Long Distance Call | tayley ✓

5 | Maybe It Won't Be So Bad

[Taylor]

The back of my head rests against the headrest of my seat as my eyes slip shut. I didn't sleep much last night. I've never been a big fan of flying, which made me nervous for today's flight. Before this, I've had only been inside of an airplane twice, but both times I was a nervous wreck. Last night, though, my nerves were kicking in over it.

Maybe sleeping will help this flight go by at least a little bit quicker.

As the second movie of the Back To The Future trilogy plays in my ears, I grow closer to falling into a deep sleep.

But I'm disrupted when I feel my phone buzzing in my lap. It's rather unexpected, so my head jolts up the second I feel it buzzing against me. I exhale a heavy breath and lift my phone up.

Germy: Alright, I texted Kat. She'd be happy to pick you up if you need. I'll give you her number, so you can reach out to her whenever you need. She'd be happy to show you around, show you all of the tourist attractions and best places to visit, if you want.

In the following message, I receive Jeremy's friend's phone number. I add the new number to my contacts to be sure I don't somehow lose it. I look at my personal TV screen and find the option that shows us how far we are from the destination. We've been on the plane for nearly half the duration of the flight.

I try to enjoy the film, but as I'm distracting myself from my fear of flying, the most random thought strikes me. And the thought is about that girl. That girl I had recently encountered for the first time since high school. Hayley, was it? Yeah, it was. Most definitely.

One of the flight attendants comes to our row, asking us if we'd like anything to drink, I ask for a water and she hands me one from the cart she's pushing. I thank her and take a sip from the bottle.

Not wanting to waste my phone battery, I remove my laptop from my carry-on bag, sign onto the wifi, and go onto twitter. I stare blankly at the screen for a second, trying to recall the girl's last name. Wilson? White? Williams. It was Hayley Williams.

I search the name and see plenty of results coming up. None of them are her. It takes some more scrolling and some searching through tweets of strangers until I spot an account that seems to be her.

The cursor hovers above the profile picture of the account, and I click on it to enlarge the photo. I adjust my thick-rimmed glasses, pushing them closer against my face. Yup. That's her. Now, the cursor hovers over the follow button. Should I? Would that be weird? Fuck it.

I press down on the mouse, clicking the follow option. I close my laptop and let out a sigh. Will she follow back, I wonder. Only time will tell. Suddenly, a feeling of complete fatigue hits me like a ton of bricks. I relax a little bit, allowing for the third movie of the film series to play in my ears as I fall into a pleasant rest.

—

I sleep like a baby. Only after I'm shaken by the older gentleman sitting to the right of me do I wake up. With sleepy eyes, I give him an annoyed look.

"We're gonna be there soon," he says to me,
and I notice a deep English accent. My eyes go a bit wide, and I thank him for waking me. We're descending, that I can tell. And when I glance out the window that's on the left of me, I notice that it's dark out. I can't see a thing. When I check my phone, I realize that it's automatically switched time zones.

While back in Tennessee it's probably around 6 PM, it's now closer to midnight here. It's a good thing I didn't wait until the last minute to make my move, or else I wouldn't have the time to adjust my body to a different sleeping schedule like I'm already planning on doing.

I remove my phone from my pocket, and reach out to this girl Jeremy had given me the number of. Kat, was it? Yeah, that was it. I send her a text message.

Taylor: Hey, Kat. It's Taylor. I'm Jeremy's friend. I was gonna get a cab or something, whatever y'all have over there, but unless you're busy, would you be alright with picking me up? I hope I'm not a bother. Thanks! :)

I stuff my phone back into my pocket. By the time we've landed and are allowed to make our way off of the plane, it's closer to 12:30. I rub my tired eyes and stand up after our row has been told that we can begin exiting the plane.

It was quite a struggle to hold onto all of the bags that I had placed in the overhead carrier, but I manage it. The fellow passengers were not too happy to be waiting behind me as I struggled.

After all of that, I head to the baggage claim area, collecting my largest bag. And oh god, it's difficult to drag everything around. I stack some of my smaller bags on top of each other. I know I had forgotten some things at home, it's just bound to happen. Oh well. I find an open seat near the entrance/exit of the airport and remove my phone from my pocket.

I hadn't realized it, nor felt the vibration against my leg, but Kat had sent me a message just moments ago.

Kat: Hey, Taylor. Jerm told me all about you. You're in luck, I couldn't sleep tonight. I'm not far from the airport. Manchester Airport, right?

Taylor: That's the one!! Thank you so much. Look for a curly haired guy wearing, uhhh, all black. I might be hard to spot. Just look for someone who looks extra confused and very tourist-y. Let me know when you're here!

I send the message and I groan as I pull my bags along once more. I spot a bench right outside and breathe out a sigh of relief when I am finally able to take a seat. Time to wait for Kat to come to pick me up.

—

After not too long of waiting, Kat arrived. The girl had texted me, alerting me that she had shown up at the airport. I carry my bags around, looking around.

Kat hadn't told me the color of her car, the model, the company, or even what she looks like. So I'm rather lost until I hear a beep coming from a car to my left. Walking in that direction, the window is rolled down to reveal a young lady with light brown locks, who has a lovely smile upon her face.

"Taylor?" she questions in an accent that intrigues me.

I place my bags in the backseat of her car and climb into the vehicle. As she drives me home, I realize that maybe this won't be so bad.