"Do you have the ticket? The passport? Money? What about your phone?"
I stood still, blinking at the questions being thrown at me from every direction by none other than my parents. Before I could answer one of their questions, I'd find myself being asked another.
"Yes. Yes, I do."
"Okay, do you have your charger with you? Did you take the camera?"
"Yes, Dad."
"Don't forget to take lots of pictures when you get there!" Mom beamed at me.
"I won't."
"And don't forget to call us often! Call us when you get to New York. Always have your phone with you. Do you hear me?" Dad rambled on.
"Yes, yes," I said, raising my hands up in the air in frustration. "I double-checked and I have everything. Please let me go now."
Mom sighed and smiled at me. "Okay. You better get going."
We hugged for about the hundredth-time and I was out the door. As I walked down the steps, I realized that it was finally happening.
It was finally happening.
We were going to New York.
I had been anticipating this moment ever since the school announced that we were going on a trip. Mind you, it was an educational trip, but still. One can't contain his or her enthusiasm when it came to something as big as New York. I know I couldn't.
I waved at Molly and smiled. "Good morning, Molly!"
She smiled just as brightly and warmly. "Good morning, Aubrey. Are you excited?"
I vigorously nodded. "Oh yeah."
Since Molly had to drive to work, she offered to drive Dylan and I to school where we would board a bus that would take us to the airport. I smiled and hauled my bag into the trunk of the car, keeping my rucksack with me.
Dylan then exited the house and walked towards the car, scowling. I pursed my lips and folded my arms, silently watching him as he put his bags into the trunk. When he was done, he slammed it shut and looked at me.
"Hi," I said.
He heaved a sigh. "Hey."
He then proceeded to climb into the car. Before I could follow, Molly stopped me. She nervously fiddled with her hands and bit down on her lip. "Aubrey, I have a favor."
"Sure," I said. "What's up?"
"I think I've said this before but..." She stopped and sighed. "Please...please take care of him. A lot of unpleasant things happened in New York and...and I just want to be assured that he'd be okay. That's why I'm asking you to...you know."
I gave her a sympathetic smile. "I know. I will."
"Thank you."
We climbed into the car and Molly drove off. I couldn't help but smile. Molly trusted me and it was kind of nice. It really was nice. I turned my head to glance at Dylan. His head was leaning against the window, his eyes shut. I kind of sympathized with him and I couldn't help but wonder how he was feeling. Was he scared? Nervous? Confused? His hands were tightly clenched, knuckles white as bone.
I pursed my lips and swallowed.
You'll be okay.
We were nearing school now and it was then that I started to feel uneasy. I frowned. My stomach churned and I swallowed again. I had this bad feeling. My eyes darted around. Maybe it was just the jitters. I hadn't been on a plane in a long time. Maybe it was just excitement.
I turned to look at Dylan again and this time, he was looking at me, too. He raised an eyebrow. "You okay?"
I smiled at him. "I think so. Yeah. I'm fine. Are you?"
Dylan shrugged and looked away.
We finally reached our destination and I forgot all about my jitters. There were two busses already parked in front of the school. I broadly grinned at the view. This was it.
"Alright," Molly said with a sigh. She turned to look at us and grinned. "Have fun, you two. But not too much fun, okay?"
Dylan frowned and cursed and Molly scolded him and I just laughed. We got out of the car and pulled our bags from the trunk. Molly drove away and Dylan stood there, motionless.
"Smile," I said.
He looked at me with a flat face. "Bug off."
"I mean it."
"I do too."
I shrugged and grinned. "But you know that's never going to happen."
"Unfortunately," he muttered.
I laughed and went to look for Amber and Tymon. They were seated at a bench, eager looks on their faces. In fact, every classmate of mine mirrored the exact face. I grinned and plopped down, placing my bag near me.
"New York," Amber beamed. "New flipping York."
"That was well-phrased, Amber," Tymon commented.
Amber and Tymon moved on to bicker and argue and I couldn't help but grin at my best friends. I had Amber, who was fierce and sassy. And I had Ben, who was humorous and awkward. I smiled.
I felt an arm slide around my waist. I jumped and looked. It was Dallas. He grinned at me and I grinned back, leaning in to kiss him.
"Get a room," Amber bellowed.
Dallas and I pulled away and laughed.
"Hey," he said.
I smiled. "Hey. You excited?"
"Definitely," he breathed, clasping my hands in his. My heart warmed at the gesture. "It's going to be our six-month anniversary soon."
I beamed.
Six months. Six months. Six months of pure happiness. And many more to come.
Before I could lean in and kiss Dallas again, the teacher called us to the front of the school. This was it. I had that weird feeling again – the bad feeling. I tried to shake it off as we boarded the busses and soon, we were on our way to the airport. The atmosphere was filled with chatter and cheers. Dallas sat next to me and he held my hand, drawing invisible circles with his thumb. I relaxed and smiled. When we reached the airport, I smiled even wider. We got off the bus and got our bags, the other class following from the other bus.
And from then on, it was chaos. The classes were racing and cheering and the teacher was trying to keep up. We were receiving disapproving glances from other people in the airport. None of us cared, though. So we ran and stopped and got everything ready until we were actually on the plane.
We were on a plane.
Unfortunately, I was assigned to sit next to Abby. I made myself comfortable in my seat and played with my book for a while, but never stopping to read. The atmosphere between the two of us was pretty tense. I knew that she was one of Dallas' closest friends but she didn't like me.
(I didn't care.)
The plane soon took off and since I had nothing else to do, I flipped open my book and began to read, quickly becoming engrossed. Abby kept shooting me glances. The plane was filled with relentless chatter. The trip from Georgia to New York was actually going to be very short and I couldn't wait to go to the hotel. From then on, I'd be able to explore and admire.
"Oh, for Christ sake!" a voice said. I didn't look up and continued reading my book. Some more cursing and a sigh. "Can you switch seats with me?"
My head snapped upwards and I looked at Dylan. He was talking to Abby.
"Uh, me?" Abby questioned.
"Yes."
"Yeah, sure. Okay!" Abby removed the seatbelt and got up, her hand brushing against Dylan's. I smiled and looked down at the book. She definitely had her eye on him, which is why I thought Dylan would be great with Abby.
Dylan plopped down and sighed. I glanced at him. His eyes were closed and he was rubbing his temple.
I grinned. "Tough day at work?"
"That redhead – your friend – talks a lot," Dylan muttered.
I laughed and put down the book.
"Yeah, I know," I said. "But he's cool and I love him." His expression didn't change. I folded my arms. "So, how are you holding up?"
He sighed and looked at me. "I don't need you asking me that every day. I'm fine. I'm freaking fine."
I looked down and nodded, clearing my throat. Silence fell between us. Dylan busied himself by listening to music and I patiently sat there, lost in my own thoughts. I scanned the plane. Amber was snoozing and Tymon was chatting with Anna.
Abby was sitting with Dallas and they looked like they were having a serious conversation. They had serious faces on, making gestures and all. And there it was again. That bad feeling. I ignored it and chewed on my bottom lip, frowning at myself.
You're being an idiot, Aubrey. You're already on the plane and nothing bad is going to happen.
I glanced at Dylan. He had ditched the earphones and was watching me.
"You're the one who doesn't seem okay," he spoke, looking at me.
"No," I replied. "I'm fine. It's just jitters. I haven't been on a plane in a long time."
Dylan nodded.
"I'm sorry I snapped at you," he muttered, avoiding my eyes.
I grinned. "Don't worry about it." I thought for a moment. "So, what are you going to do first when we get to New York?"
"Don't know."
"I don't, either. But I know there are a lot of things to do. I want to buy a couple of t-shirts and souvenirs. I also want to explore the whole city. I don't want to stay in one place, you know? You're lucky you know the grips of the place. Are there abandoned buildings we could explore? How about forests? Parks?"
"You have got my head spinning," he retorted. He interlaced his fingers together and placed them on his stomach. He looked at me.
I sheepishly smiled at him. "Sorry. I'm just really excited."
"I can tell."
I laughed and shrugged. "You'd be, too, if it was going to be your first time in a completely different state. I bet spring is beautiful there, in person that is. I've seen pictures."
"It is," he spoke but in a very low voice.
I thought for a moment and grinned. "I have a story to tell you!"
"No."
"Please?"
"Ok."
"Yay!"
So I began to tell him the story of how I fell out of my tree house when I was little. We stayed like that – chatting – and the book and music were long forgotten.
