Arthur thought airports to be grey places, always full of rude travelers, impatient staff, and crying children. However, on that particular December morning, he found he would rather be nowhere else. For on that December morning his company, a small band of children, were in wonderfully high spirits.They had, as Arthur hoped (though not expected), won the writing contest and the trip to London. It was December 23rd as they began their journey, and the airport was packed with people going on holiday, making the atmosphere hot and uncomfortable. Arthur was beginning to regret wearing a sweater.
However, the huge crowds nor the stiff atmosphere could dampen the children s' spirits, Kaesha's in particular. Arthur listened as she enthusiastically described her memories of London to the others, going into great detail about the Who Shop.
"and they have this model of the TARDIS," she was saying, "and a bunch of posters and t-shirts and stuff, and.." she went on. Arthur decided to buy her something from there for Christmas.
~~~
The next few hours Arthur spent waiting, as one can expect to do while traveling. The plane was delayed coming in, delayed on the runway, and was now delaying landing as it circled over London, waiting for the low hanging clouds to clear. Arthur didn't mind waiting, in fact he was rather good at it. He even thought a few hours of boredom healthy for a person. But that day, all the waiting and all the boredom were troublesome to the nation, for he had something on his mind. It wasn't a terrible sort of thing really, just a troublesome suspicion that wouldn't leave him be.
And of course, it was all thanks to America and that fat mouth of his. On December 12th, the day he and Kaesha had mailed in their entry for the contest, Arthur had returned to the school thinking his other students had already gone home. It was getting rather late after all, and the sun was just beginning to dip below the horizon. However, as he approached his classroom, he became aware of a voice coming from it. Thinking it strange, and being one always ready to eavesdrop, he paused before the door to listen.
"Well, that was the last world meeting anyways." the voice said. He recognized it as America's, loud and obnoxious as always. "Usually I'm in charge of them, because I'm the hero!"
No, Arthur thought, staring dumbfound at the door, surely, he couldn't be talking about-
"Well, I guess Germany runs them a lot too... never Britain though, he's way to old for that!"
At that Arthur threw open the door- slightly more dramatic than he had meant to- and was met with four pairs of eyes staring back at him: Alfred, and three of his students. After a slight pause filled with uncomfortable silence, Alfred smiled childishly and greeted him with a "'Sup dude! How did it go?"
Arthur heaved a sigh and leaned his head against the plane window. If he had understood that scene correctly, it meant America had revealed to three of his students the truth about all the counties, and his own identity as the United Kingdom. Though he supposed it wasn't too terrible a thing; he trusted they wouldn't act differently towards him because of it, or at least they hadn't for the past few days. The real problem was that now he was faced with the task of telling Kaesha. Sure, he didn't have to tell her, but he also didn't want her to be the only one left in the dark. Besides, if he kept such a big secret from her, it would be impossible for their relationship to grow...
Arthur promptly reminded himself he didn't really care if their relationship grew or not.
Many hours after their departure, Arthur and his students finally arrived at the London airport. The five of them forced their way through the crowds, strangers pressing in on all sides, and Arthur could only pray the others were following him. Despite these crowds, however, they managed to move quickly through the baggage claim and were heading for the exit in a matter of minuets. Once out on the streets, the crowd thinned out and left them surrounded by nothing but the cool air.
