Stanley bounced along with the air conditioned tour bus as it drove through the small African town. Seated next to him was a petite girl who spent the entire air plane and bus rides reading Teen People. Although the air conditioning worked well, the bus still felt crowded and stuffy, and Stanley could not wait to get off.

After what felt like hours, the bus creaked to a stop and the doors opened with a loud ‘bang!’. The tour guide stood up and started yelling out directions. Stanley spaced out and watched the lady in front of him apply her lipstick.

The heat slowly filled the bus from the open doors and Stanley felt his large Hawaiian print shirt stick onto his back. I wish I wore shorts today, he thought. I always seem to wear clothing that ends up being uncomfortable.

An irritated voice jolted him out of his thoughts. “Are you going to go?” The Teen People girl snapped.

“Oh…oh, yeah. Sorry.” Stanley smiled meekly and stood up, letting her out. He followed the line of people streaming out through the door and found himself standing in the middle of what seemed to be a desert.

“Wow, you seem tired.” The lipstick lady told Stanley.

Stanley blinked sleepily. “Huh? I didn’t catch -.” But she had already left.

Oh…how rude, he thought, at least let other people…wait, she left?! Stanley looked around frantically. Where is the tour group?

Stanley’s eyes widened in panic. The desert was filled with eager, chatty tourists just a minute ago, right?

But there was no one. Just miles and miles of sand and one little shop in the distance. Stanley walked towards it in a hurry and adjusted his hat. This hot African sun was really getting to him.

A blast of air conditioning and tinkling bells above the door greeted him as he walked into the tiny tourist store.

A little man walked out and watched Stanley with a bored expression. “May I help you?”

“Huh? Oh. Hi.” Stanley stood awkwardly with his head bent. The store’s roof was only six feet tall, and Stanley being taller, had to hunch down to fit.

“May I help you?” The man repeated, with annoyance.

“Yeah…I got lost.” Stanley said, scratching his head.

“Ok…”

“Did you happen to see a tourist group?” Stanley asked, rubbing his eyes.

“Yes, they walked by about 5 minutes ago. Very noisy bunch.” The man scowled. “Is that all?”

“Yeah. Oh, no. Wait..oh..uh…what direction did they go?” Stanley muttered.

The man pointed, glaring at Stanley, saying, “There.”

“Oh okay. Thanks.” Stanley left in a hurry and rushed towards the direction the man had pointed. In minutes, he found his tourist group resting near a group of trees.

The tour guide was hysterical. “WHERE WERE YOU!? DO YOU KNOW HOW DANGEROUS IT IS TO GET SEPERATED FROM YOUR GROUP IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY? AND IN A DESERT? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING??”

“Sorry.” Stanley grumbled, thinking about cold drinks and soft pillows…

“SORRY? The next time you get lost, I will personally TIE you to the group. Got it?” The tour guide’s eyes were dangerously close to popping out of his head, and the vein on his forehead popped out creepily.

“Got… it.” Stanley muttered, before falling to the ground with a loud snore.