December 16th, 10:17 AM.
Laura POV:
Ethan had taken me shopping yesterday for a suitcase and we picked out an orange (like how August looks when it's written out) roller bag. Right now I'm frantically scooping things into my bag. I had forgotten to pack last night for St. Louis. I've thrown about 6 pairs of jeans in along with pretty much every shirt I own. Every sock in the house seems to be in my suitcase. I decide that as long as I have my passport (that I got when I was 7... I've never used it), my phone, my ukulele, my ticket and a crap load of chargers, I can get through anything. I slam my bag shut and grab my black drawstring bag that I keep paper and pencils in and shove my phone in along with earbuds. I run into the bathroom chaotically and randomly scoop things into my wash bag. I remember I'm not wearing my contacts, so I grab my contact solution and case and shove them in my bag too. I shove my glasses on my face like a madwoman and empty everything in my drawer into my bag. I slam my big suitcase shut and run out into the hall, remembering I forgot my ukulele, and turn around back in to my bedroom, where I see it in its case, all ready to go. I snatch it up and dash back into the hall. I push my things to the side of my suitcase and fit in the case. It's a tight fit, but its manageable.
"Laura! Are you ready?" Ethan yells. I can her the car keys jangling.
"Yeah! One second!" I holler back. I slam the case shut and zip all the way around. I throw my Ella Eyre hat on and throw my bag on my back. I sprint faster than I ever have (That's not saying much) to the door. I continue my sprint all the way to the car where I put my big orange bag in the back. I hop in the backseat. Michael steps into the passenger side.
"So, Laura." Ethan says as he starts the car.
"Yeah?" I ask.
"We'll walk you to security. Your phone is charged, right?" He says.
"Yeah. 100%." I say, checking my phone.
"Good." Ethan says. "Do you have your meds?"
"Yeah." I reply, checking my bathroom bag.
"Money?"
"Check."
"Charger?"
"Check."
"Pepper spray?"
"...No?"
"Good. Glasses?"
"Wearing 'em."
"Books?"
"Check."
"Head?"
"One sec, lemme check." I throw my hand over my face. "Check."
"Perfect." Ethan replies. "All set."
"The flight is a bit over an hour." Michael says.
"Since you're an unaccompanied minor, you will have an escort past security." Ethan adds.
"Okay. I think I'll be fine." I reply. The same back and forth goes on for the next half hour on the way to the airport.
Roughly a half hour of airport lecture in the car later:
I forgot how annoyingly long every line at the airport is. We were just dropping off my orange bag to check, due to it being too large for me to put on the overhead bin. Now I'm the security line, alone awkwardly. There's about six fraternity brothers behind me. They're talking about college basketball. I take off my shoes, because everyone else is and set my bag in the bin. I take my hat off too. I walk through the metal detector and am relived that I didn't set it off, even though I had nothing that would. I go to the conveyer belt that everyone's belongings are on. I put on my black high top converses and my Ella Eyre hat. I sling my bag over my shoulder. A woman in a security guard outfit walks up to me. She's about 5'10, with curly dark hair and stunning dark skin. She's very pretty and could easily be a model.
"Are you Laura Caraway?" She asks.
"Yeah" I reply.
"I'm Raven, I'll be your escort." She says.
"Your foster dads have sent me to help you get to your flight. You're on the 1:00 Delta flight to St. Louis, correct?" She asks, starting to walk.
I follow her. "Yes." I reply.
"I have here," She says, looking at an apple watch, "Gate C23." She says. "Have you ever been on an airport tram?" She asks.
"Maybe... I haven't been to the airport since I was five years old." I reply, adjusting my hat. "But I used to take the subway to school."
She looks at me weird. "Cool. The tram to gate C is this way." We walk for a bit, going up and down a few escalators, where some slightly drunk man creepily touched my hand. We wait in front of some doors, when the tram speeds up to the platform. A large group of people rush out, leaving space open. It's just like the tram I used to take to school every day, but there were no seats, exempt for the elderly/disabled seat at the end. I hold onto a pole and feel sweat all over it. I wipe my hand on my skinny jeans and grasp a different pole. We stop at gates A and B before we get to gate C. during then, I decide that the three weirdest people on the train were a girl who's looked like her name was was Jeanne who was sitting on the ground playing solitaire. She looked around 15 and had light blue hair. There was a man who I called Jacob who was wiggling his chin with his hand and laughing. He was around 50 years old. Finally, there was a girl who is called Jiggie (the guy I assume to be her boyfriend called her that) who kept smelling people and touching their hair. When Raven and I stepped off the tram, we walked down the middle of the airport, passing Starbucks and gates. I note that the floor looks like the red room's chevron from Twin Peaks. We finally make it to gate C23. It's 12:29. Raven sits down next to me in the waiting area.
"So, why are you headed to St. Louis?" She asks.
"I'm seeing my Dad." I reply. This was the first time I had actually referred to him as my dad. I had always spoken about him as 'Dan'. The whole idea that I still had family somewhere was still surreal.
"Cool." She replies. "I almost forgot!" She says, digging around in a bag. "
You need to wear this." She hands me a red wristband that says "Unaccompanied Minor" on it. A QR code, also on the wristband, strikes my curiosity.
"Thanks." I say, noticing it's very small. She loosens it and puts it around my wrist, fastening in on.
"Where's your ticket?" She asks.
"Oh," I say, digging in my small wallet. "Here." I say, opening it. She looks at my ticket.
"Alrighty."
Raven and I chat about random things, but then she decides to bring up Dan. "So, tell me about your Dad." She says.
A jolt of panic ruses through my body. "He's a person. He's really nice. He plays piano and drums in a band." I say nervously, hoping she doesn't ask anything else.
"Are you okay?" She asks.
"Yeah, I'm just a little anxious about the flight." I lie. Static fills the air.
"We are now boarding group A passengers for the Delta flight to St. Louis, Missouri." A voice on the speakers says.
"That's you." Raven says.
"Bye!" I say, getting up.
"It was nice meeting you!" I say.
"You too." She says, watching me get on the flight. I'm in the third row, according to my ticket. I get in line to get on the plane. The woman at the desk scans my ticket.
"Have a nice flight!" She says. I find my seat, which is 3B. Middle seat. I'm the first in my row to get there, so I have time to pull out my headphones. I turn on my favorite songs playlist, which is about two hours long. I won't have to worry about running out of music. The first song is Chvrches with Haley Williams- Bury it. I zone out, letting the music take over my mind.
YOU ARE READING
Lost Dad: Dan Smith
Fanfiction"Hello, Mr. Smith. We're calling about a child you had with..." Theres a pause, "Ashley Caraway." - "Laura, about your Dad... He wants to meet you."
