Rolly Polly

Chapter 7

 Before Harper

I say goodbye to my family and Connor and walk through security. Before I have to turn the corner to head to my terminal, I look back at them all standing there and try my best not to cry. I can feel a burn in my nose as the liquid starts to form on the brim of my eyes. Sniffing up the snot that begins to drip, I take a deep breath and wave to them before grabbing my carry on and rolling it with me around the corner.

I can hardly believe that this is really happening. Today is a day for firsts. My first time navigating the airports by myself, my first time leaving my family for an extended period of time, and my first time leaving this country.

The walls are covered with advertisements for countries around the world, iconic cities one should visit before they die. I love airports. There are people from literally all around the world surrounding me, everyone having their own back story and mission to accomplish. Some are going home to their family and friends, some are headed out for some new adventure. So many stories, and each one different. The poetry is overwhelming.

I look down at the boarding pass in my hand, Gate B3, and look back up at the signs above each section. A big white sign above me shows an arrow pointing to the left for gates A-D and to the right for gates E-G. I look down at the ground and see the tacky green carpet with 90's yellow, red, and blue that has been here since before I was even a thought in my parents mind. I remember looking at old photos from when I first flew as a child to New York to visit family. Reminiscing on thoughts of my family, I make my way down the ramp towards my gate. I pass all the A gates, getting closer and closer to my destination for the next 45 minutes.

As I approach my gate, I see that it is mostly packed, but there is thankfully a seat available next to the window. Excusing myself several times on my way to the seat, I breathe a sigh of relief when I can finally sit down. Making myself comfortable, I pull out my phone from my pocket and a pair of headphones from the front pocket of my back pack. I scrolled through Instagram for a few minutes, looking at all my classmates enjoying their last summer of freedom before college and started to feel sad. I know that I agreed and was really excited to go to London, but I would also not be seeing Connor for a month.

Eventually I heard my section called, so I stood up and made my way to the line that was being formed. Instead of having at least three stops between flights, my parents had decided to book the straight away flight. It was a ten hour flight. That would be like going to school and not getting up to switch classes, plus practice after school! I dreaded the thought. With my carryon dragging behind me, my backpack on my back, and my ticket in hand, I moved slowly with the line. As tiring as it was to stand in line for so long, I knew I should appreciate this blood flow while it lasted. Before I knew it, I was at the front of the line, handing the flight attendant my boarding pass. With a loud beep it was scanned and handed back to me. I thanked her and strutted down the ramp to the plane. As anticipated, the scent of recycled air hit me with a force that was not appreciated, and I sighed at the thought of breathing in that scent for the next 10 hours.

After moving quite slowly down the aisle, I found my seat. I stopped and lifted my carryon into the overhead department, checking my ticket again to make sure that this was my seat.

"Excuse me, I'm in this row." I say to the lady sitting in the aisle seat.

"Oh! Sorry," She stands up and takes a step back to get out of my way. I smile at her and scoot my way to the window seat. Once I am all comfortable, I buckle up and wrap my blue fuzzy blanket around my legs. With my legs toasty, I grab my mp3 player and headphones and set them on my lap. And finally, I grab out a book before sliding my backpack under the chair in front of me. There are still quite a few more people who need to get on the plane, so I lean my head against the window and look at the lights coming from the airport in front of me.

I hear a bit of scuffling and feel someone bump my arm. I open my eyes to see a guy about my age getting settled in the seat next to me. He has blonde hair and toned arms. I watch him as he is bent over his backpack digging out a sweatshirt and some other things. Once he is sat back he looks at me and I can feel myself starting to blush at how attractive he is. He smirks and hands out a pack of spearmint gum.

"Want some?" He asks me. His green eyes stare into mine. He obviously know that he is attractive, that much I know. Part of me wishes that he didn't know, but he would have to be stupid or have some serious issues to think that. Oh well. He raises his eyebrow, frowning slightly. I realize that I am full out gawking at him. I shake my head to clear my head and blink rapidly then offer him a shy smile.

"Sorry about that," I blush again, looking down at my lap. I take him up on his offer for gum and he chuckles before putting it back in his bag. Sitting up again, he turns to face me and sticks out a hand for me to shake.

"I'm Caden. Nice to meet you." He offers a warm smile and I return the shake.

"Nice to meet you Caden," I like the way his name sounds when I say it. "I'm Harper."