Speculo

I

The beachfront of Leváda looked nothing like the postcards. The ocean was a steely grey that blended sloppily with the overcast above. Its beach was made up more of smooth white rocks than anything that could be called sand. Safe to put into words V wasn't impressed. The glamor and sun of the California coast was much more her speed. She sighs heavily and redirects her attention to the travel pamphlet in her lap. Welcome to Connecticut! The adventure starts with you!! V found it hard to believe that the nutmeg state had very much adventure, especially when the forecast on her phone promised rain three out of seven days this week. She stole another peek out the window. They seemed unimaginably close to the ground for going so fast and her stomach turned in betrayal. It's fine, more people die from cows a year than plane crashes. Or maybe that's sharks. Either sounded pretty scary. The lady behind her was snoring pretty harshly when the pilot came over the com to announce their landing, " this is your captain speaking" she couldn't believe he actually said that. No shit Sherlock. "We will be landing momentarily and we've turned on the seatbelt sign as a precaution. Please make it back to your seats and remain there with your seatbelt fastened until the plane comes to a complete stop. Welcome to beautiful Connecticut !" the intercom fizzled out and along with it went the small dream in V's heart that maybe she'd be landing in California.
       Getting through the small Hartford terminal was a breeze. The small airport was the equivalent of a Cali shopping mall and V's move-with-a-purpose-take-no-prisoners walk worked magic there. Baggage check wasn't as easy. She had refused the hot pink leopard print bag her dad had offered her and gone for a subtle grey instead. So had everyone else coming from anywhere. She checked tags and double checked tags and triple checked them but to no avail. Finally, she flagged down a flight attendant and asked about her flight number and whether or not there was another belt for it.
"one belt per flight hon" he southern accent dripped honey to go with her golden bun. " have you checked the tags?
"all of them. Three times over" she was starting to get annoyed with this whole trip. The whole concept of it at all. A once in a lifetime offer to study art on one of Americas most beautiful costs, in the small quiet town of leváda. Sounded like sure-fire click bait. But what could she do? Her scholarship money was down the drain the second she had gotten arrested. So sketchy art school in Leváda it was. Maybe she'd go to the sight of The Salem Witch Trials or something.
"well there's an office up until that corner dear" the attendant pointed a fifty dollar manicured nail towards a small, glass-windowed room.  "sometimes when the tags rip off during the flight they take the bags up there" V nods thanks to  Miss America and starts her way towards the office. They don't tell you how weird it feels to walk in an airport at five in the morning, let alone empty handed. The entire building was turned matte by the early morning light and its few attendees were thrown into a surreal shade of tired. All of the magazine and coffee shops covered in bars brought back memories of her forty-eight-hour adventure to the county sheriffs office. She shook her head. The office loomed in from of her, the bulletin board and bulletproof glass complete with a short tired man drinking scalding coffee out of an I Love New York mug. He doesn't look up from his laptop computer when she approaches.
"excuse me" V knew her voice was loud so when he didn't look up it was either out of rudeness or deafness. She tapped on the glass. His eyes darted to her face and he scrambled into action, slamming his computer shut and nearly spilling his coffee. She didn't want to know what he'd been looking at.
"yes-yes ma'am how can I help you?" he pushed a pair of rectangle bifocals further up his nose.
"I can't find my um...I can't find my baggage this lady said if the tag had gotten.." she trailed off as he was already rummaging through a number of odd bags that had been sitting behind him. "it's -it's grey"
"I figured" he figured? Where all the bags that came into Connecticut grey? He magnificently pulled out the plain Greg bag from the pile and raised his eyebrows at her. The amount of relief she felt made her realize what a mess she really was.
"yes-yes that's it"
"what's in the front compartment" what? Oh, of course, couldn't just give her a free bag of goodies, could they?
"there should be a small black sketchbook and a toothbrush" thank god she'd chosen to put her underwear in the main pocket. He dutifully unzipped the pocket and produced the promised book. He leafed through a few pages before she could object and her stomach clenched. His brow twisted but the little man said nothing as he handed her the book and pulled the suitcase around a corner and through the side door.
"I hope you had a pleasant experience with us have a great stay" monotone. A line he'd no doubt said a million times before.
"thank you for" she nodded to the bag but he was already on his computer. He gifted her a bored Ee-yup before she was once again on her own. She replaced her book into the front pocket and Headed towards parking lot B. The place where the rental place had said her limited time offer Toyota Camry would wait for her arrival.