A Forgotten Suitcase

Autumn’s girls-only trip to the beach had been planned for weeks, pre-approved by her parents to spend a week on the coast to enjoy some relaxation. Her two friends, Lola and Hope, would be joining, ready to leave their problems at home and to let loose for once, without adult supervision. The carefully planned trip was derailed when her younger brother, Carter, began to beg to come along.

“It’s a girl’s only trip,” Autumn argued. “Last time I checked, you’re not a girl.”

“I know, I know,” Carter agreed. “But I never get to go anywhere. Please let me come. I’ll stay out of your way, and I’ll behave.”

“No.” Autumn shot-down. “I know you have a huge crush on Hope, and I don’t need you messing up a good friendship.”

“Do not!” Carter objected, visibly offended by the accusation. “I just think she’s pretty.”

“We all know you’ve been crushing on her for years; Carter, and she’s not interested,” Autumn revealed to her brother, the words stinging more than she meant to. “As long as you’re a guy, you’re not coming.”

Despite the initial rejection, Carter remained adamant that he would be attending this vacation with his sister and her friends. He begged and begged for the weeks leading up, much to the annoyance of his family. The parents and Autumn kept denying the whining child’s pleas to join the trip until work came into the picture.

“Autumn, we need you to bring Carter.” Their mom asked regrettably. “We know this was a planned trip, but your father has just been requested to attend a convention a state over, and I’ll be gone all weekend. You know we can’t leave him here alone by himself.”

“But mom!” Autumn groaned. “It’s supposed to be a girl’s trip!”

“I know, and I do honestly understand,” the mother reasoned. “But he’s too young to be left here unattended for that long. Your father and I have agreed that if you take him, we’ll pay for both of you.”

“Fine,” Autumn replied shortly. Initially, the trip was to be paid by herself, a real milestone achievement of a senior in high school. Still, the opportunity to save money was fiscally smart was an adequate proposal. Any person with a basic understanding of economics would agree the trade-off would be worth it.

“We’ll tell him he can join, but you’ll be in charge for the weekend.” Her mother assured her. “If he begins to act up, we’ll give you the privilege to punish him…” Autumn’s eyes lit up. “Within reason.”

Autumn enjoyed the prospect of her newly acquired power. For years Carter had sloppily flirted with Hope, making her friend uncomfortable around him. Now, with this power, she was going to end any chances Carter though he had with Hope during this trip.

In the days leading up to the trip, Autumn bought more and more supplies and purchased new clothing to wear. During that time, she had consistent communication with Lola and Hope, telling them what her plan was. At first, Hope pitied Carter. He was just a young man after all, and she was an attractive female, so his “flirting” was only natural. After some reminding of the embarrassing things Carter had done, ranging from giving her a Valentine’s Day card in front of the whole school and in front of her crush, to making comments about how she looked, Hope realized if she had any hope to land a boyfriend for prom, she needed Carter and his antics out of the way. After steady plotting what they were going to do, the girls agreed on one coherent plan to execute to end this one-sided love interest, once and for all.

The day of the vacation arrived as Autumn and Carter packed their suitcases into the car at the crack of dawn, driving away to pick up the other two, their parents waving their children goodbye before they too had to leave for their trips. Carter sat in the back, next to Lola, with Autumn and Hope sitting upfront. The ride was silent, only the occasional verse protruding from the speakers to fill the hollow air. Carter remained focused on his phone, sporadically looking up and catching Hope’s reflection in the driver’s side mirror. Hope didn’t acknowledge his glances, but the exasperated Autumn and Lola did.

Pulling off the highway to get gas, the group disembarked to stretch after a long drive. Paying, and pumping gas, Autumn turned to Carter.

“Carter, could you grab us some snacks?” He agreed, taking the twenty Autumn presented to him and rushed inside. Hope gave the thumbs up as soon as Carter crossed the doorframe, and the tinted doors shut behind him.

In one fluid action, as if they had practiced this plan numerous times before, Autumn opened the trunk, Lola yanked out Carter’s suitcase, and Hope quickly wheeled it off to the side of the gas station. Right as Hope returned to the car, Carter emerged from the lobby, arms full of finger food, a broad smile on his face. However, his smile was puny compared to the internal smiles sported by the girls after their perfectly executed plan. After finishing pumping the gas, the group was back on the road to their destination.

A couple of hours later, the sun hanging lazily above, they arrived at their hotel. Since this was a big trip before their final year of high school, the previous group agreed upon spending a little extra more to stay on the beachfront. Autumn parked the car in the garage and grabbed the suitcases out the back. Handing them off to their respective owners, letting the realization Carter’s suitcase was missing, settled in.

“Where’s mine?” he asked, sticking his head into the trunk as if his suitcase could have been hidden somewhere in a desolate container.

Autumn looked inside, then back at the previously claimed travel bags. “Did you not put it in?” she asked.

Panic swept over Carter’s face, quickly removed by confused anger. “I swear I did!” he shouted, putting his hands behind his head. “You saw me.”

“I don’t remember, to be honest.” Autumn lied. “I’m sure we’ll figure something out. Could you carry my suitcase for me, please?”

Autumn closed the empty trunk, and the group followed her into the lobby. Arriving at the desk, checking in, and being guided to their room, the girls set up their stuff, leaving the flabbergasted Carter sat in a chair, combing over his memory of where his suitcase could have gone.

Once everything was settled in, the girls sat on their beds, discussing what to do first. “We could go to the beach.” Lola proposed. “It is right there.”

“I like that idea.” Autumn agreed.

“We could then go to a restaurant on the pier for dinner. I heard the Swordfish Port had good fish.”

The girls all nodded, before turning to the distraught Carter. “What would you like to do,” Autumn asked.

“Find my suitcase.” He muttered, looking out the window.

“It wasn’t in the trunk,” Autumn explained. “You probably left it at home by accident.”

“Then can we go get me some clothes?” he asked, looking at his sister. “I have nothing but the clothes on my back.”

“And waste this precious sunlight?” Lola questioned, gesturing outside. “Why do that now, when we could do that later?”

“Because I have nothing to wear!” Carter shouted, and the girls visibly leaned back. “I don’t have swimwear, and I don’t know where the hell my suitcase could have gone.”

“You could always borrow one of our swimsuits,” Autumn suggested. “The beach doesn’t look too crowded, and I doubt people would really care.”

Carter looked repulsed at the suggestion. “Why would I wear a bikini?” he questioned. “Just take me to get a swimsuit.”

“You’re the one who begged for weeks to come,” Autumn started. “Then, you forget your suitcase, and you want us to drop our plans to shop because you forgot?”

Carter, who had previously been staring at his sister with anger, looked away. “No.,” he replied sheepishly.

“Then, the choice is yours,” Autumn replied, getting up and walking to her suitcase. Upon opening it up and stifling through its contents, she withdrew white bikini with pineapples print. “You can join us wearing this bikini, or stay up here in the room, not enjoying the vacation you begged to come on.”

The girls, one by one, went into the bathroom to change into their swimwear, the bikini laying on the bed, with Carter staring at it. He did beg to come on this trip, but he was a guy, he couldn’t wear a bikini. They were far from their homes, so the chances of people who they knew finding them were small, but still, he’d be a sissy for wearing that! Once all the girls finished, they stood in the doorway, looking at the engrossed Carter.

“You comin’?” Lola asked.

Carter leaned back, rubbing his face with his hands and moaned in frustration. “I don’t know yet.”

“If you decide to join us, we’ll be straight down,” Autumn informed him, with that the girls opened the door and entered the hallway.

“Oh yeah, if you touch my clothing, I will kill you!” Hope threatened, receiving giggles from the girls. Carter’s face turned red with embarrassment. Autumn closed the doors as the girls made their way to the lobby.

“He didn’t fold like you said,” Hope complained, worried their plan wouldn’t work.

“Not yet,” Autumn replied. “But he will.”