A soft bounce made me wake from my sleep, and I perked up instantly. That bounce was the plane landing, meaning that we are now officially in California. Throwing my head back against my seat, I smiled in satisfaction. It's absolutely crazy, just being here. Let alone for one of the biggest reality singing competitions on TV right now.
"Attention passengers, we have landed safely in Los Angeles, California. Please collect all of your belongings, and orderly exit the plane. We hope you enjoyed your flight."
Yeah, yeah, okay. Putting my phone in the pockets of my jeans, I rose from my seat. Everyone around me did the same, and we filed in an orderly line toward the exit. All of the bags are going to be at the baggage claim, and I'm praying that nothing of mine got lost. Losing baggage is a common mishap.
The process of getting off the plane went surprisingly quick. This airport seems to have it all under control in terms of getting things in order. This gives me hope that they didn't lose any of my luggage. It would suck, having to by a whole wardrobe of new clothes due to a lost bag. And if they lost my guitar... shit will go down.
My bags came into sight, and I quickly went to get them. The conveyor belt is moving pretty slow, so grabbing the bags was easy. Turning on my heel, I fought my way through the crowds, and out of the airport entirely. The bad part now is that I have to wait for one of the Idol buses to arrive before I go anywhere.
"You here for American Idol?"
Jumping back, I glanced down to my right. Leaning up against the brick wall was a guy who looked to be about three or so years older than me. In his hands is a guitar, and he is playing out a soothing melody. Walking over to his other side, I set my two bags down, along with my guitar.
"Yeah, I am." I said, leaning against the bricks. "How'd you know?"
"I saw your guitar, so I just figured." he took off his sunglasses, hanging them on his shirt collar. "I'm Alex, by the way."
"Avery." I said, crossing my arms over my chest. "How long have you been waiting here?"
Alex shrugged. "Probably a good 20 minutes. This bus isn't coming any time soon."
Great. Waiting outside for a bus isn't exactly my idea of enjoyable. Especially in this LA heat. Maybe my body is used to the temperatures in Michigan, but it's pretty damn hot out here. There should be a warning label on the inside door to the airport that says: "warning: extreme heat. Step outside with caution". I'm serious.
Okay, I may be exaggerating a little bit.
For about ten more minutes, Alex and I chatted. He's pretty cool, and really shy like me. It made me feel a little better, knowing that I won't be the only awkward, shy person here. And in the middle of our conversation, one of the two buses pulled up. We both grabbed our stuff, and headed over the bus. About a hundred others followed, rushing into the bus excitedly. I almost got pushed off the stairs, which took me by surprise.
"Scared of crowds, are you?" Alex asked with a chuckle.
I slapped his arm, plopping down in the chair next to him. "No need to tease me about it, dude."
"I'm just messing with you." He said with a chuckle.
The bus started moving, and I sat up in my seat up excitedly. We are now off to the hotel, where we can hopefully have a night to relax before we start up again for group rounds. That experience is gonna be stressful as hell. I am not fully looking forward to that extravaganza.
Throughout the whole ride, I couldn't stop thinking about how awesome it would be to have Sam right beside me. We used to sing together all the time, and joke about our music aspirations. Never in a million years would I actually think that it could become a reality.
YOU ARE READING
Flashlight (Sam Woolf)
Fiksi Penggemar"I will always care for you, even if we're not together and even if we're far, far away from each other."
