The plane left on July 4th at 9:15 am. I was in the economy section with my Mac on my lap. My brother’s had grown on me and I had decided to buy one for myself for college. I had left my family to go to Heidelberg, Germany and got accepted into my dream college. In fact I was looking at my laptop at that time and writing in my journal about my travels and I was sending it to my parents after the flight was over and I had settled into my dorm.
The plane was stopping in Chicago when I closed my laptop and put it in my bag. I buckled myself in before the plane landed and braced myself for it. I had never been on a plane and I was afraid of heights. A lot of people told me the take off and the landing were the worst part of the flight and so far they have been right, so besides those parts, I had been loving it. It was just like a car ride.
“The plane is now landing. Please stay in your seats until the plane has come to a complete stop,” a flight attendant said coming over the intercom. Since I had the window seat, I didn’t want to look out and down so, I held on to the arm rests on my seat.
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After I had gotten my luggage and it was ready for the next flight, attention turned to eating breakfast and getting myself a Diet Coke. I went up to the desk near the next flight I had to go to. “Ma’am, is there a vending machine nearby,” I asked.
“Yes, just head straight down the terminal and there will be one on your right,” she said. So I went where she directed but instead, I saw a Starbucks not too far from my gate. It was good to have a cinnamon roll (although it wasn’t my mothers) and a nice warm coffee, even though I didn’t get my Coke.
I went to an empty seat near my gate after buying a little souvenir (or shot glass) and my breakfast. My trip was going great and I was happy to travel by myself like an adult even though I was only eighteen. My life had finally started and the world was my oyster.
I opened my Macintosh again and went on Facebook where I told my friends and of course my family that everything was going great and my flight was smoother than I thought it would be. Right after I posted, my mother commented saying:
Stay safe, I don’t want you to get hurt.
Moms, I thought. They can be so over protective. It wasn’t until my dad told me to call them that that thought was erased. I took out my new iPhone and dialed their number.
“Hey, Dad,” I said when he picked up.
“Claire, you were supposed to call when you landed,” he said, not even asking me how I was or if the flight was ok.
“Well, it landed a few minutes ago and I was making sure my luggage was in the right place before I got myself breakfast. Also, I had body scans. I’m ok though.”
“Good, so how was your first flight?”
“Smooth, almost like a car ride. I was scared during the take off and the landing but I’m ok now.”
“Well, good. Everyone says hi and Sebastian told your sister to tell that he will be waiting for you and you need to call him when you get to London.”
“Ok, Dad. Anyways, I have a layover for about an hour and I need a nap. I was told to make sure I got as much sleep as I could get so after I get off the phone with you and finish my breakfast, I’m going to do just that. I love you though.”
“I love you, too sweetheart. Man, I wish you weren’t so grown up.”
“Dad, not this again. If you cry, I’ll cry and we don’t need that so get off the phone. But, Dad,…um… don’t be worried, I’ll make sure to call you when I reach London.”
“Ok, sweetheart. Well, I have to get back to work anyways. The company knows that you left so they let me sit in the office for a little while. I love you.
“Love you, too, Dad.”
“Bye.”
“Bye, Dad.” And with that I closed the phone and went to eating my cinnamon roll.
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After my hour nap, I was back on the next plane, headed towards London, still writing but on my blog. I was determined to always write during my stay in Germany and the journal helped a lot to get my thoughts on The Possible Scholar (a.k.a: my blog). This is what my post read:
And so it begins. My trekking to Germany is going great, especially since I am small and I have a limited amount of space between me and the next chair. As everyone has told me, the take off and landing are the hardest. Yes, they have been correct. Anyways, I seem to be amazing to look at with my Mac because the person next to me is loving the View and reading over my shoulder. There are people who have problems and people who can’t mind their own business when being on a plane. My first seat partner asked me if I was writing to my boyfriend and if not would I right to him. I looked at him and said politely, “You aren’t my type but the woman across from you has been checking you out.” Sure enough, she actually was. I made a new friend after that and he didn’t look at my journal again. This woman though, God, if only I could get her to stop.
I kept writing until the woman rolled her eyes. I looked over. “Excuse me, but would you mind not reading my private information,” I asked politely.
“It doesn’t look private to me,” the woman said. She was certainly from England and I didn’t want to offend her by bringing up the American Revolution but it slipped.
“Well, if you English weren’t so damn nosy before the American Revolution, then maybe I wouldn’t say it was private.” It did get her to stop watching my every move but she gave me a dirty look. Two points for me and null for the passengers that sit next to me.
As I kept writing, I kept thinking about how good it would be to see Sebastian again. Yes, I would be shy but at least the reconnection would most likely be great. I was fantasizing now mostly because I didn’t know if I should hug him or shake his hand. We American girls had problems when it came to meeting old friends. I’m not saying Sebastian is old either, just five years and six days. I’m just saying we had been friends for six years now.
Let me tell you a little bit about Sebastian. He was a blond man with blue eyes, ones that were captivating to me. My sister though didn’t like that I was friends with him and when she found out that I was excepted to Monte International University, she tried everything to stop me from going. She didn’t want me “to get hurt.”
Anyways, Sebastian was a huge soccer fan and a player of the sport himself. He may have encouraged me to follow my dreams but he didn’t seem too encouraged himself. If he did bad at a game, he would beat himself over the head until I stepped in to help him out a little. Meeting him seemed to be the best thing ever at this point in my life.
To me, his life was way better than mine. I was the child who wasn’t like the others. I hid myself from the world most of the time and then got asked to step in it more and when I did, well it seemed to make everyone mad.
Enough about me, later on I might just tell you more but not now, it bothers me. Lets just say my past effects my future, or I believe it will.
After I was finished writing on my blog, I went to sleep. Naps were helpful when you had to go through different time zones. London was six hours ahead of Chicago and Fair Grove, meaning I was getting to Germany the next day.
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It was midnight when the plane landed in London. As I headed to my next terminal, I pulled out my iPhone and called the number Sebastian sent me. It was a good thing he was still up because I didn’t want him to be angry when I called.
“Hallo,” he asked in his German accent. Yes, men with foreign accents are way cuter on the phone. Why that is, I have no idea but it made me melt inside.
I took a breath to calm my nerves and then said, “Hey, it’s Claire. I just landed in London but we have a three-hour lay over and the plane isn’t here yet.”
“Oh, ok. I’ll be at the airport before you guys land, I promise.”
“I’m not worried that you won’t, Sebastian. If I was, I wouldn’t be tired.”
“Alright, I just didn’t want you to be. I’m going to lay down for a little bit but I will turn on my alarm just to make sure I pick you up on time.”
“Alright, well, I need to get off the phone to call my parents and tell them I arrived.” It was quiet on the other side. “Sebastian?”
“Yeah?”
“Nothing, just making sure you were still there and didn’t hang up on me. Anyways, see you in Frankfurt. Bye.”
“You, too, and bye.” After he hung up, I got some snack food from a nearby vending machine before calling my parents and telling them that I had landed and that I was fine.
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My flight to Germany arrived at 6:15 am in Frankfurt. If you aren’t used to the time and live in the central time zone area, it is currently 11:15 pm. Sebastian was where he said he would be and I stood still for a moment. He didn’t notice me although I had shown him what I looked like: brown hair with red highlights in a Keri Hilson hairstyle and five feet two inches tall.
He looked better now than in my memories. He was more toned as a man and stronger like he always bragged about on Facebook. My best friend wasn’t a little boy, he was more than that. He was what everyone calls a “knight in shining armor” or “Prince Charming.” Prince Charming doesn't exist though.
I decided then, that if I don’t show myself he might get worried or just leave. So, I walked up slowly to make sure he saw me. “Hey,” he said.
“Hi,” I said. I stood there smiling until he walked up and hugged me. It was a friendly gesture, although I wished it wasn't, and I hugged him back.
“So, how was your trip?” He grabbed my luggage and walked with me toward the exit.
“It was really tiring, I pretty much wrote and slept the whole time.” I smiled at him when he laughed at me as if saying “I figured as much.”
“Apparently, that's typical.” When we walked out of the building, I stopped and I looked out at Germany’s landscape. “Welcome to Germany. Now, we have to get your stuff to my apartment and try to keep you awake until night fall.”
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