Grace Notes

Chapter 13

Lola's POV-

Harry rang the doorbell on my unit right at 5:20, which felt way earlier than I had originally thought. I felt like a zombie, as he packed up my backpack into the backseat of his Mercedes. Even on the road, the drive was quiet. I think we were both trying to wake up, which seemed well near impossible. It also didn't help that I had stayed up until about midnight binging the Office to help take my mind off everything.

We made it to the airport, and by the time we parked and got inside, it was about ten after six.

"Do we need to print out our boarding passes?" I asked him.

"They're mobile tickets so we should be fine" he yawned.

I tried to keep up with his long strides toward the security line. It wasn't too crowded, like early morning flights tend to be. It took only about twenty minutes before it was our turn to go through the screening.

"Let's find our gate before we get coffee so we know where we are" he stopped right outside the security hall and looked down.

I pulled my phone from my pocket and found the ticket confirmation email. "Gate B-15"

He looked up at the sign. "Okay, we need to go to the right"

I followed him through the wide aisle, careful not to lose him in the flow of other travelers. The last thing that needed to happen was getting separated. Although, my professor kept looking back to make sure that I was still there, which set my mind at ease.

Finally, we spotted the sign for our gate.

"Do you want to stay here and rest while I go grab coffee for us?" he asked, setting his suitcase down in front of the plastic chairs.

"Sure" I nodded.

"I'll go find Starbucks or Dunkin, or something" he paused. "I shouldn't be long."

"You're fine, thank you" I sunk down into the chair, my spine already digging into the hard plastic.

He gave me a small smile before walking away, disappearing into the crowd.

In the speakers above, I could hear another flight being announced. Around me, so many different types of people were also waiting. There were some wearing Army uniforms, a few men and women obviously dressed for a business trip, and of course the families that had the crying kids. There was also a group of teenagers going on what I assumed to be some sort of mission trip, considering they were all wearing the same lime green T-Shirts with the name of a church on them.

Our flight had already been announced by the time Harry returned with two cups of coffee in his hand. He handed me the warm cup as they called for Class A to line up.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Pumpkin spice. You seemed like you would get something gross like that" he took a sip of his own drink, which I knew was more than likely tea.

"You know me so well" I smiled.

"It's all you ever order-cups of bean water, too much cream, and enough sugar to kill a diabetic"

"Maybe if you just tried it" I shrugged.

"I would never defile my body in such a way" he frowned.

"Suit yourself, but your missing out"

"Class B boarding" the attendant announced over the speaker.

"That's not us, right?" Harry asked.

"We're next" I replied, watching some more people walk over to the line.

The constant sound of the boarding passes getting scanned was both ear piercing and satisfying. It always sent a rush in my insides, but perhaps that was due to the growing anticipation of the flight.