Opposite Attention

Chapter 1

"Mom, if you don't stop hugging me I'm going to miss my flight and no one is going to be happy if that happens," I said with a sigh. I finally know where I'm going and I will be starting a new life, but this is still my mom and leaving her isn't an easy task.

"Oh stop it Elane, we both know you have plenty time to get to your gate." My mother said as she was letting go of me from her embrace. Her hands on my shoulder, "Look at me. I want you to know I am so, so, so, so proud of you for going for your dreams and catching them, but never, never, never let this change you. I know that your future is going to be new. You are going to make friends and most of them won't be good but promise me you won't let them change you." she gave me the full mother speech in the middle of the airport.

"Mom." I said with a groan, "I will be the same girl you've always known." I paused, looking at her. " You and I both know people can't change," I said giving her a knowing glance. She gave me a pointed look saying to not bring that up again.

"Elane." She said warningly.

"Sorry, I'm sorry it just slipped out." We made a pact to keep that out of our life. For good.
"Will you be okay on your own, sweetheart?" She quickly changed the subject, normally she gets really pissed off when I bring it up. "I worry that you will get lonely, but it's hard to worry about being lonely when you have a job and co-workers who will probably become your friend and all, but I still have to ask if you will be alright on your own."

"You don't have to worry about me, I'm a social butterfly that is ready to spread her wings and make a lifelong friend. It should be me worrying about you. You are the one sending your only daughter off to L.A to fulfill her almost impossible dream that still managed to come true." I start to see her eyes tear up. Great, here come the waterworks.

"Oh honey, you have no need to worry about me, I have lots of things to do." and the tears start flowing, down her dainty cheeks.
"Oh please don't cry. I did my makeup today and this is already hard enough, I hate leaving you." I could feel my tears coming to the surface as she laughed at my makeup comment.

"You know I am an emotional wreck of a thirty-nine-year-old." she gave me a wink cause we both know she is not thirty-nine. This made us both laugh through the tears.

Gate 37, now open for boarding.

We both heard the call for my flight to start boarding meaning I had to get going. I gave my mom one last hug and said a quick 'bye' in her ear, pulled back and started walking away. I turned around and blew her a kiss and turned around to make my way up to the flight attendant.

When I gave her my ticket, I looked back to wave bye to my mom one last time and then grabbed my ticket from the attendant and walked into the terminal and onto the plane.

I found my seat and started to put my luggage in the overhead compartment. I sat down next to an elderly lady and she gave me a kind smile.

"Are you by yourself sweetheart?" she asked with a thick southern accent.

"Yes ma'am," I replied turning to face her. She had doe eyes and a pulled back face. Her skin was weary and she had a frail appearance.

"Well good luck out there, the world is not always a nice place." I took her words to heart and was about to reply, but the flight attendant standing in the aisle, started giving us the safety procedures.

"We hope you enjoy your flight from Charleston to Los Angeles and thank you for choosing United Airlines." The flight attendant, that's name I learned in her speech was Sophia, finished her announcement and the plane took off.

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In the middle of the eight-hour flight the woman I was sitting next to, decided right before I was going to nap was a good time to talk to me again.