Sandcastles

Chapter Nineteen

"I don't know, it's just like he doesn't even care about us anymore." I grumble, reclining back in the uncomfortable airport chair. "He didn't even come back by to apologize or anything."

Alexander sighs and entangles his fingers with mine. I watch other people board the flight that we're soon to get on. Madeline and Helen sit in seats across from us listening to their iPods.

"Well, I care about you." Alexander says with a small smile.

I smile weakly and look at the ground, shifting in my seat. When I look back up, Alexander is still smiling back at me.

"That's different." I tell him. "He's my Dad. He's supposed to be all caring and loving but he wasn't."

The call for second priority fliers is called and Alexander stands, helping me up with him. All four of us gather our bags and give the lady at the counter our boarding passes. We get on the plane, Alexander hoisting all of our bags into the overhead. Helen and Madeline take the seats in front of us and Alexander and I sit behind them.

The plane slowly fills with people and the doors close shortly after. Then the plane rolls down the runway in order to take off.

"Hey," Alexander asks me suddenly. I turn to face him. "When is your birthday?"

"February." I tell him. He rolls his eyes at me.

"I mean the date too." He says.

"Oh. The twenty-fifth." I say.

He nods his head in answer and pulls out his iPod to listen to. The plane slowly lifts off of the ground. I pull out a book to read and watch the ground get smaller below us.

The conversation during the flight is little to nothing. All four of us pretty much stay silent until the plane starts descending into New York. I can already start to see the skyscrapers and everything from up here. My excitement is starting to get the best of me.

The plane lands shortly, Alexander standing up and grabbing our bags for us. We walk out of the plane and make our way out of the crowded airport. The chilly New York air immediately hits me and I pull the hoodie out from my suitcase.

An array of yellow taxis are parked on the curb. People file in and out of them and we take our bags and walk to an empty one. The driver puts our bags into the trunk and we all get into the car.

The taxi driver drives like a maniac, taking high speeds and sharp turns. Fortunately we arrive at the hotel in one piece. The building is huge, and the lobby when we walk inside is extravagant. Polished floors, crystal chandeliers, bellhops in black suits; this place reminds me of a scene from a 1950s party. I'm too busy staring in awe at everything to notice that the others have already gone up to the counter to check in.

I walk up to them just as Alexander receives the room keys. We get into an elevator and go to the fourteenth floor, making several stops along the way. We finally reach our floor and go to our room.

The room is just a basic hotel room with two white beds and a flatscreen TV in front. We have a view of the busy New York streets from the huge window. We all set our bags on the beds, me having to sleep in the same one as Madeline.

"Well," Helen says as soon as she sets her bag down. "Madeline and I have shopping to do and you have reservations for dinner in two hours. Bye."

With that, Helen and Madeline grab their purses and walk out the door. I'm left with Alexander, and he just stares at me.

He scratches the back of his head and checks the time on his phone. He then recommends that we go ahead and get ready for dinner and the play later and then we can go check out everything.