Chim - Traffic

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The lunch bell rings and I walk my class to the canteen, my own stomach grumbling. After dropping them off I head to the staff room, retrieving my sandwiches from the refrigerator while pulling my phone from my jean pocket. I sit at the large table, making polite conversation with a few coworkers before tucking into my food and checking my messages. A message from Sarah is waiting, telling me to check my emails, the four exclamation marks telling me it's urgent. At first I am panicked, opening my inbox quickly, seeing the email from Sarah waiting. I open and scan it, following her instructions to open the Instagram link she has included. As it's loading, I take another bite of my sandwich, but almost choking when I see Golden Spice's page, and our photo in our Halloween costumes at the top. I scroll down, reading the comment beneath, announcing us as the competition winners and advising us to have fun in New York.

We've won. We've actually won. We are going to New York.

I want to scream in ecstasy, but remembering my surroundings, I opt instead to text Cheryl, asking if she is free for me to call her. I somehow manage to calmly finish my lunch, replying to Sarah's text in only capital letters. As I'm disposing of the plastic casing that held my sandwiches, my phone buzzes in my hand, Cheryl advising me she is free for a few minutes if I need to call her. I select her name from my contacts, pressing dial.

"Hey baby."

"Hey love. Are you sitting down?"

"No, I'm walking from the lab to me office, why?"

"Ok, promise me you won't fall over."

"Ok, I won't... What's going on, Kimba?"

"We won. The competition to New York, with Golden Spice. We won."

There's a beat of silence before I hear Cheryl scream, exactly what I had to stop myself from doing, and I have to hold the phone away from my ear, laughing.

"Oh my God Kimba, are you serious?!"

"Yep. Our photo is on the club's Instagram page, Sarah sent me the link. I'll send it to you."

"Please do babe. I have to go now, I'm sorry, but this is amazing. I love you."

"Don't apologise, I have to head back too now. I just wanted to tell you. I love you too."

We end the call, and I forward Sarah's email to Cheryl before retreating back to the canteen to pick up my class, practically flying with happiness as I go.

***

The following Saturday, the five of us are again sat around our dining room table, papers strewn out in front of us. Being the control freak I am, I had spent every spare moment of the past week planning our two-night trip to the Big Apple. The email Sarah had been sent with the details of the trip covered by the Beckhams was printed five times over, each of us often grabbing our copy, staring at it in disbelief. We would be staying at The Plaza Hotel, in the Royal Plaza Suite, which housed three bedrooms and bathrooms, a gym and kitchen along with a living and dining area. Countless closets were also situated throughout the suite, according to the floor plan Nadine was currently holding. A five star, all-inclusive trip.

"So, Sarah and I will share the second junior bedroom, Nicola in her own room, and you and Chez in the master?" She asks.

"I think so, if everyone is ok with that." They all nod in agreement, smiling widely, and I continue. "Ok, great. So, we'll arrive at JFK at about half six in the evening, local time, according to the itinerary. When we get to the hotel, we're greeted by a butler who will help us unpack, if we want him to. I thought we could just relax in the suite and order room service, and there's a fully stocked bar in the suite too."