Dynasty | h.s

Five

Being awake before the sun should be a crime. The only saving grace of the day is that I have a seven hour flight where I can hopefully get some more sleep.

I had arrived at Logan airport at six a.m like Jack Bryant told me to, wearing an oversized hoodie, sweats, and dark circles under my eyes. Mika had been kind enough to wake up early and drive me to the airport where we exchanged one last tight hug, wishing the other well and promising to talk frequently. I could tell she had been getting emotional. 

I got through security and made it to the terminal for my flight in just under an hour. I feel tension leave my body as I sit down in one of the hard plastic chairs. I always disliked getting through security and bag checks. It's always too chaotic and too nosey for my liking. The waiting area at terminals always provided more peace. I'm even more at peace when I notice no children under the age of ten. It should be a peaceful flight to London.

I have been on one too many flights with children who managed to ruin the whole flight with temper tantrums. I'll never forget my flight home from France when I had a six year old behind me kicking the seat a majority of the flight. 

Infants on flights is another pet peeve of mine. I can only handle the sound of a baby crying for so long before I want to rip all my hair out, strand by strand. But I am considerate as I can be, too. I know an infant crying is out of the parents control and they feel just as stressed as the rest of the passengers.

Ten minutes later, there is a presence besides me that distracts me from the mindless scrolling on my phone. It's Jack.

"Good morning," he says as he sits down beside me, placing his carry on down by his feet.

"Good morning," I return. I make note of his outfit that consists of black sweatpants, a windbreaker style navy blue jacket, and a baseball cap, and sunglasses. I don't quite understand the sunglasses indoor thing, but overall, the outfit feels like a dad outfit. I notice the coffee he has in his hand that he brings to sip on.

There's a beat of silence between us. "Are you ready for this?" He asks me.

"As ready as I can be," I answer truthfully. Is there such a thing as being ready? I don't really think so. I have only had eight days to fully prep myself for this mission.

Jack then uses the hour we have to give me a rundown of what is expected once when we touch down in London. For my first night in the U.K. I will be spending it in a hotel. Due to the length of the flight and the time difference, it is going to be nearly eight p.m before we even touch down. The Royal Family is expecting my company tomorrow around lunch time. It's a nice ease into things, thankfully.

After his mini run down, we wait in silence. Like everyone else around us, we occupy ourselves with our phone. Though I am pretty sure he is responding to emails while I scroll through Instagram.

We board the flight thirty minutes before the scheduled take off time. Jack had bought us first class tickets. It's not the first time I've flown first class. My father would strictly only buy first class tickets when taking our annual family vacations. It's just been a while since I last had the luxury. I didn't see the point of paying the extra money for them myself.

I manage to talk Jack into letting me have the window seat. It didn't take too much convincing actually. He didn't seem to care either way. Jack is kind enough to place both our carry ons in the overhead compartment.

There's a sudden bloom of nerves in my stomach now. I'm not one to get anxious over the idea of flying. I think the nerves are in response to this trip as a whole. The flight is making this all so much more real. This is really happening. This past week has not been a dream after all.