The Adventures of Elaine - The Vacation

The Airport

'We made it on time after all!' dad said, obviously pleased with himself for finding a parking spot near the terminal.

'Barely. And it's gonna take forever to get through this line,' Stacy remarked eyeing the front of the line, already exhausted from the long drive.

'Oh, I'm sure this won't take long!' mum tried, suddenly energized.

'I wouldn't be too sure of that.' said the person in front of them, 'We've been here for half an hour now, and the line hasn't moved a step.'

'Right,' mum's mood declined slightly.

It took them fifteen minutes to realise they had been waiting in line for the restroom. After joining the correct line, the time almost "flew past" as the advertisement on the wall told them.

The employee handling the bags looked stressed, and her eyes looked as if they were going to pop out of her head. An elderly woman was shouting at her, complaining about the line being too long. Mum smiled sympathetically as she handed the bags to the employee, though she didn't notice as she struggled underneath the weight of  Stacy's bag. A while later they had arrived at the security check.

'Please remove liquids, sharp objects and electronic devices from your bags. Do not step through the scanner with your shoes on. Thank you for your cooperation.' a monotonous voice sounded from the speakers.

People were running about, shoving bags onto trays and frantically unzipping coats. The twins followed mum to a queue and followed the instructions, while Elaine, Stacy and dad lined up in another area. Stacy sighed as she took off her shoes; they were black trainers laced with lime green shoelaces, and she realised how much time it would waste once she got through the check.

Elaine was the first to get through the check, and she quickly collected her belongings before hurrying to a bench to get out of the way. Stacy followed suit, carrying her bag and shoes and then muttering angrily as she started tying up her laces. Dad was the last to come through, and easily balanced two trays on his arms, helping another family with theirs. The airport staff immediately guided them towards passport control.  At last they stumbled out of the passport control hall and into the restaurant and shopping lobby.

Stacy caught up after having finally tied up her laces. 'Now we just have to find mum and the boys'.