Stop Playing Innocent // COMPLETED

46 // Hello

4 years later

"Goddamnit- I mean, sorry sir", I mutter an apology away from the phone in my ear to the older man who apparently thought airports are the place to have a rush hour through the crowd with your suitcase, then bring the phone up again to talk, "Yeah, mum, I'm still here. Well, obviously if I'm calling you, then yes, I finally landed. Yes, safely."

Her relieved sigh comes through the call, "Oh, that's so great to hear. I was getting worried earlier actually. I mean, I've never been to New York but I heard it's great, so I'm excited for you!"

"Just don't worry, okay?", I ask while looking around the new surroundings of the inside of this airport.

It was definitely different to the one I got used to seeing back in Toronto. Oh, how I'll miss that place. What an interesting four years it's been to study there.

"I won't, I won't", she says, but continues to chatter on, "Oh, by the way! I read up about that Times Square place in New York and-"

Knowing there's no way to get out of her daily news session of random facts about New York that she's read up somewhere probably on Wikipedia, I stop walking when I almost pass by the large mirror on one of the walls next to the bathroom area and bring my suitcase with me to fix up my hair in front of it.

It was only on my recent 22nd birthday which I spent in the company of my dearest university friends in our dorm when I decided to dramatically change my hair from being light brown and super long to a more dirty blonde colour as well as cut off the length until just past my shoulders.

Close relatives have been telling me over video calls that I've apparently 'lost the baby weight' and that I now looked more like a grown woman instead of a young teenage girl like I did before.

Thanks, gran' for the kind-ish words.

Moving on from the mirror, I sigh into the phone of blabbering, "Yeah, yeah, mum, thank you, oh, so very much for the facts about the Big Apple", glancing up at the dorky ads placed on some of the airport walls, I add with a tease, "And I thought you would've been more excited for me to finally be able to travel somewhere other than around Canada in the past four years of uni. Plus, move to live in New York of all places."

She laughs into the call, "I am, I am. I guess it's that I still can't imagine how hard it must have been for you to not see anyone other than your Toronto friends in the last couple of years. Especially Damon."

I smile.

"Well...", I say, trying my best not to look like a lost tourist in the mess of people, "At least I can now call myself another occupation besides already being a children's books illustrator."

"And what is that?"

"An absolute LDR skype expert level 1000."

And we both laugh.

Finally, I move through the various gates and exits into the main entrance hall of the airport.

Oh my god.
So many people.
So many new faces.
It's so weird.
But so exciting.
Weirdly exciting.

"You still there?", my mum asks.