1 bottle of Wine and 4 bottles of Beer.

The above photograph was taken at the Cherai Beach, Varkala, Kerala. I and AJ have been friends since the age of 3. In later years, our brother joined in. The following incident marks one of the initial adulting experiences we had with all 4 of us being aware and non-judgemental of our 'habits'. Our families have gone on vacations together every year even before we were born. In this particular trip to Kerala, we all were coming together after quite a few years. 

We reached our resort in the evening and went to the beach. I don't know what was so fascinating about the sunset but it was a good opportunity for me and AJ as we were wondering on how to sneak in alcohol. Our parents decided to stay at the beach a little longer and we 4 left for the resort saying we wanted to check out the activity center. While coming from the airport, we had already looked for wine shops but could not see any. Buying over expensive alcohol from the resort bar was the only option we had. So what usually came for 150, we spent 300 over it. We had always seen our dads sit together to drink when they met after a long time and we too wanted to do that. And feel like adults. FYI - our dads carried their own alcohol!

Once we were back in the resort, we made a plan. AJs brother - S was supposed to get his bag from the room and give it to us. My brother - H was supposed to wait with us until then. After getting the bag, S and H would divide their task on who will wait at the gate to inform us that our parents are returning from the beach while we run up the stairs where the bar is located, purchase our booze, make it a point to tell the bartender not to add the bill anywhere because we had already paid, and leave. After coming down, we were supposed to go to my room, keep away the bottles safely and leave for the activity center. The plan was successfully executed and we were thrilled and waiting for the night when our parents would go to sleep. I and H were in the same room while AJ and S were in the room beside ours. Our parent's rooms were a little away from ours so we knew they wouldn't bother coming over to check on us at night. Moreover, we had been doing the staying in separate rooms ritual since a few years, so we knew how our parents thought, whose bag was likely to be searched if moms were looking for something or that we will be woken up with a phone call before they came to our rooms.

The night arrived, S and H were not the drinking people so it was just me and AJ. With all our efforts and anticipation, we opened our wine bottle. We had a lot to catch up on and the night was young. We had really hoped to save the bottle for the next day but we ended up finishing it. We were not worried about a hangover because the bed was comfortable and unlimited free breakfast was waiting for us. We were drinking in my room while S and H lay on the bed watching tv. After a while, they both slept and we too finished the bottle and retreated to our respective beds. Our only question for the night was - where to discard the bottle because throwing it in the dustbin of our room was trouble. Too sleepy to think about it, I kept the empty bottle in the electronic safe of my cupboard. I knew nobody could open it because only I knew the number lock. I just hoped to remember it in the morning.

The trip was a good five-day trip. On the third night of the trip, I and AJ were back to our drinking plan. Only this time, we brought beer instead of wine. Before sleeping, we again were left with the question of where to discard the bottles. There were now 5 bottles instead of 1. The guys were going to leave the next day and I had taken up the mighty task of throwing the bottles away. The fourth night while the four parents were settling up resort bills and lounging at the reception, I saw this as an opportunity for my task. None of them bothered me because I was alone and they knew I was usually that way. I was cycling around and went up to them to quickly check on dinner time. The time they gave me was enough to execute my plan, unless the moms decided to start walking back and leave the men alone. I cycled back to my room at the fastest speed possible. Upon reaching, I did not even bother putting the cycle on its stand and let it fall to the ground. I ran up the stairs, opened the door lock and looked for empty bags to put the bottles in. None of the bags I had were large enough to hold all 5 of them together so I put them in separate bags and finally together in one bag. I did not want any person - visitor or lobby man to look at what the bags held. I locked my room and ran down the stairs. Cycling steadily on a stone-embedded path, I went around looking for an empty dustbin. I found a couple of them on the way but none of them in a dark, isolated corner. Finally, I reached the poorly lit side of the resort and found a dustbin outside one of the rooms. Making sure nobody was seeing me, I dropped the bottles in the dustbin and cycled back as fast as possible. I was sweating profusely and on reaching the main areas of the resort, I see the moms walking towards my room. They were surprised that I was still cycling. Asking me to freshen up and come down, they left. I heaved a sigh of relief because the bottles were gone. I am still wondering on what part of adulting I should count this experience in.