pink roses - joe burrow

two

The horrendous generic IPhone alarm blared in my ear, as I begrudgingly slung my arm over to my nightstand to hit snooze. I groaned, dreading how early this flight was departing. Unfortunately, this was one of my only options that didn't arrive to Columbus too late. I stretched my limbs out, groaning once more, as I sat up in my bed, switching my bedside lamp on. My phone read "4:00 AM" as I mentally kicked myself for staying up later than I intended. I swung my legs out of the warmth of my comforter, exposing them to the cold air from Tori setting the thermostat to a brisk 68 degrees. To be fair, Louisiana is muggy and warm, so I'm not complaining. Until now. Trying to get accustomed to this new cold temperature surrounding my body. My feet landed on the soft carpet, and I pulled myself up from the comfort of my bed. I decided on a quick shower to help wake me up. Comfy attire is a must with a full day of traveling. I slid some leggings on my legs, and an oversized LSU sweater over my head.

I walked into the dark living room, being careful to not wake Tori up, so I could grab a bottle of water for the trip. "Good morning" I heard a whisper come from the couch, as I jumped, grabbing my chest. I flicked the light on, seeing Tori in her PJ's, and big smile on her face. "Jesus, Tori. You scared the shit out of me." I huffed out. "Why did you wake up this early?"

"I never went to bed." She laughed. "You think I'm just gonna let you drive yourself to the airport and pay outrageous parking fees? No way, I'm driving you." Tori the angel, she's a selfless person. I know if I asked her, she would have said yes, but I couldn't find it in my heart to ask anyone to drive me to the airport at four in the morning.

"You really don't have to do that, Tori. Go to bed." I laughed, taking a sip of my water. I knew what her response is going to be. 

"Nonsense!" I spoke in unison with her, earning a glare from her emerald eyes. My laugh flowed through our apartment. "No but seriously, I'm not tired, and I want to, so hurry up and get ready so we can go get some McGriddles."

I obliged, seeing her giddiness from the couch. The energy of her is nonstop, and I envy that. I wish she could pass some of that along to me. I zipped up my luggage, wheeling it into the living room, and grabbed my purse from the hook. "You ready?" She asked, she stood up from the couch, sliding on her crocs. I nodded, following behind her out of the front door. The warm, muggy air engulfed my body, enjoying the change of temperature, the crickets chirping loudly into the abyss. She locked the door, as she walked with me to her cute little Volkswagen.

As promised, we got our McGriddles for the drive, not forgetting coffee's. She pulled through the passenger drop off area, and pulled her car up onto the curb. She started to fake sniffle. "Here we go, leaving me like you always do." She faked wept. I laughed at her silliness, and engulfed her in a big hug. If comfort was a person, it was Tori Minks. Her warm vanilla scent, with hints of fresh laundry was always the cherry on top of her meaningful hugs.

"It's just two weeks." I reasoned, pulling away from our hug, her arms pulling my head back into her chest. "Two weeks too long." She mumbled.

Once we said our goodbyes, I went up to the check in desk, handing my documents over. "Name?" The check in person questioned, accepting my documents.

"Beatrice Wright." I answered, sending a warm smile her way, knowing that she's going through it with how early it was. Saying Beatrice makes me internally cringe. My mother and father claimed that was the only name they could formally agree on. They loved how it sounded, and went with it. I would never do this to my future daughter. I've always hated Beatrice since I became aware of how awful my name was at an early age. Pres started to call me Bea at a young age to help me out, which started to stick with my family, until my grandfather heard me rant about my name one day, and had the brilliant idea that I go by Birdie. He claims he had a crush on a young lady back in the day whose name was Birdie. So now, I go by Birdie. I've been going by Birdie since middle school, but sometimes you'll find the occasional person back home whose known me since a toddler to call me Bea. As long as no one calls me Beatrice, I'm happy.