The first time I ever REALLY lied to my parents was my senior year of high school. Keep in mind, I was a good kid. Good grades. Good friends. Good morals. But, oh, was a rebel on THIS particular day! My friends/accomplices, Taylor, Marie and Elise wanted to go to Seaside Heights immediately following school and stay for the night.
Seaside Heights. Treasure of the Jersey Shore. Where teenagers go to escape the everyday tortures of adolescence by partaking in trashy forms of debauchery. Which, naturally, is why MTV held their annual "Spring Break" extravaganza at this very location that year. At the time, I had a wild crush on Gideon Yago, who was an MTV News Corespondent and I had high hopes for meeting him, falling in love and getting married (it didn't happen.....in case you were wondering).
Knowing my parents would never allow me to attend a location with such a corruptive reputation, we had the original idea of telling my mom I was staying the night at Taylor's. I would pack my bag and take it to school that day. Told mom I wouldn't be getting back home until late the next day because we might see a movie at the local cinema.
It. Was. Foolproof.
The girls and I left for the horizon once the last period bell rang. I made an 80's compilation CD for our ride down, as we all enjoyed the classics of our time. I believe "Mr. Roboto" was playing as we pulled into our motel parking lot. The motel "contract" stated only two people were allowed to check in the room. Did we care? Nope. We had four....FOUR girls. Taylor and I lied at check-in to say it would only be the two of us. Felt like a true rebel, I did.
After checking into our room we decided to check out the boardwalk scene. Unfortunately, the weather was not on our side this particular weekend and we dodged the raging wind and rain by exploring the variety of arcades on the pier. Immediately, we were confronted by a local Christian television station who persuaded us to answer particular questions about our faith. Being a Catholic youth group leader, I decided to take the reigns. I figured that if I indulged them my karma would be redeemed from when I lied to Mom earlier.
That evening we ruled the boardwalk. Specifically, because no one was there due to treacherous storms that were impending over our weekend getaway. We decided to call it a night around 9pm when we were greeted by a police officer outside our room. Immediately, we panicked because we thought we had been figured out that we had more than two occupants in our room. So, we hid the other culprits under the bed. As wristband holders, Taylor and I answered the door.
::knock, knock::
"Ummm....hello....Officer?" Taylor confidently said.
"Hi, girls. Would you mind stepping out for just a bit?"
"Sure?" We both replied, hearts racing.
"So....you girls having a fun time? Enjoying your stay at Seaside Heights?" the young officer inquired.
"Yeahhhhhhh....."
"You....staying out of trouble?"
"Yeahhhhhhh......"
"That's good. We don't really like trouble."
"Yeahhhhhhh......"
"You seem like good kids. I'll let you go back inside. We just are checking the rooms. Making sure you aren't drinking or smoking the mary-ja-wana."
"Yeahhhhhhh......not us."
Taylor and I walked back inside not sure how to interpret the conversation. Did we look like the type to indulge in alcohol and drugs? Was he hitting on us/looking for some pot? Regardless, we breathed a contaminous breath of whatever that wallpaper was made of and proceeded with our games of M.A.S.H. and astrological readings.
The next day we did what your typical "rebellious" good girls do. We got henna tattoos that we weren't sure the meaning of. We took old Western photos exposing us holding booze and revolvers. We ate a pizza that was 24 inches in diameter. We may have even talked to a boy or two.
That was the best weekend I had ever had up to that point in my life and an amazing end to my senior year. I'm still not sure if my mom knows where I was that weekend. All I know was that it was a story I could take with me as a college freshman. It would eventually lead me to other forms of "rebellion" such as going out on a Wednesday night to the one club that would allow 18-year-olds or skipping class to play SIMS. You betcha, I was one girl you did not want to get mixed up with.
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