The Art of...

The Art of Jet Lag and Bullies

“Excuse me, Ma'am? We have landed.” The flight attendant nudges my shoulder and I wake up. “We are in London, now. The plane is unloading.” I nod and she pulls my carry-on down for me.

“Thank you.” I smile and drang my duffel off of the plane and towards baggage claim. As I wait for my only suitcase to pop out, I look around for someone holding a sign with my name. I glance back at the bags and find mine. I heave it off of the table thing and start roaming to find my hosts. I finally see the sign and half-rush over to the people, wanting to sleep off my jet-lag as soon as possible.

As I approach, smiles form on their faces. “Are you Miss Laine Brooks?” The man asks.

“Yep, that’s me.” I smile as I set my bag down.

“Finally, we have found our student! I’m James Bates, this is my wife Jess, and our son is at home.” He smiles as I shake their hands. Yep, that’s right. I’m a foreign exchange student. I’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this forever and I finally have it!

“Hi, and as you know, I’m Laine. Thank you so much for being my hosts! I can’t wait, but right now I’m just a little jet-lagged.” I let out a little giggle as an attempt to hide just how nervous I am.

“I bet! Lets get you back home.” The couple escorts me out of the chaos with my bags, insisting me they’ve got it, and I follow them to a car. They load the trunk and tell me to slide into the back seat. As I get situated, James starts the adventure home. After a short while, my eyes droop and I slip back into the nap I hadn’t finished on the plane.

~~~

“Aw, she’s so cute when asleep. I hope she’s always this peaceful.” My eyes flinch open as I feel someone touching my cheek. Out of habit, I manage to elbow the person in the stomach. I hear a little yelp of pain as I look over my shoulder. I see a guy, about my age, on the ground. “Spoke too soon.” he managed to say. He sees me looking and straightens up. “Welcome to your temporary home. Note the sarcasm.”

“Sorry, habit.” I get out of the car and notice the trunk is empty. I look at the house and choke. That’s not a house. It’s a frickin mansion. Cream colored with balconies and pillars and who knows what else because it’s all too fancy to be in my vocabulary. My view is blocked when the guy stands right in front of me.

“I’m Lindor Bates. And please, for God’s sake, call me Lin.”  He holds his hand out for me to shake.

“Lindor? Like the chocolate?” I cock my head to the side, allowing my auburn dyed hair to flop in it’s bun. Handshake rejected.

“Yes, very good. It amazes me how a lot of girls make that connection.”

“Well, one, girls like chocolate. And two, girls love expensive chocolate. So don’t be surprised. Nice to meet you, Lin. I’m Laine.” I smile and take in his chestnut brown hair, golden eyes and perfect face.

“Let me show you to your room.” He starts walking and I follow. “So, I hear you’re just taking some art studies?”

“Uhm, yeah. Just some summer studies so when I go home, my college applications will look better.”

“Oh, yeah. Americans don’t start college until, what, eighteen?”

“Yep. I’m just doing the convention study thing this summer. I noticed your parents don’t have accents and you do?” I comment as we ascend a massive staircase that leads to two hallways at the top.

“They’re American. Moved here while my mom was pregnant with me for a better job.” So he’s British and his parents American…

“Cool.” I nod as I follow him down a hallway and into a bedroom on the right. He opens the door and guides me in. My jaw is dropped. There’s a queen sized bed with a purple comforter, white nightstands on either side, a desk, and a flat screen tv mounted on the wall opposite of the bed. As I approach the desk, I notice expensive art supplies scattered on it. Pencils, paint, film, cameras, paper, everything an artist would want and need. “Uhm is this for-”