Weight In Gold (Brendon Urie)

The Punishment

Chaos.

That's all I can see when I walk through the airport doors. There are people rushing all over as if what they are doing is the only thing that matters. I walk up to an empty desk under a sign that says "bag check" and the lady standing there doesn't even look up at me from her computer. I assume she doesn't see me so I clear my throat and immediately her finger shoots up signaling for me to wait. I stand there for another 3 ish minutes before she even acknowledges my presence. "Name please," she says. "Ashley O'Brien" I reply, a bit louder than necessary. "One way trip to Chicago?" She asks. I nod my head in verification. "Alright. How many bags are you checking?" She asks. "Just one today" I say as she gestures for me to put my bag on the moving belt besides her. I do so, and then I continues to stand in front of her awaiting my next instructions. She types for another two minutes or so before looking up to meet my eyes. She then makes a face as if I'm the stupidest person in the world and says, "Okay, thank you," in a voice that can only mean 'why the hell are you still standing here'. I hustle away from her desk and walk into the security line.

Getting through security checks and such takes a painfully long time, but eventually I'm seated in the waiting area of "gate B13", waiting to hear that the flight is boarding over the loud speaker. My plane is scheduled to board at 8:15 and depart at 8:35, and it's currently 8:14, so the announcement could be any minute. I bounce my feet up and down and bite my nails, anxiously anticipating my departure.

I know it's probably only a few seconds of waiting before I hear that it's time to get on the plane, but it feels like hours. When I finally reach my seat on the plane, I tuck my carry on luggage in the compartment above my head and take a seat. A few minutes later, the captain speaks over the intercom to tell us that the flight will take approximately 3 hours and 15 minutes, and then the flight attendants do their safety debriefing. Before long, the plane is in the air and the lights in the cabin are turning off. I decide to try and get some rest, and I'm asleep before my head hits the neck-pillow.

I awake to the voice of the pilot telling us that he hopes we had a nice flight on Alaska Airlines and to enjoy our stay in Illinois. I didn't anticipate sleeping through that entire flight, but I can't say that I'm upset.

Once most of the plane is cleared out, I stand up, get my bags, and exit the plane. My aunt and uncle said they would meet me outside of the exit once the plane landed, so I head towards there. For a few minutes, I consider making a run for it, but when I remember that I don't have enough money to buy more than maybe a bag of chips, I push that thought out of my mind.

When I get outside, I dont see them immediately. I look around and still, nothing. I probably look like a total idiot just standing here. Then, suddenly, I feel someone's hand on my shoulder. It startles me, so I gasp. I whip around and see Aunt Jodie giving me a big smile. I'm relieved that it isn't a stranger, so I enclose her in a big hug which was unexpected for both of us. When I let go, I see both her and Uncle Rick. "Ready to go?" She says in a voice sweet like honey. I can't help but wonder if she knows what I did. She must. Right?

The three of us walk over to where they parked their car and get ready to get in. I half expect to see their foster son sitting in the back seat, but I don't. We put my bags in the car and get in. It won't be too long of a drive I imagine, because the airport is in Chicago and as far as I know, they live in Chicago too. As we start our drive, Aunt Jodie starts rambling about how much I'm going to love it here and things like that. Every once in a while, giving the occasional "yeah" to make it sound like I'm still listening.

About 20 minutes later, we're pulling into the parking lot of the house. I dont take any notice to the appearance of the house until I'm outside of the car, and when I look at my new residence, I'm shocked. Based off of how big it is, it has to be at least a $3 million house, maybe more. It looks like it has two stories and maybe a basement. I can only imagine the type of parties that would be thrown here. I don't see myself throwing parties anytime soon though.

I don't know anything about this foster kid, so I have no idea whether or not he's been able to pull off a successful social event here, or if he's even tried. I am kind if afraid of what he'll be like. I'm afraid that I'm going to end up living with a total uptight nerd who will snitch on me every time I do something wrong, but I'm equally afraid of ending up with a tool. I guess I'm just going to have to wait and see what the future brings.