Dragged to my knees

Chapter 18

The next morning, after a light breakfast of bacon and eggs, we load our suit cases into the trunk of one of The Robert's prized SUVs and head to the train station. Their driver comes with so he can take the car back home.

We still don't know where we're headed but what we do know is that it involves taking a train to London and then a plane ride. I wish we didn't have to take the train though, I feel like it will be a really stressful ride.

Our train is scheduled for 07:44 and we're about 15 minutes early. Getting everything sorted out, we head to platform 5 and wait a while, making small talk. The train arrives a few minutes later, thankfully on time and we get settled in.

Andrew and Emily seat on either side of me as everyone else take the seats across. Over Aunt Olivia's head, I can spot a shady looking guy who would just about pass for a hobo. Next to him, a heavily inked lady sits somewhat awkwardly, chewing nervously on her bottom lip.

What lovely companions we have this fine morning, I think to myself and without further ado, take out my iPod and get comfortable just as the train pulls out of the station.

Halfway through the journey I'm so bored I can hardly keep still.

"Don't do that mind." Says Alex's mum as Em restlessly shuffles her feet, who can blame her?

Em surprises me when she reaches into her knapsack and pulls out a piece of paper and a pen, pushing it towards me.

I quirk my eyebrows as if to say. "What's that for?"

Tic TAC, she replies sheepishly. "Please?'

"Okay." I oblige. Although I'm in no mood to play, I feel sorry for her.

A few minutes later though, she sits teary-eyed, arms crossed stubbornly over her chest. She's lost five out of five games and is upset that I didn't even so much as fail on purpose to let her win. This gets us all laughing as uncle Harry attempts to pacify her.

Apparently though, the crying fit was all she required as a few minutes later, she promptly falls asleep and we all go back to our various activities.

"A lot of freshmen are going to have to attend summer school this year." Says Drew after a while. "No one's working really hard and all the teachers are complaining"

"Well I sure hope you won't be one of them." Replies Aunt Olivia but it's more like a warning.

"Course not mum." He says reassuringly. His voice seems to tremble slightly but no one else seems to notice so I cross it off as my mind playing games on me.

Silence ensues once more but not for long, as the train finally pulls into Paddington station. Thank goodness, I think, as we disembark with our entire luggage in tow.

We hail a cab and head straight to the airport. Unloading our boxes, the adults instruct us to wait just outside the line as they get our stuff checked in. It takes a while and Em starts to get a bit antsy but they get back soon enough.

Backpacks in hand, we go through airport security and get seated in the lounge. Apparently, we have about an hour before takeoff.

My anticipation starts to build up again as I catch Alex trying to peek at the train tickets. However, he isn't subtle enough and uncle Harry puts them away.

Thirty minutes go by without anyone uttering a single word but soon enough, we all start feeling a bit peckish. Alex's dad asks us to stay put and goes to get some snacks. The moment we get our hands on them, we polish them off hastily. Guess we were all hungrier than we thought.