Endless Journey

4. Love and lateness

"This is the final boarding call for flight 370B to Zurich, Switzerland. Please proceed to gate 7. Flight 370B to Zurich, Switzerland. The gate will be closing in 5 minutes"

My eyes widen. I have five minutes to get to the gate that was probably on the other side of the airport! I glance left and right to spot a sign that would lead me to my assigned gate.

Grabbing hold of my bag, I weave myself through the throngs of people. This is bad, really bad. I am a person who loves to panic a lot and stress over things so this situation was just ideal for me. Please note the sarcasm. This situation reminds me of the times I was rushing to class, already being late. Despite the immense size of my school, the student population still managed to crowd the hallways like a packed concert.

I always hated being late but that's just who I was. I am late to every important event in my life. I was even born after my sister! My friends knew that whatever time I said I would be arriving at, they should add an extra hour to it.

Now as I am sprinting to customs, adrenaline is being fueled in my system. It's making me push my legs past their limit but the mass of people in my way is making it hard to navigate.

I make it to customs and, thankfully, the line isn't as long as I had initially thought. With a few minutes left to spare, I go through customs easily enough.

"Gate 7, flight 370B to Zurich, Switzerland is now closed."

I stop immediately making the person behind me bump into me. Closed? What do they mean "closed"? I can't be late! That's just going to add a lot more travel expenses I definitely don't need. My senses come back to me and I instantly start running again.

I stop in front of the gate, hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath. I heave a long breath and look up to see a woman in staff uniform and a tight bun look down at me.

"H-hi I'm Vienna and I-I'm supposed to be on this flight. Please tell me I can still board," I say still trying to even my breathing.

The woman looks me up and down before replying, "I'm sorry to break it to you but the gate closed 3 minutes ago. It's ready for takeoff so I can't let you on board."

My mouth drops open. "But-but it's only, like, three minutes. Surely you could let me on. I've been sprinting here and I need to be on that plane. Please." She rolls her eyes a little, almost unnoticeable and says, "Ma'am, I am not responsible for your lateness. As I said, the plane is about to take off. There's no chance for you to board this plane today."

I deflate. The only time I travel alone, I miss my flight! Why does this have to happen to me of all people? Why?

"Isn't there something you could do? Anything? You can't do a single thing to get me on that plane?" I ask desperately.

Before the woman has time to reply, a man with a light brown mop of hair comes to stand next to her. "What troubles have to been brewing up now, Clair?" He asks with a little laugh.

The woman blushes a little before she covers it up with an eye roll. "What do you want, Andrew?"

"Me? Oh, nothing. But what does this lovely girl want?" He asks, directing his eyes toward me.

"I'm supposed to be on that flight but I was late and now I can't board," I reply sullenly.

Andrew looks again at Clair. "Why won't you let her board? She still has time before takeoff."
She sighs and says, "you know I can't do that. It's against the rules."

"Who says you can't bend the rules sometimes?" He asks her with a lopsided grin. She looks down and the desk.

The weird thing was that they reminded me of my mom and dad. Dad always making jokes and my mother shying away from him and his charm. You'd think they lost it after 20 years of being married but you could still see the love in their each when they looked at each other.

Clair sighs a deep sigh and talks into her walki-talki. "One more passenger boarding. One more passenger boarding." I beam at her, "yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Andrew chuckles and says, "no problem kiddo."

As she opens the gate for me, I hear her mumble to herself, "only you, Andrew. Only you." I don't think she meant for me to hear it but I did. I silently smile to myself. Yup, so much like mom and dad.

A few minutes and glares from seated passengers later, I was sitting in my seat between two people.

Switzerland was my first destination because I fell head over heels with it the first time I visited. The beauty of it all made me want to stay forever. The architect spoke thousands of stories about its history.

The air itself was better than anywhere in the world. I remember the fresh crisp of the wind as it danced around me. The light splatter of rain as it drizzled down. The setting sun as we gazed at it.

Mesmerized, that's the word I'd use to describe what it felt like to be there the first time. And I can't wait to be in a slightly familiar place.

I am an introverted person. I like to have a small circle of trustworthy people. I have the three most amazing people I'm proud to call my best friends. It was really hard to say goodbye to them since I won't be seeing them for a while. It's weird that I'm not going over to their houses right now.

We did practically everything together. Sometimes they even know me better than I know myself-it's weird. I miss them but hopefully, I'll be seeing them soon.

I needed this break in the school cycle. Change is good once in a while.

Off to Zurich. 

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A/N
Fourth chapter!!
School sucks. Rules are changing and it's becoming unfamiliar. Gotta study for exams unfortunately :(
I hope you like this chapter. I'll try to upload every week or two but bear with me while I focus on my studies. See ya later
Published: October, 19, 2019
Goal: 10 reads and 3 votes

InkMonster