Where the Hurricane Meets a Blizzard

Chapter 2

dedicated to easternwinds for the super cute banner :)

* * * *

         Airports suck. It’s like, you have all this excitement to go on this great vacation and you’re all jittery and eager to board the plane, but any trace of that anticipation dissipates as soon as you suffer through the grievances associated with airports. After dropping off our bags at the bag drop off behind a cranky businessman and then going through that whole annoying process where you have to remove any metal from your body, along with your shoes, and walk under that metal detector thing as your bags that you’re taking on the plane pass through that X-ray thing, we are finally able to locate our gate with a little over an hour to kill until boarding.

         A woman wearing high heels clicks her way past us hastily, nearly taking me out in the process as she pushes through the crowd of people to get to her gate. I study her way-too-formal-to-be-at-the-airport outfit with my lips slightly pursed, glad to be wearing comfy clothes—a pair of black leggings, pink crewneck, and UGG boots. Of course, I nearly died of a heat stroke getting from my house to the car this morning, but according to my dad and I quote, “There is a major cold front in Paris right now so you will need to dress like you’re going someplace freezing.”

         Which is strange because the weather app on my phone says that Paris will be experiencing mild temperatures this week, but whatever. I did manage to sneak a few lighter articles of clothing in my bag in case my dad happened to be horribly mistaken, though he’s usually very on top of these things. And besides, that’s what my shopping sprees in Paris are for, anyway.

         “Hey Dad, what gate are we going to?” I ask him as we weave our way through the mass of people. Spring break must be a hectic time to work at an airport.

         “Kristen and I are going to a different one than you kids,” he answers, handing out the tickets to Ellie, Ryan, and I. I stop in the middle of the floor, causing a man behind us to curse and circle around us in an angry huff. I don’t make any attempt to move.

         “Opal, what are you doing?” Ellie looks at me in irritation, her eyes darting around at the angry citizens having to pass around us anxiously.

         “What do you mean, ‘Kristen and I are going to a different gate than you’? I thought we were all going to Paris,” I say to my dad, my hand on my hip as I cock an eyebrow at him. I tilt my face to the side to express to him that I’m waiting.

         “Let’s get out of the way first,” Kristen says nervously, shifting Ellie over to the side with her. A woman holding an infant glares at us as she hurries past. Mother of the year material.

         My dad has to practically drag me away from the center of the floor until we’re off to the side, up against the wall next to a boy about my age who I can tell out of the corner of my eye is checking me out. Disgusted, I angle my body so my back is to him and then resume staring at my dad with a half-annoyed-half-expectant expression. “Well?”

         “Kristen and I are going to Paris,” he says nervously, his eyes skimming the gates ahead of us. “You kids are going somewhere else.”

         “Where?”

         “I guess you’ll find out,” my dad says, and I can tell he’s hiding something from me. I glare at him. It’s almost comical how he was the one yelling at me yesterday, and now it’s me who’s about to go off on him.

         “Where. Are. We. Going.” My teeth grit in annoyance.

         “Somewhere that Ryan and I decided. It’s not always about you, Opal,” Ellie interjects. I ignore her.