Practice Makes Perfect

Chapter 1

Please note that I have never ridden in a plane in my life, so please don't judge me for my assumption of what it is like. Also this entire story will be told in the point of view of Miranda unless told otherwise. Thank you! :) Enjoy.

I jolted from my sleep as the intercom sprang to life above us. "This is your captain speaking, please buckle your seat belts. We'll be landing in Heathrow shortly." I sighed as I remembered the events of a few hours prior. I was free. Kind of. I buckled my belt as directed and shoved my travel pillow into my carry on bag. In about 5 minutes the plane started to tilt downward, signaling that we were starting to land.

Touch down was a bit bumpy, but either way we landed safely. When the signal came, everyone popped out of their seats and practically tore their stuff out of the compartments above us in a rush to get out of this plane. I, on the other hand, waited calmly for an opening to get my things and get out of the plane. Once I was off, I went searching for my luggage. I found the number for the flight and waited for my bags. I grabbed my handheld suitcase, then waited for my monster of a cello case to roll down the conveyor belt that held many other cases of luggage. I smiled when I saw my giant black case and grabbed it off of the belt, sitting it upright on the floor before pulling it on it's wheels. On my way out I saw a taxi advertisement and decided to give them a ring, since I didn't ship my own car over here.

They arrived in a speedy 5 minutes and I packed my things into the trunk, bringing my cello with me into the back seat.

"Where to, ma'am?" The driver asked politely. I was slightly bewildered by his thick accent, but quickly reminded myself, Miranda, you'll be living with this pretty much for the rest of your life. And wow, no one said "ma'am" anymore in America.

"Stanhope Gardens please," I replied. "Just drop me off as close as you can for 50 American dollars and I can walk from there." The driver nodded and we were off. I had already studied up a little bit on the European currency, but I just needed to get to a bank to trade it off, in a way I guess. Movies were correct; the backstreets of London were confusing and like a maze, but I guess I'd have to live with it.

Eventually the driver stopped and looked back at me. "This is as far as we go," he said. I nodded and dug around in my purse for $50. This was it. I was about to walk to Stanhope Gardens and start a new life. I handed him the money and he popped the trunk as I hopped out with my cello. I pulled my luggage out of the trunk and slammed it closed, knocking on the back window twice to signal that I was good, and he waved goodbye to me in the rear view mirror as he started to drive away. I looked at my surroundings and sighed, clicking my phone on and going to Google Maps, knowing I should've asked the driver which way to head.

Locating where I needed to go, I grabbed my suitcase and began wheeling my cello behind me. Thankfully it wouldn't be too long of a walk; you'd be surprised how hard it can get to pull an instrument like this. I let my thoughts wander as I made my way to my new flat; admiring the scenery around me, orange, yellow and red trees swaying gently in the breeze; the sky with light, wispy clouds drifting amongst its endless reign... Those were things that I could never take notice of in America. Sean controlled my every move, and more than often it felt as though he controlled my every breath. But I was putting all of that behind me, to start a new life with the job of my dreams.

Suddenly a force was blown into me and I shot backwards, dropping my suitcase and nearly crushing my cello in the process as I fell to the ground with an "Oof!"

"Oh dear," I heard a deep voice say worriedly above me as I sat up and madly looked around for my cello, sighing in relief to see that it had stabilized itself after rolling few feet behind me. I looked up to the figure that towered above me, now leaning down and holding out a hand to help me up. "I'm terribly sorry!" The man exclaimed.