts to here ever again."
She puffed her cheeks. "Fine then! This place is nothing compared to Disney Land. In fact, this was the worst spring break I ever have. The VIP spa treatment isn't worth the trouble of your scaly demons."
"You see here! My precious babies are the sweetest things on this planet who are nowhere as demonic as your attitude!"
Cali gasped. "How dare you!"
For a violent two minutes, Cali and Florida shared an exchange of smack talk that ended with them getting removed from the resort by security. By the end of the day, everyone headed home with their spring break ending on a tumultuous, but okay note. The four States would never forget this memorable spring break at Disney World. Especially Cali when she later made a Twitter rant of the place being the worst vacation she ever had. When she done this, Florida immediately unfollowed her, and to this day Cali remains on Disney World's ban list.
Lesson of this story: Never rely on your friends to babysit your iguana, snakes, and alligator, especially Cali.
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+ Walt Disney World Resort is an entertainment complex located in Lake Buena Vista and Bay Lake, Florida. Currently, it's the most visited vacation resort in the world with an annual attendance of 52 million visitors.
- At this point in my life, I confess I haven't been to a Disney-related resort in my life. I did my best to recreate the types of attractions at its theme parks, however, I could've probably did better writing the fun, outgoing emotions involved if I were to experience the attractions myself. Either way, I hope everyone enjoyed this story nevertheless.
+ Strangely enough, I had a hard time coming up with a story on Florida despite having plenty of information to work with. I tried to write a story about her time with Spain, however, my brain was dead when it came to the plot. I ended up writing a casual story on Disney World as a break from previous history-based chapters. I also realized I didn't include much of Florida in this story, so I'll be sure to include more of her the next time I write a Florida-based chapter.
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Feel free to vote or comment any thoughts on Florida or the chapter here.
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