|TERMINATED|More Than Enough

Chapter 5: Isla

The plane ride was pretty annoying, Alexandra kept coming to ask Professor Drayce questions and making sure to rub it in everyone's face that she was first class. Mai was glad she got an aisle seat because even though she loved looking through the window, every time she was in a plane, she had to use the bathroom 100 times. "Again? That's the sixth time in the past two hours!" Mikey said incredulously, shaking his head. Mai groaned and took off her headphones. "I should probably go to a doctor but I hate going there. You know why." She sighed and peeked in the aisle to see the food trolley coming towards them. "Lunch time!"

The attendants had passed out short menus beforehand so all passengers knew exactly what options they had. Mikey and Mai chose different things and decided to get some snacks extra. "I don't understand why people don't like airline food, I've never had an issue and it hasn't ever tasted weird to me." Mikey said, mouthful of bread. Mai shrugged and finished her meal as well. Once their dishes were cleared, Mai opened her laptop and started typing her first draft for the report. She wanted to see what her professor would say about the formatting so that when the time came, all she needed to do was substitute words, life hack!

She didn't even realize it but she fell asleep. She only woke up to Mikey shaking her. "Bitch, we're landing in less than 20 minutes. Go freshen up so we can get off the plane quickly!" he said, closing her tray and pushing her to the bathroom. Mai went and came out, chewing a piece of gum, and looking better than she had 3 minutes ago. She went to her seat and buckled in, putting her things away and leaning back in the seat. Mai peeked over Mikey's shoulder to see the plane landing. It was still in the clouds but a few minutes later and the beautiful city of Istanbul came into view. 20 minutes felt like a quick second as the excitement in the students was contagious and soon the students were talking about the things they wanted to do once they landed.

"Alright folks, stay seated till the end so that we don't have some students on the bus to the airport and some still on the plane." Professor Drayce called out while the plane made its way off the runway. Mikey looked confused. "Bus?" he questioned and looked at Mai. "The planes in Turkey aren't connected to a terminal in the airport. They basically 'park' in a big lot and have stairs wheeled to the doors. You get off and take a bus to the airport." She said, gesturing out the window where the first bus had already come.

Once most of the people had left, the Professor got up and let the students grab their bags before leading them down the stairs to the bus. Mai had been to Turkey before, she had to take a connecting flight to go to Pakistan for vacation a few years ago so she wasn't very concerned about their stay. She took out her phone, trying to connect to the airport Wi-Fi. They had a few hours to explore the Istanbul airport until their connecting flight to Gaziantep, the closest airport to the Archeological site.

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Because it was a connecting flight, their luggage would stay on the loading dock until it was time for the next plane to be loaded. All the students had with them were their carry-ons and anything they received on the plane. Mai went to one of the vendors and exchanged some money into Turkish Lira to buy some food and souvenirs for her friends back home. She came back with a burger and fries from one of the restaurants and a silver bag filled with a few small trinkets that she thought Carter and Maddi would like.

There were six hours to spend in the airport, everyone was tired and irritable. Some more than others Mai thought, glancing at Alexandra who was complaining about the lack of flavoured water.

Majority of the group fell asleep in the waiting room while the rest of them listened to Professor Drayce talk about the last time he visited the Gobleki Tepe site. Time passed by a lot quicker than Mai realized and soon there were announcements letting them know that their connecting flight was ready to be boarded. Those that were awake woke up anyone that was sleeping and the group of 12 made their way to the gate. Going through security was fairly quick and soon they were on the plane, watching the attendant explain the emergency exits and safety precautions. A couple minutes after the demonstration the plane took off and they would reach their destination in a little less than 2 hours.