A Home for the Holidays

One: The Begining of the End

Whoever said what doesn't kill you makes you stronger needs to meet me. Not to sound conceited, but I could prove their theory incorrect in a flash, simply by angering my mother. She's show you how weak I am faster that you can say "go."

In fact, she thinks I'm so weak that she's decided to send me to some boarding school in South Carolina, a far cry away from our small town in Illinois, in order to get rid of me. My dad said it was a collective decision to send me to Greyson's Academy for the Gifted, but I'm not stupid, I know who wears the pants in my family. The only thing I don't understand is how they got me in. The Academy is supposed to be for the gifted and talented, but I'm about as talented as a potato. Actually, scratch that, I'm less than a potato, because at least they can be mashed into fluffy white clouds of goodness. Mash me and all you get is the cops on your front doorstep with reports of suspected violence.

Anyways, that's how I found myself alone at Springfield International Airport on a Friday night, watching as my family drives away, probably going to party now that I'm gone. Once their car merges into traffic where I can no longer see it, and my last sliver of hope fades away, I shake off my growing panic and step into one of the ticket lines. It takes forever to get past the ticketing lady, and even longer to get past security, but I finally make it to my terminal.

Checking a schedule, I see that I have at least fifteen minutes to relax before my plane boards. I decide to use the bathroom, thinking that I'd rather not use it on the plane and that maybe a splash of cold water on my face might help contain the rising panic that flashes through my mind every time I think about Greyson Academy. The line is longer than I expected, but moves very quickly, and I still have five minutes by the time I've washed my hands. I splash some water on my face, but quickly wipe it off with a paper towel when I notice people giving me funny looks. I guess it's not proper airport etiquette to splash water on your face or something.

I make my way past the plethora of woman standing near the entrance to the bathroom and back out in the terminal, only to see that my flight is boarding and is almost finished. "Oh, carp," I mutter, breaking into a run. The wheels of my small, old suitcase squeak in protest at the sudden change of speed, but I keep running, praying that it won't give out on me. That would just be the cherry on top of this sundae of panic that I'm being served, having my suitcase break and spill its contents all over the dirty airport floor.

I reach the boarding desk just as the last person finishes being checked in, and whip out my ticket for a flight attendant with brown hair elegantly styled in a bun to see. She looks down at the information and back up at me, and I see a hint of recognition flash behind her gray eyes. "You're Sang Sorenson?" she asks, a gentle smile plastered across her face. I nod. "How old are you, Sang?"

"Twelve, ma'am." She looks slightly concerned at this.

"Are you here alone?" she asks, looking behind me to make sure no one accompanying me.

"Yes, ma'am. I'm going to boarding school and my parents didn't want to fly down to Charleston with me just to say goodbye." I send her what I hope is a convincing smile, but she still doesn't look completely like she believes me.

"Alright, Sang. if you need anything while on the flight, let me know. My name's April."

"Okay, thank you April. I will," I say, and this time my smile is almost genuine. She waves me forward and I walk down the hallway leading to the pane. Once on it, I make my way to my seat in the back, which happens to be right by the bathrooms, and lift my suitcase up into the compartment above me. Luckily, it's light enough that even I can lift it up there, because I'd rather not ask someone to help me. It isn't really my style to ask for help, and I try to avoid it as much as possible.

I slide into my empty seat, which is on the isle, and sigh. I lean my head back against the faux leather headrest and close my eyes, but I'm only allowed to relax for a couple of seconds before I get a short tap on my shoulder. I open my green eyes to see a middle aged woman, probably in her early forties, looking expectantly at me. "Would you mind getting up for a second? I have the window seat in this isle." I nod vigorously and stand up, moving out of her way. She glides past me into her seat, the silk of her fitted fuchsia dress swishing as she moves. After she's situated, I plop back down in my seat, just as the pilot asks everyone to please fasten their seatbelts. I flounder trying to get my seatbelt on, as it is a lot more complicated than normal seatbelts, and April has to come over and show me how. She smiles at me, flashing her straight white teeth, and I blush.

"It's easier than it looks," She says, and slides one of the halves into a slot that is now obvious, but before was hidden to me. "See? Easy."

"Thank you," I choke out, feeling like an idiot. She nods and goes back to helping other people. All of the flight attendants do a routine explaining all of the safety precautions and I diligently listen, never having heard it before and wanting to be prepared in case of emergency. I'm paying so much attention that I don't even notice that the plane is moving until I happen to glance outside. The pilot tells us to prepare for takeoff and I clench my jaw, digging my nails into the armrests.

"Is this your first time flying?"

I look at the woman sitting next to me. "Is it that obvious?" I ask through gritted teeth. She smiles at me, the skin around her eyes crinkling.

"Sweetie, you're as pale as a ghost." I giggle at this, despite my fear. "Once it's alright to take off our seatbelts, I'll let you look out the window, if you'd like. Seeing the sunset from up in the air is actually quite beautiful."

"Thank you," I say, flashing her a small smile. Just as I turn to face forward, the plane speeds up rapidly, and I screw my eyes shut, all of the muscles in my body tense. I feel the plane lifting off of the ground and ascending into the sky, and then we're level. I slowly open my eyes and swallow, which makes my ears pop. The woman motions me over and I look out the small window at the sky. She was right, the sunset is better up here, and I find myself looking at it for several minutes, until the sun slips below the horizon and the sky becomes dark.

Deciding to attempt to get some sleep, I lean my head back against the seat and slip my hands into my pockets, only to find one of them occupied by something. I grab onto it and pull out a small silver gift box wrapped in a pink bow. I had forgotten about the going away present I had received. Hanging from it is a gift tag that reads "To: Sang, from: Mrs. Rose. Please do not open this until you get on the plane." I smile and tug on the bow, undoing it. I open the box and what I find inside brings me to tears.

~*~

Hey everyone! It's Devin! Thank you for reading the first chapter of my new story! I hope you enjoyed it! I'm not sure what the updating schedule will look like, as I am very busy, but I will try my best! Thanks again for giving A Home for the Holidays a chance and sorry for the small cliffy! Have a great day! (Or night!)