Mediterranean Misadventures with Ellen, Sandy, and Lee

I sighed heavily and knelt down beside Sandy as Lee continued walking toward us with her hands on her hips after pushing past everyone else waiting by the elevator bank while mumbling under her breath about how rude everyone is being by giving us such dirty looks when we're just trying to get home after eating dinner at this subpar establishment - which is exactly what everyone else thinks about *us*, remember?! So sometimes you have to push past people if what you want is going to make your life easier, especially when dealing with rude individuals who deserve nothing more than being forcefully pushed aside since obviously they're too ignorant to appreciate your presence and therefore don't warrant any respect from you!

Anyway...back to Sandy. I dropped my purse onto the floor and leaned against one wall of the elevator bank while placing my hand gently on top of hers where it rested against her stomach, looking into her green eyes (noticing that she'd put on some more eyeliner today than usual) beneath blonde hair falling messily over one shoulder, and whispered softly "shhhhh..." which meant "it's okay". Although neither of us knew why it was okay since there wasn't anything wrong happening right now, except for both of us being embarrassed because there were too many people staring at us instead of being back inside our hotel room where no one could bother us. Surrounded by these judgmental onlookers, all we wanted was some peace and quiet.

And then Lee showed up next to me, pulling me away from Sandy before pushing past everyone else until we made it inside our room – thank goodness for watching Asian kung fu movies with Lee, who taught me techniques to swiftly maneuver through crowds without getting in trouble. Closing the door behind us, Lee flopped onto the bed face-first, not bothering to ensure that everyone else followed behind because, well, everybody knows to follow Lee without questions.

So yeah...we always follow Lee wherever she goes because if not, then things will end badly for whoever doesn't heed her advice. But now, we were faced with another issue.

Ellen Smellin, lying face-down on our bed, was gasping loudly for air and waving frantically at everyone else gathered around, watching silently (except for Sandy, who groaned loudly whenever Ellen inhaled sharply due to needing oxygen). It got even more concerning and awkward when a bunch of nurses showed up around Ellen. After several attempts at deep breaths, Ellen finally exhaled forcefully into our ceiling fan, blowing dust particles everywhere and causing her skin to change color to an orangeish brown.

Those surrounding Ellen, sitting cross-legged on our bed, started tapping each other's shoulders frantically, signaling one another quietly and asking whether anyone should do something about the situation. Finally, one nurse broke away from the group and took an extended step forward, reaching toward Ellen's forehead. However, someone pushed them aside roughly saying "don't touch!", which led to a chaotic domino effect as people stumbled against one another, sounding like a stampede across our carpeted floor.

In the end, we managed to help Ellen and take care of her breathing issue, but it made me think about how life just never seems to go smoothly for our group - there's always some crisis or obstacle to overcome. Despite that, I knew we'd always stick together, supporting one another through thick and thin. And perhaps it's that loyalty and camaraderie that make me cherish our friendships the most, no matter where our adventures take us next.