The Way It Ends

05

The rest of the week went swimmingly! Luckily, I'd happened to not have been massively hungover nothing that some ibuprofen can't fix; I attended my first theory day at UCL which was fun. It's finally Saturday, so I'm now able to pick up my suitcase. To be totally honest, I could do without it, Opum's clothes are just to die for but alas there's stuff I need. I'd called beforehand and given a description of my bag and announced that I was coming, they told me that the person with my suitcase would also be there!

I'm currently struggling to navigate the Tube. It's basically an underground train system that runs only in London and it's big as fuck. I stare at the map a little longer and see which train I need to catch to get to Gatwick. I've chosen the worst time to go since it's London rush hour which is another thing I'd dreaded. The train calls and I manage to squeeze my way on board. I scan the carriage hoping to see if I can snag a spot but to my disappointment, I only witness a creepy old man spread his legs and smirk at me suggestively. The only response I could muster was a simple scratch at the back of my neck and a look of disgust slapped across my features. My body turned itself to face the opposite direction, hopefully giving the message I don't want to basically sit on his crusty ashy dick.

I dig out my earphones from my purse and listen to my playlist as the train ride progresses. I decided to people watch because curved concrete walls don't provide much scenic entertainment. A baby wailing catches my attention as I notice a fairly young lady try to soothe it's wailing all the while trying to wrangle a toddler and stopping the pushchair from sliding about. A bit to her right was a person dressed in punk attire tapping their feet to the beat of the music in their headphones. As the pushchair gets out of the lady's grasp: they manage to grab it and returns it to her with a smile. They begin erupting in conversation and luckily the lil sack of human flesh shuts up while being in awe of the person's haircut.

I ship.

Slowly but surely, we approach my stop and I make my way off. Opum's working and she said I need to learn to navigate the transport system since it's quite different from the one back home anyways.

I walk with a slight pep in my step with Kali Uchis singing into my eardrums. Soon I get to the entrance, and I look around to see 'Lost & Found' on a massive blue sign in the corner of the lobby. I stroll over and see a cue of people outside. With blue, red, purple, and green suitcases- wait a green suitcase? I quicken my pace and squint (I really need to get my eyes tested) to see a man leaning on a suitcase identical to mine. I can only see his back profile from the way I've entered and let me say it sure is a pretty sight.

Mustering my all confidence I try to get his attention, "Excuse me, Sir!" Nothing. "Hello?" I decided to just bite the bullet and tap his shoulder. He turns and removes an airpod. Consider my mouth unhinged.

"Hey." His brow slightly arches and the edge of his lips crop up.

"Hi."

"Is there anything I can do for you, darling?" The added term of endearment just sounds like honey coming from his deeper voice. I can't put my finger on the accent though, it sounds partly Southerner but partly American.

"Oh yeah, I think we have each other's suitcase!"

He takes a look at the tag on the suitcase, "What's your name?"

"Moenia, and yours."

"Cal. That's a pretty name you've got"

"Thank you. Shall we swap and check that we have all our stuff?"

"Sounds good to me." We exchange suitcases and move away from the queue to inspect inside them. There's something about his face that is screaming familiarity. I quickly check mine and all's well. I watch his hands unzip the case and the way they tensed on the zipper. Then the way they held the side of the suitcase firmly as his eyes raked over its contents. The hands that were clinging to the curvature of my hips had slight veins peeking through.