Nineteen-year-old Kennedy Greene has lived in Portland, Oregon her whole life; she's not well-aquainted with warm, sandy beaches. So naturally, when her freshly-divorced parents decide to ship her off with her self-employed, free-spirited Aunt Layla...
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A ding sounded in the plane's speakers, followed by the voice of a flight attendant reminding the passengers to remain in their seats and leave their belts buckled until they reached the gate. Naturally, everyone ignored her words and began scrambling to get all of their belongings, as if it would help them get off the plane quicker. Kennedy didn't blame them; the smell of the toddler's vomit paired with the hot air in the cabin was absolutely vile.
Once the plane docked itself into the gate and the "fasten seatbelts" light blinked off, the passengers rushed out of the cabin in a panicked frenzy. This included the people seated next to Kennedy, who had the misfortune of being slotted in a middle seat as the middle-aged lady sitting by the window literally climbed over her to get off first.
While she waited for the foot traffic to clear up, Kennedy crossed her legging-clad legs and fiddled with her nose ring, a habit that endlessly annoyed her mother. But since her mother was the sole reason why Kennedy was in California and hundreds of miles away from all of her friends, she had no fucks left to give.
Four and a half months ago, Kennedy's parents had sat her down after a lovely pasta dinner and told her that they'd decided to file for divorce. She'd seen it coming. Of course, she was sad that it was official, but she'd already half accepted it months earlier. Kennedy's mother was never around anyway, always traveling for work while her father stayed at home and managed his bar downtown. If she had a choice in the matter, Kennedy would choose to live with her dad. He was laid-back, understanding, and always wore a warm smile. Her mother on the other hand, was a strict disciplinarian. They were such opposites that sometimes Kennedy wondered how they had ever fallen in love in the first place.
A month ago, Kennedy had been looking forward to an amazing summer of cross-country road-tripping with her best friends--an escape from everything in Oregon. But then, her parents couldn't decide who got to have her for the time when she was home, disregarding, of course, Kennedy's verbalization that she'd rather stay with her dad. The verbal custody battle which followed resulted in the decision for Kennedy to be shipped off with her mother's sister in Ventura, California.
"Miss?" a terse, high-pitched voice asked, bursting Kennedy's thought bubble. The plane was empty. She looked up into the face of a flight attendant. "If you would, please exit the plane as we need to prepare for the returning flight. Thank you!" The girl gave a polite customer-serice smile and stepped out of Kennedy's way as she stood up and walked into the aisle way.
"Sorry, I zoned out," Kennedy said with a small smile as she brushed past the attendant in her immaculate Southwest Airlines uniform. Allison, her name tag read. The pilot and other flight attendant smiled at her as she exited the plane, with the usual, "make sure to fly with us again" farewell.
As she followed the signs to baggage claim, Kennedy hoisted her small backpack higher on her shoulders and adjusted her hair, which was beginning to fall out of its loose bun. Even from inside the airport, she knew that her poor clothing choice was going to result in a heatstroke. Leggings and a long-sleeved shirt weren't exactly prime California outerwear. A nearby digital sign reported that it was 91 degrees and sunny. Kennedy was beginning to sweat just imagining it.
