Ride On

Chapter XXXIII: Going Mobile

The Dramamine usually worked by now.

My leg bounced ferociously as I waited for the plane to take off. The drive to the airport was almost silent save for my mum's radio and she only asked me if I was scared or told me to call every chance I got. I called my friend first thing that morning. She also expected me to keep her up to date with all my various trysts. I'd be sharing more with her than Mum. 

I never liked flying. Realistically I knew we were safe and that I'd make it to California in one piece. 

But who said imagination was realistic? 

The first American stop was supposed to be in Los Angeles tomorrow night. I wanted a night to myself to recover from nerves and jet lag and to get used to my new surroundings. I had been to California only twice before, and both times were visiting Disneyland. 

Suddenly Disneyland was but a needle in a haystack. 

When the plane finally did take off (there was a delay due to thunderstorms), I leaned back in my seat and gripped the armrests. 

Wouldn't it be a drag if the plane crashed and you died?

I slowly rocked back and forth. Me dying wouldn't be the end of the world but the moments before of sheer terror and doom....the agonizing pain of surviving the crash....the suspense of waiting for the doctor's verdict on my prognosis....the hospital bill....

I reached under my seat to pull out my toiletry bag. Along with my prior Dramamine I dry swallowed a Benadryl to make it through the flight. 

Halfway through the skies cleared up and I closed my window to block out the glowing sun. Thankfully the turbulence hadn't been too rough and I was able to relax some. I wondered if my mum was able to manage the three toddlers on her own. I felt bad leaving here there. I was sure my family as a whole would do fine without me. I'd have to call my friend every night to feel less homesick. 

I wondered if Angus ever got homesick.

Did he miss the comforts of Oz while he went on tour? Did he miss the familiarity of his neighbourhood, of his mates? Or was the high of the road too potent to feel anything other than total adrenaline? Did it dull any other senses? I guess I would find out soon enough. 

**********

After an eternity and a half the plane landed like a rock on a pond. I was drunk with sleep and stumbled into LAX with my best resting bitch face. People stampeded in all different directions and I was still trying to remember my first name. 

It felt like I had gone back in time.

Wait a minute...

My suitcase scraped against my heels as I wheeled it out into the street. Despite being a cloudless night I couldn't see any stars from the light pollution. Sydney could be very similar. I hailed a taxi and short circuited for a second seeing it driving on the right side of the road. I dumped my bags in the backseat with me and gave him the address of a small hotel on the other side of town. Probably sounded like a total cave woman but I was too tired to care. After a long, traffic-filled ride, I counted out as best I could a decent amount of American dollars I had converted an hour ago. The cabbie seemed satisfied and let me out with a hasty "goodnight" before speeding off into the black night. 

I think I scared him.

**********

Blisters burned my feet as I fell into my hotel room. I probably would have chundered had I not almost fallen asleep on the floor. 

I did it.

I bloody fucking did it.

I bought a plane ticket to America...I traveled to an entirely different country on my own....maybe I could survive an American tour with the best band in the world...

Or maybe they would send me right home. 

The road was no place for random women. 

But...come on. Bands took women places with them all the time. They had to get tired of being surrounded by bollocks twenty four seven. 

That didn't mean they would take me specifically. 

I wasn't the most entertaining woman in the world. I didn't know how to make a room fall in love with me and I didn't exactly scream "adventure". 

But the worst case scenario was...I see them play one show in Hollywood, say hello if I can, and they say goodbye. Enjoy what I can of summer in Cali, try out those beach chairs, get an American sunburn on my arse, and go back home. 

Either way, I was going to be okay. 

I was going to be okay.