My Summer in London

Chapter 2

"The plane will be landing momentarily. Please get ready to exit the plane." I was awakened from my light sleep by the pilot's announcement. I yawned but began packing up my notebook and pencil along with my book light. I unbuckled my seatbelt and stood up. It felt really good to stretch out my legs. I forgot how long that plane ride seemed to take. I pulled my backpack out from under the seat in front of mine and slung it over my right shoulder. People filed out of the plane but I found a break in the line and made my way through. The lights in the airport were blinding compared to the night sky and dim lighting of the plane. I casually looked around for my aunt. I didn't see her yet. I waited a few more minutes but still didn't see her. She did say she'd be here to pick me up...right? She is never late for anything. I started to get a bit worried. What if she was in an accident? Did she get hurt? I felt my heart speed up a bit. I looked around again, feeling panicked. "Just calm down. Just calm down." I told myself in my head. "I need to stop panicking. Nothing bad has happened. I'm sure it's just because of traffic." I paced around the airport waiting area nervously. After a few minutes I realized I hadn't even gotten my suitcase from the baggage claim area yet. I walked over to the luggage carousel and waited for my suitcase. I hoisted it over the edge and set it on the ground in front of me. As I was pulling the handle up to roll it along back to the waiting area I felt two arms around my shoulders. I panicked and threw my arms back, hitting whoever it was in the face.

"Ow! What the heck!?" A familiar voice yelled.

"Oh my God! I am so sorry!" My voice began to shake.

"Why did you panic?" my aunt asked. I could hear the worry in her voice.

"I couldn't find you earlier so I didn't know if anything happened to you and I wasn't expecting you to find me over here." I started to cry. "I'm so so sorry!"

"Amanda, honey, why are you crying?"

"I thought something happened to you. And I feel awful for hitting you!" I said between sobs.

"It's ok! The roads were just really backed up so I had a tough time getting here." She reassured me. She was always really good at that.

"Ok" I said quietly. "That was ridiculous. I am 19 years old and I just had a meltdown like a 4 year old." I scolded myself in my head.

"C'mon, lets get you something to eat. What can I help you carry?" my aunt asked me.

"Oh, it's fine. I can get it all." I answered.

"Amanda, don't be silly. At least give me your backpack."

"No, seriously, I've got it."

"Alright. I guess you've won." My aunt laughed.

As we made our way through the surprisingly uncrowded airport we passed a little coffee shop.

"Can I stop and get a cup of tea?" I asked.

"Of course! Here." my aunt handed me a few pounds.

"No! I have money. It's fine." I said pushing away the money.

"Amanda, I never see you. Let me treat you to a cup of tea!"

"Fine, but you can't do this the whole time I'm here. I'm staying with you for a month!"

"Just go get your tea."

I walked up to the small counter and ordered. In just a minute or so, the girl who took my order handed me my cup. I walked back over to my suitcase and my aunt who stood waiting patiently.

"Ready?" She asked

"Yep!" I said, smiling.

We walked through the parking lot and quickly found her car. I gently tossed my luggage into her trunk but kept my purse with me in the passenger seat. I walked to the right of the car and opened the door to see my aunt already sitting and buckled in. Oh! I forgot! The driver sits on that side in the UK! I laughed and walked around to the other side of the car. We talked the whole way back to her house. When we got there I took all of my stuff up to the extra room and sat down on the bed. Then I realized how tired I actually was. I needed to call my family though. I dialed the number and when my mom answered I could hear that she had put the phone on speaker. Everyone said hi and then asked a million questions. Wow, I haven't even been here a day. I'll have plenty of time to answer all of their questions. As I was talking about what happened at the airport my mom interrupted me saying "Oh! Amanda! I forgot it's so much later in London! This is going to take some getting used to. You need to get some rest. Just call tomorrow if you get a chance."

"Ok. I promise I'll call. Night night. I love you."

"I love you too sweetheart."

I slipped into my pajamas and crawled under the heavy duvet on the perfectly made bed. Even with how exhausted I was, I got a quick rush of bravery as I pulled out my phone and opened my messages. I typed 'hey! I know you're super busy with everything that's going on but I was just wondering how you've been' I clicked on the space for the recipient and began typing his number. I still have it memorized. When his named popped up I clicked on it. I pressed send. I went to the main menu of my messages and for the first time in a very long time, 'Louis' was at the top.